She might have been praying to a god of the sea, but it was an iron prince who had been listening.
She scrambled backwards into the bank, and she looked up at Nick with real fear in her eyes for the first time. He could feel her conflicted emotions, he could hear all the lies she wanted to tell, and all the twisted truths that she had already told him. Her fear, her own panic, uncovered everything before him in a heartbeat through the very real and very true oath that she had given to him.
The worst part was that he could tell through the chaos of her thoughts that she truly loved him, but had come to love him by loving Coren more, by falling into Coren’s plan. Her love for him had been contrived, and in the end, her heart had never been there for him. She had given it away a long time ago.
Nick…She pleaded in panic, trying to remind him of what they had, of emotions and love that they had shared, anything that would spare her. If nothing else, she couldn’t die and weaken Coren.
He didn’t move from where he stood, but she could feel the pain rising up inside him, and with it, the killing anger that she knew he was capable of. She had seen it from him time and time again as she stood behind his throne and watched him rule his people, but she had never been the one staring it in the face before. It pierced her like a knife, and slowly, his upper lip began to twitch, baring his teeth slowly in a snarl of the rage that could only come from betrayal.
His hazel eyes didn’t blink as the growl began low in his throat. She could feel it resonate through her entire body through the bond they shared that not even his awakening hatred could undo.
The hate he felt, strong as it was, made it difficult for her to run away, since it still felt as good as the love he had once felt for her. Zara finally pulled herself away, though, and she tried to run as fast as she could. The only chance she had at survival was to run, and beneath her panic, she knew even that was futile.
She could feel him tearing through the underbrush behind her all the way. The worst part of what she felt from him at the moment was the silence. He might as well have not been any part human for the rage he felt as he chased her, hunting her like the animal that he was.
He was faster than she was, his anger driving him to forget even the injury he had sustained to his leg earlier that day. He managed to get around to one side of her, forcing her to take a sharp turn through the woods to keep away from him, and soon, she realized he was actually herding her back towards the compound. But every time she tried to take a turn away from him, he was there making sure she ran back toward the fence. It was that or his jaws.
When she was too close to the compound to get away from the metal, she could hear screeching from what the Ironborn were doing to restore it. It was too late.
She stopped suddenly, shaking her head violently as she cowered. Please, Nick! Please! What I felt for you was real! I do love you! I know you can feel it! I know…
Nick, however, didn’t stop, and he kept running at her full tilt, until he rammed into her and flung her a dozen feet into what remained of a tree that had been bent over backward in the battle. When she fell to the ground, he was there standing over her, still snarling.
I can feel it. He finally said, and she knew he meant it. She could feel his changed awareness of every smile she had given him, every moment they had spent together. Every confidence he had shared, every concern he had voiced only to her. His trust. His own love for her. None of it changed the murderous look on his face. Get on your feet or die in the dirt. Get to the Court. Your mate is waiting for you.
She yelped in pain but she got up and went in the direction that he forced her to go. She tried to reason with him, but he didn’t answer. All she could hope for was mercy, but she knew Nick too well to allow herself even that much. A hope for mercy was like the hope of outrunning him. It was not in his nature.
On their way to Court, they were surrounded by other wolves that had survived the fight, all of whom knew Nick when they saw him. They were less accustomed to the sight of Zara as a wolf, but her downcast eyes and the pendant hanging in her fur like a dog collar gave her away immediately. Everyone could hear the rage spilling out of Nick as he prowled after her, and all those who could hear it fell back out of the way at the intensity, whispering among themselves. Nick didn’t speak to anyone or even give them a second thought, his eyes focused on Zara ahead of him, walking with her tail between her legs.
When they arrived at the court, he saw Lea
