Chapter l453

Chapter 0453

Julian and I stayed out in the woods until just before dawn, when we finally made our way back toward the palace. Just as we broke the tree lines and came into the field on the outside of the gardens, Julian stilled. I stopped beside him and looked at him curiously.

His gaze seemed to be fixed on something, so I followed the length of it to see Nicholas walking toward us. His hands were curled into fists. His shoulders were straight, tense. His jaw was locked and his mouth a hard line. His golden eyes were burning with anger, visible even in the dim light.

Sp

Mark followed along behind Nicholas, speaking to him but not touching him. Nicholas didn’t acknowledge Mark at all.

“Julian…” I said, half in warning, half because I wasn’t sure what else to say.

“It will be fine,” Julian said. His gaze was fixed on his brother. His own body was beginning to tense. We’d been up all night. He must have been exhausted. But you would have never guessed it looking at him like this. His focus was intense.

As Nicholas approached, I saw the rage in him. His muscles were flexing wildly, visible even though his tight button–up shirt and slacks. He looked to be on the verge of shifting.

“Nick,” I began. His gaze slid to me for only a moment, yet in that moment, I could feel the heat of his anger. It didn’t feel like it was directed at me, however. Instead, as he looked again at Julian, that anger emerged as a deep, guttural growl.

“How dare you,” Nicholas growled.

“What do you care if Piper and I were out all night?” Julian scoffed. “I heard you spent the night with someone on your own.”

Nicholas growl amplified. “You defiled Piper.”

“Oh? Did I?” Julian smirked. It was sharp.

“Nick,” I said again, more forcefully. I wasn’t defiled. We only looked at the stars.

“Stay out of this, Piper,” Julian said, stopping me from explaining. “My brother and I are

due for a chat.” To Nicholas, he said, “On with it then.”

“Step back, Piper,” Nicholas said.

“But –”

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“Do what he says, Piper,” Julian added in. He glanced at me. “It’s alright.”

“No, I refuse to stand by and let you two fight over –”

Suddenly, Mark was in front of me. He slowly ushered me back away from the two brothers.

I grabbed his arm to try to get him out of the way, but the man was an immoveable wall. Even with my new werewolf strength, Mark wouldn’t budge.

“They wouldn’t want you hurt,” he said.

“But it’s okay for them?” I asked.

He didn’t get to answer because, behind him, Nicholas shifted and pounced at Julian. Julian shifted just in time to meet him, and they met each other with fur and claws and teeth.

“No!” I called and tried to lunge forward.

Mark grabbed me around the waist to yank me back.

“Getting between two enraged werewolves is a terrible idea, Piper,” he said. “Just let them sort it out.”

“Like this?”

“It’s the only way,” Mark said.

That made very little sense to me. If Julian had just told Nicholas that nothing had happened between him and me, then… well, Nicholas probably wouldn’t believe him. Even if I said it, Nicholas wouldn’t believe it. He was too far gone to his jealousy.

But right did he have to be jealous, anyway?

He had been with Bridget last night, and though I doubted they had sex, they would someday if she was to become his Luna.

A tightness wrapped around my stomach and squeezed. I tried to ignore it.

“Why would Nicholas think Julian and I had sex anyway?” I asked Mark.

Mark gave me a flat look. “You were out all night, which made Nicholas worry. But then when you returned, you reek of Julian.”

I still struggled to understand. Even if I smelled like Julian, Nicholas usually approached these things with either calmness or passionate kisses.

“I’ve never seen him jump into a fight,” I said.

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Before us, Nicholas and Julian toppled over each other, then they back off to circle around. Their strong wolves healed quickly, so even the ugliest of wounds didn’t last. It still hurt my heart to see blood drawn on either of them.

“Nicholas has been pushed to the brink the past few days,” Mark said. “His calm façade is finally starting to crack. Even he can only take so much. I also suspect that –”

“Nicholas!” Bridget called from the gardens. Despite her loud shout, she seemed rather calm for the werewolf fight she walked into. She carried a cup of tea and a saucer as she casually made her way toward me. “Are those two fighting again?”

Obviously. But, “Again?” I asked.

Bridget shrugged. “They used to do this all the time when we were younger. Sibling rivalry, you know? Fighting helps them get it out of their system.”

She sipped from her tea.

I looked at Mark, urging him to continue what he was saying, but with Bridget’s presence now, he closed his mouth and did not open it again. I wondered if what he was going to say had anything to do with Bridget herself.

It seemed likely.

“Piper,” Bridget said, reclaiming my attention. “You know how protective Nicholas is of

those he cares about.”

“I do,” I said.

“Then you knew how your disappearance would affect him,” Bridget said. She lifted her tea cup to her lips but did not drink from it. “That’s in very poor taste, Piper.”

Was I… being lectured by Bridget? What kind of bizarre world was this?

And how did either of them even know I was missing? Last I saw either of them, they were in Nicholas’s room together, and Nicholas had told me to leave. Dawn was only just now cresting over the trees, so they wouldn’t have noticed my absence at breakfast yet.

The only explanation was that if Nicholas came to my room to check on me. But that seemed too far–fetched. After his cool dismissal, I couldn’t imagine him making his way to my room. Perhaps he sent an apology letter through a messenger? But then, where was the message?

I shook my head. This was all too much, and I could barely focus as the fight continued to unfold in front of me.

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Julian snapped at Nicholas’s throat, but Nicholas jumped out of the way at the last moment. Nicholas was a bigger wolf, likely stronger too, but Julian was faster, leaner, with no lack of his own strength.

They were both strong killing machines.

“I need to correct this misunderstanding,” I said.

Mark still had his arm out, physically blocking my path like he expected me to jump into the fray at any moment. He did not offer the same warning to Bridget, who continued to nonchalantly sip her tea.

“If

you want my opinion,” Bridget began.

.

Truthfully, her opinion was the very last thing that I cared to know, but I kept my mouth shut: Fighting with Bridget didn’t mean anything to me right now. My focus was primarily on Nicholas

Julian

Until she said, “Since Nicholas and I are together now, you should just leave Nicholas alone.”

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