Chapter 51

T

he house was filled with an uneasy silence as I remained seated on the ground for several minutes. Nicholas' mother appeared in the foyer, holding her bag and looking around for her son.

A few moments later, I found him approaching her.

"Let me stay and—"

Before she could say anything, or offer herself, he cut her off. "No. You've caused enough damage already. I can't trust you to not make things worse. You need to leave and stay out of this. I'll handle things myself."

"I don't want to part away from you like this."

"Goodbye, Mother." He stepped back before she could reach for him and disappeared, leaving her alone in the foyer.

I watched as she took a deep, shuddering breath. With a heavy heart, she turned to the door and left. The door closed behind her, and her presence disappeared, leaving nothing but silence behind. She bought nothing but chaos in the matter of the few days she was here.

I rose up from the ground and wiped the dust off my hands before going into the room, wondering what was going to happen next. My heart ached for Nicholas. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he was going through, especially after knowing that his father had learned the only secret he was trying to hide from him.

It made me wonder if Gerald was in it too. He wanted to take me somewhere. What if it was to Nicholas' father?

Sitting down on the bed, I removed my shoe and tended to the cuts on my feet that I had gotten from running in the woods. Nicholas entered the room moments later, his expression stiff with a mix of anger and hurt till his eyes met with mine. Then, it changed.

"I told Malik to get some painkillers and antiseptic," His warm hand wrapped around my ankle as he took off the other boot and placed my leg over his lap. "Did you get hurt anywhere else?"

I showed him my arm where there was a little wound from the man grabbing me in the woods. His claws had gone deep enough to draw some blood out. I had no clue how I could've escaped from that if Nicholas didn't come at the right time. For a moment there, I thought it was over.

"Just don't move." Nicholas stood up from the bed and left the room.

He returned shortly with a bottle of antiseptic and some bandages. Gently, he cleaned the wound on my arm and underneath my feet. His touch was tender, but I could feel the anger simmering beneath the surface, a protective fury for the harm that had to come to me.

My eyes flickered back and forth, over him and then over my legs. I barely felt any of the pain, not when my mind was consumed with thoughts.

"I heard—you talking to your mother and then I saw her leave," I whispered, noticing his reaction closely. "I shouldn't have. I know."

He cleaned the last cut on my feet before tossing the cotton in the trash before placing my leg on the side of the bed. I bit the inside of my cheek, waiting for his response. I doubted he had a moment to register it all—I still hadn't.

Standing up, he neared me and asked, "Do you want to get some sleep?"

"No," I shook my head. "I don't want to sleep now. Maybe later." My shoulders hunched back against the headboard and I straightened my legs over the bed.

"There are few things you have to pack. Probably a couple of clothes and other items for your necessity—"

"Why?" My brows collected together in confusion. "What's going on? Are we leaving?"

He sighed before running a hand through his hair and taking a few steps forward in the bedroom and then backward. "Yes, you have to leave. The earlier it would be the better. I'll send you with Malik to one of my residence a few town's over and you'll stay there until—"

"No," My heart sank as I processed his words. "I don't want to go. I don't want to go away from you."

"But you have to. You have seen the danger you're in."

"I don't care, I don't want to go away. You can't just send me away. What if something worse happens when I'm away from you? There's no point in that. Why would you even think of that?" I snapped, shaking my head in complete denial. To even think that he would consider sending me away from him was unbearable.

He looked at me with a pained expression. "I don't want to, but I have to—"

"You don't, I can stay here with you," My hands reached out, nearly holding him. A tightness appeared in my chest, forcing short breaths to leave my throat. "Please, don't send me away, Nicholas."

"You don't understand the danger you're in. My father is not someone to be taken lightly. He knows I've mated you and he will use you as a weakness to destroy me. If he kills you—"

"He won't." I interrupted firmly.

His hands wrapped around my arms and he tugged me closer to himself. "I won't live," With a voice laced with anger, he continued, "I can't protect you from him. I couldn't protect myself from him. How could I ever protect you? And to loose you is to loose a part of myself."

"I don't want to lose you either, but sending me away isn't the solution," I said, my voice breaking as my fingers curled around the collar of his shirt to hold his attention on me. "Please, don't do this."

"It will be just for a few months—"

"No," I cut him off, shaking my head. "No. I don't want to go." A knot formed in the pit of my stomach, twisting tighter and tighter as I struggled to find the words to make him understand that I needed him.

His gaze locked with mine, and I saw the battle raging within his eyes. There was nothing that was going to change his mind. He had made his decision and he was remaining firm on it.

I pushed him back with all the strength I could muster, the frustration and anger bubbling up inside me. "I'm not going. You can do whatever you want to do, but I'm not going."

"Don't force me to."

My head snapped at him, brows furrowing I studied his face. A wave of panic washed over me and my heart pounded in my chest. "You wouldn't." I whispered.

He didn't look at me, his eyes were fixed on the ground and his jaw clenched. "You know I can."

My lips pursed and I took a step back. The room began to close around me, the air growing heavy. He wasn't going to change his mind and he wasn't here asking my permission; he was telling me what was going to happen.

"Fine. Do what you have to do," I said, my words defeated. "Send me away just in the same way you had kept me here. It's not like you ever cared about what I wanted."

Without another word, he left the room, leaving me alone. I turned away from the door and pressed my hands against my face while killing any sobs rising in my throat. To feel so greatly and to not be able to do anything about it was crushing.

He could protect me here, but he choose easier path.

I grabbed a few things, clothes and personal items that I could fit into a small bag, before bracing myself to leave the room that had become a prison of love. It took me only a few minutes before I was down the stairs.

Nicholas stood at the front door, his face cold and distant. He couldn't even meet my eyes, and that hurt more than anything. He knew what I felt for him—he knew what he felt for me yet he decided to send me away.

Walking past him, I stepped outside and the cool, early morning air greeted me, adding to the chill in my chest.

"Keep an eye out for any pack wolf. It's a town full of humans, you shouldn't run into one, but if you do, kill it. Don't form any contact with me. If there's any update, I'll call you." Nicholas spoke to Malik behind me.

"I won't."

I didn't look back. Instead, I waited until Malik came over to the car. When he did, I sat inside and closed the door without taking another glance at Nicholas or the house.

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