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Nico sighed. “Do you always believe what people tell you?”

She shook her head. “No. This though... Nico, how do we come back from this? How do we move forward after what’s happened?”

“Then you shouldn’t believe everything you hear now.” He kissed the crown of her head. “I’ve been waiting for the right wolf to notice me. The other shit can stay right where it belongs, in the past.”

“Nico, I—”

He brushed his lips over hers before pressing their foreheads together. “Let me in, little wolf. I’ve missed you so much. My life hasn’t been the same without your light.”

“I’m scared. So, so, scared.”

“I know, little wolf,” he whispered, holding her close. “I know. We’ll do this together. One day at a time if we have to.”

She inhaled deeply, rubbing her cheek against his naked chest. “I need a little more time. Then I can give you my answer.”

“Well,” Nico said, humor filling his tone, “we’ve got nothing but time. Take what you want. I’ll be right here waiting for you.”

8

Hayden couldn't stop thinkingabout the luncheon after the first competition. Hill was right. As much as Nico told her to take her time, the anxious energy coursing through her veins told her, she was running out of options. Also, she couldn't help but think back to that fateful day when she found Nico, naked with that woman. Along with the heartache, she swore she'd squash down and never expose herself to it again.

Nevertheless, the situation never sat right with her. Heartbroken as she was, the rational side of her brain didn’t click into place, and sometimes, she wondered if it ever would. What if what she saw wasn’t what happened? Of course, she might be desperate enough to believe whatever scenario her mind conjured up to make Nico cheating on her okay. But, what if? What if what happened that morning had been a setup?

The only question remaining was, why?

Who would want to hurt her and Nico? Who would gain anything by separating Nico and Hayden? Everyone in her family knew about the situation with Lindsey and Claire. They'd seen her reaction when those girls tried to take Nico away from her. More so after those stupid cheerleaders tried to hurt Hayden at prom while trying to take her necklace. So, what was the point? Sitting in her dorm room, Hayden frowned. Did any of this matter? Did she care if she had the truth? What difference would understanding what happened, make?

Because then you’d have to realize you made the mistake, not him.Her frown deepened. If she’d been in the wrong the whole time, she didn’t think she could forgive herself.You know, you could go find Nico and ask him yourself...

Did she want to?

Shards of memories from her past floated through her mind, words she’d shoved from her brain because, at the time, she didn’t want to hear excuses. Now those same pleadings confused her.“Listen to Nico. Hear him out, Hayden. Please.”Her father never said please in such a manner, before. It was as if he asked her to believe him, not Nico.

Then there were the letters from her fathers. They were persistent. They always seemed to carry a thread of “please listen,” while she read them. Now, she wondered if maybe she missed something big this whole time, and if she had, what did her obliviousness say about her?

Hayden groaned in frustration.

“What’s wrong?” Bell appeared beside her, and Hayden jerked. “Sorry. I’ve been knocking on your door for a minute, and I got worried.”

“No,” Hayden hurried to say, “I’m sorry. I’ve been lost.”

Bell squeezed Hayden’s shoulder. “I’m sure.” She sat on Hayden’s bed. “Want to talk about it?”

Hayden scrubbed her face. “What if I have been wrong this whole time? What if what I thought I saw isn’t what happened? What if my dad asking me to talk to Nico was for a reason and I blew all of them off?”

Bell frowned. “Well, subtly isn’t a Raferty trait, so if they were trying to get you to talk to Nico before now, they did a shitty job of it.”

Hayden laughed. “It’s always so weird to hear you curse. You must be upset about my situation.”

Bell wrinkled her nose. Her eyes sparkled with amusement and anger. Not at Hayden. Perhaps at the situation? "It's been a little over two years now. I don't blame you for being upset or feeling broken or anything you've experienced. You and I are like two peas in the same pod. We understand what it's like to be kidnapped and tortured. We understand what it's like to not know from one minute to the next if anyone would save us. The only difference between us, your mate has always been your best friend. From the minute you arrived in Window Rock, Nico has been your right-hand man, so to speak. Cutting him off, without allowing him to explain, if there is even a valid reason to do so, burned both of you. You singed your mating." She narrowed her eyes at Hayden. "Don't think we didn't know he mated you either. We did. We never said anything is all."

“When you say we, who do you mean?” Fear gripped her stomach. No one knew about that day in Nico’s apartment. She’d never told anyone and even if Nico was a cheating asshole, she knew deep down he’d never say a word either.

“Bodhi, Tate, myself, Zoe,” she shrugged, “us. We never said anything because we figured you didn’t want to tell anyone.”

“So, if you know, they do too?” “They,” being her parents, and her uncles. Could this day get any worse?

Bell screwed up her face for a second. “I can’t answer for them. I don’t want to presume to know anything.” She placed her hand on Hayden’s. “You’re his mate. No matter how much you deny it. No matter how much you hurt him, the simple truth will never change. I think the bigger question to this whole situation is, what do you want, Hayden? I believe you don’t want to answer that. Allowing yourself to answer the question means coming face to face with a past you never healed from.”