Nicon

XXXVIII

XXXVIII

SHE DREW FOR hours until her fingers started aching. All she seemed to draw was wolves. Elysie never wondered what Nicon's wolf looked like, but after drawing Killian and Syd's repeatedly, she was itching for new inspiration.

Nicon left hours ago and Elysie half expected a dinner invitation any minute. It was awfully quiet, but she preferred it to the rambunctious yelling she could hear from the Great Room.

She tapped her pencil against her notebook impatiently. She wanted to call out to Nicon, but was nervous he was in the middle of something important.

Syd? Elysie hesitated. It felt weird to try to talk to someone other than her mate. Syd? She tried again.

The lack of response discouraged her and she fell back on her bed in defeat. Elysie was familiar with boredom, but today it was deafening. She jolted up in bed and grabbed her shoes from the side, sliding them on swiftly before she could think about it.

Elysie knew it would get her into trouble, but she was too cooped up. She snatched her bag off the floor and ran to the room Nicon showed her quietly, and relished in the scent of nature. Elysie sat down on the fountain and opened her sketchbook, quickly getting lost in her drawings.

The next two hours passed in contentedness. Her heightened sense of smell made the room even more beautiful. Elysie could only imagine how it would feel in the forest with the sun grazing her skin and dew fresh on the leaves.

A yawn escaped Elysie's lips and she unconsciously brought a hand up to cover it. Signing the bottom of her sketch with her name, she snapped the book shut and slid the book and pencil back into her bag.

She walked back silently, following the winds with ease. Not even a second after she placed her bag on the floor, she heard a soft knock on the door. 

Her head snapped up. Nicon must feel guilty for leaving if he's knocking, she mused silently, making her way over to the door.

A sudden smell of pine washed over her and her footfall stopped. Nicon never smelled of pine, always lavender.

She couldn't hear anything on the other side of the door. Her heartbeat was in her ears.

Another knock sounded.

Nicon? She didn't hear a response and she didn't know if it was working. Nicon!

Another knock.

Her hand hovered over the door knob. The one time I want him in my head and he's nowhere to be found, she thought. She couldn't mask her unease.

Just as she turned the knob she felt the familiar presence in her mind, like a small window opening and a breeze filtering into her subconscious. There's someone at my door.

Don't open it, Elysie. I'm on my way.

Relief washed over her. Elysie's hand fell off the knob and she took a few steps back. He was at her door as quick as she backed off. It opened in a hurry.

His hair was disheveled and his eyes wide as they scanned her room. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded quickly, "Y-yeah I didn't answer it, I could smell pine and you never smell-"

He pulled her into a quick hug, his arms snaking around her waist. Nicon breathed deeply and tried to calm himself down. "What tied you up all day?" she muttered into his shoulder.

"Alpha Cayn stopped by this morning. He's worried the humans are mobilizing against us." She didn't say anything for a few seconds, too shocked with his honesty.

"What evidence does he have?"

"Elysie- right now I'm far more concerned with who was outside your door."

"I don't understand why my presence still has to be a secret. Isn't it about time I'm free of this room?" She meant it as a question, but her tone was defeated and flat.

"As soon as the mobilizing stops, Elysie. It's too dangerous. If anyone ever found you, they would use you to hurt me. The most painful thing to a wolf is--"

"Losing their mate. I know." She ran a hand through her hair and tried to ignore the pang in her heart at his words. "They would use me to hurt you," she reiterated bitterly.

Nicon didn't pick up on her dejected tone, just messily ran a hand through his hair and turned toward her window. He shut it quickly and drew the curtains, causing the room to grow darker, the only glow of light from the small lamp by her bedside.

She blinked at him. "Darkness, again?"

"You're not safe, Elysie. You're coming with me," he said. Gesturing to her closet, he told her to grab a few things.

"I'm not safe, or you're not safe with me here, Nicon? Ever think I would be safer in the village with my mother?"

"Not when you smell like me."

"I only smell like you because you bit me!"

"For your safety, Elysie!"

She could see his eyes darkening as they argued. "My safety!" she said incredulously.

He stared at her, seething silently. "Elysie," he snapped, "That's enough."

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him. Her eyes stung at his harsh tone and as she stared into his dark eyes, she felt fearful. Elysie stayed quiet as he stared back at her. His jaw was clenched and his face was stoic.

"I never asked for this. I liked my life! Me, my mother, my village. I can't live in solitude forever." Elysie didn't know what compelled her to speak so honestly, but the loneliness was becoming a burden. He never sent the letter. What did her mother think?

"Stop, Elysie."

Tears threatened to escape the corners of her eyes. Her face was hot with anger and Nicon's words kept replaying in her mind; they would use you to hurt me. Her anger washed everything away and she tried to push away the flutter in her stomach and sparks of electricity that she felt when he grabbed her waist, the passion when they--

"No! I can't take this! I want to leave. Let me leave!" she yelled. Her voice was loud and she felt thunderous.

His eyes were black and he shook with anger. "Elysie--" he tried to reach out to grab her wrist, but she pulled away. "Elysie!"

She pushed past him and headed toward the door. As she swung it open and pushed it back with her right arm, Nicon's hand pushed it closed and it shut with a loud shock.

Tears spilled down her cheeks now. Elysie felt trapped. "No, no, no," she muttered. She cried harder when her body still reacted to his touch in a way that made her mind fuzzy.

She felt his presence, like the window being opened again. Elysie, please don't leave.

"Take me to my mother."

He didn't say anything.

"Take me to my-"

"She thinks you're dead, Elysie." She didn't say anything, the tears still streaming down her face. "You can't stay here tonight. Not when we aren't sure who was outside your door. It's too close. I can't be worrying about you when I'm preparing for a war."

Elysie didn't know how to process the information. Her heart swelled and yearned for her mother. She couldn't imagine what she went through, as Elysie selfishly tried to fit in to the life that was thrust upon her. How could she be so blinded by the bond that she forgot about the things that really mattered to her? Did the bond really make her that blind? She felt betrayed and naive.

At the mention of the war, Elysie felt emotional all over again. She wanted to scream.

Nicon took his hand off of hers and stayed quiet. He had told Syd to convince her mother that she wouldn't be coming home for a while, and Syd took it upon himself to deliver the news in a way that would ensure his King's immunity.

"You'll stay with Quentin and Victoria tonight."