Irina’s POV

"I’m going away for a while."

The heavy words violently hit my chest. They felt like a brutal, physical punch.

The heavy oak door was still open. Nicholas stood completely frozen in the dark doorway. His massive, broad shoulders entirely blocked the gloomy hallway behind him. The warm, golden firelight from my bedroom violently clashed with the terrifying, lethal darkness radiating from his body.

I stared entirely blankly at him. My small chest heaved with shallow, ragged breaths.

Going away?

He never left the pack house. Never. He was the Alpha King. He ruled his massive, bloody underground empire right from his dark, heavily guarded office. He controlled every single breath I took from within these thick stone walls. The absolute thought of him actually leaving the territory... it was completely wrong. It made my stomach violently drop.

He didn’t wait for my response. He didn’t offer a single explanation.

Nicholas slowly turned his broad back to me. The heavy darkness of the corridor instantly swallowed him. His heavy combat boots clicked sharply against the hardwood floor.

He was actually walking away.

A sudden, suffocating panic violently clawed at my throat. It wasn’t the usual, familiar terror he normally made me feel. This was completely different. This was pure, raw dread.

The mate bond.

Even without my wolf, the sacred mate bond violently pulsed deep in my freezing veins. It absolutely screamed at me. Something was horribly, terribly wrong. The sharp, bitter scent of ozone and cold steel poured heavily off him. But beneath his usual terrifying Alpha scent, there was something else. Something dark and incredibly heavy.

Fear.

The Mad King was actually afraid.

"Nicholas!"

My voice violently tore through the quiet room. I didn’t even think. My body completely took over. I shoved the heavy wooden armchair backward. It scraped harshly against the polished floor. I bolted directly toward the open door.

I completely ignored the sharp, aching cold on my bare feet. I ran straight out into the freezing, dark hallway.

The air out here was incredibly icy. The dark shadows were completely suffocating.

"Nicholas, stop!" I yelled breathlessly.

He violently froze.

He was already halfway down the massive, dimly lit corridor. His huge frame went absolutely rigid. The heavy muscles in his back violently tensed. He slowly turned around to face me.

His glowing golden eyes burned brightly in the suffocating darkness. They were entirely feral. They were filled with a dark, violent storm that completely terrified me. But I didn’t step back. I didn’t flinch away. I tightly clutched the soft fabric of my oversized white sweater. I marched directly up to him.

"Where are you going?" I demanded softly.

My voice was trembling heavily. I absolutely hated how fragile I sounded. But I desperately needed to know. The absolute silence of the massive pack house was suddenly deafening.

Nicholas stared entirely down at me. His heavy jaw clenched so tightly I actually heard his teeth violently grind.

"I have business," he growled darkly. His voice was pure, lethal ice. It was that terrifying, commanding Alpha tone that usually made entire rooms drop to their knees in pure submission.

I violently shook my head. I refused to accept that completely vague answer.

"What business?" I pushed urgently. My heart aggressively slammed against my ribs. "You never leave the territory. You never leave the absolute center of the pack. You rule from here."

"It is pack business, Irina," he snapped sharply.

His harsh tone felt like a brutal slap. But I refused to back down.

I stepped even closer. The heavy, suffocating heat radiating from his massive body instantly enveloped me. I could literally feel the violent, aggressive energy rolling off his muscles in thick, suffocating waves. He was an absolute weapon. He looked like a lethal predator preparing to slaughter its prey.

"You are lying," I whispered completely breathlessly. "Your scent is entirely wrong. You smell like pure rage. You smell like blood."

Nicholas violently flinched. The tiny, almost invisible movement absolutely shocked me.

He forcefully dragged a massive, shaking hand through his dark, messy hair. He let out a harsh, exhausted breath. The terrifying Alpha mask slightly cracked.

"There is a situation," he finally muttered. His voice dropped into a dark, rough rumble. "I need to handle it myself. It is extremely complicated. I have some very thorny business to take care of."

"Thorny business?" I repeated blankly.

"Yes." His glowing golden eyes fiercely locked directly onto mine. "When it is completely finished, I will come back. I will return to you."

The heavy words hung violently in the freezing air between us.

*I will return to you.*

The sheer, raw intensity in his eyes made my weak knees physically shake. He wasn’t just going to a meeting. He wasn’t negotiating a simple mafia territory dispute.

He was going to war.

My small hands started to visibly tremble. The terrified, completely vulnerable girl inside me desperately wanted to run back to my warm room and lock the heavy oak door. But the mate bond completely anchored me to the floor. It wrapped tightly around my incredibly fragile heart.

"Is it dangerous?" I asked quietly.

My voice completely cracked. The question was incredibly small, but it violently echoed in the dark, heavy hallway.

Nicholas didn’t answer.

He said absolutely nothing.

The heavy silence was completely deafening. It was absolute agony.

I stared intensely up at his handsome, scarred face. I waited for him to scoff at me. I waited for him to confidently tell me he was the invincible Alpha King. I waited for him to arrogantly say that no one could ever touch him.

But he remained entirely silent.

His heavy jaw remained tightly clenched. His golden eyes slightly dimmed with a dark, suffocating sorrow. He just stared at my pale face, desperately memorizing every single detail of my features.

That dark, heavy silence entirely confirmed my absolute worst fear.

It was incredibly dangerous. It was completely lethal. The Mad King, the most violent, terrifying man in the entire underground werewolf empire, wasn’t sure if he would actually survive this brutal fight.

A cold, sickening dread violently crashed completely over me. My breath entirely hitched in my dry throat.

"Nicholas..." I whispered brokenly.

He forcefully cut me off.

"You stay inside the absolute center of the house," he commanded harshly. His deep voice was rough, completely entirely strained. "You do not leave your room without heavy guards. You do not go near the windows. You eat every single meal they bring you."

He stepped heavily forward. He completely closed the distance between us.

He didn’t touch me. He desperately wanted to. I could literally see his massive, scarred hands violently trembling at his sides. He wanted to aggressively grab me. He wanted to violently crush me against his broad chest. But he forced himself to completely pull back. He was treating me like I was made of incredibly fragile, shattered glass.

"Take care of yourself, Irina," he growled softly. His golden eyes violently dropped to my flat stomach for one brief, agonizing second. "Take care of our baby. Take care of Luka. Just stay safe."

The sheer, raw desperation in his rough voice completely shattered my heart.

He wasn’t acting like a possessive, controlling monster right now. He wasn’t the terrifying Alpha King demanding absolute submission. He was acting like a broken man saying his final, bloody goodbye.

He gave me one last, entirely burning look.

Then, he aggressively turned around. He started to walk away again. The heavy, dark shadows immediately reached out to completely swallow his massive shoulders. He was going to walk entirely out into the lethal darkness. He was going to leave me trapped in this massive golden cage.

*No.*

My mind violently screamed. My chest physically burned with absolute agony.

All the heavy fear, all the bitter resentment, all the suffocating panic completely vanished. I couldn’t let him leave like this. I couldn’t let the absolute last memory of us be that horrible, tear-filled fight in my bedroom. He was my fated mate. He was the father of my children. And he was walking straight into pure, violent hell.

"Wait."

The single word ripped violently from my dry throat.

Nicholas completely froze. His heavy combat boots stopped entirely on the thick rug.

I didn’t give him a single second to turn around. I completely lunged forward.

I violently closed the gap between us. I aggressively grabbed the lapels of his dark, expensive suit jacket. My incredibly small hands violently twisted into the thick fabric. I forcefully pulled his massive frame down to my level. I completely ignored the terrifying, dominant Alpha aura heavily suffocating my lungs.

I stood entirely on my bare tiptoes.

And then, I stepped forward and actively kissed Nicholas.