Chapter 97

Kayla

I eventually made my way out of the shed, dressed warmly in a soft sweater and a pair of leggings that Nicholas brought for me—“To save you your dignity,” he had said, smirking as he nodded toward my midnight blue dress still sitting discarded on the shed floor. I had rolled my eyes and taken the clothes and the coffee he’d brought me, but I was really grateful. Our tryst had likely already made its way around the estate, but at least I could go outside not wearing the exact same clothes I’d worn yesterday.

Of course, it didn’t take long for me to wander the estate grounds, steaming cup of coffee in hand, before I found Jade and Emma.

Or rather, they found me.

“So,” Jade cooed, materializing out of seemingly nowhere and draping her arm around my shoulders, “you and Nicholas…”

My face instantly turned crimson, and I took a sip of my coffee as if the mug would somehow hide it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Emma giggled. “Don’t play coy, Kayla. Half the pack knows by now. Even Nora.”

I grit my teeth and wriggled away from Jade’s grip. “She’s gonna kill me.”

“I think you scared her too much during your spar to try that,” Jade said with a grin. “So, tell us. How was it?”

“That’s none of your business. But it was… nice.”

“Just nice?” Emma cocked her head. “You two have been pining for each other for months now, and it was just ‘nice’?”

I opened my mouth to let out some blistering retort or another to shut them up, but no words would come. I still felt choked up from last night, and my knees were still quivering slightly from our second round this morning.

Finally, Jade jumped in before I had to answer. “We won’t pry. But I do have to ask… what are you two now? Are you officially together, or…?”

My eyes widened slightly. Truthfully, I hadn’t thought about that part yet. It was still so fresh, so unexpected. Had Nicholas thought about it? If he did, he certainly didn’t tell me.

I finally managed to shake my head. “We haven’t put a label on it. And I’m not sure if I intend to just yet.”

Jade and Emma exchanged a knowing glance, a silent conversation passing between the two of them before Emma shrugged. “That’s okay. You don’t always have to put a label on things right away if you’re not ready.”

Jade nodded, agreeing with her, and I let out a small breath I didn’t realize I had been holding when they suddenly changed the subject.

But for the rest of the day, their words kept plaguing me. A label… I wasn’t sure what sort of label we’d put on it, if we did decide to create one. And as for Nicholas…

Well, I certainly wasn’t his first fling. I knew what he was when I fell into his arms last night—an unabashed playboy. He’d never made much of an effort to hide that part of himself. Therefore, there was a good chance that we would never put a label on things, that perhaps I would just be another ex like Rebecca.

Deep down, I hoped that wasn’t the case.

Still, by that evening, I was smiling again. I was curled up on the armchair in the living room, finishing up the second book from that series, when Nicholas and Noah entered the house for the first time all day. My cheeks flushed involuntarily as Nicholas strode into the room, Noah—looking somewhat sheepish, as he’d no doubt heard what had happened just like everyone else—on his heels.

But my smile faded when I saw the grim look on Nicholas’s face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, rising from my chair.

Noah slowly sank onto the couch, perching on the edge of the cushion. Nicholas stormed over to the minibar and filled a glass halfway with whiskey, then downed it in one go.

“The guild happened,” Noah said hesitantly.

I glanced at Nicholas, who wiped his mouth with the back of his hand with a grimace and immediately refilled his glass.

“They summoned us,” he said. “Again.”

…

The next morning dawned clear and bright, but I felt like there was a dark stormcloud hanging heavy over my head as I stared down at the pen and paper in front of me.

“All you have to do is sign on the line,” Mr. Gray was saying, his eyes glimmering with something malicious, “and it will all be over, Miss Sterling. You will be free from Mr. Reynold’s clutches, and free to be with your fated mate.”

I glanced up through my lashes, taking in the guildsmen sitting at their long, semicircular panel at the front of the room. Beside me, Nicholas was as stiff as a board, although the way his fists were clenched didn’t go unnoticed.

As for Noah, he was wringing his hands, looking like a nervous wreck.

I expected this, of course. From the moment Nicholas told me that the guild had summoned us, I knew what it was for; I had told Gray that I would leave Nicholas for Noah, after all. And Gray intended to make me follow through with that promise, empty as it may have been. Noah was awake now, which meant that it was time.

But I supposed I never expected that he would shove marriage annulment papers under my nose the moment we walked in here.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to Gray and said, “Can’t I have some more time? I have affairs I need to get in order—”

“Whatever must be arranged, rest assured that the guild will assist you,” Gray cut me off with a vindictive little curl of his lip, as if he knew he had caught me in a lie. “You mustn’t worry, Miss Sterling. Everything will be handled accordingly.”

I hesitated again, not entirely sure what to do. Of course I didn’t want to annul my marriage to Nicholas—especially not after…

But for Noah’s safety, or for anyone else’s for that matter, I also couldn’t say no. If Gray had already drugged Noah with Silverbite, then he might do even worse if I refused.

Suddenly, Noah cleared his throat. “Actually, Mr. Gray, I’ve decided that I’d like to sever our fated mate bond.”

All heads snapped toward Noah. Gray’s eyes narrowed. “Pardon?”

“I realized after the test that, although Kayla may be my fated mate, she clearly loves Alpha Nicholas more,” Noah replied. “I can’t bring myself to get in the way of chosen mates. So I’m volunteering to sever our bond.”

The room went silent. I glanced at Nicholas, who was staring wide-eyed at Noah—although his hands had unclenched. I felt relieved, too.

Because I knew that there was no fated mate bond. It had likely been fabricated by the guild, all in a twisted attempt to force Nicholas and I apart. I wasn’t sure why Gray wanted Nicholas to go down so badly, but it didn’t matter just yet. All that mattered was that he wanted to see Nicholas’s downfall, take Nightshade from him and thus any chances of becoming a guild chairman.

For a long moment, no one said a word. Noah and Gray stared at each other, both unblinking. Noah seemed unwilling to back down, and although it took Gray several seconds to realize that, he finally seemed to come to a conclusion.

“Well… let’s not be hasty,” Gray suddenly said with a wave of his hand. The attendant in front of me whisked away the annulment papers and disappeared into another room. “I will give you all a chance to think before such a rash decision is made. You are dismissed.”

My eyes narrowed, my mouth parting to say something, but Nicholas’s hand was suddenly on my shoulder and I found myself being pulled away.

Once we were alone, truly alone in a dark corridor of the guild hall, Nicholas wrapped his arms around his friend’s shoulders and embraced him tightly.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Nicholas said, pulling back slightly to look at Noah.

Noah shook his head. “It’s not like there’s a real fated mate bond.” He glanced at me, and there was a sadness hidden behind his watery smile that made my stomach twist. We all knew there was no fated mate bond, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t have feelings for me.

Finally, he continued, “We’ll get to the bottom of this. Hopefully before you two are forced apart.”

I couldn’t help it. Noah’s gaze was so genuine, his statement so selfless, that I found myself overcome. Without thinking, I moved forward and hugged him just as tightly as Nicholas had.

“Thank you, Noah. You’re a good friend.”

Noah’s arms tightened almost imperceptibly around me, his chin brushing against the crook of my neck. He seemed unwilling to let go, but after a moment, he did.

I turned, half expecting Nicholas to look frustrated or jealous like he had before. But he didn’t.

He was smiling.