Chapter 172

Kayla

I barely felt the cold seeping through my thin nightgown as Nicholas carried me back to the house. Barely felt his arms around me. Barely even felt the warm fanning of his break across the top of my head.

Barely felt anything except for bitter desperation, regret, and frustration.

Once inside, he marched straight up the stairs, his jaw set in a hard line. He didn’t put me down until we reached our bedroom, where he deposited me on the edge of the bed before turning to slam the door shut. The sound echoed through the room like a gunshot, making me flinch.

“Nicholas—”

“What the hell were you thinking?” He spun around, his golden eyes blazing with fury. “Do you have any idea what could have happened? He tried to kill you, Kayla! Three days ago, his hands were around your throat!”

I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly aware of how badly I was still shaking. “He explained that. Isabella and William—”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Nicholas threw his hands up. “And you believed him? Just like that?”

“He knew things,” I insisted, my voice cracking. “About my father’s poisoning. About the antidote.”

Nicholas raked a hand through his dark hair, pacing the length of the room. “And it never occurred to you that he might be lying? That he might be using your desperation to save your father against you?”

I swallowed, heat rising to my cheeks. Of course it had occurred to me. I wasn’t stupid. But I’d been willing to take the risk.

“You don’t understand,” I whispered. “I need to save my father.”

“At what cost?” he demanded, spinning to face me. “Your life? Our baby’s life? Do you even care about staying alive anymore, or are you so hellbent on throwing yourself at every danger that comes your way?”

“That’s not fair.”

“Not fair?” Nicholas laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “What’s not fair is me finding my pregnant mate sneaking out in the middle of the night with a man who tried to murder her. What’s not fair is you being so goddamn reckless with yourself during the most sensitive time possible!”

I flinched at the venom in his words, but there was truth in them that I couldn’t deny. I had been reckless, foolish even. But wasn’t it worth the risk if there was a chance to save my father?

“And furthermore,” Nicholas continued, “we need to find Luporath, and we can’t do that if you’re dead.”

I stiffened, my blood running cold. “So that’s what this is about. Luporath.”

Nicholas blinked at me, confusion momentarily replacing the anger on his face. “What?”

“That’s why you’re so worried. Because you need me alive to find it.”

Nicholas stared at me. “We made a vow to find it and protect it. Together.”

I didn’t respond, just felt a cold, strange feeling wash over me as Grace’s warning echoed in my mind. She’d told me that Nicholas’s family badly wanted to find Luporath, that they had been searching for it for generations.

What if she had been right about Nicholas having ulterior motives? What if keeping me alive and marrying me had always been about the artifact?

The thought was like a knife twisting in my chest. I looked away, unable to meet his gaze. A long, tense moment of silence passed. It felt like an eternity.

“I believe Liam was manipulated,” I finally said, desperately changing the subject. “By Isabella and William. I think they forced him to hurt me. To cheat on me. He told me they threatened to kill him and me if he didn’t do what they wanted. They gave him silverbite and it made him aggressive and stupid.”

Nicholas’s expression darkened again. “And you believe that?”

“I think it’s possible,” I admitted. “You know what Isabella is capable of. And Liam… he might even still love me. That’s why he was willing to help me find the antidote.”

Nicholas’s face hardened so quickly it was as if a shutter had closed. Something dangerous flashed in his eyes.

“If you’re so concerned about Liam’s love for you,” he said coldly, “then maybe you should marry him instead.”

Before I could respond, before I could explain that I only meant that maybe Liam could be trusted, at least to an extent, Nicholas was already striding toward the door.

“Nicholas, wait—”

But the door slammed behind him, leaving me alone in the sudden silence of our bedroom.

I sank down onto the bed, my tears finally spilling over. I buried my face in my hands, my shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

What was so wrong with wanting my father back? With being willing to do whatever it took to save the only blood family I had left? I was scared and desperate and alone, and all I wanted was my family back. Was that so terrible?

I curled up on the bed, pulling the blankets over me, my tears eventually soaking into the pillow as exhaustion took over me.

I hadn’t expected to sleep, not with my mind racing and my heart aching. But when I opened my eyes, sunlight was streaming through the windows. I blinked in confusion, disoriented for a moment before the events of the previous night came rushing back.

A movement at the edge of my vision caught my attention. Nicholas was there, quietly moving around the room, buttoning up a crisp white shirt as he prepared for his day at the guild hall.

I sat up slowly, wincing at the various aches and pains in my body that seemed to multiply daily. The sheet pooled around my waist as I watched him, unsure what to say.

“You’re awake,” he said, not turning to look at me as he fastened his cufflinks.

“Nicholas… About last night—”

“I questioned Liam this morning,” he cut me off. His voice was neutral… professional. “I got the location for the alleged antidote.”

Hope flared in my chest, momentarily eclipsing everything else. “You did?”

Nicholas nodded, finally turning to face me. His expression was carefully blank, revealing nothing of what he might be feeling or thinking. “Marcus is retrieving it for us now.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, suddenly feeling sheepish. “I—”

He turned away again, knotting his tie in the mirror. From where I sat, I couldn’t see his reflection, as it was blocked by his broad frame.

I bit my lip, studying the lines of his shoulders. There was a stiffness there that hadn’t been present before, a distance in his movements that felt more painful than his anger.

But then, an image flashed through my mind. Grace, our sweet, gentle Grace, shaking and terrified as Nicholas screamed at her in her cell beneath the guild hall. His interrogation tactics weren’t pretty, even with a woman who had done him no harm.

With Liam…

“What methods did you use?” I blurted out, needing to know. “To get the information from Liam?”

Nicholas simply stared at me over his shoulder, his gold eyes harder than steel, before he grabbed his jacket from the back of a chair and headed for the door.

“Nicholas,” I called after him, but he didn’t look back, just pulled the door shut behind him with a soft click. Somehow, I wished he had just slammed it instead, like he had last night.

I sighed, pushing the covers back and swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. My body protested every movement, but I forced myself to stand and make my way to the bathroom.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I headed downstairs, my stomach growling. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon, and the baby was making its displeasure known.

As I reached the bottom of the staircase, I was surprised to find one of the pack warriors waiting in the foyer. He straightened when he saw me, and followed me all the way to the kitchen. I furrowed my brow as I looked at him.

“Is there something you need?” I asked.

“Alpha Nicholas ordered me to remain by your side all day, Luna.”