Chapter 312

Olivia

I sat there, stunned, as Nathan finished recounting his harrowing past. Tears were brimming in my eyes, not just for the little boy he used to be, but also for the man he'd become—a man so trapped in his past that he felt the need to hide himself even from me, his mate.

"Why didn't you ever tell me, Nathan?" The words escaped my lips, more as a breath than a question.

He met my gaze, his own eyes watery. “Honestly?” he said, running a hand through his tawny blond hair. “I was embarrassed and angry about the whole thing.”

“Angry I get,” I said, furrowing my brow. “But embarrassed? Why? It wasn’t your fault.”

Nathan sighed and fell silent for a few moments. Judging from the way that his blue-green eyes darted back and forth, I could tell that he was struggling to come up with the right words. “My dad always made me feel like… less of a man for even considering that his actions could have hurt me. I was raised to think a man bottles up his emotions, good or bad,” he finally said.

“Real men let their emotions show,” I said gently. “I’m sorry that your father made you think that you had to keep it all pent up, especially from your own mate.”

A silence fell between us. Nathan opened his mouth, then closed it again, as though unable to find the right words.

Finally, I couldn't take seeing him like this anymore. Rising from my seat, I crossed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around him. His body was tense at first, but then he relaxed into my embrace, leaning his forehead into my stomach and letting out a deep, heavy sigh that felt like it was carrying the weight of decades of pent-up emotion.

"You don't have to hide these things from me," I whispered, holding him tightly. "I love you for who you are, not who your father wanted you to be. You're not him, Nathan. You could never be him."

He pulled away gently, just enough to look into my eyes. "Thank you, Olivia. That means more to me than you'll ever know.”

For a few moments, we smiled gently at each other. The room felt a little bit lighter now that Nathan had gotten this horrible, harrowing experience off of his chest for the first time in his life. But even then, I still didn’t understand everything.

“Nathan,” I finally said, tilting his chin upwards to meet his gaze. “What does this have to do with Aurora?”

Nathan sighed and pressed his lips into a thin line. “After Elliot, I felt like we put so much at risk to keep him safe. And then, with Aurora, I wanted you to feel the same way—to do the same thing. That’s why I’ve been so distant.”

His confession hit me like a ton of bricks. All his actions, all his distant behavior suddenly made sense. It wasn't about me; it was about his past affecting his perception of our future.

In a way, it was clear to me that he had felt as though agreeing to the witch’s deal was similar to abandoning her, just like how his father abandoned him in the forest all those years ago.

My eyes softened, looking at him not just as my mate but as a wounded soul trying to find his way in this cruel world.

“You think I would abandon Aurora like that?” I asked quietly, blinking away the tears that threatened to spill.

Nathan shook his head and gently pulled away. I watched as he stood and crossed the room, pausing by the window, where he looked out onto the dark city below. “I guess… In a way,” he murmured, his voice sounding strained.

His words made my stomach drop. I sank down onto the bed and put my head in my hands, holding in more tears. “I would never abandon our children like that,” I croaked. “Never. Not in a million years.”

“But agreeing to the witch’s deal,” he said, turning to face me, “I fail to see how that’s different—”

“I told you that I would handle it.” I lifted my head from my hands and glared at him, horrified by his implications. “I would never let her win in this.”

Nathan sighed. “And if you fail?” His voice was low, but also firm. “What if there is no way to get out of her deal? What if she just finds another way to trick you? Witches are good at that.”

I shook my head. “My wolf told me that we could do it,” I urged. “Let’s not forget that my wolf is the Ancient Wolf. Her wisdom—”

“That title means nothing, Olivia.” Nathan narrowed his eyes, which were full of pain and sorrow. His words took me by surprise, but he continued before I could even begin to come up with a retort. “Your wolf will be the Ancient Wolf someday, yes. But she’s still a part of you. She’s still young, and maybe not as experienced as you think.”

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Jade said, her voice echoing in my mind as her anger began to rise ever so slightly. “We’ve handled far worse before. We can handle this—”

“Let him speak,” I interrupted before she had the chance to finish. “I want to hear what he has to say.”

“Look,” I said, standing. “Maybe I am wrong. Maybe it won’t work out. But we can sure as hell try. And you have to understand that, in those moments, I felt as though I had no other choice. The future that the witch showed me… It was horrible, Nathan. I can’t even begin to describe it.”

As I spoke, Nathan’s face slowly fell. I could see recognition, maybe even a hint of understanding, flashing through his eyes. His shoulders drooped, and he stared down at the floor for a long time, nodding slowly.

“Alright.” He swallowed, the room feeling thick with silence. “You’re right. I know I shouldn’t be angry with you when you were stuck between a rock and a hard place. But…”

He paused, shaking his head. “I’m still having a hard time grappling with it. And with everything else going on…”

I nodded in understanding and crossed the room to join him, taking his shoulders in each of my hands. “I know, Nathan. We’ll figure this out with time. But maybe there’s something we can do in the meantime. Something to keep our relationship from falling apart.”

Nathan slowly raised his gaze to meet mine. He gave me a somewhat puzzled look, as though caught between trying to say that our relationship wouldn’t fall apart—which would be a lie—and wondering what my suggestion would be.

I took a deep breath, Angela’s words from the other day echoing in my mind. She had given me a suggestion, something that I hadn’t thought of before. And honestly, I had figured that Nathan would be averse to it, especially now, seeing as how he had spent the past two decades holding in a traumatic story for the sake of being a ‘man’. Maybe that was why he needed it now. To break free from the mold his father had created.

“What is it?” Nathan asked, sensing my trepidation. “What should we do?”

“Couples therapy.”