Chapter 118: Inseparable

Nash

How the hell did this happen? The question kept running around and around in my brain like a hamster in a wheel.

How the hell did I get mixed up in all this? It was Josiah’s fault. He was my first werewolf friend, and he was the one who hired me to investigate that situation with the shifter serial killer. If I needed to blame someone, I figured I would blame the alpha.

I couldn’t very well blame some mystical moon goddess that I didn’t even believe in.

The young woman showed me to a door that opened out into the parking area, and I stomped my way over to my jeep. I jumped into the driver’s seat and slammed the door with all my strength. I was lucky I didn’t rip the handle off in the process. I sat, gripping the steering wheel, breathing heavily. My chest hurt like I was having a f.ucking heart attack.

I glanced at my duffel bag on the passenger seat.

I could drive away. I could go back to my company. There was an assignment in the queue for an extraction in Syria. If I stayed busy, if I stayed high on danger and adrenaline, I could forget all of this. Daphne would be fine, she had the king to look after her. He would take care of the baby.

My baby. I swore and slapped the steering wheel. I could forget about this f.ucked up mate bond. I might even be able to forget about Daphne. But I sure as hell wouldn’t be able to forget about the fact that I had a kid on the way.

I forced myself to take a few slow deep breaths. I focused on filling my lungs until my stomach was forced out, and then let it out slowly, the way I had learned to calm and center myself for combat. I reached over and grabbed the straps on my duffle bag and opened the door again.

I felt like I was about to enter into a whole new battlefield. I forced myself to shut the door gently this time, and set off across the parking lot to the door again. When I tried the handle, I found it locked.

S.hit, had I just voided my invitation to stay on pack lands? There was a camera and call button, so I stabbed the silver button with my finger.

“Yes, how may I help you?” I could swear it was the same woman who had answered me at the gate.

“Yeah, hi. This is Nash Turner. I need to get back inside.”

There was a long silence. At first, I thought she was just going to ignore me again. But after a few seconds she came back. “One moment please, Mr. Turner.”

I stood, staring down that camera, knowing if they didn’t open the door for me, I was screwed. I really needed to remember to get Daphne’s phone number before I blew another fuse.

To my relief, the door clicked open, and a skinny blond woman holding a clipboard was standing there, looking at me with wide, frog-like eyes. They seemed to be looking in different directions, neither of them directly at my face. “Mr. Turner?”

“Yes. That’s me.” I studied her. She really was an unattractive woman, which was a bit surprising. Her blond hair was thin and limp, her face was long and narrow, and she had a severe overbite. Werewolf women seemed to be genetically inclined toward beauty, but this one seemed to have come up on the short end.

“Oh. Um. Right. I’m Leanne, King Levesque’s personal assistant. I have been instructed to show you to your room. Follow me, please.” She stood aside for me to enter, and then walked briskly ahead of me. Her heals click-clacked on the floors as she guided me through a maze of hallways.

“Here we are,” she turned down a wing that was decidedly more opulent than the rest. There was a thick carpet running down the center of the hallway, and intricately carved doors. She moved to one near the end and pushed it open.

It was like a five-star hotel suite. A huge canopied bed, a marble fireplace, a white couch with a matching white coffee table. There was a kitchenette in the corner, and a desk which was fully equipped with a printer. “If you need anything, the number for housekeeping is on the desk. Oh, and you’ll be needing this.”

She pulled a name badge out of her pocket. It had my name printed on it, along with a grainy photo they must have hastily taken off from one of their security cameras. On the back was printed the word VISITOR in big, bold letters.

In case there was any doubt that I didn’t actually belong here, in a werewolf palace.

I tossed the badge, along with my bag, onto the couch. “Where is Daphne?”

Leanne didn’t even flinch. “I’m not sure Mr. Turner, but I’m sure she’ll join you for dinner. Please make yourself comfortable, feel at home. Dinner is served at seven. Welcome to Château Royal.” She gave me a quick, professional smile, and then she let herself out of my room. I could hear her clicking heels disappearing quickly down the hallway, like she couldn’t wait to get away from me.

I rubbed my chest. The sharp pain I had experienced in the jeep had receded to a familiar dull ache under my breastbone.

I looked around the room, checked out the bathroom, and then sat on the edge of the bed. It was a room fit for a king, but I wasn’t interested in sleeping in the big, comfortable bed all by myself. I wanted to share a bed with Daphne. However, I had a feeling that her bed was already occupied by Louis.

She had slept with him.

Funny how that didn’t sting as much as it should.

But I wasn’t going to be okay with it. No f.ucking way was I going to be down with this three-way s.hit.

I could be with Daphne… I could even get on board with this idea that we were somehow fated to each other, even though I didn’t believe in their deity. I’d been around the world enough to know that there were things out there that were bigger and beyond understanding.

I felt it though. That day at Daphne’s graduation, in the dark of the auditorium. I’d seen Louis there, sitting with Daphne’s brothers, and I’d felt compelled to go to him. Like unseen hands were pushing me physically toward him, while another mystical force was simultaneously pulling me toward Daphne.

I showered, put on fresh clothes that were identical to the ones I had just taken off, and ran a razor over my face. I switched on the TV for some background noise and opened my laptop to sort through my business emails. Finally, I shot a message to Josiah, to let him know I was inside the Royal pack house. It was always good to have at least one person know where you were, in case things went sideways.

I hesitated with my phone in hand. There was one other friend I knew who might have some insight into this complicated situation. I typed in her number from memory and then started a text.

Hey Robyn… can I ask you a question about something sensitive?

Within seconds, she sent me back the skeptical emoji with its hand on its chin.

I froze, realizing I had no idea what exactly I wanted to ask. Robyn was the centerpiece of a three-way poly relationship, but her partners were brothers. She loved them both, separately and equally. What advice could she really give to my situation? When I hesitated too long, she sent another message.

Robyn: What’s up Nash?

…I met a woman.

Robyn: Wow! It’s about time!

Maybe. But it’s complicated. There’s another man in the picture.

Robyn: Uhoh.

I tapped my thumbs on the side of the phone, trying to figure out how I could explain the situation without getting into the werewolf lore of fated mates. Robyn knew about werewolves, she was friends with Olivia and Alpha Josiah, but she wouldn’t understand. Hell, I didn’t understand.

Robyn: So what’s the question?

What do I do?

Robyn: Do you love her?

S.hit. Trust Robyn to get right to the heart of the matter. I barely knew Daphne. But my fingers were typing out the truth before I could over think it.

I don’t think I can live without her. I sent it before I could chicken out and delete the words.

Robyn: OMG sounds serious.

How does it work? How do you love one man and simultaneously love someone else? Why isn’t one man enough for you?

Robyn: …Wow, those are hard questions. But the answer is easier than you think. Love is infinite, Nash. There’s no limit, it doesn’t run out. You can’t spend so much on one person that there is nothing left for another.

That answer did not satisfy me.

Robyn: Think of it like this. A kid can love his mom just as much as he loves his dad. Loving one does not stop him from loving the other. And while what he feels towards one might be slightly different from what he feels towards the other, he loves them equally.

We aren’t talking about kids and parents. It’s not the same.

Robyn: I know it’s not the same, but that’s what it’s like. I definitely don’t think polyamory is for everyone, Nash. It requires a lot of trust, a lot of communication, a lot of patience and understanding.

Great. My strong suits, I typed back sarcastically.

Robyn sent me back a heart emoji. Maybe you need to give yourself a chance, Nash.