71 No longer a child…
Lyla
After I left Nathan in the bathroom, my face was still flushed in embarrassment.
feel abo This was the first time I was letting any man inside my house and I didn’t know how to my friend, suddenly confessing he thought of me as a woman. On cue, my phone rang – it was
Nanny.
“Did Nathan get there already?” she asked excitement in her voice.
“This was your plan all along?” I scoffed. “You could have given me a heads up. Do you know how surprised I was when he showed up in front of my office?”
“I was more surprised than you are, Lyla!” I heard her sigh wistfully. “Nathan has grown into such a handsome man and for a moment, my thoughts went wild. It’ll not be bad for you and him to get married you know. At least he has been your best friend since forever”
“He’s the Alpha Heir, Nan… he’s not going to abandon his duties because of me besides we’re just friends, nothing more.”
“He came all the way from Blue Ridge to see you, Lyla. He spent four years in prison just to keep you away from the Lycan Leader. He told me the Lycan Leader was your mate… why didn’t you
ever mention that.
“Fuck!” I murmured under my breath, casting a glare towards the bathroom before answering Nanny. “It was a long time ago. We rejected each other, so I never brought it up.”
“Brought it up?” she chuckled. “You have two men fighting over you, Lyla. The Lycan Leader and
your
best friend who’s the Alpha Heir to one of the most prestigious packs in the South. C’mon, you’re living the dream, Lyla.”
“This is funny to you, Nanny!” I couldn’t help but laugh. If only she knew what I had to go through at the hands of Ramsey Kincaid..
“It is!” she laughed “I wish you had told me, all those innocent Panthers he had sent to come look for you, perhaps I should have been gentle or at best, ask for some sort of compensation. We would have been rich.”
“And have Ramsey chase me to the human world…
“He’s a Lycan, Lyla… those creatures are too prideful. He’d rather have his tongue cut out than come to the human world. They think humans are savages. Anyway, I’m rooting for Nathan. He’s sacrificed so much for you and he likes you…”
of the “As a friend, Nanny!” I interrupted her before she could say more. Though the memory kiss we shared outside my office teased into my brain, I thrust it aside. “That’s all that there is
to it.
There was a pause on the other end before her voice came again. “Are you fine, darling? You sound gloomy?”
C
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“I’ll be fine, Nan!” I took a deep sigh. “D–Did Nathan say anything about Mom and Dad and. Clarissa? We’ve not had time to talk…” I added quickly “So, I’ve not asked. Are they doing well?”
“They’re fine, Lyla and I know this is so much for you to unpack but as always, trust your instincts and…”
“Always tell me everything!” I finished up.
That was our mantra since the incident with Xander. Nanny made me tell her every single detail of my day, the people I talked with, and how I felt after interacting with them. She would write them in this big journal of hers and, I thought it was ridiculous but somehow, it helped me.
It was so therapeutic that within six months, I could sleep without waking up in the middle of the night with nightmares.
from
“And, Lyla!” she said softly. “It’s time for you to take care of Nathan… he’s a different person what he used to be. I saw it in his eyes. The… kind–hearted boy I’d known, who was so shy… all I can see is anger and…” she paused. “Something dangerous is eating away at him, he’ll need all the friends he can get.”
“I know!” I sighed. “Ramsey didn’t have the decency to put him in the holding cells. He locked him up in the dungeons. Cut him away from light and human interaction… Nan, I cannot begin to imagine…”
“He’ll be fine!” she interrupted me with a deep sigh. “It’ll be rough but it’ll be fine. Ask him to stay the weekend and then bring him over to mine. I’ll brew up something for him.”
“Okay!” I nodded. “He’s bathing, let me see if I can fix him something…”
“I hope he doesn’t die though…” she said lightly. “Cooking is not your thing!”
“Still!” I laughed. “I’ll try. Maybe make him an instant noddle or something”
“I’ll be praying for Nathan,” she said teasingly. “Did anything happen at work today?”
I heard the shower stop running. Nathan would be out any moment now. I’ll just have to tell Nanny about Paul some other time.
“Nope, same as usual. I need to go now, talk to you soon.”
Just as the call ended, he came out of the bathroom, his skin pink from the hot water, and wearing the pyjamas pants that ended just above his ankles. The awkwardness returned but I hurried to the kitchen and busied myself.
“Do you want anything warm to drink? Coffee? Tea?” I asked, my voice slightly higher than usual. “I can’t remember what you used to drink but there’s beer stashed somewhere.”
He came to the kitchen, watching me like a cat sizing its prey. “You’re careless, Lyla…” he scoffed. “You don’t offer a man alcohol when you’re alone with him.”
“You’re talking weird again, Nathan!” I gave him a side glance, opening the drawers to see if I could fix him a sandwich. I didn’t have any instant noodles at home. “Can’t we just be normal like before?”
He stared at me for a moment, his eyes were filled with amusement before he sighed and
71 No longer a child…..
turned away. “Can I get a cup of coffee, please?”
“Sure!” I nodded; thankful he changed the topic.
“Sugar?” I asked. “I remember you used to take two cubes, has that changed too.”
He turned back to me, his gaze on me was filled with concern. “Am I making you uncomfortable?” he asked.
“Of course not!” I shrugged. “Milk? Do you still…”
“Lyla!” he crossed the room and came towards the kitchen, topping at the counter. “Do I make you uncomfortable?”
“I don’t think I have milk though. I’ll just use something else…” I replied not looking at him.
“Lyla!”
Finally, I met his eyes, my hands gripping the edge of the counter. I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. I was flustered by his presence.
“We
need to talk about his,” he said gently. “There’s still time, I can check in at a hotel and come back tomorrow. I don’t want to spend a night here with you walking around on eggshells and I cannot promise that I’ll not try to…” he swallowed hard but his gaze remained on my face. “Make advances at you. But I’ll not force you
to do anything”
“I know,” I whispered, then forced a small laugh. “I just… I didn’t expect… you’re different, Nath. You’ve changed a lot.”
He smiled. “I know.”
With that, he turned and went back to the living room while I breathed with relief.
–
A moment later, the coffee and the sandwich were ready. I balanced it on the tray and brought it to him in the living room. He was sleeping – sprawled on the couch snoring gently. I set the tray on the coffee table and stopped to look at him.
He looked so innocent, lying there without a care in the world. Unable to stop myself, I walked quietly to him and sat at the edge of the couch. As I reached out to brush the hair from his his hand suddenly shot out and seized my wrist.
eyes,
I gasped with shock, as his eyes flickered open. For a moment, I saw intense hatred flicker in his eyes before recognition. Then without warning, he flipped me over – easily. So that I was lying on the couch, trapped under him with him hovering over me.
“Nath…” I started swallowing hard.
“My instructions were clear, Lyla!” his voice had turned hoarse as his eyes lingered on my lips for a moment longer. “But I see you choose to disobey me.”
“What instructions/” I asked bewildered.
He s
smiled, “I’ll show you.”
With that he bent and captured my lips again – for the second time but before his lips could join with my own, I wriggled away from beneath him and came out, standing at one corner of the
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ac
room.
I wasn’t afraid of him, rather, I was excited… the wrong emotion.
“You can’t just go around kissing me! Nathan,” I tried to sound angry. “the first kiss was understandable but all of this…”
“You allowed Ramsey to kiss you!” he said quietly. “He treated you like shit yet you allowed him. fuck you… what is wrong if I want the same things. 2
I stared at him, shocked at his words. “Is something wrong with you, Nathan? You can’t speak to me like that. Ramsey was my mate. It’s normal for mates to…”
“Don’t fucking tell me that!” he cut me short. “Only a castrated man would see you and not lust upon you, Lyla. Don’t preach to me about fated mates. That’s just an excuse.”
“Regardless, you should know how sensitive that sort of thing is especially to me. You can’t just mention my past casually…”
“Get over yourself, Lyla!” he snorted. “It’s been four years already, long enough for you to make jokes about it. Don’t tell me you still have feelings for that bastard?” a
