He paused. “When I realized she was mine, it was like something clicked into place. I felt… whole. Like suddenly, the world made sense in a way it never had before. Even now, after all these years, the bond holds strong. For Hasmik, I’d go to war. No hesitation.”
He looked at me again.
“That’s about the closest I can come to explaining it.”
“Am I boring you?” he asked gently.
“No,” I whispered. “No, of course not. Please… continue.”
Lupercus nodded.
“Sargis, though… he searched. For years, he searched near and far. Every summit, every peace talk, every border visit, he made time to look. And each time he came back empty-handed, a part of him just… faded.”
My chest tightened.
“I watched him grow quieter. And I… I didn’t know how to help.” He looked almost ashamed. “So for a long time, I hid the fact that Hasmik was my mate. I didn’t want to rub salt in a wound he never admitted he had. But the bastard figured it out anyway.”
He laughed quietly. “Threw me a party. Told me I was lucky and grinned like it didn’t gut him.”
I felt something hot behind my eyes and quickly blinked it away.
“The burden of being king only made it worse. With every year, came more responsibilities, and less time for himself. But still, even when it meant skipping sleep or pulling strings behind the council’s backs, he made it his mission to keep looking.”
Lupercus drew a breath.
“Five years, Narine.”
He looked at me.
“Five years of quiet misery… until he found you.”
“I have never seen him happier,” Lupercus said quietly. “His smile returned, and he became more approachable. More… Sargis.”
His lips curved just slightly. “It made me happy.”
Something about the way he said it twisted something in my chest.
Then he looked at me again. “For what it’s worth, Narine… I understand you too.”
He let out a long sigh. “Even if you don’t open up, hell, even if you never say a word, I know you’ve been through a lot of shit in your life and I don’t blame you for reacting the way you did. You’ve always had to protect yourself.”
My eyes dropped to the floor. It was the truth. I hadn’t learned how to trust safety. Only how to survive in chaos.
“I’ll say one thing today, and I hope you believe it.” Lupercus took a step closer.
“If you really get to know Sargis, if you let yourself be open-minded, even just a little, you’ll see that he’s gentle and full of love. And everything he’s done for you since the day you were brought here…”
He tilted his head. “Isn’t that proof enough that he cares about you?”
I lifted my eyes, slowly nodding.
It was. It really was.
All this time I had let fear cloud every intention, let my trauma speak louder than truth. I had been too up in my feelings to see clearly, to recognize the pattern of Sargis’s kindness for what it was, a steady, unwavering devotion.
“Lupercus,” I whispered. “Why is he so certain that I’m his mate?”
The corner of his mouth pulled into a crooked smile. “We just know, Narine.”
“But… how?” I asked, pressing gently, needing more than vague intuition. “How do you just know?”
He shrugged with a chuckle. “Like I said, it’s complicated to explain. It’s like a natural reaction. Something in us just… responds. It clicks.”
I nodded slowly, trying to make sense of something I still couldn’t feel or understand.
“Lupercus…” I hesitated, then found the courage to speak the question that had burned in me since the beginning. “If I hadn’t been his mate… do you think he still would’ve saved me and taken care of me?”
“Without a doubt.”
The conviction in his voice stunned me.
“Maybe not as intimately,” he added, “but he would’ve made sure you were cared for. That’s just who Sargis is.”
I gave him a slow nod. I was beginning to see Sargis not as the king forced into my life… but as the man who had chosen over and over to put me first, even when I didn’t want him to.
“When do you think he’ll be back?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Lupercus exhaled. “Even I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve seen him this shaken.”
He looked at me meaningfully. “You pushed him away cruelly, Narine. With your words. Now you have to wait for him to sort himself out.”
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. “Thank you… so much, Lupercus.”
He offered a small nod. “It’s nothing. Just… make up your mind. And if you still want to leave, the offer stands. I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
I nodded silently.
“I have to go,” he gestured. I watched as he turned and walked to the door.
Then the door clicked shut behind him, and I was alone again.
Narine’s POV
The second day rolled in, and still… There was no sign of Sargis.
I remained by the window, barely moving, watching the pale sun rise and fall in a haze of golden clouds. Time didn’t feel real anymore. The room now felt colder. I held on to the windowsill, watching the sun retreat behind the clouds.
Lupercus’ words echoed like a haunting lullaby in my mind.
“Do not attempt to give him hope if you know that at the end of the day, you would never see yourself with him.”
Those words struck somewhere deeper than I wanted to admit.
Do I see myself with him?
As a mate? As his equal? As someone who would stand beside him through fire and storm, through thorns and roses? Could I truly be someone who held his heart without crushing it under the weight of my own brokenness? Was I even capable of caring for him the way he cared for me?
The thought made my throat tighten.
Sargis cared without hesitation. He cared with his entire being, even when I shoved him away. Even when I tore through his heart with my words and my fear, even when I built walls so high not even light could climb through, he stayed.
Me? I didn’t even know what taking responsibility for my own life looked like.
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