CHAPTER SIXTY SIX

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          DAKOTA SAT IN HIS OFFICE WITH HER GAZE FIXED ON THE CEILING AS SHE TRIED TO MAKE SENSE OF THE MESS THEY WERE IN. The past few hours felt like a blur. Everyone had gone to ground and although it was well past time for them to wake, the silence persisted. The blonde wasn't tired yet. She wasn't sure if she cared anymore. It felt like she had been ripped apart from the inside out.

Her anger had settled into a deep and aching numbness. She couldn't shake the image of Eric's betrayal, the way he kept the truth from her and how she had been left in the dark for so long. Russell Edgington alive ... it made her sick to the stomach just thinking about it.

The door of the office creaked open and pulled her from her thoughts. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. The bond between them hummed with his presence, an unwelcome reminder of the connection they still shared. 

Eric closed the door behind him and she ignored him. The usual commanding air he carried with him seemed dimmed, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.       

"Dakota," he finally said, his voice low and hesitant.

She didn't respond, didn't look at him. 

Eric sighed, running a hand through his hair as he stepped closer. "I know you're angry. You have every right to be."

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "Angry doesn't even begin to cover it."

He moved around the desk to face her but she still refused to meet his eyes. He hovered there, unsure of what to say next and for once the Viking was at a loss for words. His silence made her angrier.

"I thought I was protecting you." he said softly, his voice laced with guilt. "I didn't want you to be dragged into this mess."

"You mean the mess I've already been dragged into?" she shot back, finally turning to glare at him. Her eyes were cold, her voice sharp. "Russell Edgington killed me and Godric, Eric. And you let me believe he was gone. For a whole year."

Eric flinched at her words, his guilt evident in the way his shoulders tensed. "I thought it was over. I thought keeping you in the dark would keep you safe."

"Safe?" Dakota stood abruptly, her anger flaring again. "You think this is about safety? You broke my trust. You made me feel like an idiot, like I didn't deserve to know the truth."

Eric's jaw clenched. "I was wrong. I see that now."

"Maybe Pam was right." she muttered. "Maybe you don't trust anyone."

Eric took a step closer, his voice barely above a whisper. "I trust you."

Dakota closed her eyes, a sense of exhaustion washing over her. She didn't want to fight anymore, but she wasn't ready to let him off the hook either. She felt torn between the love she had for him and the betrayal that had fractured everything within her mind.

Eric reached out, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened but didn't pull away.

"Sweetheart," he uttered and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to betray your trust and I had no malicious intent to keep this from you. I just wanted you to be happy."

Dakota's heart ached at his words and for a moment she let herself soften. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, resting her head against his chest. His arms wrapped around her instinctively, holding her close as if afraid that letting go might break the fragile truce between them.

It wasn't entirely over. The hurt still lingered beneath the surface, gnawing at the edges of her mind. But in this moment, she could see where he was coming from. His need to protect her, though misguided, had never been about malice. It had been driven by his love for her, however flawed his actions might have been.

"I just wish..." she murmured into his chest, her voice barely audible. "I wish you had trusted me enough to tell me the truth."

Eric's arms tightened around her, and she felt the tension in his body as he struggled to find the right words. "I know. I should have. I was wrong, Dakota. And I'll spend however long it takes to make it up to you. If I have that long."

Dakota looked up at him, her brows furrowed in confusion. There was something in Eric's voice—a resignation she hadn't heard before. His usual confidence, the unshakable determination she had always admired, was gone.

"What do you mean, 'if you have that long?'" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper as her heart tightened with unease.

Eric sighed, glancing away for a moment before meeting her gaze again. "This mission to find Russell... it's a suicide mission, Kota. Even if Bill and I manage to capture him, we're still facing charges of treason. The Authority won't just let us walk away after this."

"But there has to be a way out of this." she said, her voice trembling with desperation. "You can't just—"

"There isn't." Eric interrupted, his tone gentle but firm. "The Authority doesn't deal in forgiveness. If we succeed, it might buy us time but the odds of survival are slim. And if we fail... either Russell will have our heads or The Authority will."" 

"We can do this." Dakota confessed. "You've defeated him before. We can put up a fight against The Authority."

"Listen," he held her face gently. "the end may come soon and I can't have you there."

"Eric, I want to."

"No," he shook his head and furrowed his brows. "what Pam said earlier ... she was right. I released her and now I have to release you. And it is not because I don't care, it's because I care too much. You and Pam, you're all I have. I need you to live when i'm gone. I need you to be happy and healthy."

Tears filled Dakota's eyes as she shook her head in his hold, her voice trembling as she muttered, "No. I don't want this, Eric. I can't—"

His grip on her face remained gentle, but his expression was firm. "You have to, sweetheart. You have to understand that this isn't about not loving you. It's because I do. I need you to be free from this, from me. I need you to survive."

Dakota's heart clenched painfully at his words. She liked being bonded to him. It wasn't just about love, it was the connection, the shared strength and the way she could feel his emotions. She wasn't ready to give that up, not now, not ever.

"I don't want to be released." she whispered, shaking her head again as her tears spilled over. "I want to stay with you. I don't care about the risks, I don't care about the danger. You don't get to decide this for me."

Eric's jaw clenched and she could see the internal struggle in his eyes. He didn't want to do this any more than she did, but he felt it was the only way to protect her. "If you stay, you'll be caught in the crossfire. You'll be a target and I couldn't bear it if something happened to you."

"But something's already happening to you!" she cried, her voice breaking as she reached up to cup his face. "I'm not just going to stand by and watch while you throw yourself into a death sentence. You're all I have, Eric. Please."

Eric's own eyes filled with bloody tears as he stared at her, his expression full of anguish. "Dakota..." His voice cracked as he spoke, and she could feel the weight of what was about to happen. "I renounce the ties of our blood and my dominion over you as my progeny."

"No," she whispered, her tears flowing freely now, her heart clenching with fear and pain. "Please, Eric, don't—"

"As your maker," he continued, his voice wavering with emotion as he held onto her. "I release you."

In that moment, Dakota felt it—the bond between them, the invisible tether that had connected their souls, snapped violently within her chest. The loss hit her like a physical blow and for a brief, terrifying moment, she felt utterly empty. She gasped, stumbling forward as her knees buckled beneath her, her heart aching from the sudden, unbearable void.

Eric caught her, pulling her into his arms as she collapsed against him, sobbing. The warmth and comfort she had always felt through their connection was gone and the silence where his presence had once been was deafening. She clung to him, her fingers digging into his shirt as if holding on could somehow bring back the bond she had lost.

"I'm sorry," Eric whispered, his voice thick with sorrow as he held her close. "I'm so sorry, Dakota." His own tears fell onto her skin, red and raw, mixing with hers as they both grieved the severing of something they hadn't wanted to lose.

Eric stroked her hair softly, trying to calm her trembling body. He hated himself for causing her this pain, but he couldn't let her be bound to the fate he knew was coming.

"It's still the same, Dakota." he whispered, his voice rough but tender. "What we have, it's real. It's not just about the bond. That connection...it was only part of it. We don't need it to love each other. Remember how it was before you were turned?"

She shook her head against his chest, her sobs quieting but her pain still raw and sharp. "But it feels like it's gone, Eric. I feel like I've lost you."

He gently lifted her chin, making her look into his eyes, his thumb brushing away the tear tracks on her cheeks. "You haven't lost me. You're just not tied to me anymore, not in the way you were. But that doesn't mean what we have changes. I'm still here. I'll always be here, as long as I can be. And my feelings for you, they'll never change."

"I don't know how to do this." she confessed, her voice barely a whisper.

Eric pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes for a moment. "Neither do I," he admitted softly. "But we'll figure it out. Together. Bond or no bond, you're still the most important thing in my life. That will never change."

bit of a filler as i'm trying to find a way to get over this season asap but still make it work ...