Chapter Twenty: Forever…
NICOLE
I woke up to a dizzying array of colors. Roses, daisies, lilies–flowers of every kind blanketed every surface of the room. I sighed, rolling my eyes as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Nathan.
Pushing myself to my feet, I decided to check on Daniel.
I opened his door quietly, peeking in to check on him. But the sight of his empty bed made my stomach drop. I was about to call out for help when the door behind me creaked open.
Nathan stood there, barefoot and unkempt, holding a sleeping Daniel in his arms.
I exhaled a long, relieved breath, clutching my chest as I leaned against the doorway.
“You scared me half to death,” I
whispered.
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Nathan’s eyes softened, his voice quiet.
“He couldn’t sleep.” He shifted his hold on Daniel, cradling him closer. “Neither could I, so we went for a stroll. I didn‘ t mean to worry you. Looks like you couldn’t sleep either.”
I rolled my eyes, brushing past him to settle Daniel back into his bed. “It’s probably because of all the pollen from those flowers,” I said, trying to sound annoyed, though my voice wavered.
Nathan chuckled softly, “You didn’t like them?”
“It’s not funny, Nathan.” I crossed my arms and glared at him. “You need to stop with all the grand gestures. I’ve already forgiven you.
He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a low murmur. “Maybe. But I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for hurting you.”
His words made something stir deep within me, a warmth I hadn’t felt in what
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seemed like forever. I smiled despite myself, but as I turned to look at Daniel‘ peaceful face, another thought surfaced- one I could no longer avoid.
“Nathan,
I said, my voice quieter now. “We need to talk about this. We can keep avoiding it.
He sighed, setting a hand on the small of my back to guide me toward the balcony.
S
“I can’t keep shuffling between two packs,” I said, breaking the silence. “Not just for me but for Daniel. My pack needs stability. And coming here so often will make them question my loyalty. It’s not fair to them–or to him.”
Nathan nodded, his brow furrowing as he leaned against the railing. “I know,” he said softly. “I’ve been thinking about it too. What if—”
I cut him off, shaking my head. “I’m not giving up my pack, Nathan. I won’t merge a Hastings pack under Kaldor. I trust you,
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but things happen. Life happens. If something were to go wrong, I need to have my own fallback. And beyond that, our factions are too different. I can’t ask my people to give up who they are.”
Nathan was quiet for a long moment, his gaze fixed on the horizon. Then he turned to me, his eyes resolute. “I wasn’t going to ask you to give up your pack.”
I blinked, caught off guard. “Then what‘ s your solution?”
He hesitated, running a hand through his dark hair before finally speaking. “I‘ ll divide my territory.”
“What?”
“I’ll carve out land from Kaldor’s borders,” he said. “Enough to create neutral ground for us to rule together. It‘ 11 mean reshaping the structure of my pack and asking them to trust me on this. But it’s the only way to give Daniel the stability he deserves–and to show you how
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much I’m willing to do to make this work.”
I stared at him, stunned. “You‘ d really do that for me?”
He stepped closer, cupping my face gently in his hands. “Yes. Because I love you, Nicole Myers.”
The words hit me like a tidal wave. My breath caught, and I searched his face, seeing nothing but sincerity in his gaze.
“That’s the first time you‘ ve ever said that to me,” I murmured.
“I realized it moments before I thought I was going to die,” he said softly. “And my biggest regret was not telling you.” He leaned in, his forehead resting against mine as he repeated, “I love you, Nicole Myers.”
A smile spread across my face, tears welling in my eyes. I never imagined we‘ d end up here. When my father forced me to marry a stranger to save the pack, I thought
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Nathan was a heartless bastard. Walking away felt like the end–our final goodbye. But after everything…
Here we were.
The world left my lips with so much conviction, “I love you too, Nathan Cross. No matter how annoying you might be.”
He smiled and in that moment, as the first light of dawn painted the sky, I knew that from this moment, I was going to fight for us through everything most especially through the chaos.
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