16

Jade’s POV

He turned on his heel, adjusting his dark jacket as he prepared to step out of the grand bedchamber. But before his boots could even cross the threshold, the heavy oak door creaked open. One of the palace guards rushed inside, his breathing heavy and ragged as though he had sprinted through every winding hallway in the fortress.

Clutched tightly in the guard’s hand was a small, white plastic bag, the contents inside rattling slightly as he offered it to Nicolai with a hasty, low bow.

Nicolai paused in his tracks, his dark eyebrows pulling together in mild curiosity. "What is this?" he asked, taking the bag from the guard's trembling hands.

He unknotted the plastic handles and peeked inside, his eyes widening slightly as he pulled out two brand-new, sealed inhaler canisters.

"Oh!" Nicolai gasped, a small, embarrassed laugh escaping his lips as he shook his head. "I almost forgot about this entirely."

He turned around and walked back toward Bakito, extending his hand to offer the small plastic bag to her. Bakito, whose small frame was still trembling with leftover anxiety, hesitated for a brief beat. She took a slow, timid step forward, her pale fingers reaching out to take the package from his grasp.

"Thank you, Alpha Nicolai..." Bakito murmured softly, her voice barely louder than a whisper as she held the medical canisters against her chest. She looked up at him through her thick lashes, her bottom lip quivering slightly. "You... you really didn't have to go out of your way to buy brand-new ones. You could have just refilled my old empty canister."

Nicolai let out a light chuckle, a warm, easy smile gracing his handsome features. "Well, lesson learned for next time," he replied cheerfully. He reached out and gave her small shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "If you ever need anything else while you are here—anything at all—just let me know, alright? I will do everything within my power to make sure it gets done for you."

Bakito nodded her head quickly, a faint glint of relief washing over her tear-stained face. "Thank you, sir."

Nicolai turned his head toward the guard who was still standing at attention near the doorway, his warm expression instantly hardening into that of a strict, unyielding leader.

"Hey, you," Nicolai commanded, his tone sharp and clear. "You will personally check on this girl twice every single week to see if her inhaler is running low. And whenever it runs out, you will take it straight down to the infirmary and get it refilled immediately. If anything bad happens to her because she ran out of breath... then I guarantee you, something far worse will happen to you. Understood?"

The guard swallowed hard, his face turning pale as he snapped his feet together and bowed deeply. "Understood, Alpha Nicolai! I will oversee it personally!"

"Good. Dismissed," Nicolai ordered.

The guard turned on his heel and hurried out of the room, leaving the heavy oak door open behind him.

Nicolai turned back to address the four of us, folding his arms across his chest as he gestured toward the far side of the grand chamber.

"And lest I forget," Nicolai added, his eyes settling back on Bakito. "Bakito, since you are so young and because of your fragile health condition, you will take the very last bed in the corner over there. It is situated right beside the stone hearth, so you won't catch a cold during the freezing nights."

He shifted his gaze toward Rita and me, pointing his long finger toward the center of the vast room. "Jade, Rita—the two of you will take the two beds in the middle."

Finally, his eyes landed on Abigail, who was leaning against the bedpost with a subtle, expectant smirk.

"And Abigail," Nicolai concluded, his voice flat as he pointed toward the mattress closest to the entrance. "Since you are the biggest and strongest among them, you will stay in the bed right by the door side."

With those final instructions laid out, Nicolai gave us a brief, polite nod. "Rest up, girls," he said smoothly before turning around and striding out of the room, his long dark hair swaying over his broad shoulders as the heavy doors clicked shut behind him.

The moment he left, a strange, heavy silence settled over the luxurious bedchamber.

I let out a long, weary breath, my legs aching from all the standing and walking. I sank down onto the edge of the soft plush mattress assigned to me in the middle of the room, my hands gripping the edge of the velvet blanket as I looked around the massive space, trying to process everything that had happened since our arrival.

Across the room, my eyes flicked toward the far corner near the burning fireplace.

Bakito was sitting alone on the edge of her bed. Her small knees were pulled tight against her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around her thin legs as she stared blankly at the dark floorboards. She looked so tiny, so intensely lonely, and completely consumed by a deep, dark sadness.

My heart twisted with sympathy for the young girl. Pushing myself up off my mattress, I walked quietly across the room, my boots making little sound against the thick midnight-blue rugs. I reached her bed and gently sat down beside her on the edge of the mattress.

The moment I sat down, Bakito flinched violently. Her body went stiff as a board, and she shrank back slightly into the headboard, her wide, fearful eyes darting toward me in complete silence, as if she was terrified I was going to strike her or yell at her like Abigail had earlier.

I softened my posture, keeping my hands resting visibly in my lap so I wouldn't startle her further.

"Hey..." I began, my voice dropping into a soft, gentle whisper. "Are you okay?"

Bakito didn't speak right away. She just stared at me, giving a small, nervous nod of her head while her hands gripped her dress tightly.

I offered her a reassuring, warm smile, leaning in just a fraction closer. "Hey, listen to me... you don't need to be scared of me at all. I'm not going to hurt you, and I won't let anyone else pick on you either. You can always tell me whatever is bothering you."

Bakito bit her bottom lip, her eyes searching my face for a long, quiet moment to see if I was being sincere. Slowly, her stiff shoulders relaxed just a tiny bit.

"Well..." Bakito whispered softly, her voice trembling as she looked down at her hands. "...something happened."

I leaned in closer, my eyebrows pulling together with quiet concern as I kept my voice steady and warm. "What is it? What happened?"