Page 68 of Rejected Alpha Mate

They’re my friends, and they’ll look for a different way to defeat the dark lord without me having to sacrifice myself. Still, it feels like a weight on them.

My brother looks around the room. “We move carefully. We don’t trust anyone outside this circle. Not even allies unless they’re vetted.”

Everyone agrees.

Everyone except me. I mean, I do, but I’m just quiet about it, having fallen silent beside Nicholas.

Because while they’re talking, all I can see is the golden light exploding, swallowing everything, and nearly taking me with it. I can still feel the burn of it behind my ribs, the echo of power I didn’t fully understand.

What am I becoming?

Am I supposed to sacrifice myself the way Azura did? I can’t….

My mother notices the tension in my shoulders. She always does, and that’s why she places a hand on my shoulder.

When the others finally begin to disperse—Sean and Tyler heading toward the guest rooms, Delilah hugging Gwen as they whisper about what comes next—my mother steps closer and gently touches my cheek. I turn only to suggest that Nicholas join the others, and that I’ll meet up with him later.

“You did well,” she whispers when Nicholas has left, slipping onto the couch beside me.

Cecelia appears where Nicholas was seated, her eyes warm, soft, full of the same motherly worry I see on Delphine’s face. “You scared us,” she scolds with a frown that doesn’t reach her troubled eyes. “But you did what needed to be done.”

“I’m fine,” I lie with a shaky smile.

They both see through the lie, but neither of them pushes. Instead, Mama kisses my forehead, and Cecelia lifts my hand to kiss my knuckles.

A secret hangs on the tip of my tongue, but when I look into their eyes, pained, troubled, hoping that there can be another way except the path that leads to my demise, I decide not to speak it. I can’t burden them that much. They’re already burdened enough.

All of them are.

The house feels too big after everyone leaves—Dominic, Cecelia, Darius, and my mother, the last to leave Wells.

The house is too silent, and that’s when I realize that even Nicholas is gone.

Without panicking, I step into the kitchen and stop short.

Nicholas is standing at the counter, a glass in his hand. He stares into it like it holds the answers to the universe. The bottle of whiskey stands open beside him.

He hears me before he turns.

“Hey,” he murmurs.

“Hey,” I reply softly.

“I needed a drink.” He lifts the bottle an inch and chuckles lightly. “Want one?”

I shake my head. “No. I…I’m okay.”

He huffs a small, knowing laugh and sets the glass aside without drinking it. He looks up and slowly makes his way toward me, inching forward with one brow arching. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Something sharp twists in my chest, but when Nicholas’s hand finds mine on the counter, a wave of relief washes over me, and I’m not as tense anymore.

He leans his elbows on the counter, watching me with that quiet intensity he’s never been able to hide. “You know you can tell me.”

“I know,” I answer with a sigh. “I don’t know if I’m okay, to be honest. But I think I will be.”

He nods, lifting my hand to his lips and lightly planting a kiss on my knuckles. “You will be, Donna,” he reassures me with a soft smile. “I promise.”

The silence that follows isn’t uncomfortable. It’s…grounding. Warm. Like we’re both taking a breath after holding it for too long. He doesn’t stop gazing deeply into my eyes, the warm, forest-green orbs reminding me of his words this morning.