93: Ada's POV

We all knew Phoenix was lying, but frankly, there wasn’t much we could do about it. I spent the night in my room with Darius sleeping on the couch in front of the fire, since all three of them were in agreement that I was in constant danger now that they’d marked me. If only they had thought of that before they’d pinned me down and done that, we could have had a better plan. Hell, maybe we could have agreed and marked each other.

Those weren’t the cards that were dealt. I spent a good portion of the night tossing and turning. I was worried about Phoenix, but it wasn’t where my mind was. If the prophecy was right, both Darius and Phoenix could live through our love. It seemed no matter what we did, Nik’s life was forfeit. That didn’t sit well with me, for many reasons. One, I couldn’t imagine killing any of them. They were my mates, and even though they had fucked up royally, I still cared for them. I didn’t want anything to happen to them. Two, I didn’t believe in a fate set in stone. Prophecy or not, most things could be altered. Why was this the one thing the Seer had stated would be inevitable?

Eventually, I had dozed off into a dreamless sleep. When I woke up, the sun was high in the sky and Darius had left the room. Nik had taken his spot on the couch, sitting up with a book in his hands. He was in his usual laid-back attire: gray sweatpants, a black t-shirt, and glasses. From this distance, I couldn’t be sure— but it looked like he was wearing white-gold wire-rimmed glasses, perched near the tip of his nose. His fingers ran along the edge of the paper repeatedly, aimlessly. His dark eyes scoured the page. His lips were set in a straight line, his jaw set. What was he reading? What could have sucked him in that much?

Nik’s eyes flicked up, looking at me from across the room. A slow smile spread across his face. He closed the book and set it down on the coffee table in front of him, “Good morning, dove. Coffee?”

My stomach flipped. I gave a little nod, my lips parting. The Nik I got when it was just the two of us was so superior to the coldhearted, unfeeling man he was when others were around. I knew he did it to protect himself, but I hated the split personalities I had to deal with. In fact, all of them — even Phoenix— did it. It was like being mated to six people instead of three.

I padded across the room to the little sitting area, taking a spot on the couch beside Nik. He passed me a steaming mug. I took it and sipped from the cup. My body erupted into a small little happy shimmy as I took yet another sip. It was earthy, nutty, and had a hint of maple. That was some damn good coffee.

“Thanks,” my voice was muffled by the mug that I still had my face buried in, “How’d you sleep?”

He leaned back in the chair with a sigh. Nik ran a hand through his oil-slick hair, which was the most unkempt I’d seen it. In fact, he wasn’t as put-together as he usually was. He normally had this serene, coldness to him. Right now? Dark circles were under his eyes, his cheeks were slightly hollowed out, and his lips were raw. It looked as if he’d been chewing on them constantly. His nail beds were also picked raw. It was safe to say he hadn’t slept well last night, or any other recent night.

“No worse than usual,” Nik shrugged after nearly a minute of silence. “Listen, can we talk?” he glanced at the door to the room, and I couldn’t tell if he was verifying we were alone or willing someone to come in.

I nodded and took another sip of the fragrant coffee, “Of course. What’s on your mind?”

Onyx eyes, swimming with swirls of stars in them, met mine. Nik sucked in a breath, “I feel like we need to clear the air,” he tapped his fingertips on his thigh, “I owe you an apology.” There was no point in my arguing or confirming. He went on, carefully picking his words, “I am sorry that I put you in any position where you could not refuse my brothers and me, dove. Despite my reputation, consent is actually something very important to me,” Nik leaned forward, reaching for me with his hand. I let him grab mine gently, rubbing his thumb on the back of my hand, “There’s no excuse for the way I behaved, and I know I will have to do a lot to make up for it.”

“Nik...” I breathed out, goosebumps breaking out over my skin as he touched me. Light sparks flew from where our skin met. I swallowed, watching the various colored sparks fly, “I accept your apology.”

It was not lost on me that he did not apologize for marking me and claiming me. Only removing my choice in the matter. Honestly, it meant so much more that he was only apologizing for what he was actually sorry for. A blanket apology would mean nothing. Nik was here, showing genuine remorse. I could forgive him, if only for his humbleness in the way he was approaching this.

He wrenched me from my thoughts by gently squeezing my hand, “I think it’s best we acknowledge the prophecy, as well.”

I averted my gaze. “What about it?”

“Ada,” Nik chuckled, bringing my hand to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss on my knuckles before locking eyes with me once more, “Dove, we will do our best to change what is written. We’re both fighters, you and I. If there’s anyone who can rewrite fate,” Nik cocked his head to the side with a smile, “it’s us. But I need you to know something about it if we don’t.”

“We will, though,” I insisted, eyes blurring as unexpected tears brimmed, “I won’t hurt you, Nikolai Ashford. You’re my mate and I love you and—”

“And none of that matters in this case,” he interrupted, gently pulling me up and over into his lap, “There is only one thing that matters, and that is that I would follow you into the afterlife if you’d let me, Ada Lennox.” his breath was hot on the top of my head as I buried my face in his chest, “As far as I’m concerned, it’s even better if I’m the one that goes and you don’t follow.”

I gripped his hand firmly in mine and sniffled. He said such sweet, horrible things. Things I hated to love. I nodded as he placed a kiss on my mess of hair. As I wiggled against him, I could feel his erection beneath me. Something about this mate bond made any closeness erotic as hell. My mind jumped to his room, where I had awoken so many moons ago.

My voice was soft, “What’s in the locked room, Nik?”