62. Nikolai
Watching her walk out the door curled in on herself like that rubbed me the wrong way.
It didn’t match the woman I’d come to know.
Sina met her fears head-on, fire in her veins, even when she was terrified.
She wasn’t some meek girl who scampered off to hide in her room.
And that told me more than any shouted accusation ever could. She felt betrayed.
By all of us.
Fuck.
I turned slowly and fixed my gaze on Elias.
How could he keep this from me? My wolf snarled low in my chest, furious at our mate, the urge to assert dominance over him tightening like a physical tether.
I shoved the instinct down hard. This wasn’t the moment for teeth and blood.
This was the moment for answers. For planning how to end a rogue without losing everything else.
“You should have told me,” I said quietly, my voice steady even as my hands curled into fists at my sides. “The day I called you about her. That was when you should have confessed.”
Elias didn’t look away.
“How could you sit there and lie to my face?” I growled. “And don’t insult me by pretending omission isn’t the same thing.”
“You weren’t ready to hear it.”
“ Bullshit !” I snarled.
Harlow scoffed, and the sound snapped my attention to him. It pissed me off instantly.
“What? Got something to fucking say, Low?”
He crossed the room with that lazy swagger that always set my teeth on edge, like none of this cut him the way it did the rest of us .
“He’s right, Nik. You wouldn’t have handled it well or believed him if he said she was the key to a stable hive. Even weeks after knowing her you’re still avoiding her. And you know she's ours.”
Heat crawled up my spine, my wolf no doubt shining in my eyes. Harlow lifted a brow. A silent dare. Because the bastard knew me too well.
I’d barely come to terms with the idea of having Sina at all. Let alone a year ago when Kiron had been too feral, his dragon was always a breath away from tearing loose. Back then, bringing a blood mate into that volatile equation would’ve been reckless at best. Deadly at worst.
Even if I hated to admit it, Elias’ reasoning had merit.
That didn’t make me any less pissed he hid her from me.
The anger didn’t burn out. It banked, settling into something colder and more deliberate.
I could deal with being furious later. Right now, I needed clarity.
Control. If we were going to move forward, it had to be with eyes open and all the pieces on the table, whether I liked it or not.
I exhaled slowly through my nose, forcing the wolf down, forcing the alpha in me to listen instead of react.
“Fine,” I said tightly. “What do you suggest we do then, brother? Since you seem to know everything.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice.
Harlow didn’t care. He just grinned. “Well, for starters, we need to win back our girl. And you need to be the one who does it.”
“ What? ” I blanched. “Why me?”
Harlow grinned like he’d been waiting for it. “You’re our alpha, aren’t you? Time to step the fuck up, bro. Woo her.” He winked and clapped me on the shoulder.
Kiron snorted. “You’d be better off sending Elias in there. Nik doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body.”
Harlow cackled. “True. The only thing my brother’s good at is cooking.”
I shot him a look. “Hey fuck you. You love my food! ”
But the thought lodged anyway, irritatingly persistent.
It wasn’t a bad idea. I was good at feeding people.
At handling the practical things. Keeping routines intact.
Making sure the world didn’t fall apart when emotions ran hot.
Words, on the other hand, had never been my strength.
I wasn’t built for pretty reassurances or grand gestures.
I handled problems. I kept the hive running smoothly and made sure everyone in it stayed alive.
She could find softness with her other mates.
But me?
I would take control. Push her when she needed grounding. Give her something solid to brace against so she could feel safe again. That had always been my role.
And it was one I was good at.
The problem was, control only worked when the threat was external. And whatever we were facing now wasn’t just coming from outside the hive. It was already tangled up in us, in decisions that had been made long before Sina ever stepped through our doors.
Rafe’s voice cut in, pulling me out of my head and back into the room.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said, speaking for the first time since Sina left.
“We all have to reconcile with our choices where our mate is concerned.” His gaze moved deliberately across each of us, lingering on Elias.
“And you most of all. She needs to understand why you hid us from her for so long. And I’m assuming you’ve done…
unsavory things in the name of protecting her. You’ll need to confess those as well.”
I hadn’t considered that Elias might have compelled her. Influenced her. Touched her memories to keep her safe. The realization settled heavy in my chest. I had done that too. I grit my teeth as guilt settled in my bones.
If Elias had crossed that line, there was a reason, and I needed to understand the scope of it before deciding what to do about it .
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you speak so much at once before. I’ll be honest, it’s throwing me off,” Kiron said. “But you’re right. It’s more than just winning Sina back. It’s bonding her fully to protect her.”
The words settled, brutal in their simplicity. Bonding her wasn’t just about reassurance or trust anymore. It was strategy. Protection. A line drawn so deep it couldn’t be crossed without blood. With her as the center, we wouldn’t need another hive. We wouldn’t fracture under pressure.
The plan was rocky, imperfect, full of risks I didn’t love—but it was the best we had.
Plans only mattered if you had time to execute them. And Keith wasn't the kind of man who waited patiently once he realized he’d lost control of the board. If he was already moving again, then every hour we hesitated was another opening.
Suddenly, winning her back felt like the smallest part of what was coming.
I lifted a brow, glancing between my bondmates. Rafe and Elias were at a standoff.
“Are you willing to mend what you broke?” Rafe asked him.
“I will. If she’ll have me,” Elias murmured.
I bit back a retort. It wasn’t the time to bite off my mate. He and I would have a conversation later, one that ended with him submitting fully to me. My cock hardened at the thought of punishing him.
“It’s only a matter of time before he tracks her here,” Elias said quietly. “He was furious when he didn’t find her today. If what I know about Keith is true, he’ll return to Jack’s. He won’t let that lead go cold.”
Kiron’s growl rolled low and feral. “My brother is in danger. Again.”
Elias nodded once .
“Eli will go,” I said immediately. “Watch over Jack’s tonight. Compel him to close the bar for a few days. Send him out of town. Do whatever it takes to keep him out of Keith’s reach.”
Elias inclined his head. “Understood. I’ll contact Xander up in Clearview to see if he and his brother will house them.”
“Fine. Then you come straight back here. Fly if you must. Stay undetected.”
“Yes sir,” he murmured, and I fought off a shiver. He knew exactly what calling me sir was doing to me, and what I would expect from him when he returned.
And for the first time since Sina walked out that door, I wasn’t sure who I was angrier with, the rogue stalking her from the shadows, or the man standing right in front of me.