It was why he had been hopeless to resist kissing her. Why they'd had last night, even when it was the worst idea ever.
It was wrong, but it felt so right, so true.
And he still had to let her go.
She was a witch.
His pack would hate her if they ever found out.
They already didn't like that she'd been in the inner sanctum.
And if they found out the truth, they would kill her. Reece wouldrevelin it. They would hunt her down just to keep her from sharing any information that she might have figured out.
Nico wanted to throw it all away in that moment, to keep driving forever until they could find a place that was safe for the both of them.
But he knew he had to let her go. His heart was worth nothing if she ended up dead.
"Should I take you back to the zoo?" he asked, and his words came out a little too gruff.
"That's probably a terrible idea," she said. "I might get arrested if I try to walk on the property. Thanks for that, by the way." She was aiming for humor, he could tell, but it fell flat. He didn't know if witches could understand the mate-bond, but he had to believe she was feeling something, too, that this was killing her just a little bit.
"I am sorry," he said, and nothing had ever sounded more sincere coming from him.
She squeezed his hand and then raised it up to give it a gentle kiss. Inside of him, his wolf howled.
"The university will probably be safe," she said sadly. "It's neutral territory."
That was true. Universities were run by humans, and by mutual agreement, supernatural creatures didn't claim them as turf, except in very rare situations. They were spaces where plenty of witches and weres and even the occasional vampire would attend classes, so even if they were spotted together, it wouldn't be that strange. No, it would beincrediblystrange to see a werewolf dropping a witch off on campus. But no one would challenge them over it.
Destination finally in mind, he took the correct exit on the highway and drove to the central quad of the university campus.
He parked the truck in a visitor parking spot. They both sat in their seats, still holding hands, staring out at the green space in front of them, and not letting go. Students crossed across the quad. An errant frisbee nearly hit a young woman in the head. And no one glanced their way.
"Thank you for healing Cole," he said.
"For what it's worth, I really do hope everything turns out okay with him. I did my best to help." She paused and thenspared him a glance. "Why doesn't your pack have a healer? Why did you need me?"
He owed her so much. The answer to this question was the least he could give her.
"Our healer's coming back today. He was on some sort of meditation retreat with a healer from an allied pack. We've been trying to track him down for days." Nico smiled wryly. "Cole's going to wake up, and Mark's going to take credit for all of your work."
She made an affronted noise. "That's just like a shifter to take credit for a witch's hard work."
They both laughed a little too hard.
Elise needed to get out of the car and go home. Nico didn't ask if she had friends in the area or some way to contact her coven. She'd suggested the university, so she probably had an idea of where she was going after this. He couldn't let himself know more.
If he knew where she lived, he didn't think he'd be able to stay away. And if the pack ever figured it out … no. He couldn't risk leading them to her.
Just because they were on neutral territory didn't mean it was safe. If somebody spotted them together, if someone recognized he was a werewolf and she was a witch, they might start asking questions. Questions neither Nico nor Elise were prepared to answer.
This was goodbye, but he couldn't force himself to tell her to get out of the car.
Elise put her hand on the door latch.
Nico was still holding her hand, and he pulled her toward him. He ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her close, kissing her to the depths of her soul, trying to memorize the taste he knew he would never get out of his heart.
He clung to her, and she was holding him right back. The kiss should have felt like the beginning of something, the promise of everything they could want and everything they could be.
