Page 88 of The Alpha's Bullied Rejected Mate
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
She gave him a sideways look and curled her lips upward in a smirk. “That depends.”
Marcus chuckled under his breath with a soft sound.
Before she could turn fully toward him, he slid his hands over her eyes, his palms gentle but firm.
“Marcus—” Athena started, half-laughing and half-protesting.
“Uh-uh,” he murmured, his voice low and close to her ear. “No peeking.”
Her fingers instinctively rose, covering his hands over her eyes, playfully, yet trying to nudge them aside.
“What are you doing?” she teased, tilting her head slightly as if she could peek through the edges of his fingers.
“You will see,” he responded.
Athena released a soft giggle, an unguarded sound that tingled pleasantly in his ears before she said,” Fine. I’ll play along.”
“Good.” His smile was evident in his voice.
They walked a few more steps, her hand still in his, as they arrived at the setup.
“Okay. We are here. Ready?”
She nodded. “I think so.”
Slowly, his hands slid away, and then he uncovered her eyes.
The flickering glow crept into her vision like dawn, and Marcus watched, holding his breath in anticipation, as the candlelight first caught in her lashes, then flooded her widening eyes.
Athena gasped, and Marcus instinctively moved to her side to watch her reaction. Every muscle in his body stilled, utterly captive to the play of awe across her face.
She turned to him slowly, her green eyes shining under the golden candlelight.
“Marcus…” she whispered. “This… Is this—”
“The Feast of the First Bloom,” he said softly, stepping beside her. “Yeah.”
She turned forward, stunned. “I haven’t thought of this in years…”
“I never stopped thinking about it,” he said. His voice was gentle. “Every year, after the main pack celebrations, I anticipated this part. Our part.”
Those moments had felt suspended in time.
Athena’s voice was soft now, barely above a whisper.
“You remembered all of that?” she questioned.
He nodded. “Every detail.”
She stepped closer to the table, her eyes tracing the cluster of silver lilies laid around the candle stand in the center.
“This is really beautiful.”
Marcus only smiled, watching her.
“Dinner?” he questioned.
