Chapter 0096
Nicholas had never met my twin, but I had definitely talked about her when he and I had been dating. I was constantly worried about her, and she would sneak out into my conversations without even meaning
- to.
Ever since we were kids, she was getting in trouble. Maybe she was too free–spirited. Maybe she was an adrenaline junkie. I’d never been sure. But she chased danger like she was invincible. It was only a matter
of time before she caught it
Or it caught her.
Under the bright moonlight, I watched the shifts in Nicholas’s expression as he thought it through.
That I had left him to be with someone else had been the most obvious answer for my sudden
departure. He had convinced himself it was true because it made the most sense
But I couldn’t help but wonder if deep down, he doubted.
We had been very much in love for all of our time together. We clicked fast and fell hard. For a long time,
I thought he might be the one.
He knew that. He felt it too.
He had to question whether I would simply up and leave for such a selfish reason. I was not a good enough actor for everything we shared to be a lie.
Nicholas’s brow pulled together, confused.
Slowly, he seemed to piece it together. My constant worrying. The timing. Elva’s age.
When we broke up, Elva had already been born.
“Your sister,” he said. “Your twin.”
I nodded.
Elva looks just like you. So she would also look like her.”
brow smoothed out. He looked at me as if seeing me for the first time. “Elva is your sister’s
the Brusts. At femid, in part. The rest I could nove spl
“My sister went with the wrong crowd. She became tangled up in a series of bad situations that
ultimately left her pregnant and alone. She’d broken contact with me a few times but when she reached
out and asked for my help…”
I remembered the desperation in her voice as she had begged me, “Piper, I need you.”
“You never told me,” Nicholas said. “I would have helped.”
“No. I couldn’t involve you in this. You are nobility –”
“To hell with nobility,” Nicholas said, straightening. “I loved you, and you were hurting. I should have been there for you. I would have been.”
“But you also had a really bright future. You’d never been… tarnished with any of the things she was involved in.” I lowered my head, afraid he might see the lingering feelings on my face. “I wanted to keep
you safe.”
Nicholas placed his index finger under my chin and gently coaxed me to look at him again. I had thought
he’d be angry, but his eyes held only concern. When he spoke, his voice was whisper–soft.
“And who was keeping you safe?”
We both knew the answer. no one.
“Elva was a newborn when the underground organization snatched her away from the hospital. My sister.
owed them many debts. I offered to pay. I knew I could scrounge up the money somehow. But they
laughed at me.”
Nicholas’s hand moved from under my chin to curl around where my neck met my shoulder. His fingers massaged the muscle there, offering silent comfort.
He must have been able to tell how difficult this was for me.
Remembering the past like this, nearly sent me straight back there. His touch was grounding, keeping me here in the present with him.
They wanted my wolf. I didn’t even hesitate. They had Elva.”
tried to blink back the tears but they still escaped from under my lashes. Even after three years, everything that happened felt so raw.
You did what you had to do, Nicholas said. His understanding surprised me. I searched his face out ewno hint of deception: He meant his words
te me when
“What happened to your sister? How did you end up with Elva?
“Once my wolf was taken from me, she totally disappeared. But they held up their end of the bargain and
gave me Elva. I thought my sister would eventually return but she never has
