Chapter l277

Chapter 0277

When we returned to the palace, Nicholas pulled the car into the garage. As he turned off the engine, he said, “I’ll walk you back to your room.”

The words shot a volt of life through me. “No.”

He looked at me. “No?”

Fear in my eyes, I returned his gaze. “I can’t let Elva see me like this.”

Nicholas pressed his l*ps hard together. He took in the sight of me, scantily clad, hiding in Julian’s suit coat with my bare legs exposed.

“You can stay in my rooms,” he said. “I’ll stay nearby so you won’t be alone.”

I nodded.

Nicholas texted Mark to let him know the plan. “Mark will stay and guard Elva through the night.”

“Thank you,” I said, and hoped he would convey my appreciation to Mark himself.

Nicholas sent another text, and then rounded the car and helped me from it.

Together, Nicholas and I moved slowly through the hallways of the palace. I was grateful they were mostly empty. I didn’t want anyone else to see me as I was.

Nicholas walked with me the entire way to his private rooms, and then saw me inside.

“The bedroom is this way,” he said, and guided me toward one of the side doors away from the entry room.

Nicholas had an elaborate and plush bed with four tall posts and a canopy. He guided me toward it, then left me lean against it as he crossed the room toward his closet. He returned a moment later with a pair of soft-looking pajamas: a button-up top and long pants. He handed them for me.

“The bathroom?” I asked.

He pointed toward a nearby door. “Take as long as you need.”.

Holding the pajamas to my chest, I shuffled inside. I shucked off Julian’s coat, and then looked at myself in the mirror.

I looked harried, with my hair a mess and my eyes wide and red-rimmed. There were bruises on my upper arms and on my thighs, as well as ugly red rings around my wrists and ankles.

I was lucky to be free, to be standing here in Nichola s’s bathroom. But I still felt soiled and

+15 BONUS

I went to the bathtub and turned on the hot water. Slowly, I removed my bra and panties until I was n*ked. Then I stepped into the tub.

The water was a soothing balm. I sat and soaked for a long time, breathing in the steam so that the inside of me felt as clean as the outside. I stayed there until the water cooled. Then I exited and dressed in Nichola s’s pajamas.

my hand

They were too big on me, hiding both and feet. But they were unbelievably soft. Maybe the softest fabric I’d ever worn in my life. And they carried Nichola s’s calming scent. I

it in.

lifted the shirt collar to my nose just to brea

–

Nicholas knocked on the door. “Are you alright, Piper?”

“I’m coming,” I said in reply. My voice felt stronger now. I wasn’t quite as shaky. But I had no idea how I would sleep tonight.

When I opened the door, Nicholas was on the other side of it. He had changed as well, and now wore a pair of gray sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt. I had never seen him dress so casually as a prince. This look seemed much more like the boy I knew and loved three years before.

Nostalgia curled around my heart, and I felt even more endeared.

“I can leave if you want,” he said. “I’ll give you the bed.”

I shook my head. I knew what I wanted. “Stay, and hold me.”

He nodded. “Of course.”

We moved to the bed. Nicholas went in first. Then he rolled toward me and stretched out his arms. I fit comfortably into the space between them.

I curled my back into his chest, so that we were facing the same direction. Placing our hands, palms together, I measured the lengths of our fingers. His hands were so much bigger and stronger than mine.

The cuff on my shirt sleeve sl*pped down to my elbow. The red rings around my wrists had started to bruise an ugly purple.

With them showing, a growl rumbled in Nichola s’s chest. I understood his anger and felt it too. I had felt so powerless, so defenseless.

“If I had my wolf, I would have been able to break free,” I said, then relented. “No, I wouldn’t have been in that position at all.”

If I had my wolf, I

Would have been able to rip out Terry’s throat all on my own. I wouldn’t

have needed a rescue.

+15 BONUS

“Terry destroyed the pendant n*ecklace,” I said.

“We’ll get you another one.”

I didn’t want another one. I wanted the ability to defend myself. “I miss my wolf.”

“Maybe…” Nicholas sighed. “I’m not sure but maybe there’s a way we can get it back.”

I shot upright in bed, and turned to face him. “You think so? How?”

Nicholas seemed thoughtful. “If magic exists that can remove it, then there should be magic that can put it back.” His expression hardened. “If that magic exists, we will find it. I won’t rest until your wolf is returned to you, Piper.”

My whole heart softened. “Nicholas…”

“You should never be made to feel defenseless.”

His words filled me with hope and comfort both. If Nicholas set his mind to something, he would see it done. Simple as that.

I lowered myself back into his embrace. He closed his arms around me and held me to him. With my ear to his chest, I listened to the steady beats of his heart.

“Do you

think you will be able to sleep like this?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. I wasn’t sure, though this was the more relaxed than I thought I could have ever managed in this moment. When I had been shaking in the car, I thought I might keep shaking until the day I died.

He dropped a soft k*ss into my hair. “Tell me what you need.”

“Just hold me,” I whispered. His shirt muf f led my words. “Don’t let me go.”

His arms tightened around me. I felt safe there, rising and falling with his breath, lulled to sleep by his heartbeat.

“Stay with me…” I said quietly, hating how broken my voice still sounded.

I didn’t want to beg, not over this.

I should have known that I didn’t need to.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Nicholas said.

When had he ever denied me what I needed?

With his assurances, surrounded by the warmth and comfort of the bed and his closeness, my eyes grew heavy and soon I drifted off into a peaceful dreamless sleep.

I slept soundly, not waking once until the early morning.

+15 BONUS

When I opened my eyes, the sun creeped in through the windows, casting a strong beam of morning glow across the room.

My face was pressed into a pillow. I lifted

my head.

I was alone in the bed. I reached out to Nichola s’s side, where he’d been the night before. The bedsheet was still warm. He must have just left.

I pressed myself up to my elbows.

“Nicholas?” I called, but the room greeted me with silence.

Nicholas wasn’t here.