Chapter 8 : With My Soul

Vika's POV My heart nearly exploded in my chest when Asher kissed me. I'd seen his intention before he'd acted, and I had no desire to stop him or pull away. His lips were hot against mine. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his neck. Knowing he was my mate, lying on the ground with Asher, kissing him, was I dreaming? 'If I am, please, my Moon Goddess, please don't let anyone wake me up.' When our lips parted, I let out a long sigh. "It's you! My sweet waterbag in the dream." He gave me another peck on my lips and nodded. "That's it. Sweet and soft." "You remember it." Holding my excitement, I kissed his sexy lips again and smirked. "It's hot and dry, my prince." Asher stared at my face with his gorgeous eyes. It seemed his every eyelash was conveying tenderness to me. "Sorry, I will remember every kiss we have from now on. Never forget." "Maybe when you wake up in the morning, you will take everything that happened tonight as a dream or a nightmare," I couldn't take my gaze away from his face. The temperature on my cheeks continued to rise. "It must be the only dream I don't want to wake up from." He smirked at me and leaned down, kissing my nose, cheeks, and lips again and again. "Engrave them in my soul, Vika." He licked my earlobe and whispered in my ear, "I will remember our every kiss with my soul." The breeze gently caressed our faces, again and again, until we parted our lips. Slowly, he rolled off of me and got to his feet. He held a hand out to me, and I quickly grabbed it, allowing him to help me up. We smiled at each other. "You know, for someone who doesn't accept any formal training, you're pretty good," Asher told me. My stomach squirmed at the compliment. "Thanks. This was my first time to spar with someone whose power is close to Alpha level," I joked with him. "Honestly, I asked you to spar with me so you wouldn't have some excuse to run off," Asher admitted, scratching his hair with his hand. I arched an eyebrow at him. "I'm sure you could have come up with another compelling argument," I teased him. Asher grinned at me and bounced his thick eyebrows suggestively. Again, my heartbeat accelerated because of his stunning grin. "Now that I have your attention," he cleared his throat, "Miss Vika, may I have the honor of taking a walk with you?" He leaned forward and held out a hand to me like a prince inviting a princess to dance in a fairy tale. He was a prince, could be a future Alpha, but I was a maid, an Omega. Nevertheless, I still didn't want to refuse his invitation. "My pleasure." I put my hand in his palm, and he held it tightly as if nothing could force us apart. "Tell me something about you, Vika. I want to know more," Asher said as we walked through the castle grounds. "What do you think you know? We have already met twice, oh no, three times plus tonight." I glanced at him sideways. His nose was high and straight. If I became the size of a bee, I could probably slide on his nose. Asher smirked at me. "Well, I know you're not afraid to defy royalty, a rebel, and brave girl," he teased. "I'm not cynical. I admire royalty members, just some of them." I giggled. "Like me?" Apparently, he was much more than a handsome face. He was also funny and witty. "Not yet." I winked at him. "Well, I may have gone a little too far in the history class," I admitted. "She just…" "You don't need to explain to me." Asher shook his head, "I understand it." I really liked the current atmosphere between us. It felt like we were equal. There was no status gap between us. I pointed to a small house that we could see from the top of the hill we'd walked up. "That's my home," I said. "I live there with my mother, Magda; father, Robert; and brother, Henry." "And they let you sneak out and train at night?" he asked. I shook my head. "Henry is covering for me," I said. "My parents don't know." "So, I see your special rebellion is not just against the royalty," Asher teased. "Yeah, you could say that." I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I respected what you said in Master Rutfus's class." Asher stopped walking, and I did too. He turned to face me. "It was impressive that you spoke your mind like that," he said. "The observations you had, the questions you asked… That is the kind of mindset a real leader takes when they analyze threats and risks. I was impressed…" "Impressed to hear that from a servant?" I asked. Asher sighed and laughed humorlessly. "A little bit, yes," he said. "I think it was more impressive to hear that over Princess Devi's revenge again. We should not start another war against the Lanem Kingdom." I bit my lip to hold back my laughter. I liked hearing Asher's intelligent breakdown of what I'd said. He elevated my intelligence to the same level as him and his father while also placing me above Princess Devi. It was very sweet. But I was still just a servant. Even if Asher was my mate and we were spending time together socially, he was still royalty. I shouldn't behave too proud of his praises. "I just share my opinion. Rutfus said everyone can share their points." "Provocative?" Asher asked with a teasing laugh. I snorted and shook my head. "Inquisitive," I said. "My parents have always told me it will get me into trouble one day. Nearly getting slapped by a princess… Yeah, that was trouble." "She was being unreasonable," Asher validated with a nod. "Thank you for stopping her," I said softly. "It's Princess Devi, isn't it?" His look turned serious. "The one who left those bruises and cuts on your arm." "And then? You go beat up Princess Devi, for an Omega?" "I won't hit her, but I'm not the type to sit idly by while someone else is unjustly punished," he explained. "I won't let her abuse you again." If I hadn't known how to name my feelings before, I thought I was starting to. Without a doubt, I was hopelessly falling in love with Asher. It was fast, so fast, but wasn't that the way it was supposed to be when you found your fated mate? I leaned my head against Asher's shoulder with a sigh. His strong arms held me, and his hand gently patted my back to comfort me. "Trust me, Vika. I can protect you." I controlled the urge to cry and just nodded my head. I was grateful that he wanted to protect me. But more than that, I wanted to be stronger and be able to protect myself, my family, and even the pack. We looped around the training grounds. Asher stopped and gently released my hand when we got back to the start point. I never wanted this night to end. It was so perfect, and I felt more myself than I ever had. But dawn always came. Asher looked out to the horizon where the sky was starting to lighten. "Wow, oh, I have to get a few hours of sleep before the castle wakes up," I muttered. "It is a shame this night has to end," Asher said, voicing my thoughts. Even though I was happy and my whole body was singing, I felt sad suddenly. Asher and I were going separate ways, back to our totally different, totally separate, totally incompatible lives. "Vika, I want to see you again." Asher grasped my hand. His thumb was rubbing the back of my hand. "Can we?" I asked. Asher chuckled and shrugged. "Why not?" he asked. "Well, you are a prince regent, I'm a maid, and I'm an omega," I pointed out, without mentioning his engagement with Princess Devi. "True, but I don't care. I want to see you again," he said. I wanted to. I wanted more magical nights like this with my mate. Still, I wasn't even sure what kind of outcome I would experience once we were found. "Why don't we make it more official?" Asher asked. "What?" I asked, shocked. "We can meet here tomorrow night and train together. I don't mind being your instructor." Asher offered a suggestion that was very appealing to me. He possessed great power and mature fighting skills. He would be the perfect coach and trainer for me. "Okay," I agreed. Asher pulled his phone out. We quickly exchanged cellphone numbers. "Have a good rest, my sweet Vika," he told me. I blushed. "You too, my prince," I said back. Asher grinned and waved goodbye to me. I was sad to see him go, but I had another night to look forward to.