Nicholas’s POV
"Adrian, don’t! Stop!" I yelled as I tried to push him away from me but his fangs had already sunk deep into my neck, paralyzing me for a second.
Did he just mark me...?
Fucking hell. How could he?
"Mine..." he whispered as he pulled back and my vision blurred when I stared at him. "You’re mine, Nicholas. My mate."
Those were the last words I heard before I collapsed against him as everything turned black.
When I opened my eyes again, I was in a foreign room with a different ceiling from mine. I tried to sit up but my legs and ass felt sore, making me wince in pain. How the hell did I get here?
I looked around for a moment before recognizing that this was probably one of the guest rooms in the mansion. But how did I end up here?
I suddenly felt a sharp sting in my neck and my hand flew up immediately as my memories came rushing through my head. Adrian had fucked me so hard and knotted me... and he marked me. He literally marked me, calling me his mate.
What the fuck?
I rushed out of bed, stumbling on my way to the bathroom, but I didn’t let it stop me as I pushed the door open and stood in front of the mirror.
Bite marks and hickeys were all over my body but what I wanted to see was the mark on my neck. However, as I checked my neck for signs of the mark that Adrian left, I was stunned to see that there was nothing there.
I checked again and again to be sure but truly, there was no mark. Just hickeys and kiss marks all over my skin.
Did I hallucinate or something? Was it a dream?
It couldn’t be... it felt so real. I felt the pain, then the pleasure that came with it. My wolf howled loudly in my head after that happened. It couldn’t have been a hallucination... or a dream. Adrian really did mark me.
But the mark was gone.
Like it disappeared into my skin or something.
I managed to stumble out of the bathroom and was about to leave the room when I noticed something was sitting on the nightstand with my name attached to it.
Reaching for the small bag, my eyes widened when I saw that there was a brand new phone in it and I realized that Adrian must have left it here since he took my previous phone.
I left it behind as I walked out of the room, looking around in confusion because the whole house seemed empty.
I didn’t know who to call out to but I made my way to Adrian’s room first because I needed to know why he did what he did.
Knocking on his door, there was no answer. The door didn’t budge either so I figured out that he wasn’t home. I let out a sigh as I walked over to Cassian’s room but someone was actually in the room.
However, I got no response.
"Cassian?" I called out softly as I knocked again but after minutes of standing out here with no response, I gave up and walked away.
I returned to my previous room to see that it had been repainted and restructured, making me frown. When did they do all these?
A soft knock on the door had me turning as I pulled the door open. Elijah stood out there, a small smile on his face as he waved at me.
"Eli—"
My words got cut off when he suddenly pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly. I stood frozen for a moment in confusion until he pulled away, a guilty expression on his face.
"Adrian told us what was going on." He whispered and even though I was confused, I nodded anyway. "When you were out for days, I was so worried."
"What? I was out for days?" I asked in confusion as I stared at him and he nodded. "How long?"
"Three days." He responded and my head rang at his words. "Adrian said he had been too hard on you because you asked him for help... I’m really sorry, Nicholas. I should have listened to you that day at the bathroom—"
"No. I didn’t ask you for my request that day because I needed your help." I whispered and he looked at me in shock. "I just... I just wanted it. And I crossed my boundaries, I know. So I should be apologizing.
"Not at all, Nick, I was wrong. I didn’t know why you suddenly asked that all of a sudden." He muttered as he closed the door behind him. "I felt that I would not be able to truly give you what you wanted. I feared you would not be satisfied. And after hearing you with my brothers... I was convinced that was the truth."
"Elijah." I called out when he stopped talking and he glanced at me.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think I’m a whore? A slut who has slept with two out of four brothers? Do you think I’m cheap?" I asked softly, my voice barely above a whisper and he immediately shook his head.
"I don’t think that. None of us thinks that is true." He replied but I scoffed in disbelief. "Believe me. After all, we claimed you at once that night. If it’s anyone’s fault, then it’s ours. Your wolf must have gotten used to four of us so it’s not a big deal."
"It really isn’t a big deal?" I whispered with wide eyes, feeling as if something had been taken off my chest. "You don’t think I’m some—"
"No, I don’t think that at all." He muttered, caressing my face gently. "I think you’re perfect and you deserve to be loved more than one person." He added and my fingers trembled slightly at his last sentence.
"Loved...?"
"That’s right. Not used. Loved." He whispered as he leaned closer, kissing my lips gently. My eyes closed, and a few teardrops followed.
"I will never force you to give something you don’t want to give. But if you let me, then I can love you better than you can imagine." He added, and I almost couldn’t believe my ears.
"You actually love me? An omega like me? Even after knowing that I might not truly be yours alone?" I asked in desperation, my heart pounding wildly in my chest and he nodded with a grin.
"If they don’t treat you well, I will. Besides, they might fuck well in bed but my heart is big enough to show you the love that four of us could shower on you." He replied, his eyes crinkling as he smiled, and I couldn’t help but let out a shaky breath.
Was this a prank? Did he really mean these words?
"It doesn’t matter if you don’t love me yet. My love is enough for both of us." He added as he ruffled my hair gently and my heart swelled.
"I... I don’t deserve it."
I wanted to tell him I loved him too. But all I could think of was how I didn’t deserve to be loved in such a way.
"Who cares if you think you deserve it or not? My love is already yours anyway so it doesn’t matter if you deserve it or not. You can’t change it, Nick." He whispered, caressing my face gently and I leaned into his touch.
"Adrian, Cassian and Roman? What are they saying?" I asked softly and he shrugged like he didn’t care.
"I’m not so sure Adrian and Cassian are on talking terms. Especially since they both... you know." He explained and my heart sank. "Cassian was disappointed that you didn’t trust him enough to handle it. Adrian said he was too incompetent. They haven’t talked to each other since then."
Shit.
"And Roman?"
"I don’t know what’s going on in his head. But he’s pretty chill about everything. But he came to check on you every night. Guess who stayed by your side all day." He muttered with a smirk on his lips and I forced a smile at him.
"You?"
"That’s right. Me." He said with a satisfied grin, and I wanted to smile, but I couldn’t. I felt guilty.
"Was that why Cassian refused to open the door when I knocked?" I muttered softly, looking down in guilt and he sighed.
"Just talk to him later. He’ll be fine, he can be a big baby sometimes." He reassured me as he rubbed my shoulders gently and I nodded. "Oh, by the way, all the cameras have been taken down and we’re also trying to find who put them up in the first place. And we’ll catch the stalker soon."
"I wish I could repay—"
"Enough. No repaying or that shit. You’re important to us. You’re our m—" He suddenly paused and I raised a brow at him. "You’re our stepbrother. Connected or not, we’re entitled to help you."
There was something suspicious about the way he stopped talking midway but I didn’t pay attention to it.
"Can I ask a question?" I asked, suddenly remembering the way Adrian had marked me. "If I get marked, will the mark be visible or not?"