Page 14 of Beyond the Grasslands

“Tessa?” I questioned.

“Yes, I told you my mate would come for me.”

“I see.” I turned my attention back to Avery. “You failed as the Beta for your pack, I hope you do better as the Alpha.”

Avery nodded. “I already had a request in to the council to come see what had become of our pack. My next step, ifI couldn’t convince him to step down, was a formal challenge with the Council’s backing.”

“Are you the Alpha meant to mate Nika?” I turned to see one of the pack’s guards. His angry demeanor changed a bit as he took in the body that still pumped a mess of blood at my feet. I nodded. “She has escaped. You’ll find her in the forest,” The man mentioned as he pointed off to the west of where we stood.

I didn’t even have the option to shift and run to her before Nika stumbled from the trees into the clearing. I had only a moment to note that she did not look well when my wolf took over and sprang toward her. He took too strong a leap in her direction, and there was no way for me to wrestle control back before Nika had been knocked to the ground. I felt the instant connection as my wolf’s teeth sank deep into her neck and drew back with a muzzle full of her lifeblood.

It was only after the sweet copper tang of my mate’s blood coated my tongue that I managed to grab control again. Only, by then, it was too late. My wolf had ravaged our mate’s snake so brutally there was no hope of her offering forgiveness.

Once I wassure that Nika was asleep for the night, I went to her room and watched over her. It was my fault she was in the infirmary. Between my own pack mate assaulting her, not having proper security around her on the day of our mating ceremony, and the way my wolf attacked her the guilt piled sky high. It also meant I couldn’t face her when she was awake just yet, because I knew she would hate me - if for no other reason than the part where my wolf took her choice away. Granted, she had already agreed to be my mate, but not like that.

My heart felt heavy as I stared down and couldn’t get my eyes to look away from the wound I had inflicted. I knew, deep down in my heart, that my wolf and I were not that fractured. There was a part of me desperate to claim her, though I would have liked to do a gentler job of it. Had I been able to remain in my human form, Nika would have been my mate on the spot too, if for no other reason than that our full bond would help her heal from the ordeal she had been put through.

Instead, things got fucked up along the way and I wasn’t proud of my part in that. I ran a finger over the healing, jagged wound on her neck and didn’t bother to stop the tears that formed at the thought that my mate might hate me. She was my second chance at a moon-blessed pairing. I failed to protect the first one, as I had recently found out, and now I failed to protect Nika from everyone, myself included.

“Thorin,” Nika whispered. I pulled my hand away and shifted inadvertently. My wolf side forced the shift, but thankfully, Nika didn’t wake. Her hands ran through my fur as I climbed on her bed and snuggled up to her. We offered a purring whine of apology and hoped like hell she heard and understood. Even my wolf knew enough now to realize the damage he most likely caused to our bond and to our mate. His initial smugness of claiming Nika waned when he realized, through the bond, that she was not happy and instead was scared of him.”

Because he had taken the option from us, I also could not feel her emotions the way a normally bonded pair should be able to. They were only available to me when in my paws. It was as if she was bonded only to the wolf side, not my human side and that was something I couldn’t wrap my brain around. How were we supposed to fix this? Would it only be fixed if she chose to mark me? Would we have to mark one another in both forms, now that my wolf had done the unthinkable?

All I had were questions and there didn’t seem to be anyone I could go to for answers as our situation was unique. I thought to ask the gods for help, but according to Nika, they had put us on this path. I didn’t trust their words or intentions.

Chapter 7

Beautiful Moments

NIKA

The next timeI woke up it wasn’t Thorin in my room, but his wolf. I jerked back immediately, covered my sensitive neck, and pulled my legs in to cover my belly. His wolf whined pitifully and slowly climbed down off the end of my bed where he had been curled up.

Once he was down, he glanced back at me again and howled a miserable sound before he stomped off to the door, used his mouth to one it, and then left. It perplexed me that he would show up as his wolf, who I no longer trusted, versus the man who owed me an explanation.

It was obvious he felt bad about what he’d done, but it wasn’t something I could just forget or brush off. My fingers touched the healing mark that Thorin’s wolf left on my neck. Normally, the mark would turn into a thin silver scar that was barely raised from the skin. Mine would look horrendous for life. It was jagged, torn, and would remain that way unless I went to a skilled surgeon to fix it. That was something I couldn’t do, as I didn’t know any shifter surgeons and going to a human one was out of the question.

I was about to climb out of bed to go tend to my needs in the bathroom when I noticed a piece of paper on the bedside table.

I picked it up and scanned down to see who had left it only to find Thorin’s name there. My hand shook as my eyes moved back to the top.

My Dearest Nika,

Words cannot convey how sorry I am for what happened. There are really no valid excuses that can be offered, but I would like to explain.

I wanted to do this in person, but when I came to your room last night, you were already asleep. There was no way that I would force myself to disturb you, so I chose to write this out instead with the understanding that you might hate me more after you have the full picture of what happened the day of your rescue.

Just before you emerged from the forest, I confronted Aiden. I don’t know how to tell you this, sweetheart, and it truly shouldn’t happen in a letter, but this seems the best way. Aiden is dead. He forced my hand with a challenge, and I took his life. The crazy part was that he didn’t even put up a fight. It was like he had given up or something. Avery came forward to take over the pack. I’m not sure how he is doing. The council has been sent to handle that situation.

The minute you walked out of the woods, nothing else mattered. You are aware that my wolf took over and in my shifted state, I sought to remedy the situation.

Admitting this could potentially have me put down, and if that is what you choose to do, I will walk willingly into that consequence. It’s the least I can do for you after taking your choice and after seeing the damage my wolf did to your beautiful body.

I’m so sorry, Nika. Something is fractured between my wolf and human side. Maybe I took too much time to find my mate. I’ve been in charge of this pack for two years now, and my wolf has pulled away from me a few times. Once to go find you and again to claim you without permission. I understand if you hate me and don’t want to be my mate now, and I’m truly sorry if by taking Aiden out of the equation, I ruined a chance for you to have a moon-blessed mate.

I’m so sorry, Nika. I won’t even ask for forgiveness because I don’t deserve it. I will abide by whatever you choose from here on out.

Thorin

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