Chapter 156

Nicholas & Kayla

Nicholas

Nora stared at me, her eyes wider than before. I stared back in shock, but when I turned to see where Kayla had gone, she was no longer there. I glanced back at Nora, who was still gawking at me like she’d just seen a ghost.

“Is there something you needed to talk about?” I asked finally.

Nora sighed. “Didn’t your Luna tell you all my deepest, darkest secrets?”

I frowned. “What?”

“I’ll take that as a no,” she replied, waving a thin hand. Her hand shook slightly as she moved it, and I had a feeling it had nothing to do with her injuries. “Fine. I’ll tell you. Take a seat.” She gestured to the chair next to the hospital bed.

Hesitating for a moment, I finally took a seat, wholly confused. Nora struggled to sit up a little more before finally giving up and slumping back onto her pillows with a huff. I watched her for a while, not sure if I should help or leave her be. Finally, knowing Nora, I settled on the latter.

Then, taking a deep breath, she began to speak.

The things that Nora told me over the next twenty minutes left me speechless and in shock. She told me a story I’d never heard before—how she had trusted a boy from another pack in her teens. How he had gotten close to her, promising that he loved her and intended to marry her. How she had fallen for it, a sad, lonely girl who just wanted someone to care for her.

And then she told me what he did to her one night at a party. She told me about the drugs in her drink, the confusion, the helplessness while he took advantage of her.

As Nora spoke, however, her eyes never filled with tears. Rather, her face reddened with rage, her weak hands curling around the blanket.

She then looked at me.

“I told you that I had feelings for you, after years of trying to work up the courage to care about anyone again,” she said, her voice cracked and raw. “And you laughed in my face. Called me ridiculous and ‘not your type’.”

I winced. I recalled that day clearly. It was at my eighteenth birthday, drinking with the other young wolves in the forest. She had confessed her feelings to me in front of some other boys, and I, drunk and young and stupid, had told her that we were just friends and that she was being silly for falling for me, that she wasn’t my type and she should give up.

I was cruel, horribly so, but she had walked away despite the other boys’ cruel laughter and hadn’t shown any reaction to my rejection.

After that, I hadn’t thought much about it. Nora never mentioned it, and I thought it was just a stupid moment between teens that was better off forgotten.

“Nora, I… I’m so sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “That was so cruel and stupid of me. I had no idea it was that serious.”

To my surprise, she simply shrugged. Then, she went on to tell me how she had built up festering bitterness over the years, not just for me but for all men, and how when I had met Kayla, she had taken it into her heart to destroy our relationship.

My chest tightened as she told me how she had tried to tear us apart, how she had wended her way between us like a snake. How she had recorded me that night in my study, hoping to use the audio against me at the most vile moment possible: the day of the wedding.

“That’s why I don’t want your apology,” she said, looking away. Only then did I see a flicker of sadness in her eyes. “Because I’ve been disgusting. And yet, despite everything, your fucking wife was kind to me today. Hell, if I were her, I might have left me there to die.”

I swallowed hard. “She’s a good Luna. She did the right thing, even if you didn’t deserve it. She’s done the same thing for me multiple times, when I certainly didn’t deserve it.”

Nora scoffed. “Trust me, I know.”

We sat in silence for a few moments. In a strange way, even though Nora’s confession was twisted, I felt a strange sense of understanding pass between us. We were all guilty of cruelty sometimes—some of us more than others, but cruelty nonetheless.

Finally, Nora looked at me again, and her face was set in a firm expression. “I’ve decided that I’m going to leave Nightshade. For good.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Why?”

“I need a fresh start,” she sighed. “And besides, I’ll never be accepted by you two after everything. I’m not even sure if I want to be.”

I opened my mouth to tell her that wasn’t true, but closed it again. She seemed to have made up her mind, and maybe it was for the best. I nodded. “If that’s what you want, then I’ll bless your departure.”

Nora’s mouth lifted in a rare, wry smile. “And I bless your marriage to Kayla,” she admitted. “Even if I think she’s a pain in the ass, it seems you like that sort of pain.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Yeah. I do.”

Nora nodded curtly, and with that, she shut her eyes and laid back against her pillows.

It was clear that our conversation was over. I rose, leaving her to rest, and slipped out of the room. Kayla wasn’t there when I emerged, but I found her in the private waiting room a few minutes later, laying on the small couch.

“Kayla—” I began, but abruptly stopped when I realized she was fast asleep. She must have been so exhausted from the hunt that she’d knocked out as soon as she laid her head down.

With a soft but fond sigh, I carefully lifted her and carried her out to the car.

…

Kayla

I woke late the next day, shivering in my bed. A fresh snow was falling outside, the wind howling around the eaves of the house. Blinking dazedly, I vaguely recalled resting in the waiting room at the hospital, where I passed out from exhaustion after the hunt.

Rolling over, I yawned, stretching my aching limbs. Slowly, then all at once, I recalled the previous day’s events.

Nora. The stag. The hospital.

Nicholas.

“I’m in love with you… I want to know: do you want to be married to me still?”

“Nicholas,” I whispered, sitting up suddenly in bed. I was still half asleep, but I knew in that moment that I needed to see him—that I hadn’t answered his question yesterday, and I couldn’t put it off any longer.

Without pulling on my robe, I ran out of the bedroom, still in my nightgown, and raced down the hall. Nicholas wasn’t in his study, so I hurried downstairs, ignoring the strange looks from the staff.

I finally found him sitting in the kitchen, eating a sandwich.

“Nicholas!” I blurted out, causing him to jerk his head up. A bit of lettuce dangled out of his mouth, his cheeks full, but I didn’t care. I rushed forward and grabbed his face with both hands, kissing him all over.

“Yes,” I said between kisses. “Yes, I want to be married to you.”