Page 53 of Alpha Wolf's Nanny
Rick stepped closer, his voice a low snarl. “No. But enough of them are. And if you’re wrong abouther, Felix, if you let her in, and she breaks that trust, we’re not the only ones who’ll pay. The whole damn pack will. You’re too important to let yourself get tied up in this again.”
Felix stood his ground, though his jaw clenched. “I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions,” he said, his voice cool, “and if you ever attack her again, if you try to intimidate her or make her feel unsafe, I will consider it a personal threat. And I won’t be so understanding next time.”
Rick let out a hollow laugh. “Contrary to what you may think, I don’t have anything against Cassie personally. I think she’s a lovely girl, and she’s great with your boys. If your relationship was purely professional, I’d have nothing to say. But as things stand, you’re vulnerable, Alpha. And when you’re vulnerable, we all are.”
“You’re scared,” Felix said suddenly, something in his chest freezing over in fear at the thought.
Rick didn’t get scared. Rick was unshakeable. Terrifying. Powerful.
The idea that somethingcouldscare him…
“Of course I’m scared,” Rick said, his voice unnaturally soft, “I don’t want a return to the old ways. Whatever rumors may swirl, I don’t want your position. I don’t want to be alpha. And if you lose your head over a human girl, if she breaks you, the way things stand at the moment? You’d lose power. The packwould demand your usurping. And there are those who would look to me.”
Felix opened his mouth to speak, but Rick raised a hand to stop him. “I’m not telling you this as a threat, Felix. I’m genuinely trying to warn you. You are my alpha, and my friend, and I don’t want that changing. What you’re trying to do, what we’re trying to achieve, I think it’s the best way forward. I’ll do anything to avoid war. I don’t want my people in danger.”
Felix swallowed. “Neither do I.”
Finishing his drink, Rick stood, clapping Felix on the shoulder. “I’ll leave you to your thoughts, then.”
He slipped out quietly, leaving Felix alone in the flickering light of the fire.
Felix sank into the nearest chair, his elbows braced on his knees, hands running roughly over his face.
He hated that Rick had a point.
The man was infuriating. Abrasive, confrontational, and stubborn to the core. But he wasn’t wrong. And underneath all the snakelike cunning and political posturing, he truly was one of Felix’s closest allies and friends, despite it all. The balance of power was razor-thin—it always was for an alpha—and if Felix slipped, even for a second, there were plenty who’d take it as a reason to start sharpening their teeth.
He thought of Cassie.
Of her scent. Spring fig and rain, grounding and wild all at once. Of the way she smiled without thinking, how her brow furrowed in thought when she was focused, how fiercely she defended his boys, even againsthim. He thought of her soft body underneath his, the sighs that tumbled from her lips when he kissed her.
She had trusted him. Completely.
And she had no idea what kind of man he really was.
What would she do if she ever saw the worst of him? If she watched him shift in anger, teeth bared, power thrumming through his veins like wildfire? What if she couldn’t handle it? What if she turned away like Sarah had? He had been vicious during the overthrowing of the Old Guard. Merciless and unrepentant and cruel.
And God, she wasso young. Not in years, perhaps, but in experience. She’d told him how little she'd known of men. Of closeness. That night they’d shared…it hadn’t just been good. It had been afirst.
She hadn’t told him because she’d been too afraid it would change things.
And she’d been right.
Because ithadchanged things. It meant she was more fragile than he’d realized. That she was navigating something huge and raw and new while he…he’d just been trying to forget. He hadn’t deserved her trust. He hadn’t even asked for it.
Now he was entangled. And he didn’t know how to unravel himself without hurting her.
His fists clenched. What had he done?
Cassie was clever, brave, and resourceful. But she had no idea what it meant to be close to someone like him. To a shifter. To an alpha. If he pushed her too fast, too soon, it would shatter her.
And if he lost her trust…if she broke under the weight of this world she’d barely begun to understand…
He wasn’t sure if she’d survive it.
He wasn’t sure ifhewould.
Felix stood, rolling his shoulders, trying to shake off the tension that clung to him like a second skin. One thing was clear.
