The slew of emotions that ran deep through her Alpha's eyes in turn sparked another upon his tongue, though this with which his words were strung was one of far more strength. That stare of otherworldly fires, his smile; the embodiment of bliss, and his passion, his allure, how they sent her body reeling. Her heart all but burst once he stood, his steps rushed, as its relentless pounding against her chest ensued with newfound vigor. His touch was fleeting, it's remnants lingering as his skin's warmth tickled at her cheek, but soon it's effects enveloped her entirely as his scent, closer than it had ever been, invaded her senses. She could just vaguely feel his fur brushing against her own, just remotely pinpoint through a film of numb the heat of his neck's creviced bend at her back, but in all else she lay frozen. What was it he said? Love? It couldn't be. Never was this word spoken to her, never. Even her brother, her Audric, wouldn't dare utter such an accursed word beneath her father's eye. She was anything but loved, anything but protected or cared for, and yet here was Azul; a king of immaculacy, looking at her, touching her without leaving pain in his wake, proving her wrong.

"Azul," the word was no more than a hushed mutter; an exhale of breath as the silence around them drowned all feeble sound, yet with it came a courage that thawed her limbs and shocked her quieted heart alive. His body was circled around her side, his legs awkwardly curled against her, as there was not much room for one of his size to lay in comfort next to one of hers. So she twisted around, making room for those ivory paws that took up more than her head would, and rested her chin against the flat of his chest so that his neck stretched along the length to her face. His warmth embraced her with welcoming arms, cooing in her ear sweet pleasantries as she pressed against his fur. He smelled of cedar spice and the crisp of the air before it rains, the sinews of a warrior's muscles flowing with smooth ripples beneath the flushed skin at her cheek, his towering shoulders obscuring all but white and the glow of spring's fresh sunlight from her sight.

"Oh, Azul," she spoke again, her voice muffled as her lips moved against his fur, her whiskers fluttering at his collar bone. "You were the first male that did not hurt me. After so long...you were the first to not think of me as weak. I knew when you met me at your border that your pack was different - that you were different. I knew that I would find more here than I was seeking. I want to be with you, Azul. I want you to be happy." Her eyes closed as she shuffled closer into his side, swallowing back any doubt that had snaked into her mind.

"I think I'm in love with you."

Feeling her move closer to his body, he smiled. He was elated. There was not a single point in his life which made him feel more joy than he had ever experienced in his life. Not ranking up in his pack, not defeating the Dagger Pack, not becoming Alpha. None of it. Smelling her scent so close, it was intoxicating. As he took in her scent, he closed his eyes, trying to get every bit of it as he could, remembering it for what it was. Beautiful. Perfect. There was not a fae in the world who smelled as divine as her. Nuzzling into her body, he rested his head on her. As she spoke, he could hear her clear as day, as long as feeling her body vibrate from her words. It was a sweet humming feeling. He curled closer, trying to get as much of her against him as possible. "Lucy, every second that I spend near you, around you, I am happy. I am the happiest I have ever been. My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to you, the more I have, for both are infinite. Without you, I feel almost lost, unable to think about anything but you." He cleared his throat, lifting his head from her back. He scooted his body, closer to her face, so he could look into her eyes. Those gorgeous honey swirled eyes. Azul waited for the perfect moment, hoping she would stare deeply into his own. "I do love you Lucy. With everything I have to give. Lucy, will you do me the honor of becoming my Alphess? Will you love me until our time to enter the other side of the forest has come?"

A shiver; a racking tremble of delight, one that rolled over her shoulders and their deep angled discs as it tiptoed down her spine. She dared not fight its force as it came and instead embraced it - relishing in its afterglow - allowing its rippling jolts to continue their sweet torment as they traveled along her body, aware that her Azul would share in its glorious hum. He had shifted so that his face was at hers, his nose of rough leather brushing against her own as he stilled, the mingling breath between them heated and thick as they stared. She matched his gaze with one just as fierce, though her guard would falter with the crumbling of their smolder and golden embers as his own would intensify with his longing. He lay against her, their fur intertwined as a blanket of snow and earth, both calming those chills that sent a chatter between her bones and unleashing them as he held her in his unbearable and yet oh so lovely vice. His words invigorated her pride, sent a smile to her lips, though she refused to allow it spread too far, for at the edges of her mind she knew she was not as perfect as he made her out to be. But, was that not love? Two pieces must be broken in order to fit together as one of perfection.

"I will. I will love you until I have no time left to love, and forever after that day comes. My Alpha - my Azul, I love you."