6

Nicole's Pov

The next day arrived swiftly, and I found myself sitting upright in the hospital bed, feeling slightly more better. The pain was still there, but it was manageable.

As the morning light streamed through the curtains, I hear a nurse came around the room. She glanced at me and smiled warmly. "Good morning, Nicolas. You're being discharged today."

I nodded, though the word “discharged” felt surreal.

"Your Alpha left earlier to handle some pack business, but he said he'll be back to take you home," the nurse said as she adjusted the IV drip carefully.

Home? I didn’t even know where that was anymore. my pack members has all been killed and there i was working in the very kingdom that wiped off my pack trying to take revenge on king Derek for all the chaos that he has caused in my life. And now, it seemed the chaos had followed me.

I pulled the covers off and slowly swung my legs over the side of the bed. My body protested, but I ignored the pain. I needed to get out of here, to clear my head.

The nurse carefully helped me stand, I slowly made my way to the window, i wanted to feel the cool breeze slap on my face, which will most likey calm me down at the moment, but I had barely even enjoyed the cool breeze when suddenly, i could feel my wolf, Mina, stirring within me, feeling excited and restless.

'He’s coming back for us', she suddenly whispered with a mix of apprehension

"what are you talking about?" I muttered under my breath.

"Are you alright, dear?" the nurse asked, looking at me with concern.

I forced a smile. "Yeah, just talking to my wolf"

The nurse gave me a knowing smile, then handed me the discharge papers. "You'll need to sign these before you leave."

I nodded in anticipation befofe she turned and left. Before I could fully comprehend what was happening I could hear one of the men, stepping forward and attempting to block the door. It was Beta Charles, whom Alaric had made him in charge of my safekeeping. "This area is restricted, King Derek," he said with voice shaking slightly at his commanding presence.

But then King Derek’s Voice reverberated in the room, "Move!!" He commanded in his king's voice tone nobody could Disobey.

I barely had time to process it all before the moment I heard the door click opened, when Derek walked in, my body went rigid and His piercing eyes burned with a mixture of anger and something deeper—something I couldn’t quite place. His gaze bore into mine in anger. My heart raced in surprise and Mina wolf was winging it's tail.

what the hell!!

Derek’s presence was overwhelming, but I wasn’t going to to let him intimidate me. I immediately raised my head up In confidence as I stared deep into his eyes

“I see you have healed quite well,” he said with his cold eyes sweeping over me in anger.

“And I see you’re still playing king,” I shot back, trying to conceal my fears.

He let out a soft chuckle, clearly amazed at my audacity

“What do you want?”

He stepped closer to me with his cold and dangerous gaze, “I just wanted to see for myself how you’re doing after successfully deceiving every single one of us!"

His words struck me. Deceived? what does he mean? does he know the truth? I could hear my heart beating fast in my chest, what the heck was he talking about.

“What do you mean?” I managed to ask, as I swallowed the saliva that was already forming in my mouth.

what was he up to? and how much of my facade does he know? I stared at the murderer who had killed everyone of my pack that same person whom the moon goddess had paired me to be mated with.

Derek's eyes flashed with frustration as he stepped even closer, invading my space. “Don’t play dumb with me,” he snapped.

In that moment, I felt the weight of his anger, but I also saw something else—he was wrestling with something, I couldn’t quite fathom.

I looked at him, my gaze boring into him,I could feel the tension between us, palpable. He was the last person I wanted to face, yet I also wanted to see the man behind the king’s facade.

My heart pounded as Derek’s gaze locked onto me, He slowly began to walk closer to me and i couldn’t help but shift back. The more he took a step closer, the more I took two steps farther, But then suddenly, I caught the unmistakable scent of fresh rain, that was Alpha Alaric.

Before I could fully process it, I felt his presence at the doorway, "Step away from him, King Derek,” Alaric growled in anger and annoyance

Derek’s lips curled into a dangerous smile. “Or what?”

“Or I’ll make you,” Alaric replied, stepping forward.

The air between them thickened and the room seemed to shrink while the tension grew unbearable.

Derek moved away from me and started closing the distance toward Alaric, his eyes burned with fury and hatred for him. “I'd like to see you try,” he said, his voice was low and filled with menace.

Alaric didn’t waver. “Leave now, Derek. He’s my mate.”

Derek’s growl vibrated through the room as he stepped even closer. “He’s also mine, and I want him back.”