Chapter 43

H

er own son marked me and she acted as if it were impossible.

"He did," I said firmly, holding her gaze even though I felt a tremor of fear run through me when she had seen the mark. "Last night.

"No," She shook her head again, "He would never choose you. You're beneath him, a runt, a pack less runt. That is all."

My mouth pressed shut tight as I watched her unfurl. She stepped back and her face filled with disbelief as if she was nowhere near ready to accept that Nicholas had marked me. "You're just a whore here, nothing more. I know him far better than anyone, and he'd never mark a woman so who's ever mark is on you, it's not his."

"It is," Nicholas said, standing at the doorway of the kitchen. "I marked her last night."

Rosalie turned to him, her eyes wide and fury still lingering over her face. "Why? Why would you mark her? This—runt. What has gotten into you?" Her tone was persistent, rough and slandering as she constantly degraded me.

I stepped back from her and took a breath of relief upon finding Nicholas. How did he even know?

His reaction was calm compared to his mother's. He neared her and lowered his voice. "She's my mate. I marked her. It's simple as that, mother."

"She cannot be your mate," she shook her head. "That's not possible. Look at yourself, you cannot be mated to a woman like her, Nicholas. Don't lie to me. I know you better than anyone else, you'd never mark a woman and you know that well too." Her words began scrambling around and I barely could make sense of it anymore.

"I did," Nicholas stood firm, his gaze locked onto his mother's. "And I'd prefer if you don't go around slandering my mate and calling her names that everyone hear."

There was a moment of tense silence as they stared at each other. I could feel the tension in the air, and I didn't know what to do about it. Rosalie stepped backward and took in a heavy breath before rubbing her fingers over her forehead. She paced around the kitchen, short quick steps before she stopped in front of Nicholas again.

"Break the bond."

"No."

"Nicholas," She heaved in another breath. "Break the goddamn bond. You're not going to be mating with this woman. Just think about what you're doing. She is not one of us. She's—a runt, she doesn't has a wolf and she doesn't comes from any pack. You're an alpha, and you cannot just throw it all away for some...someone like her."

My chest became tight with her words. Break the—was it even possible? I glanced at Nicholas and then found some truth in her words. The bond could be broken.

"You swore you'd never mark a woman. You never wanted a mate and you made that clear to me a thousand times, Nicholas." She neared him and raised her index finger.

"I've one and it's not going to change." His voice remained low, and he was stern.

"Break the bond."

"No," He stepped away from her and further walked into the kitchen till he reached me. His hand wrapped around my wrist and he continued, "I marked her. Whether you want to accept it or not, it's still done and it's not changing, ever."

Her nostrils flared and her penetrating eyes fell over me Nicholas took me out of the kitchen and away from her. I could feel the heat of her rage even when I was away from her.

We walked in silence, Nicholas's grip firm on my wrist, until we reached up stairs, near his bedroom where I had left from.

"I didn't tell her anything—"

He cut me off before I could say anything. "I know. It's fine, she'll get around it eventually."

"It didn't seem like she would," My heart raced, and I couldn't shake off the fear she had instilled in me suddenly.

What if Nicholas changed his mind? What if he did break the bond?

Nicholas's hand reached out to touch my cheek, and I flinched at the contact. He noticed my reaction and withdrew his hand.

"Can you break the bond?" I asked him, a little afraid of the answer.

His expression turned serious. "No," He responded, not looking into my eyes which only meant he was lying to me. The bond could be broken, just as easily it was formed. "Yes, you can, but I'm not going to." He cupped my face and continued. His eyes met with mine finally, and there was a hint of sadness in them.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. A moment later, I nodded and he parted his hands from my face before opening the door of the room and letting me in.

The sounds of his mother's words followed me, but faded as soon as the door shut. I tried not to think of her or what she had said. Only if I hadn't gone down. I swallowed the growing lump of fear and confusion down my throat before returning to bed.

It had barely been a few hours since I had slept.

Nicholas wrapped his arms around me and I engulfed into his embrace, trying to find some sleep again, but this time, it came hard. Fear had consumed me yet again. I only had found relief for a few moments and then it was all ruined.

"I'm sorry for what she said." He whispered, his arm still loosely around me.

"She wasn't wrong," I pressed my head against his chest and closed my eyes. "I'm a runt, and I—"

"You're not a runt," He cut me off and said, "If you were, I couldn't smell you at all, but I can, I can smell your wolf. It's there, it's within you and it might take some time for her to surface, but eventually it will."

My eyes snapped opened and I lifted my head, looking at him. "Is that true?"

"Yes," He nodded, his eyes shut. "Don't think about it too much. The more you will, the longer it will take for you to shift. Clear your mind." His hand reached my hand, his fingers running down my curled hair as he spoke to me in a low voice.

"How long did it take for you to—"

"Eighteen years."

"How did you get those scar—"

Before I could finish, his rough hand came over my mouth, silencing me. "You don't want to know..." he trailed off, turning slightly away and lying on his back.

I parted his hand from my mouth and rose up from the bed before turning to him. My hair fell over my shoulders and I leaned over him. His eyes opened, meeting with mine. My hand flattened over his chest and I said, "I want to know."

I had seen them, several times and I had different assumptions in my mind every time I saw those scars on his back. I feared he was a greater monster than I heard or there was something else behind it. Something far worse.

"My father didn't have a bone of patience in his body. He believed in torture was only way for my wolf to surface, and he used that, over and over again until I shifted. He was an alpha and he wanted me to become one, I couldn't until I didn't shift."

My heart sank as I heard his words. The pain and the suffering.

"I'm sorry."

His eyes clicked away from mine, but even then, there was nothing within them as he continued talking about his father. "The day he let me become the alpha of the pack was the same day I banished him from here for good. I couldn't stand the sight of him anymore, or hear him blabber about my weak masculinity, or the fact I could never rule a pack."

"But you do. Violently." It was an understatement.

"The pack's I destroy are under his jurisdiction, and to destroy them is my retribution."

I leaned back, my brows furrowing. "But the alpha of my pack was—"

"Under my father's power. His rule reaches many places, but he's not in the front. Plenty of surrounding packs fall into his control." He continued, the anger and frustration palpable in his tone.

I tensed up quickly at the thought of innocent wolves and packs suffering. "How—how long have you been destroying packs that are under his silent rule?" I asked him, my breaths coming out short as I began to put the pieces together.

"Over a decade. Every time I do, my father suffers and so does his people."

My lips parted in surprise. It was something I never expected to hear. All this time I believed he was attacking other packs to maintain power and ensure he wasn't being threatened. But it wasn't that, he killed hundred's and thousands of wolves all for taking revenge from his father.

It was clear that he carried a heavy burden, one that he was struggling to bear alone. As much as I wanted to help him, I knew that he had to find a way to let go of his pain and move on.

"You don't have to continue this cycle of violence. You can choose to be better than him, to break the cycle and find a new way to lead." I whispered to him.

He looked at me for a long moment, and shook his head. "I can't."

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