Chapter 277


    Chapter 0277


    When we returned to the pce, Nichs 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.”


    Nichs pressed his lips hard together. He took in the sight of me, scantily d, 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.


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


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


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


    Together, Nichs and I moved slowly through the hallways of the pce. I was grateful they were


    mostly empty. I didn’t want anyone else to see me as I was.


    Nichs 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.


    Nichs had an borate 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 momentter 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 Nich s’s bathroom. But I still felt soiled and


    I went to the bathtub and turned on the hot water. Slowly, I removed my bra and panties until I was


    naked. 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 Nich s’s pajamas.


    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 Nich s’s calming scent. lifted the shirt cor to my


    nose just to brea


    –


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


    “I’ming,” 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, Nichs was on the other side of it. He had changed as well, and now wore a


    pair of gray sweatpants and a in 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. Nichs went in first. Then he rolled toward me and stretched out his arms. I fitfortably


    into the space between them. I curled my back into his chest, so that we were facing the same


    direction. cing 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 slipped down to my elbow. The red rings around my wrists had started to


    bruise an ugly purple.


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    With them showing, a growl rumbled in Nich 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.” Would have been able to rip out Terry’s throat


    all on my own. I wouldn’t have needed a rescue. “Terry destroyed the pendant ne,” 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…” Nichs 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?” Nichs 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.


    “Nichs…” “You should never be made to feel defenseless.”


    His words filled me with hope andfort both. If Nichs 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 rxed 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 kiss 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,” Nichs said.


    When had he ever denied me what I needed?


    With his assurances, surrounded by the warmth andfort 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.


    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 Nich 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.


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


    Nichs wasn’t here.