Page 69 of Bully Wolf's Nanny
“Oh shit,” Dane chuckled awkwardly, “so he didn’t tell you. Oops. Well, guess the cat’s outta the bag now anyway.”
“Wait a minute,” Daisy said, turning to face him fully, “are you trying to tell me that this whole time, Nicolas was in love with me? That when he broke up with me, he…he…”
“Yeah, he was a mess after that happened. Put his fist through several walls. Picked a couple stupid fights. It took Felix to knock him out of his funk. It nearly killed him, what he did to you. But ya gotta understand, his father had threatened to sendRed Teeth after you if he didn’t, and that’s one mean fucking bastard. By the time we overthrew the Old Guard, it was too late. You were gone. He did try and look for you, but I guess his guilt stopped him from really tracking you down. I figure he thought better to let you get on with your life, yanno?”
Daisy couldn’t help it. She burst into tears, chest heaving with sobs. Dane looked over at her in alarm. “Shit, Daisy, sorry, I didn’t—"
“No, it’s okay,” she cried, unable to stop her muscles wracking with grief, “all this time I thought…all this time!”
“Jesus, shit, do you want me to, I dunno, like, stop the car or something?”
“No,” Daisy said, voice firm despite her tears, “no, I don’t want you to stop the car. I want you to turn the car around.”
Chapter 22 - Nicolas
“Nicolas,” Felix said, his voice stony, “you need to calm down.”
Nicolas didn’t reply. He just carried on pacing in front of the enormous stone fireplace of the inner sanctum of the Pine Shadow Club. The flames roared, hissing and spitting, the burning heat fueling his rage.
They still hadn’t found Daisy or Thea. It had been hours. Night had fallen and brought with it all the dangers of the wilderness. He had seen the projections sent to him by his analysts. Unless something had waylaid her, she would be long clear of Iron Walker territory now, adding another layer of complication to tracking her down.
If she had driven west, or south, they could negotiate with the bears and mountain lions. The truce with those various packs was strong enough. He’d already sent word and received assurances that scouts would be on the lookout.
It was the wolves to the north he feared. There was no way they were getting into Black Claw territory, or Rathbones’, or the Triad’s. Wolf shifter packs didn’t play nicely together and would likely use Daisy and Thea as some kind of bargaining chip if they managed to get their hands on them.
He could only pray she’d taken the highway west.
The human police had been alerted too, but it was likely they wouldn’t be able to do anything. Shifter packs, no matter the target, got angry when humans tried to arrest shifters. The best the police could do would be alert the local pack who, if they had any sense of integrity, would then contact Felix.
The door opened and Rick waltzed in, deceptively unassuming in a forest green sweater and dark chinos. “We’ve just received word from some outer patrols. A car fitting the description was seen heading north.”
Nicolas’s heart sank. “Fuck, are you sure?”
Rick shrugged elegantly. “I’m sure your guys can confirm it.”
Nicolas snarled, hurling a glass tumbler into the fire, shards of crystal exploding into the flames.
“I’m going after her.”
“You’ll doing nothing of the sort,” Felix said with a warning growl. “If you get anywhere near Black Claw territory, they’ll gut you on sight. They still haven’t forgiven that business with their old enforcers.”
“That was eight years ago!”
“Grudges run deep,” Felix said. “I’m not letting you throw your life away over one sighting.”
“Come on, Felix,” Rick’s voice was smooth as poisoned honey, “why not let him go? It’s been so long since Nicolas saw any real combat. I’ll even go with him.”
Nicolas whirled on Rick with a snarl, stalking over to the other alpha, fists clenched. “Do you think this is a joke, Reinhardt?”
“Far from it,” Rick stood, meeting his eye, “I just don’t think Felix should stop you from going after what rightfully belongs to you.”
“Sometimes, Rick,” Felix said, his voice dangerously soft, “I think you’re not quite as complacent as you pretend to be.”
Rick’s eyes flashed, before the icy walls of cool disinterest slammed back into place. “I bent the knee,Alpha,” he said, holding Felix’s gaze, “I want what’s best for the pack. For the time being, that’s you.”
“For the time being,” Nicolas repeated, jaw clenching, “you might want to remember that we only keep you in your place of power because you’re useful to us.For the time being.”
Rick raised an eyebrow. “Loyal as ever, Nicolas. It’s one of your best traits. Even when Felix doesn’t tell you everything you ought to know.”
