Saving Nicole

Chapter 40: Saved

Nicole's POV

--

It's been a year. I've lost hope that Dallas will ever find me. It hurts. It hurts badly to not be able to see his smile. To not be able to see his beautiful eyes. To not be able to smell his minty scent. To not be able to kiss him. It hurts. I miss his kindness.

Where I am, no one is nice. Everyone my father has watch me is cruel.

I'm hoping that isn't true with the whole pack. Surely someone somewhere is kind.

But I've lost that hope, too. So I barely talk anymore.

I disowned my father. I hate him. He's a bad man and he doesn't deserve a daughter. He keeps me from my Mate and every day, he tells me that it's for the best. I never believe him. Sometimes, I wonder if he's just jealous of what Dallas and I have. Had.

I've grown to be a droopy girl, sagging to look submissive to my Pack members. My father taught me how to communicate with everyone telepathically. Mind-Link, they call it. I know without a doubt that this is what Dallas told me about.

I've tried Mind-Linking him, but it's too far. The connection is blocked. At least, that's what my wolf says.

She's sick. Very sick.

She's the only person I have to talk to without worrying about being snapped at.

And then one day, everything changes.

My father walks into the little room I am forced to stay in. It's close walls have made me forget my fear of small spaces and claustrophobia. A grin is on his ugly face. Such a familiar grin. I realize it's the same grin I see when I look in the mirror and smile at myself.

"Had any visions, Nicole?" I shake my head. He asks me this every time. My wolf controls my visions. And she's sick. "Well. Good news. Dallas is coming!" He claps with mock enthusiasm and I don't smile back at him. This is probably just a stupid joke. "We are luring him here as we speak. As soon as he's close enough..." He grins, dragging his finger across his throat and making a cracking noise. My eyes widen. So this isn't a joke. I'm actually going to see Dallas. And then watch him get murdered.

"Do you have any idea what that will do to me?" I ask quietly.

"You won't feel the usual Mate Pain because you haven't Marked each other yet." I glare at him. "What? I'm saving you a lot of pain. When your mother died -"

"When you killed her." It's his tun to glare at me.

"When I killed her," he corrects," I felt the Mate Pain and I won't put you through that. Better to eliminate the mutt before anything can happen."

"I hate you."

"Not after he's gone, you won't." He grins while I stare at him menacingly. I want to claw his face. I want to shift. But he's drugged me so I can't. That makes me angry and Amanda even sicker than she already is.

--

And then it's time. After a year. It's time that I see him. My father paces in front of me. Something's wrong. Which is very good.

"I won't sit back and watch you kill him." I say. "I hope you know that." He nods.

"Exactly why you'll be chained to a chair. He'll see you and try to unchain you, especially if it's silver chains." My eyes widen.

"You would actually do that? To your own daughter? Are you kidding me?" As I speak, I feel hands grab my arms and legs, dragging me backwards to rest me in a cold, metal chair. The sharp cold bites my warm skin, but I know this is the easy part.