Chapter 57: Chapter Fifty-Seven His

Nyx was quiet the entire ride home. When I left the room, she had been sated and happy, or at least I thought she was. Hugo reported her mother snuck in through a secret door, and he only caught the ending of their conversation. According to him, Nyx violently cut ties with her mother. I tried to ask her what had happened as we crawled into bed, but she said she wasn't ready yet. I pulled her back tightly to my chest until she fell asleep. As I stared at her soundly sleeping next to me, I could see the tiny bruise forming on her cheek. The deep red color fueled my anger. I would never let her mother near her again. I wanted to wake her to demand what happened, but I needed to wait until Nyx was ready to talk to me.

I tried to give her space to work through her thoughts, but I was brimming with energy. I could still feel Nyx's power surging through me, paired with nervous energy from feeling so helpless. Andrew had taken a squad of trackers to locate Chad, Bernie, or Darius. However, there were no updates to any of their locations. With my vast resources, you would think it would be easy to locate three shifters. But my enemies were good at hiding in the shadows. I hoped she would be ready to talk by the next morning, but she spent most of the morning sitting in the breakfast nook, staring out the vast windows and sipping warm tea. I sat opposite Nyx at the table and patiently waited for her to notice me. I hated seeing that far-off, glazed-over look that dulled the teal in her eyes. It reminded me of the woman she was before we reunited. A shell of the vibrant, feisty woman she was letting herself be. After an eternity, Nyx's eyes finally focused on me, and a look of surprise popped up.

"There you are." I gave her a gentle smile, which she returned with a small one that did not reach her eyes. So much turmoil swirled in those eyes that I felt the pull of her mark in my chest. I could sense when she had strong emotions about something, but identifying the source of the feelings was challenging.

"Hey, sorry, I've had a lot on my mind." She sighed and set her mug down. It was then I noticed her swollen hand. I reached over and gently took her hand in between mine. I turned hers this way and that, studying the injury. I was all too familiar with a boxer's break. Nyx would need a doctor. She would require an x-ray to ensure it wasn't displaced or malrotated before putting a proper splint on it. When Nyx winced again, I said, "It's broken."

"I figured it was." Nyx sighed, her face falling in a way that made me hesitate to pry further.

"Did your mother do this?"

"Her face did when I punched it." Nyx's lips turned up in a sad smirk.

I couldn't keep the pride out of my voice, "About fucking time."

The light that was once in her eyes was nowhere to be found. In its place was an apathetic mask I hated. "She made a deal with your father, Ollie."

I furrowed my brows, "What?"

"My mother asked your father to kill me."

I shook my head, "No way. My father was a monster, but he wouldn't stoop to contract killing."

"He would if they thought they could take my divine powers. My mother believed she could pull the powers out after I died."

I searched her face for any indication of doubt; when I saw none, I asked, "Your mother made a deal to murder you?"

Nyx stared at me briefly, studying my face like she was seeing me but was having difficulty deciding if I was friend or foe. A dark cloud of negative emotion started to whirl in the pit of my stomach. She was hiding something from me. "According to her, yes. You showing up and buying time so I could be resuscitated saved my life and prevented her from taking my power."

My knee bounced below the table—the need to get her medical attention added to the bundle of helpless energy. Trying to sound casual, I asked, "Do you want to talk it through?"

Nyx decided something at that moment, "If we do the claiming ceremony, does that mean that no one else could ever touch me again?"

I observed her, trying to figure out where this was going, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, hypothetically, if we completed the Claim mark, and Chad attacked me, what would happen?" Nyx looked down, her face tight with worry.

"Is that what you have been thinking about?" I ran my free hand through my hair, relieved that this was where her brain had been. "Nothing will happen because I will not let Chad anywhere near you again. Now, we need to get this fixed up. I'll call for a doctor."

I moved to pull my phone from my pocket. Nyx looked out the window, her expression unreadable, "What about offspring?"

I sat back, setting my phone on the table, "Children? What about them?"

"What if someone gets pregnant by someone other than their Claimed mate?" Nyx's hand began to shake in mine.

"Hey... Hey.." I tried to get Nyx to look at me, but she just shook her head and closed her eyes. I calmed, "Anam Cara, listen to me carefully. Shifter kind reproduces exactly like humans. No claim mark will prevent that from happening; however, once a mark is complete, it is a direct connection between these two people. Like last night, I felt you were in danger before I knew you were. That feeling will only become stronger once our bond is complete. I promise I will protect you. No one will ever touch you again."

Nyx's eyes stayed closed, and a stray tear rolled down her cheek. I felt helpless and tried to swallow the lump of panic in my throat. I enclosed Nyx's hand with both on mine, careful of the break. Within an instant, Nyx's determined gaze met mine, "Do you want children?"

I stumbled a little on what she just asked, "I.. ah... Of course, I want children, just not right now."

Nyx's eyes seemed to change, and the sadness was gone entirely. With an icy tone, she pulled her hand from mine and stated, "I don't want children. I wanted to clarify where we stood before we completed the claim mark. I will be with you forever but do not want any children."

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but this was a bomb I was not expecting this morning. I closed my mouth and tried to think through this conversation to give Nyx a proper answer. Every cell in my body screamed that something was off about this situation. Nyx's even tone was almost heartbreaking, "Ollie, I think you should take some time to think about this. From what I gathered, your pack expects an heir to your crown, but I don't want any children. Please take time to think if you want me as your Luna or if other arrangements must be made."

Nyx picked up her cup, walked it over to the sink, and walked away from me. I sat there dumbfounded. Nyx was right; I did need to think this through. Something was off. The way Nyx brought this up sent red flags waving around my head. The questions leading up to her confession didn't add up either. Confusion clouded my thoughts. Was she asking if I could or would seek out someone else to have children with? Just thinking that felt wrong and disgusting. Then, an anger I could barely contain surfaced. How dare she think I wanted anyone else. How dare she make me choose between her and my obligations to my pack--my people. I grabbed my phone, messaging Hugo to get a doctor for Nyx's broken hand. I jumped up from my seat and headed toward the back door. I needed to wolf out and run this off.