Chapter 107: ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN

ADRIAN’S POV

By evening, Nicholas was still asleep.

I had checked on him twice since lunch, and both times he hadn’t even stirred.

There was no reason to panic. At least that was what I used to console myself. This was what the doctor had told us to expect. His body had been through several exhausting days, his wolf was weakened, and sleep was probably the only thing it needed. But as the afternoon turned into evening and Nicholas still hadn’t woken up, I started to feel uneasy.

Was something wrong with him?

I was sitting at the dining table with Roman and Cassian when Elijah came downstairs after checking on him again. He pulled out a chair but didn’t sit immediately, and the look on his face told me he was thinking the same thing I was.

"He’s still completely out," Elijah said as he finally sat down. "I tried waking him gently, but he barely moved."

Cassian looked toward the staircase. "He did sleep through most of the afternoon."

"That’s what worries me," Elijah replied. "After everything the doctor told us yesterday, I’d rather know whether this is normal exhaustion or another problem."

I considered it for a moment before reaching for my phone. "Then we’ll ask him."

I called the doctor again.

He arrived within the hour and went straight upstairs to examine Nicholas. The four of us waited outside the bedroom while he checked his pulse, examined his condition and asked a few questions once Nicholas eventually stirred. I could hear Nicholas’s tired voice through the partially open door, but I couldn’t make out everything he was saying.

When the doctor finally stepped outside, I stood immediately. "What is it?"

"He’s fine," the doctor assured us. "He’s simply exhausted."

I looked past him toward the bed. "He’s been asleep for hours."

"Well, he needed those hours. His heat cycle lasted several days, and his wolf was already weakened by the poison from the accelerant. His body has spent days dealing with both problems at once. The exhaustion you’re seeing is a consequence of that. Calm down."

Roman’s shoulders relaxed slightly. "So there isn’t a new problem?"

"No. He needs food, fluids and rest. That’s all."

I nodded and thanked him before seeing him out.

Once the door closed behind him, we all relaxed slightly.

Nicholas was fine. Thank fuck for that.

All of us seemed to be less tense now as we sat about in Nicholas’s room, barely saying anything to each other.

Not long afterward, Nicholas woke. He looked toward the doorway and found all four of us there.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Why are you all staring at me?"

Elijah immediately smiled. "Well, look who decided to wake up fully. Nicholas, you slept long enough for us to start wondering whether you planned on waking up today."

Nicholas pushed himself upright and rubbed his face. "I’m fine. You people are being a pain in my ass right now for no reason."

"You collapsed at breakfast," Cassian reminded him.

"And now I’m awake. Big whoop." He said it so casually that I almost laughed.

Then he placed a hand over his stomach. "I’m hungry."

That got our attention. "Stay there," I told him. "I’ll make something."

Nicholas looked surprised. "You’re cooking?"

"Yes, I’ll cook."

Roman stood up. "I’ll help."

We went downstairs together, leaving Cassian and Elijah with Nicholas.

Turns out it wasn’t as easy as I had anticipated. Mostly because Roman and I couldn’t immediately decide on what to make.

"We need something filling," I said, looking through the refrigerator. "But it can’t be too heavy."

Roman pulled out several ingredients. "Then we’ll make something with rice."

I raised a brow. "He needs something easier to digest."

"Rice is easy to digest." Roman frowned.

"I know that, Roman. That’s not the point."

"Then why did you reject it?"

I pinched my brows. "Because I was thinking about what to put with it."

Roman stared at the ingredients before putting two of them back. "Fine. What about this?"

I immediately shook my head. "No. Nicholas doesn’t like that."

Roman scoffed. "You’re saying all that, but you haven’t actually asked him."

That made me pause and pin him with an icy glare. "He’s upstairs recovering. I’m not going back up there to interview him about dinner."

Roman laughed under his breath. "You’re acting like we’re preparing food for a patient in a hospital that needs a strict diet."

"We basically are." I grunted under my breath.

Nicholas was as good as a patient in a hospital right now.

Eventually, Roman pulled out his phone and searched for a recipe. "This one looks good."

I leaned over his shoulder and read through it. "It says to add that. He won’t like that. Jesus, Roman, you know Nicholas. He complains about it every time. Don’t be a dick."

Roman looked at me for a second before sighing. "Then we’ll leave it out."

We ended up modifying the recipe several times, checking the internet whenever we couldn’t agree on something. By the time the food was finally ready, we’d probably taken a little over an hour.

When we returned upstairs with the meal, Nicholas was sitting against the headboard, looking considerably more awake than he had earlier. Cassian was beside him, apparently telling some ridiculous story because Nicholas was laughing.

It made me pause at the doorway. It had been a while since I heard him laugh so freely.

"What’s so funny?" Roman asked as we entered.

Cassian looked at him innocently. "Nothing."

Nicholas shook his head, still smiling. "He’s been making fun of Roman."

"I wasn’t making fun of him," Cassian argued. "Roman, don’t listen to Nicholas, he’s only trying to rile you up."

Roman placed the food down in front of Nicholas. "Eat before he gives you another story."

Nicholas picked up the spoon and took a bite and his expression changed almost immediately. "It’s spicy."

Roman looked at me and I shrugged.

I hadn’t tasted it.

With a sigh, I picked up the spoon and I tasted it.

Oh shit. He was right.

Cassian tried it next and immediately nodded. "Very spicy."

Nicholas looked at all of us with an unimpressed expression written over his face. "I told you I was hungry," he said. "But I’m not this desperate for more poison."

"You can stop if you don’t like it," I told him.

Instead, Nicholas shook his head and continued eating.

He complained about the spice a few more times, but he kept going until there was nothing left in the bowl. When he finally placed the spoon down, Roman stared at the empty plate. "Even after your ungrateful comment, you still finished it."

Nicholas wiped his mouth and leaned back against the pillows. "I told you I was hungry."

For a few moments, nobody said anything. Then Nicholas’s expression changed. "I should apologize."

I already knew what he was going to say, but I let him continue.

"I know all of this has caused problems for you. If I hadn’t taken what Jayden gave me, none of this would have happened. I was desperate at the time. I didn’t know what else I could do, and I thought those inhibitors would help me control it. Perhaps I should confirmed what was in it before it took it."

I looked at him carefully. "You were desperate," I said. "Hell, if I was ever in that situation, all I would think about was easing the pain first before anything else."

Nicholas lowered his gaze and I continued before he could start blaming himself again. "All that doesn’t matter now. We should just be happy that it’s wearing off fully now."

He nodded quietly, not saying anything. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

By nighttime, Nicholas was tired again, so we decided none of us would leave him alone. We settled down in the room, and eventually the others fell asleep, but I couldn’t.

I lay there staring into the darkness while the others slept around me, my mind returning to everything that had happened over the past few weeks.

Jayden had been the one who hurt Nicholas, but he wasn’t where all of this had started.

Our father was.

I closed my eyes, but sleep still wouldn’t come. I needed to decide what we were going to do about our father.

And whatever I chose, I couldn’t afford to get it wrong.