But that’s not going to happen, I remind myself.
Because I don’t love her.
I don’t want her.
I don’t need her.
Before she has a chance to answer my question, the door to the room bursts open and Jeremy darts inside.
“Good, you’re here.”
“What the fuck, man?” I jump up and snarl, irritated he’s burst in on this personal moment between us.
Jeremy looks surprised to see me react this way, and then his eyes go from Nicole to me and back again. Understanding registers, and his face goes blank.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but we’ve had a breakthrough.”
“A breakthrough?” Nicole seems confused, and I realize she doesn’t know exactly what it is that I do here. Jeremy and Marta need me, obviously, but I’m not about to leave Nicole on her own.
“There’s been some new information...that...” Jeremy stutters, trying to figure out how much he can say in front of Nicole.
Anything.
He can say anything in front of her and it’ll be okay with me.
I trust her completely, I realize suddenly, and it’s something that surprises me in this moment. For so long, I had villainized her in my head, believing that she was the reason for all of our problems. Now, suddenly, I’m wondering what would have happened if I had just been patient with her, if I had just waited.
Would things be different?
There’s no time to find out than right now.
“Nicole, I’m a hacker,” I tell her, standing.
“What?” Her heartbeat starts racing as she realizes what I’m telling her.
“A hacker,” Jeremy confirms. “One of the best, in fact.”
“This is Jeremy. He’s a member of my group. He’s one of the best, in fact,” I mirror his words, and Jeremy grins. “My team and I have been tracking Lucky and trying to find out what they’ve been up to, why they’re targeting shifters, and what they have in store for us. After you came into the woods on your, ahem, dragon hunting expedition,” she blushes, but I keep talking. “I realized that there might be more to this than we originally thought. But we shouldn’t talk about this here.”
“Prying ears,” Jeremy explains, motioning around.
“I don’t think anyone would be listening in,” she says slowly, but the realization that she doesn’t live alone starts to sink in, and she gets what we’re saying. “But okay. So...you have to go now?” She looks up at me.
“Correction: we have to go.” I reach my hand out for hers, and I wait anxiously.
Will she take my hand?
Will this be the moment things change?
An
d what will I do if Nicole turns me down one more time?
My entire life has been a series of roller-coasters and ups and downs and highs and lows, but something tells me that this moment is going to be a turning point in my life. It will either be the moment I realize how wrong I’ve been and that Nicole and I deserve a second chance, or it will be the moment I realize I should have given up completely and moved on, found a new mate, and found a new life.
I stare at her, waiting for her response.
Take my hand, I silently urge her, but no one can make this choice but her.