Chapter 38: #THIRTY-EIGHT

Nicholas’s POV

The silence that followed after he whispered those words was so awkward that I wished he had never told me his secret. Why did he suddenly tell me after we fucked for the first time?

Could it be...?

"That’s why you couldn’t knot me?" I asked softly after clearing my throat and he nodded with a forced smile on his lips. That would also explain why he wasn’t as overbearing as the others.

"Something like that." He muttered with a nervous chuckle as he covered his face with his arm. "Will you look at me differently now? Will you not fancy me anymore?"

"What are you saying?" I asked with a pout as I pulled his hand away from his face and he sighed. "What does it matter? Besides, you are still who you are. Nothing changed. You are my Elijah." I whispered and his lips curled even as his eyes watered.

"You mean that?" He asked softly and I nodded with a soft smile. "You’re not just saying that because you want to please me, right?"

"Of course, I mean that." I replied with a scoff. "Why would I lie to you? I would never lie to you. Besides, hybrid or not, you are still an alpha. Who cares that your mom was human?"

"I just... I am an alpha but I’m not fully an alpha. I have traces of human blood in me."

"This was why you left immediately when I asked you to fuck me days ago!" I suddenly exclaimed in realization and his face turned red. "I never really understood why... so it was because of this? Because you thought I would be disappointed?"

"I panicked, alright? I panicked so hard and the only escape plan I had in my head was to bolt. I couldn’t bring myself to hide the truth from you after what we just had." He explained and I couldn’t help but chuckle. "You don’t mind being mated to a hybrid?"

"Hybrid or not, you already belong to me." I muttered and the embarrassed expression on his face disappeared. "Besides, you are still an alpha. You are still my mate. And you can mark me... right?"

"Yeah, I can. The only thing that makes it evident that I’m not an alpha is my inability to shift. My wolf isn’t dormant, but the asshole isn’t responsive either. You always manage to stir it up, by the way." He explained and my face flushed. "It’s such a shame, isn’t it? An alpha who can’t shift."

"Don’t blame yourself... and I’m sure it’s waiting for the right time to wake up and break free, yeah? There’s no shame in that. You are perfect, regardless of your dad’s mistake." I added and he let out a sigh as he took my hands.

He had explained how, after the death of his first wife— who already had Adrian, Roman and Cassian for him— he got into an affair with a human maid and got her pregnant. He forbade her from getting an abortion even when he knew that wolf pregnancy was dangerous for humans.

She died right after she gave birth to Elijah, and he inherited her human blood while he got most of his alpha genes from his dad. No wonder he was less predatory than the rest of them.

"Thank you for loving me as I am." He whispered and my lips curled into a smile. "Can I..."

"Yeah?"

"Can I mark you?" He asked softly, his hands caressing my neck softly and I realized that he was probably the only one who valued my consent before he did anything to me.

It made me love him even more.

"Will you?" I whispered back and he sat up while I straddled him, the blankets still over my waist as I let out a soft moan.

I didn’t even mind that his dick was still buried deep inside of me and I definitely did not want him to pull out. I loved the feeling of him filling me.

"I want to... but only if you let me—"

"Yes." I replied before he could complete his sentence as I tilted my head to the side for him. "Make me yours completely."

His eyes changed color to a light shade of golden as he buried his face in my neck for a minute without doing anything. When he didn’t move, even though I sensed that he was trembling against me, I got worried.

"Eli?" I called out softly and he let out a sigh, his face still buried in my neck. "What’s wrong?"

"I’m scared." He confessed and my eyes widened. "I don’t want to hurt you in any way. Ever. What if—"

His words were caught up in his throat when I suddenly leaned down and sank my teeth into his sink. I bit down hard, even drawing blood and he hissed. Maybe in pain, maybe in pleasure. I had no idea.

"What can go wrong?" I muttered as I pulled back and his golden eyes stared at me in shock. "You’re not killing me, you’re only claiming me as your mate. It doesn’t even matter if you’re an alpha or not. And you’re already one."

I could understand why he was overthinking everything. But there was really nothing to be worried about.

"Damn it, I love you."’ He whispered, his face buried in my neck once again. Before I could pat his back and tell him that I loved him so much too, sharp fangs sunk into my neck, making me freeze.

I was expecting it, I even braced myself for whatever dizziness might come with getting marked again. But a wave of pleasure knocked me over so hard that I called out his name from the shock.

My arms wrapped around him as he groaned, sinking his teeth even deeper until I was crying out, not from pain but from pleasure.

My hole suddenly clenched around his dick tightly and that made him pull away as he let out a grunt of surprise and pleasure. My hips started to bounce on his dick on their own as an orgasm I wasn’t expecting ripped out of me.

Elijah literally just knotted me without doing anything. All he did was mark me.

"Fuck, what’s happening? You’re squeezing so tight, I might explode." Elijah groaned, his veins bulging like he was trying to hold himself back and I cried out in pleasure once again when I felt his load in my walls.

We both came without fucking. What an adventure.

"You knotted me... right after marking..."

I barely registered the rest of the things I said as my vision went black and I collapsed into his arms. I was sure I heard him say he loved me before I passed out.

When I opened my eyes, I almost didn’t recognize the ceiling above me. But after blinking for a while, I finally realized that I was now in Elijah’s room, tucked so cozily into his blanket fort.

"Eli?" I called out as I pushed myself out of bed, wincing at how sore I felt.

God, I was so hungry but there was nothing to eat. Not even Elijah’s cum could satisfy my hunger.

I couldn’t believe that I just thought of that.

I was still naked, stomach grumbling in complaint when the door suddenly opened and Elijah stepped in, a food tray in his hands. When he saw that I was awake, his face lit up at once as he rushed in and locked the door behind him.

I felt a soft but mild warmth on my neck when he took my hand, the place he had marked me before I passed out.

"I figured you’d be hungry when you woke up, I didn’t intend to let you wake up on your own." He whispered with an apologetic smile on his face as he kissed my knuckles gently and my face flushed from his sweet actions.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked when he wrapped his robe around my bare body, tying it up so that I was covered and I smiled.

"A few hours. It’s close to midnight now." He replied and my eyes widened.

"Have you told Adrian...?"

"Not yet. I was waiting for you to wake up then we would tell him together. You were the prime witness after all, he might not believe my words alone." he explained and I nodded in understanding. "Wanna talk to them now?"

"Huh? Them? This late?" I asked with wide eyes but he simply grinned at me as he swept me off my feet and I held onto him tightly. "Elijah, what are you doing? Put me down!" I whispered in panic but my words fell upon deaf ears as he pushed the door open and strode down the stairs with me in his arms.

What if... what if Mom actually saw this? Wouldn’t she be disappointed?

As soon as he got to the bottom of the stairs and I saw who was present, my heart sank as my face flushed from embarrassment.