Nicklaus’s POV
“Who is Jessica?”
“Oh, Jessica, she’s just a friend.” I knew she was referring to her.
“And you always visit her bar, right?”
“Yes, just to grab a drink, that’s all.” I replied truthfully, but she still didn’t seem to believe me. She shook her head and said, “I am not a big fool.”
“Oh, she’s not my love, and I don’t have any interest in her at all. The same goes for her she loves someone else. She asked me to talk to my friend, the one she loves, about her good side.” I explained everything to her, hoping to clear up any misunderstandings, but it seemed she didn’t trust any of the words coming from my mouth.
“What do you mean she loves your friend?”
“Yes, she fell for me, Martins, and she also saved me from an unexpected attack. However, we’re not that close.” I elaborated.
“Oh my, our mate is jealous. This is both good and bad. Nevertheless, you need to make peace with her at all costs and let her know how much you love her.” Lethal chimed in with his thoughts.
“Can’t you see I am trying? But she doesn’t seem to want to believe me. I wonder why Jessica came all the way to my place to look for me. Did something happen?”
“You can find out about that later. Right now, our mate needs to believe in us again.” He advised.
“Fine, I will keep trying hard.” I added, tapping my mate and asking, “Promise me you have forgiven me.”
“Well, I really don’t know if I should forgive you.” She replied, but her words were accompanied by a hint of a smile. I took it as a positive sign and leaned in to kiss her repeatedly, bringing laughter and joy to her face.
Suddenly, we heard Estella’s voice, and she asked me, “Did you hear our daughter?”
“Yes, I heard it. Maybe she is sleep talking. We never can tell.” I reassured my mate, but she looked worried.
“But you need to calm down and stop worrying too much. Once we’re done checking on her and making sure she’s still asleep, I have something urgent to ask of you,” I told her. I felt it was time to inform her about the impending war, our plans to return home, and the fact that Martins was missing.
“What do you want to talk about?” She asked, curious, but I indicated that I would tell her after we left Estella’s room.
As we entered Estella’s room, we found her awake, her eyes unusually dark, and her demeanor different. “What are you doing to my Estella?” My mate cried out, clearly distressed by the scene before us.
“What’s happening to our child?” I questioned, a sense of concern growing within me.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for a long time.” Estella, or whatever force was in control of her, used dark powers to push us to the ground. My mate coughed up blood, and my alarm intensified.
“Are you okay?” I asked my mate, helping her up. She assured me that she was alright but urged me to stop our daughter.
“Estella, you need to stop this,” I implored, attempting to reach her. But she seemed beyond my reach. “It’s too late. I’ve taken over her body. Your daughter is immensely powerful. I intend to use her until I win,” the voice inside Estella claimed. Defeat wasn’t an option for me; I had to believe that my daughter was still present.
“Nicklaus, get away from her!” Gabby screamed.
“It’s alright, love. I won’t be scared of my own daughter. I have this under control,” I reassured her, holding onto the belief that my daughter was still in there.
“Estella, if you can hear me, I know you’ve got this because you’re your father’s daughter,” I spoke to her, hoping she would find a way to regain control over her body. Whatever was happening wasn’t good, and I had a hunch that witches were behind it once again. Why were they always after my family? I was determined to crush them all.
I waited for any sign from my daughter, hoping she would respond. Instead, she pushed me with unexpected force, causing me to collide with the wall and fall to the ground once more.
“Stop that, wolf! I will not let you take her back,” the voice within her echoed once more. Struggling to regain my balance, I managed to stand on my feet, and Gabby rushed to my side, tears streaming down her face. “Don’t come any closer. I need to think of a spell that can expel that entity from our daughter,” she said determinedly. I held her hands firmly, urging her to reconsider. “You need to stop. You’re weak and need time to recover. Leave this to me. I promise I’ll bring Estella back,” I reassured her, but she remained unconvinced.
“Please, you have to stop. Leave everything to me. I can handle this,” I implored her.
“This isn’t just a pack issue, my love. Whatever is inside our daughter requires a spell to remove it,” she argued.
“Right now, you’re too weak to cast a spell. You spat out blood, which means the entity in Estella must have inflicted serious damage. If you attempt another spell, something terrible could happen to you, and I won’t risk that,” I insisted, rushing to my daughter’s side. “Estella!” I called out her name, and fortunately, she returned to her senses.
“Daddy, mommy,” she uttered in a tired voice, visibly struggling. I aided her in standing up.
“Estella,” Gabby rushed over, and our daughter embraced her weakly. “My daughter, I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you earlier,” Gabby said through tears, and Estella fell into a deep sleep. We carefully placed her on the bed.
“She’s alright now,” I reassured Gabby, but she remained uncertain. “I’m not so sure. Did you see how our daughter became so malevolent a few moments ago? I was helpless to do anything. Maybe I should reach out to Margaret; we might need her assistance,” she suggested, but I immediately rejected the idea.
“I won’t let her do anything harmful to our daughter. Estella was possessed by a demon, and only the witches are capable of such an act,” I explained, but Gabby wasn’t ready to accept my explanation.