Chapter 49

Kayla

The forest was darker than I had anticipated, the heavy branches and pitch black sky turning it into a wall of inky darkness. The snow wasn’t falling as heavily here, but the icy wind still slithered through the trees, biting at every inch of exposed skin on my body.

My fingers were numb despite being stuffed deep into my pockets, and the tips of my ears stung like someone had poured frostbite directly into my bloodstream. I could hardly even walk, my body was so stiff from the cold.

And most of all, I couldn’t see more than a foot in front of me. If it weren’t for Nicholas’s hand in mine, I would have gotten lost or broken my neck falling down a ravine.

“Careful,” he murmured as my boot slipped on a root hidden beneath the snow. His grip tightened just enough to steady me, his other hand coming up to guide me around the obstacle. “I’ve got you.”

He had been saying that a lot tonight, and the surprising part was that I truly believed him.

Normally, Nicholas had a way of getting under my skin—his cocky smirks, his infuriating teasing, the way he always seemed to be the least serious person in the room. But tonight was different. Tonight, he was… capable. Steady.

The man who had been irritating me since day one was now the only thing keeping me from curling up in the snow and giving up.

“You doing okay back there?” he asked without looking back.

“Define ‘okay’,” I muttered, clutching his hand like it was the only lifeline I had. My voice wavered slightly, and I hated how small and scared I sounded. “I can’t see a damn thing.”

“I know. Just keep holding on to me,” he said softly. “We’ll find something soon. I promise.”

Promises weren’t something I trusted easily, but the way he said it made me want to believe him. His presence was so solid, so sure, that even the forest didn’t feel quite as suffocating with him guiding me through it. My chest tightened with something unfamiliar, a warmth that wasn’t entirely from our physical connection.

Suddenly, I stumbled again, my toe catching on a buried branch. But Nicholas’s arm shot out to steady me before I could hit the ground, and out of nowhere, he swept me off my feet and held me against his chest.

My face blazed despite the cold. “You’re tired,” I insisted, pushing weakly against his chest. “You don’t have to—”

“Hush,” he said simply. Nothing else. Just… hush.

I felt my heart stutter in my chest at that, but I didn’t protest any further. His arms were cold but steady around my body, and he carried me through the forest like I was nothing.

And all the while, he didn’t complain, didn’t make any sarcastic remarks about how clumsy or helpless I was.

He carried me like that for what felt like hours without a word, his footsteps never faltering despite the deepening snow. Finally, Nicholas slowed, his sharp eyes scanning the forest around us.

“There,” he said, nodding toward a rocky outcropping that was barely visible through the trees—at least, it was barely visible to me, thanks to my lack of night vision. “Looks like a cave.”

Relief flooded through me, and I tightened my grip around his neck as he carried me toward it. Once we were at the entrance, he set me down on trembling legs.

The cave was small, more of a hollow carved into the side of a hill rather than a proper shelter, but it was better than nothing. At least it would block out some of the wind.

Nicholas helped me inside first, ducking in after me and dragging a few pine branches over the entrance to keep out the worst of the snow. The air inside of the cave was still freezing, but at least it wasn’t windy.

I sank to the ground with a shuddering breath, pulling my knees to my chest in a futile attempt to conserve whatever shred of warmth I still had.

“Stay here,” Nicholas said, disappearing back outside before I could protest. He returned a moment later with an armful of sticks and branches, dropping them in a pile near the center of the cave.

“You think we can make a fire?” I asked, my voice trembling from the way I was shivering..

“We can try.” He crouched down, arranging the sticks into a small pyramid and pulling a knife from his belt to shave some kindling. “But everything’s so wet, it’ll be a miracle if we get it to catch.”

He wasn’t wrong. No matter how many times he struck the knife against a piece of flint, the sparks fizzled out before they even touched the wood. After several minutes of trying, he let out a frustrated sigh and sat back on his heels.

“It’s useless,” he muttered, tossing the flint aside.

I wrapped my arms tighter around myself, my teeth chattering uncontrollably. “No offense, but I never expected that to work.”

Nicholas chuckled, shaking his head. “Me neither. He then glanced over at me, and his brows furrowed. “Kayla, you’re freezing.”

“Just a little,” I managed with a chuckle.

He didn’t respond, just moved closer and pulled me into his arms. I stiffened at first, the sudden contact catching me off guard, but the warmth of his body was too tempting to resist. I let myself relax against him, my head resting on his shoulder as his arms wrapped securely around me. Gently, he rubbed his hands up and down my arms to help warm me.

“Of course,” I muttered with a bitter little laugh, my breath fogging up the air between us. “The two people who can’t get along half the time keep getting stuck in situations where we’re forced to rub our bodies together. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it’s fate.”

Nicholas didn’t respond, but I thought I felt something through the mate bond, a faint pull that sent a shiver down my spine. Or maybe that was just the cold.

After a moment, he shifted, gently pulling away. “Hang on.”

I frowned as he stood and began shrugging off his jacket. “What are you doing?”

“You’re freezing,” he said simply, draping the jacket over my shoulders. “It’ll help.”

“But what about you?”

“Don’t worry about me.” He stepped back, winking at me. Before I could ask what he was doing, his body began to shift.

In the blink of an eye, the man standing before me was replaced by a massive silver wolf, his golden eyes glowing faintly in the dim light of the cave. My breath caught, and I reached out instinctively, my fingers tangling in the velvety softness of his fur.

“Nicholas,” I whispered, unable to hide the awe in my voice. He was stunning, his coat shimmering like liquid silver and his eyes more captivating than ever. I ran my fingers along his side, marveling at the warmth radiating from his body.

The wolf stepped closer, lowering his head until his forehead pressed gently against mine. The contact sent a wave of warmth and something deeper—something inexplicable—coursing through me, and when he let out a low rumble of a growl, I felt it deep in my chest.

For a moment, there was no cold, no storm, no fear. Just us.

When he finally pulled away, Nicholas lay down on the cave floor, curling his body around me protectively. I hesitated for only a moment before nestling into his side, the soft rise and fall of his chest lulling me into a sense of peace I hadn’t felt in years.

Surrounded by his warmth, the sound of the storm outside fading into the background, I closed my eyes.

Sleep claimed me sooner than I expected, and I fell into a deep, dreamless slumber with my fingers tangled into his velvety fur.