Nicon

XXXVII

XXXVII

NICON HESITATED OUTSIDE of Elysie's door. Victoria birthed twins at noon, and it took Nicon at least another hour to muster up the courage to visit Elysie. After she gave him the letter, he was worried she wanted to leave, but then he thought back to the moment they shared and his brain twisted in confusion. For someone so formidable, when it came to his mate, Nicon felt helpless.

The door opened with a gust of wind before Nicon had a chance. Elysie stood there in a long sleeve purple dress. Her hair was tucked behind her ears and hung in small waves, and it was messily divided over her shoulders.

"Hi," Elysie said with a grin. "How long were you going to stand there?" Her eyes drifted to Nicon's neck, where she bit him the night before, but her expression didn't falter.

Nicon's lips pulled up in a small grin. "A little while longer. Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Her eyes darted to the side and she pursed her lips in mock thought. "I guess so."

Nicon smiled, walking in the doorframe and purposefully pushing past her so their bodies grazed against each other. He heard Elysie suck in a breath from behind him as he walked into her room and sat on the edge of her neatly made bed.

"I was thinking--" she said, her eyes filled with worry. "I miss my mother dearly and I can't imagine she just accepted me being gone and I think it's time for me to see her, and I know it's not safe for me outside, but we marked each other and--" Elysie stopped rambling and she glanced at Nicon.

"We're not fully mated," was all Nicon said as he stared at her. She shuffled on her feet uncomfortably, understanding what Nicon meant.

"Well, I know, but I thought the bites were the important part."

He looked down at his hands, folded neatly in his lap, and crossed his ankles. "The bites cause our bodies chemistry to change, and it will become more difficult to resist completing the bond. It's nature's way of ensuring mates, well, mate."

Elysie was glad Nicon looked as uncomfortable as she felt. She knew the bond played a part in her desires, but they were already uncontrollable.

"Are you saying I can't leave until we-- until we, uh,"

"No, Elysie," he sighed. "It's not safe for you out there-"

"You keep saying that. I can't stay here forever, Nicon."

"It won't be forever."

He forgot the purpose for coming was to tell her about Victoria and Quentin's twins.

With a sigh, she changed the subject, knowing discussing leaving was futile. She worried even if they did complete the mate bond he still wouldn't let her leave. "Did you deliver the letter to my mother?"

Nicon stayed quiet rather than telling her he did not.

Elysie stared at him, her eyes wide with impatience. "If you're not going to mail my letter, and you're not going to let me out of the castle, then at least bring me to Syd." Her time at the castle forced her to act braver and stand up for what she wanted. If she didn't, who would?

Elysie feared she would spend the rest of her life in this room. She wanted to see the forest again, her mother again. She wanted to draw trees that she wasn't staring at from a hundred yards away through thick glass.

Nicon's eyes looked distant as he tried to talk to Syd in his mind. Curiously, Elysie tried to hear what he was saying, but he blocked her out with ease. It had been a while since they used their link to speak to one another. Elysie preferred it that way. Without all the craziness of the bites and mind-links, it made them feel more normal.

She knew she would never be normal again.

Nicon's jaw tightened as he willed himself not to insult Syd in front of Elysie, but his temper was growing thin with the boy. "He won't answer."

"Well, where is he staying?" Elysie asked quietly. She knew Syd was already a sore subject for them, and she didn't want to anger Nicon. That would be no way to get what she wanted.

"With Quentin and Victoria," he answered stiffly, suddenly remembering the original purpose for his visit. "But they aren't home," he continued, "Victoria just gave birth to twins."

Elysie's eyes lit up happily and her lips pulled up in a grin as she temporarily forgot her disappointment. "That's great. Are they healthy? Can I see them?" 

Nicon's anger with Syd started to fade as he saw how excited Elysie was about the news. He could practically feel her excitement as if it were his own. "Yes, they're both healthy. Victoria should be released from the Doctor's shortly."

Elysie was eager to meet the newborns. "Can I visit them? Syd must be with them." Anything to get out of this room, she thought.

"He hasn't been with them since this morning. I stopped by before--" he trailed off, a far away look in his eyes.

"Nicon?" Elysie reached an arm out gently, her fingers touching his forearm as he stared off.

"An Alpha is here to see me. I'll be back shortly, Elysie." His tone was final as he quickly excused himself, not bothering to address her confused gaze. 

"Is everythi-" Nicon quickly backed away and shut the door behind him with a loud thud, leaving Elysie staring disappointedly at the closed door. He left so quickly, she didn't have time to register his distress.

*

Syd stirred awake as his hands were tugged gently from the broken metal chains that bound him. His body fell limp into someone's grip as his eyes tried to open. A warm sensation was spreading across his body, and he thought it was a sign he didn't have much time left. Isn't your body supposed to get colder as you died? Syd's thoughts jumbled, but if he could make sense of one thing it was that Cayn knew, and he wanted blood.

Syd heard metal chains snapping and something clutter to the ground as the person dragged him away from his previous spot. 

"You're heavy. How drugged up are you?" a woman spoke. Her voice sounded soft and feminine, but she spoke in clipped sentences as she pulled Syd's weight. "You have to stand."

Syd knew she was addressing him, but he couldn't even open his eyes, let alone feel his body. His chest tightened with a familiar warmth as the woman continued to drag him. Every time her hands left his to get a better grip, his chest tightened and Syd yearned for it.

"My m-my, my mate," Syd mumbled almost incoherently.

The woman grunted a quick laugh, but she was out of breath as she neared the door. "Well, duh. Not the way I thought I'd meet my mate, luckily for me you've got quite the howl. Wolf must've known. And if you look this good all banged up..." she trailed off as she placed Syd's hands to the floor. Syd's mind didn't register her compliment, but his cheeks still felt hot.

"Ely-Elyis--" he tried to warn his mate.

"What?" she asked as Syd tried to lift his heavy head off the cool floor. It dropped back down with a thud. "Shit."

He felt a hand on the underside of his cheek and the familiar warmth was back. Syd was hopeful the feeling would never fade.

She pulled out her phone and he tried to listen to her brief conversation, but his head felt heavy and he could feel himself slipping. He tried to open his eyes, thinking dying in his mate's arms before he could even glimpse her would be too cruel a fate, but could barely sense anything around him.

He heard his mate mutter another curse before he sank into oblivion.

*

"Shouldn't we wait until the-"

"There is no waiting!" he snapped. "Do you know how long I've waited for this? My family has waited for this? The fool has a human mate. How pathetic can he be?"

The man on the phone paused for a long second. "What should I tell the men?"

"Tell them it's time we take back what is ours. It's about time the Shifters are known." The other line remained silent. "Just find her, Avar."

"Yes, sir."