I Saved Him, I Saved Her (Book 2 of Saving Series)

Chapter 38- Daniel's POV

The following morning, Katie slowly woke up but didn't try to move away from me. Her whole body was relaxed, and her breathing was steady and even.

A small smile appeared on my face while I opened my eyes and looked at her. My heart grew warm while I looked at her and watched as she woke up.

Katie bit back a small smile while she buried her face into my chest. "Stop," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, and I raised an eyebrow in question. "Please, stop."

"Stop what?" I asked while I raised my eyebrow higher. "I am not doing anything."

Katie bit back a small groan and buried her face deeper into my chest, even though she couldn't go too far. "Yes, you are," she said, her voice muffled and barely above a whisper. "You are staring at me."

"Yes, because you are my mate, and you are very beautiful when you wake up."

"No, I am not," Katie said and shook her head. "I am not beautiful. I look like a mess when I wake up."

I bit back a small laugh and shook my head. "You aren't, Katie," I said, "and even if you were a mess when you wake up, you would still look beautiful to me."

"Hmph." She closed her eyes and buried herself closer to my side, biting back a small sigh. "Is this you talking, or is this the matebond between us talking?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper that I barely could hear her without my hearing.

Shit...

I bit back a small sigh and closed my eyes. "It's not just the matebond between us that is making me talk this way," I said while I opened my eyes and looked at her. "It's more than the matebond between us, Katie."

Katie didn't respond and didn't look at me. Her whole body was tense, and I rubbed her arm while I sighed again, silently praying that I could get her to relax next to me, but it didn't work, and she stayed tense and afraid of what I had to say.

"Come on, Katie," I said softly. "Can you open your eyes and look at me, please?" I raised an eyebrow in question while I looked at her. "I want you to see what I have to say and understand that what I say is true and from the bottom of my heart."

Katie hesitated but stayed silent. Her whole body was tense while she kept herself buried into my side, and I bit another small groan, but I made sure that she couldn't tell that I was getting annoyed with her.

I knew that she was nervous and scared about everything that was happening to her, especially since she found out about who and what she was, and not only who and what she was but what I was as well.

"What about you?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question, and Katie's whole body grew tense, and her heart skipped a beat.

"What do you mean?" she asked before she bit back a small sigh, and she sat up and looked at me. She furrowed her brows and cocked her head while she studied me. "What do you mean by that?"

I turned toward her and bit back a small sigh before I sat up again and raised an eyebrow in question. "Is loving me having to deal with the matebond or is it because you absolutely love me?"

My mate scowled and narrowed her eyes while she stared at me. Her cheeks turned red, and she stayed silent while she did so, trying to figure out what I was thinking.

"Well?" I asked and raised an eyebrow while I cocked my head and studied her. "Do you absolutely love me, or do you love me because of the matebond between us?"

She hesitated and looked away from me, her cheeks turning a darker red, and I bit back a small chuckle while I looked at her, amused.

"Hey, look at me, Katie," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, and I gently clasped her cheek and held it so that she would look at me.

She grabbed my hand with hers and didn't pull it away like I thought she would, and she looked at me like I wanted. Her eyes were filled with confusion and wonder while she looked at me, and I could tell that she didn't know how to answer my question, especially since she just found out that she wasn't human like she thought.

"It's ok if you don't know how to answer that question because I know that you just found out that you weren't human, ok?" I raised an eyebrow in question, and she hesitated and slowly nodded.

I cleared my throat and shifted slightly toward her. "But as I was saying before I asked that question, it is more than the matebond that had me falling for you or making me talk this way."

She hesitated and stayed silent while she didn't meet my gaze, but she couldn't look away because I still had her cheek in my grasp. Her heart pounded hard in her chest and skipped a beat while she looked away.

"You have made me fall for you, Katie," I said and shook my head. "Your spunk, your heart, everything about you has made me fall for you, and I fall for you deeper and deeper every single day. I don't need the matebond or this to prove it."

I grabbed her other hand and sparks went up and down our arms, and her heart skipped a beat before it pounded harder and faster in her chest.

Her cheeks turned slightly red, and I bit back a small smile while I looked at her. She didn't say a word, and I had a feeling that she wanted me to say something else.

"I would have fallen for you if we met at a different time and place and if matebonds weren't a thing," I said while I rubbed her cheek, and she closed her eyes and buried her face closer to my hand. "I love you and will always love you to the moon and back, and nothing can change that, Katie."

Katie hesitated before she slowly nodded and opened her eyes to look at me. "I love you, too, Daniel," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat while she shifted a little, her cheeks turning red. "I don't think that is the matebond between us talking or is it just me talking, but you have made me fall for you."

My heart skipped a beat before it grew warm and became more filled with love while I stared at her. I was glad and happy that she loved me just as much as I loved her.

"I don't know why you have fallen for a girl like me, but I am glad that you did. You've helped save me, Daniel. I don't know if you know that or not, but you have, and I am forever in your debt."

I bit back a small chuckle and shook my head. "Then I am in your debt, Katie," I said, and she looked at me with a raised eyebrow because I had a feeling that she didn't think I would say something like that. "You've saved me, too and are helping to save me."

"How?" she asked while she furrowed her brows and cocked her head, studying me confused. "How am I helping you by saving you? I am not-"

"You are special to me," I said, interrupting her because I knew where she was going with that sentence. I scowled and narrowed my eyes. "Do not finish that sentence and do not think like that, please."

She hesitated before she looked down and shrugged, her cheeks turning a different shade of red while she became filled with shame. "I can't help it," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's something that I have been feeling, and I don't like it at all."

My mate sighed and shook her head, and my heart broke while I saw her like this. "But I can't stop thinking that way, Daniel." She looked at me with a pained expression on her face, and I couldn't help but be filled with pain, too.

Oh, Goddess...

My heart ached some more, and I pressed a kiss on her lips, and she instantly kissed me back.

I pulled her toward me while I deepened the kiss, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I silently told her that everything she thought about herself was a lie and that I would prove it to her every single day if I needed to.

I silently promised her that I loved her and would always love her no matter what happened now or in the future, and I would be there every step of the way while she embarked on this new chapter of her life.

I silently promised her that she would never feel alone or unwanted because I was going to show her that every day even when she was feeling alone or unwanted.

I silently promised her that I would be with her until the end of time.

And that was a promise I was going to keep until the day that I die...