Captive of the Horde King (Horde Kings Of Dakkar #1) - Zoey Draven Page 0,73
tone, gesturing to the pile in front of me, “is a deviri.”
Hesitantly, I whispered, “And what does that mean?”
“It is an offering to my chosen mate. A gift to my bride.”
Shock made my head swim.
“W-what?”
His anger was still palpable as he explained, “I have been collecting these trinkets for you since before I was even a horde warrior. Before I was a Vorakkar. Some jewels were my mother’s. Others I acquired from Dothik, from outposts spread across Dakkar, from merchants and stalls and traders that come from all across the universe.”
“Arokan,” I breathed, frozen, my heart thumping so loudly in my chest.
“You think they belong to others? They do not. They belong to you and only you, Luna. From the moment I saw you in your village, they have belonged to you.”
I’d really fucked up this time.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I—I didn’t know.”
“Nik, it is obvious you did not,” he scowled.
A weight released off my shoulders as I studied him. There were no others, I realized with relief. He was too angry that I thought he had ‘strayed from our furs,’ as he’d put it. Now, I realized he hadn’t. He wouldn’t.
I had a lot of explaining to do.
Carefully stepping over the—huge—mountain of gifts, I hesitantly pressed my palms to his bare chest, feeling his heat beneath them.
He still wore a scowl and his anger was still evident as I looked up at him.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Arokan, I really didn’t know. Please forgive me. I never meant to…to insult you.”
Which was what I’d done. Perhaps without realizing it, since I didn’t know what the chests were, what they represented. But I’d also questioned his loyalty, his fidelity because I didn’t know whether the Dakkari were monogamous like humans tended to be.
“Dakkari…” I started hesitantly. “They only take one mate?”
His expression darkened. “Do humans take multiple? Is this something I need to consider in my future with you? Because I will never allow you to take another, or so much as touch another male. Know this, Morakkari. Absolutely not. You will ensure his death if you do.”
I blinked. “No,” I breathed. “No, Arokan, we only take one mate.” I groaned, closing my eyes. “This is a mess. A complete mess I’ve made.”
I needed to explain this, as clearly as I possibly could, even if it revealed my jealousy. Because there was no way around it. Not now.
“At first,” I started, “I didn’t care if you had others.”
He growled, looking away, irritated.
I turned his face, so he looked back at me. “You can’t blame me for that. I was a virgin, taken from my home, everything was new. I was scared and uncertain. As long as my brother was safe, I didn’t care. So when you gave me that night dress from one of the chests, I just thought it belonged to another. I thought nothing more of it.
“But then, it changed. Something changed. Maybe it was after the tassimara or even before then, I don’t know. All I know is that when you gave me that necklace before the Ghertun’s trial…I could hardly look at it because I thought it—I thought it was someone else’s.”
“It was,” he said, his voice sharp. “It was my mother’s. The way you reacted to it…I simply thought you did not like it.”
I pressed my lips together. “It was beautiful. But it made me…it made me jealous. So jealous I felt like I couldn’t breathe.”
Arokan blinked and he made a sound in his throat, some of the rage in his eyes lessening.
“Then whenever I even looked at those chests, I couldn’t help but feel jealous. Truthfully, until just now, I’ve hated them. I’ve hated the sight of them.”
“Kalles—”
My voice shook with nerves as I said, “Then we stopped having sex.”
Arokan stilled.
Meeting his eyes, though my face was burning with mortification, I admitted, “I thought you were going to other females because you certainly weren’t coming to me.”
“Vok, Luna…” he hissed, disbelief flashing over his expression. But at least it wasn’t anger. I hoped he was beginning to realize why I’d acted so foolish this night.
I bit my lip and then whispered, “So tonight, I couldn’t take it anymore. It was stupid and jealous, but I went out to see if—”
“You seemed indifferent whenever I touched you,” he growled. “I watched you carefully, looking for some indication. You never gave me one. Despite what you may think of me, I am not a beast. I will not force you if you are not willing.”