Chapter 116: Inseparable

Louis

I was going to lose her.

From the first moment I felt the pull toward her, that was my greatest fear. I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist her. I would fall in love with her, and then one day, she would be gone. And I would lose my mind. I tried to resist, but it was like trying to deny gravity.

I went to the security room and pulled up the cameras in the alarm-lounge. My grandfather had installed the alarms for security during potentially volatile meetings. My father had put in the first CCTV cameras. I updated technology to digital a few months ago. But the video feed still didn’t have sound. At the time, I didn’t want anyone in the security room to be able to listen in on sensitive conversations.

Now I was kicking myself because I also couldn’t eavesdrop on Daphne. I pushed my head-of-security aside and sat in front of the monitors. I felt a strange feeling when I saw the man standing in the center of the room. I had seen his photo in the dossier I had delivered to Daphne, and I was fairly certain I did not know the man. But there was something strangely familiar about him.

I shifted my focus to Daphne, watching closely for sign of distress. I didn’t care if she hit the panic button or not, if she got too upset, I was going in. Whether she wanted me or not. But, she seemed to be handling herself just fine, sitting on the desk, keeping some distance from the man in black. She was kicking her leg, probably a sign of her inner agitation.

Or was it my inner agitation?

I was having a hard time separating my feelings from hers these days.

I focused on the man again, and used the controls to zoom in on his face. He was a good-looking man, I admitted grudgingly. I could totally see why a woman like Daphne would be drawn to him. But at the moment, he looked tired and stressed.

I should hate him, knowing he was the man who was going to take Daphne from me, but oddly enough, I just found myself feeling a wave of sympathy.

I knew the moment Daphne dropped the bomb on him. He jerked like he had taken a bullet, and then he stumbled backward until he half-fell onto the couch. I chuckled a little bit as he sat there, gasping for breath like a fish out of water. “Yeah, I know the feeling,” I muttered. “Daphne has that effect…”

He seemed to recover himself, he sat up, and gestured for Daphne to come closer. Daphne came, and he pulled her into his lap. I stiffened, ready to move if his advances were unwanted. But I could tell by the way she melted into him that his touch was very much desired.

I was definitely going to lose her.

And because I loved her and cared deeply about her and the baby, I was going to have to man up and let her go. She would no longer require my comfort, or my bed. S.hit. Doing the “right thing” felt so wrong.

After what seemed like forever, she slid off his lap, but she still sat beside him, and they continued to talk. And then she stood up.

I knew what was coming next.

I slid out of the chair and left the security office, and went back out into the common area. I was standing like a scarecrow in the middle of the hallway, with no excuse to be there at all, when she rounded the corner. “Oh, Louis, I was just looking for you.”

I noticed how pretty she looked, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright with a new kind of excitement. Nash Turner had done that.

“You found me.”

I wanted to reach out and touch her, wanted it so badly, but now that Nash was in the house, I didn’t know if my touch would be welcome. “How did it go?”

She clasped her hands in front of her belly. “It went well, actually. He took the news much better than I expected. The thing is… we really need some time to work through this. I was wondering if you would let him stay on pack lands for a while? He already knows about werewolves. I believe he can be trusted. There shouldn’t be any security issues.”

She could have just shot an arrow through my heart. She wanted him to stay, in my pack, on my land, where I would have to stand by and watch the two of them rekindle their love and their passion. Was the goddess really that cruel?

But I couldn’t deny that hopeful glimmer in her eyes. I couldn’t do anything to cause her pain. And, perhaps I was being a little bit selfish. If I allowed Nash Turner to stay in the château, Daphne would stay too. If I sent him away, it was very likely that she would pack up her bags and go with him.

“Of course he can stay. I’ll arrange a visitors pass for him, and housekeeping will prepare a room.”

Preparing a room was probably superfluous. I had no doubt that Nash Turner would end up in her room, tonight and every night. In the Luna suite. Right across from mine. Jeezus, I was a glutton for punishment.

“Thank you, Louis!” She stepped forward and threw her arms around me, pressing her body close to mine in a hug. And as usual, her skin against my skin brought a wave of calm and comfort, even when my world was falling to pieces. Again. I couldn’t help but put my arms around her and return the embrace.

I heard a footstep in the hall, which stopped abruptly when the bearer saw our embrace. I looked up from Daphne, and tightened my hold on her when my eyes slammed into the black gaze of Nash Turner.

I couldn’t breathe. The scent of cinnamon and nutmeg drifted toward me, and my wolf went wild. He was a human, so the scent wasn’t as dramatic as a wolf’s, but by the goddess, my soul knew it.

“Louis? What’s wrong?” Daphne twisted in my arms until she could see Nash, who stood frozen in the hallway, his eyes locked on the pair of us, his fingers twitching at his side like an old-west gun-slinger ready to draw. “Oh. Um,” she pushed my chest until I released her, and then she smiled nervously.

“I guess a proper introduction is in order. Louis, this is Nash Turner. Nash, this is Louis. King Louis, I mean.”

“It’s you,” I whispered.

Nash flinched, “What the hell is this? What is going on?”

Daphne looked between the two of us, clearly a little confused.

“Um, it’s okay Nash, Louis has agreed you can stay here, with the Royal pack, for a while.”

He didn’t know. Of course, he didn’t know. He was a human. I stepped past Daphne and approached him, and the closer I got, the stronger the pull became. But there was only one way to know for sure. I extended my hand, “Nice to meet you Mr. Turner. Welcome to Château Royal.” It took all of my strength to keep myself in check, to keep my voice low and even.

A little twitch had started next to Nash Turner's eye, and there was a tick in his jaw. But, as I hoped, good manners prevailed, and he reached out and clasped my hand in a hard, iron grip. Sparks erupted on contact, spreading a hot, tingling sensation up my arm, straight into my heart, confirming my suspicions.

“Oh,” Daphne’s gasp sounded behind me, but it was like it was far, far away. “Oh no.”

I held on for a second too long, before Nash wrenched his hand out of mine. His eyes were wide as he looked from me to Daphne. They were so dark brown in color that it seemed like the pupil and the iris were one. “What…” He looked at Daphne in bewilderment. “What in the actual f.uck is going on?”

Daphne stepped closer, moving slowly like she was approaching a skittish animal. “Um,” she picked up Nash’s hand, and he flinched a little. And then she reached across to mine, completing the circuit.

There was no doubt now, it wasn’t just sparkles and heat, it was a damned fireworks display. The pyrotechnics were so intense that for a moment I felt dizzy. “I think I need to sit down,” I mumbled.

“I think I need a drink…” Nash said vaguely.

“I think…” Daphne giggled, sounding a little bit hysterical. “I need to pee.”