Page 137 of Taken By the Fae

Nikolai behaving in a room full of people—specifically with women—would be a miracle. I’m not counting on it, not with his zest for romancing anything with boobs.Was he always like this?I can’t help but be curious, especially after his comment about fae being able to get humans pregnant.

Despite my better judgment, I say, “The other day, when you were talking about humans and fae… were you speaking from experience?”

His brows furrow as a muscle ticks along his jaw. It makes me want to reach for him and apologize for bringing it up, but before I can move, he clears his throat.

“I had a son,” he whispers.

My heart lurches. “What?”

“It was a long time ago.” He scratches the back of his neck, glancing away for several beats before he continues. “His mother’s name was Layla. She was captivating and so fucking genuine. She was human and knew I wasn’t. I fell in love with her the moment we met. I wanted to be with her forever, however long that would be for us. Forever came too fast.”

“What happened?”

“She died,” he says, “giving birth to our son.”

Tears burn my eyes. “Nik…” I can’t form adequate words to express how horrible I feel. I shouldn’t have brought it up.

“He survived one week in the hospital, but he just couldn’t live without his mother. Sometimes, I wonder howIlived after she died.” He swallows hard.

“He only lived a week?”

He scratches the back of his neck again, looking down. “Yeah. The social workers and doctors wanted us to stay in the hospital to make sure we were stable after losing Layla. One morning, I left the room to get a coffee, and his heart stopped. There was no warning. Nothing that gave me time to prepare for losing him days after I’d lost the woman I loved.”

I reach for him, taking his hands in mine and squeezing them. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

“Like I said, it was a long time ago.” Nikolai rubs his hands down his face and clears his throat again. “I’m sorry, Aurora, I—”

“No,” I cut him off, gripping his hands tighter. “You don’t need to apologize.” I tug on his hands until he looks at me. “Okay?”

He nods, forcing a smile, and my stomach plummets. I’ve never seen Nikolai like this—sad and vulnerable. He stiffens when I wrap my arms around his waist. A moment later, he hugs me back, resting his chin on the top of my head. The breath he exhales is weighted, and I hug him tighter.

Whatever this is between us—a deep understanding or maybe even the start of a friendship—I definitely didn’t see it coming.

ChapterThirty-Eight

I’ve never been so grateful for the weekend. The past week has been crazy as I caught up on assignments and online lectures. Nikolai took me to the feeder unit a few times, and the idea of feeding doesn’t absolutely terrify me anymore, which is a tremendous relief. It’s still not something Iwantto do to survive, but I’ve slowly come to accept it.

Now that Friday has rolled around, I get to focus on throwing a kickass birthday party for Oliver. We put a sign on the door this morning, letting everyone know the pub is closed for a private event tonight, and we’ve been working all afternoon to get the place ready.

Between class, spending more time at The Iron Longue with Nikolai and Deacon to learn how things work, and still adapting to my new life, I am effectively run off my feet. That said, keeping busy has always been my preferred distraction, so it’s working well.

There’s still a few hours until people arrive for Oliver’s party, so I’m behind the bar making sure we have enough booze to last the night.

Allison is hanging the last of the streamers from the ceiling, and Max dropped off black and gold balloons earlier this afternoon. I sent Nikolai to pick up the cake we ordered from a local bakery, and once he returns, I’ll slip upstairs to shower and get changed. I normally wouldn’t—that’s not a level of intimacy I’d like to add to our friendship—but I didn’t want to waste time going back and forth from the dorm, so when Nikolai offered his place, I accepted.

I continue buzzing around the pub, making sure things are perfect, and Allison waves on her way out, letting me know she’ll be back in time for the party.

Max is texting me constantly, making sure everything is set. Under normal circumstances, it would annoy the hell out of me, but today it makes me smile.

My phone rings as I’m walking upstairs to Nikolai’s half an hour later.

“What’s up, Al?”

“I forgot to ask before I left. Is Tristan coming tonight? I didn’t know if I should invite him, so I left it up to you.”

“I’m sure Max invited him.”

“Do you want me to ask him?”

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