The Alpha's Daydream ✔️

Chapter 65

3958 words

My heart started beating first.

At least, that is how I recall the moment. My mate will say it was my lungs that inflated, this movement he noticed first as it drew air into my lifeless body.

But I will always argue, how could my lungs expand if my heart hadn't beaten first, pumping blood through to my chest to receive more oxygen before circulating my body again?

Details, he always laughs it off.

The important thing is, I breathed again.

With a slow shudder and a quiver of the static muscle, my heart falters to life. Its unsteady beat gains momentum and I feel a surge of blood race into my lungs. I gasp, my chest rising yet meeting a thick band that presses me close to something solid.

"Ariella?"

His voice is rough and uncertain, laced with pain and etched with grief, yet I would recognise it anywhere.

I take another breath, feeling his own warm breath tickle my face and I realise he is close.

"Ariella, you're breathing! Your heart is beating! How... how is this possible?"

I feel a gentle thud that echoes through my body, and I twist my head, trying to spread my senses. Where am I, and what is happening around me? My eyes are still too heavy to open, so I listen and breathe in the scents around me.

Malachi's heavy breathing puffs in my left ear, while gasps of shock echo on my other side. The delicious scent of toasted chestnuts mixes with the woody forest, moist earth, and metallic blood. I remember the tense stand-off with Seneca and her host of demons, and the way I flung myself in front of Malachi to save him from the cursed dagger.

I died.

I met the King of the universe who tasked me with a special purpose, and I accepted.

Then I had a most glorious vision of me and Malachi surveying the land we'd make our home on.

Now, I realise I am held tightly in the arms of my mate, listening to his excited exclamations over the fact I'm breathing. I feel his lips press to my forehead again and again in gentle kisses.

I've missed him. I've missed these tender moments between us. I was always unsure of how Malachi felt for me, since he would say he cared for me, but never mentioned love. His actions were contradictory at times, pulling me close with desire before shunning me coldly.

But now, I am without doubt.

Pulling my eyes open, I find myself staring up into the clearest, most vivid blue eyes I have ever seen. Flecks of silver sparkle in his irises, illuminating the azure hues with even more clarity. The lines around his eyes are dusted and crinkled with ashy dirt, yet there is a lack of weariness and reservation I have come to expect so well. His expression is wide and open, unlike the shuttered wariness he would often mask himself with. There is no coldness, only warmth.

No darkness, only light.

"Ariella, I'm so sorry for not listening to you sooner. You were right all along, and I was a fool for not paying any attention. I only ever wanted to protect you from this, instead you ended up in the very middle and paid the cost of my darkened heart. I never wanted this to happen to you..." his voice trails off in a broken sob and he buries his face in my neck. Hot tears slip from his eyes and slide down my neck, the warm trails they leave behind quickly cooling against my skin.

Taking a deep breath that is permeated with his calming scent, I whisper thank you, God. I feel more blood pulse throughout my body, infusing my cells with life. So with this gathering strength, I lift my hand and slide it around Malachi's neck, feeling his own pulse race beneath my fingertip. Then I guide his face to mine until our lips touch.