“Do you?” Virgil asked, somewhat coldly. “Nameone.”
Niko opened his mouth, then, to his own horror, found that he could not name a single thing. He whimpered, trying not to cry out, and huddled into a ball, hugging himself around the knees. “What’s happeningtome?”
“It’s okay, Niko,” Ireassuredhim.
“How can it be okay!?” he snapped. His eyes were bloodshot and he suddenly looked more weak and vulnerable than usual. “Everyone is telling me lies… I don’t know who to believe anymore! I can’t even believemyself!”
“Just breathe,” Virgilinstructed.
The shivering omega shut his eyes and inhaled deeply before letting out a shaky exhale. He was clearly frightened. I knew I would be if I was in his situation, too. My heart hurtforhim.
“I have something to ask you,” Niko said, looking straight at me. His eyes burned with a thousand emotions. For a moment, I saw the Niko I knew and loved - fierce, smart, always questioning,defiant,kind.
I nodded. “You can ask meanything.”
He swallowed hard. “I have a scar somewhere on my body that I couldn’t explain. I didn’t know where it came from. But if what you’re saying istrue,then…”
My heart leapt to my throat. Was Niko finally starting to accept thetruth?
He stood and slowly lifted the shirt from his body. I gasped when Isawit.
Across both of his sides, in a symmetrical arrangement, were scars that looked exactly like the bite pattern of a wolf. Alargeone.
Niko looked down and traced the scars with his finger. “I’d always wondered what they were, and I was too shy to ask anybody. Why don’t I remember it? You’d think with a scar this big, I would never forget whathappened.”
His eyes became cloudyagain.
“Niko,” I said. He looked up. “I know what happened. I… wasthere.”
He swallowed, gathering up his nerve. “Whathappened?”
Of course I remembered. How could I ever forget? That was the moment my life was shattered, my heart torn, still-beating, from my chest. I shut my eyes as the horrible memory floodedoverme.
I began toexplain.
It replayed in my mind like a vision I couldn’t escape. Ten years ago, during a bad fight between Scarlet Ridge and Indigo Mountain, I was lost in the heat of the battle. Both sides were holding their own until the previous top alpha of Scarlet Ridge, Ivan, decided to play dirty. At the time, Niko was fighting alongside me. He was always ferocious and outgoing, despite his small stature. Although he was the only omega on the battlefield, I didn't think anything of it. I never knew it would go sowrong.
I was pinned down by a Scarlet Ridge alpha. Niko rushed to my side to help. We worked together to flip the wolf off and kick his ass. Then everythingchanged.
Ivan saw what happened to his alpha soldier. Sensing that Niko was an omega, Ivan lost his mind. Something about an omega on the battlefield made him go crazy. He caught his own soldier - the alpha that Niko and I fought off - and killed him onthespot.
“He would rather kill his own soldier than see him defeated by an omega,” Virgil commented sadly, shakinghishead.
I continued mystory.
Ivan barreled into me, knocking the wind out of my lungs. He was a huge grey wolf, even bigger than mine. Niko cried my name, and tried to run towards me. But he wasn’t fast enough. He slammed his paw into Niko’s back. The impact shocked Niko out of his wolf form. That was when Ivan struck. He snapped his jaws around Niko’s sides, digging his fangs in. I could never forget the gut-wrenching sound of Niko’s scream as pain took overhisbody.
A sob shook me. I paused, unable to continue the story. I clenched my teeth as the tears brimmed alongmyeyes.
I felt a hand on my back. When I looked up, expecting it to be Virgil’s, I saw that he was silently staring at the floor with a neutral expression. That meant the one touchingmewas…
Niko stood, his gaze meeting mine. His hand was light and warm on my back. I felt the heat radiating from his skin like the sun breaking through stormclouds.
“You don’t have to continue,” he saidquietly.
My throat tightened. I melted into Niko’stouch.
But Virgil interrupted. “David, I hope this doesn’t sound too cold, but… Why did you let themtakeNiko?”
