MARLA’S POVI’m in so much pain, my wounds are aching, leaving me delirious. But once Nicholas returns, I feel a bit better. Everything is better when he’s near me. I know he’s my mate, and I want him more than anything. I desperately want him to feel the same way. I can’t imagine living my life without him.Hope flutters within me as I see him though. I see the way he’s looking at me, and it’s almost like he wants me as much as I want him. “I’m so sorry for leaving you,” Nicholas says as he drops down to my side. “It’s okay,” I tell him. “I know you had to go check on Rachel.”My heart aches at the thought of him with her. I can’t let him go, despite how much this all hurts me. I can’t seem to move on from him. He’s my mate and my life won’t be the same without him in it.“Rachel is fine,” Nicholas says. “She was just manipulating me, and I realize she has been manipulating me all along.”Nicholas looks like he’s in pain, and I want to help him. I want to ease him of this b