The Lycan King's Second Chance Mate: Rise of the Traitor's Daughter Chapter 60: I Love You

Natalie~

Ever since I blurted out that I thought I was in love with Zane—and he responded with a simple "thank you" before practically running away—my mind had been an absolute ss.

I had spent the entire day replaying the mont in my head, overanalyzing every little detail, every shift in his expression, every hesitation in his voice. Why had I said it? What was I thinking? Zane was way out of my league, and I should have known better than to let my heart take control.

Now, as he stood in my room, his intense gaze locked onto mine, my heart pounded so loudly I was sure he could hear it.

"Natalie, we need to talk," he said, his deep voice softer than usual, almost hesitant.

I swallowed hard. "About us."

This was it. He was going to tell that he didn’t want , that I had overstepped, that he was going to put distance between us.

"I... I wanted to talk to you too," I admitted, my voice shaking.

Zane took a step closer, and I instinctively stepped back, my pulse racing. He frowned but didn’t stop moving toward .

I took a shaky breath, my fingers curling into the fabric of my oversized T-shirt. "Sir, about what I said yesterday... I wasn’t thinking. I—"

"Stop."

I blinked, startled by the sudden interruption.

Zane’s expression darkened, his jaw tightening as he took another step forward, eliminating the space between us. "If you’re about to apologize, I don’t want to hear it."

My heart nearly stopped. He... wasn’t going to accept my apology? Was he that mad at ?

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but before I could say a word, he spoke again, his voice lower, steadier.

"Because I feel the sa way."

My entire world ca to a stop at that mont.

I must have heard wrong. There was no way Mr Cole Lucky, the powerful and enigmatic man who had every reason to keep his heart far away from , had just admitted that he—

"What?" I breathed.

Zane ran a hand through his blonde hair, exhaling sharply. "I’m in love with you too, Natalie."

I blinked rapidly, trying to process what he had just said. This had to be a dream. Any second now, I’d wake up in the crowded hall of the holess shelter, and none of this would be real.

Zane took another step closer, so close now that I could feel the warmth radiating from him. His scent—leather, with a hint of sothing dark and intoxicating—wrapped around , making my head spin.

"I ran away yesterday because I wasn’t ready," he admitted, his voice quieter now. "I couldn’t process what I was feeling, and I—I panicked. But I’m here now, and I need you to know that I ant what I said. I love you."

Tears pricked at my eyes. This wasn’t possible. This wasn’t real.

People didn’t love .

For years, I had been told—again and again—that I didn’t deserve anything good. That I was lucky the pack even let stay after what my parents had done. I was the daughter of traitors, a stain on the pack’s reputation, a ghost of a past everyone wished they could erase.

And when my wolf never ca? That only proved them right.

I had accepted it. Embraced it, even. Soone like wasn’t ant to have sothing as sacred, as precious, as a wolf. Soone like wasn’t ant to have anything at all.

When I found out Griffin was my mate, I had been shocked, not because I felt so overwhelming connection to him, but because I had never thought the universe would give sothing as sacred as a mate bond. But when he rejected , I wasn’t surprised.

Because soone like didn’t deserve love.

And now, Zane—strong, powerful, untouchable Zane—was telling that he loved ?

Why was he saying things that made my heart pound like a caged bird?

"I love you, Natalie," Zane said again, his voice steady, certain.

For a second, all I could do was gape at him. My brain refused to process the words because surely, surely, I had misheard him.

This was a joke. A cruel trick. So kind of elaborate prank that would end with Zane laughing in my face.

Because I was Natalie Cross. The girl nobody wanted. The mate who wasn’t good enough.

I stepped back, shaking my head.

"Natalie?" Zane’s brows furrowed, concern flashing across his features.

"Don’t," I whispered, hugging myself as I took another step away from him. "Don’t play with like this."

His expression hardened. "I’m not playing with you."

I let out a bitter laugh, though it sounded more like a broken sob. "Sir, you don’t have to lie to . I know you have a beautiful soul, that you’d never want to hurt , but you don’t have to pretend you love just to spare my feelings."

His eyes flashed with sothing dark. "You think I’m lying?"

I forced myself to et his gaze. "I think you’re too kind. Too good. I think you feel sorry for , and that’s why you’re saying this."

Zane’s jaw clenched. "You think I pity you?"

I swallowed, the lump in my throat making it hard to breathe. "I’m used to rejection. I can take it. So please... don’t do this."

Zane’s expression twisted, sadness flickering across his face in a way that made want to disappear. But before I could take a step back, before I could even think about running—Zane shattered the distance between us. His hands gripped , and in one swift motion, I was in his arms.

And then he started sobbing.

Shock slamd into like waves.

Zane never showed emotions. Never. He was always composed, always in control, always the one with an unreadable mask. But here he was, holding onto like I was the only thing keeping him from breaking into a million pieces.

His body trembled against mine, his grip tight, almost desperate.

My heart clenched in my chest.

"Sir?" My voice was small, laced with fear and confusion.

I hesitated for only a second before wrapping my arms around him, my fingers pressing into the fabric of his shirt. He was warm—so impossibly warm.

I rubbed soothing circles on his back, feeling the hard muscles beneath my fingertips. "Sir, what’s wrong?" I asked, my voice shaking. "Why are you crying?"

He didn’t answer right away. His breathing was ragged, his body still shuddering slightly as he clung to .

Then, slowly, he pulled back just enough to look at .

My breath caught in my throat.

His striking blue eyes—usually so sharp, so intense—were red and glassy from crying. Tears streaked down his chiseled face, his lips slightly parted as if he wanted to say sothing but didn’t know how.

A sharp pang of panic surged through . Had I done sothing wrong? Had I hurt him?

"Sir," I whispered, reaching up instinctively to wipe a tear from his cheek. "What happened? Did I—did I do sothing?"

His expression twisted, and then he shook his head violently. "No," he said, his voice hoarse. "No, Natalie. You didn’t do anything."

"Then why—"

"I’m sorry," he blurted out, his voice thick with tears.

I blinked. "What?"

"I’m sorry," he repeated, gripping my shoulders like I was sothing fragile that could shatter at any mont. "I’m sorry I didn’t know you sooner. I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed soone to fight for you. I’m sorry you had to go through all that pain alone."

I sucked in a sharp breath, my heart squeezing.

His fingers trembled slightly as he cupped my face. "If I had found you earlier, you would never have had to believe you didn’t deserve love. Because you do, Natalie. You deserve all the love in the world."

I let out a shaky breath, but before I could respond, he kept going.

"And I know—I know I’m not worthy of you," he said bitterly, his voice cracking. "But even if I’m not, I still want you. With everything I have. With everything I am."

I stared at him, my entire body frozen.

This couldn’t be real. This had to be so dream, so twisted fantasy my mind had conjured up because I was so used to being unloved.

"You should never speak or think less of yourself," Zane murmured, his thumbs brushing away the tears I didn’t even realize had started falling down my cheeks. "To , to Alex, to Jacob, to his brothers—you’re everything. You’re the sun we all revolve around."

I choked on a sob. "You—" My voice cracked. "You really an that?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation, his hands tightening around . "It’s ti you stopped listening to the people who broke you and started listening to the people who love you."

That was it. That was the mont the dam inside shattered completely.

I broke down, sobs wracking my body as I gripped onto his shirt like it was the only thing anchoring to this world. My chest ached, my throat burned, and I had no idea how to process the raw, overwhelming emotions flooding .

Zane didn’t let go.

He held closer, one hand cradling the back of my head while the other wrapped firmly around my waist. "Shh," he whispered, his breath warm against my temple. "It’s okay. Let it out."

I cried harder.

I had spent so long thinking I wasn’t worthy of love, that I was nothing more than a broken shell of a girl people used and discarded. But here was Zane, telling that I was worth sothing. That I was worth everything.

Zane gently pulled back, his blue eyes searching mine as his fingers brushed away the dampness on my cheeks.

For a mont, we just stared at each other.

Then his gaze dropped to my lips.

Suddenly all the voices in my head dimd into quiet hums.

Slowly, he leaned in, his eyes darkening with sothing—sothing that made my heart stutter in my chest.

I didn’t move. I couldn’t. My body felt like it was on fire.

His lips were a breath away from mine, his warm breath mingling with my own.

"Natalie," he whispered.

And then he kissed .

The kiss started off hesitant, a cautious brush of lips—then it wasn’t. Zane’s mouth was warm, demanding, his lips firm against mine. A faint roughness from his end-of-day stubble sent a shiver down my spine. He teased , his tongue flicking against my lips until I caved, parting for him.

The second I tasted him, he tasted like warmth. He also tasted sweet, like he had eaten a sugary dessert. I shuddered, a full-body reaction I couldn’t control. Zane let out a soft, desperate sound, pulling in until there wasn’t an inch of space between us. His hands gripped my hips, lifting effortlessly, and my legs instinctively locked around him. The kiss never broke. Even if the world went up in flas around us, I wouldn’t have pulled away.

His touch was firm, reverent—like I was sothing precious, sothing he didn’t want to break.

I lted against him, my hands gripping his arms, feeling the solid strength beneath my fingertips.

His skin was warm—so warm—and the sensation of it under my touch sent a thrill coursing through .

Then his tongue slid against mine, persistent, teasing, tasting.

A shuddering sigh left as his fingers trailed down my spine, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. He pulled closer, his body pressing against mine, his scent, intoxicating and thrilling, enveloped around like a cocoon.

His lips moved against mine like he was morizing every inch, savoring every second.

I had imagined what kissing him would be like—late at night, alone with my thoughts, when I let myself believe for a second that soone like him could ever want soone like .

But this—this was so much more.

It was consuming.

It was everything.

And when Zane finally pulled away, resting his forehead against mine, his breathing uneven, his hands still cradling my body like I was the most important thing in his world—

I finally believed him.

I finally believed that maybe I was worth loving.