𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌, Eric Northman

066.

CHAPTER SIXTY SIX

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          DAKOTA SAT IN HIS OFFICE WITH HER GAZE FIXED ON THE CEILING AS SHE TRIED TO MAKE SENSE OF THE MESS THEY WERE IN. The past few hours felt like a blur. Everyone had gone to ground and although it was well past time for them to wake, the silence persisted. The blonde wasn't tired yet. She wasn't sure if she cared anymore. It felt like she had been ripped apart from the inside out.

Her anger had settled into a deep and aching numbness. She couldn't shake the image of Eric's betrayal, the way he kept the truth from her and how she had been left in the dark for so long. Russell Edgington alive ... it made her sick to the stomach just thinking about it.

The door of the office creaked open and pulled her from her thoughts. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. The bond between them hummed with his presence, an unwelcome reminder of the connection they still shared. 

Eric closed the door behind him and she ignored him. The usual commanding air he carried with him seemed dimmed, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.       

"Dakota," he finally said, his voice low and hesitant.

She didn't respond, didn't look at him. 

Eric sighed, running a hand through his hair as he stepped closer. "I know you're angry. You have every right to be."

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "Angry doesn't even begin to cover it."

He moved around the desk to face her but she still refused to meet his eyes. He hovered there, unsure of what to say next and for once the Viking was at a loss for words. His silence made her angrier.

"I thought I was protecting you." he said softly, his voice laced with guilt. "I didn't want you to be dragged into this mess."

"You mean the mess I've already been dragged into?" she shot back, finally turning to glare at him. Her eyes were cold, her voice sharp. "Russell Edgington killed me and Godric, Eric. And you let me believe he was gone. For a whole year."

Eric flinched at her words, his guilt evident in the way his shoulders tensed. "I thought it was over. I thought keeping you in the dark would keep you safe."

"Safe?" Dakota stood abruptly, her anger flaring again. "You think this is about safety? You broke my trust. You made me feel like an idiot, like I didn't deserve to know the truth."

Eric's jaw clenched. "I was wrong. I see that now."

"Maybe Pam was right." she muttered. "Maybe you don't trust anyone."

Eric took a step closer, his voice barely above a whisper. "I trust you."

Dakota closed her eyes, a sense of exhaustion washing over her. She didn't want to fight anymore, but she wasn't ready to let him off the hook either. She felt torn between the love she had for him and the betrayal that had fractured everything within her mind.

Eric reached out, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened but didn't pull away.

"Sweetheart," he uttered and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to betray your trust and I had no malicious intent to keep this from you. I just wanted you to be happy."

Dakota's heart ached at his words and for a moment she let herself soften. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, resting her head against his chest. His arms wrapped around her instinctively, holding her close as if afraid that letting go might break the fragile truce between them.