“This isn’t fair. Just don’t walk away again,” I hear Snow plead as I stop mid-step on the second-floor stairs.
“I’m not walking away. I saw Arisa, gave her a kiss, and read her a story. What more do you want?” Erik replies bluntly. His tone is cold and I feel sorry for Snow.
“I don’t know. For you to be my mate and be around more?” she replies quietly, but there’s an edge to her words.
“I can’t,” he says, emotionless. I can’t believe he is like this with Snow; she is lovely and sweet, the very opposite of Erik’s cold nature.
“No, you can, but instead, you choose to go off hunting,” she snaps.
“It’s my job, Snow,” he replies.
“No, you hunt rogues to forget about what happened,” she says, and I hear Erik walking away, followed by the sounds of Snow sobbing. What the hell was that about? I wait until I hear Snow moving away before continuing down the stairs. I know she wouldn’t appreciate me trying to comfort her at the moment, but I begin to wonder if they are destined mates at all.
“You took your time,” Nikoli comments when I reach the back door, where he stands, smiling down at me. He slides his hand into mine and starts walking towards the forest.
“You seem happier today? Compared to how you were when Colt dropped me off,” I say, and he grumbles something under his breath before answering me.
“I realised that I don’t want to lose you. If that means putting up with the vampire for the time being, then fine. I can’t promise I won’t kill him if he touches you, but…”
“Nikoli, you can’t kill him. He is- “
“Your destined mate too, I know. I’m trying, okay? I spent two hundred years waiting for you, and when I finally find you, you have another destined mate. It’s a lot to deal with, Harper. My wolf doesn’t like the idea of sharing you.”
“I’m not asking you to share,” I mumble.
“Yes, you are, you just haven’t said it out loud yet. Sharing is normal for supernaturals, but not for a vampire and alpha wolf. I just don’t know how it's going work.” I don’t know what to say to him other than repeat what Colton said.
“We should take everything slow. We are immortal and have plenty of time.”
“I know, Harper,” he says and squeezes my hand as I look away from him.
“Can I ask something? I know it’s none of my business, so you don’t have to tell me,” I ask, and he nods.
“You can ask me anything. I won’t keep anything from you, Harper,” he replies, his words firm and almost demanding.
“So, Snow and Erik are mates, but they seem to hate each other. I don’t understand why that is?”
Nikoli sighs. “Yes, they are destined mates, and have been together since Erik and Gold first joined the pack over a hundred years ago. They were madly in love and happy. Well, for a long time they were.”
“What happened to them?”
“When Snow found out she was pregnant, they were over the moon with happiness. We didn’t think she could have children, as it had been so long, and some wolves never do. When Tam told them that they were having twins, they couldn’t have been happier,” he says, stepping over a log of wood and offers me his hand to help me.
“One day, seven weeks earlier than the twins were meant to be here, Snow fell in the woods and broke her leg. The break kickstarted her labour, and Erik was away hunting for that week. I was there the whole time when she gave birth. It was a long and painful labour, as human pain relief doesn’t work on wolves, and Tam couldn’t heal her quick enough. When it was all over, her son died, despite how much we tried to save him. Arisa just about survived but the little boy, he was too small, too weak. The labour was too long and too early,” Nikoli says sadly.
“Oh my God. Poor Snow and Erik,” I whisper, having no idea how horrible that must have been for them.
“She was heartbroken, and when we finally got a message to Erik, and he came back, he couldn’t cope with the fact he wasn’t there. Losing one of their children broke them, and despite having Arisa, Erik just wanted to hunt rogues, and started taking more and more jobs from the royal family. He hunts for our pack sometimes, but he mainly works with the prince of the wolves, hunting.”
“I understand why he feels guilty, but poor Arisa. She must not see her dad much,” I comment.
“He tries with her, but I believe she is a reminder of the baby they lost too,” he says, and I do understand that. It must be so hard.
“I hope that Snow and Erik can fix their relationship one day,” I say gently.
“I highly doubt they can. Sometimes some things are too broken to be fixed.”
“I don’t believe that. I believe that everything is part of your fate,” I tell him and step away, letting him watch as I throw my long shirt off and call my wolf. She responds instantly, taking over, and I blink my eyes open to see Nikoli looking down at me.
“Time to run, little wolf,” he says, as he starts pulling his clothes off. I turn towards the forest and do just that.