Page 29 of Arranged Wolf's Nanny
Rick didn’t move a muscle. His eyes didn’t leave her form.
He didn’t say another word to her.
Only once she was safely back in her bedroom did she allow herself to crumple against the door with a heavy exhale, pressing a hand to her beating heart.
She had done it. She had survived.
And now, all she needed to do was carry on surviving.
One day and a time.
Chapter 8 - Rick
“We’re making a mistake here,” Rick seethed as he slammed the kitchen door shut, the sound echoing through Felix’s modest townhouse.
Nicolas was already reaching for the liquor cabinet, while Felix and Dane sat at the kitchen table and exchanged a look. They had just come from a pack meeting, held at Nicolas’s house, given that the Club was still under construction. Most of the pack had remained there, enjoying food and a catch-up, but the inner circle needed to continue discussions privately.
“We have to stop riling them up,” Felix said, his jaw working, “the Black Claws are getting bolder and bolder. If we engage, we risk inciting war.”
“We’re already engaging,” Rick said, gesturing to Dane.
Dane shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve gotta agree with Rick on this one, boss. If we ignore their creepin’ around the border, it’ll only get worse.”
“Have you thought about talking to Raph directly about the younger wolves?” Nicolas asked. “Perhaps he truly doesn’t know the extent of their…testing.”
“He knows,” Rick replied darkly, “and if we call him out on it, we’ll look weak. Whining. The only thing males like Raph respond to is strength.”
Felix steepled his hands under his chin, eyes unfocused as he concentrated on the problem at hand. It wasn’t just fringe scrapping anymore. It was targeted attacks on the border. Patrols. Recon missions. It couldn’t go on, not without the Iron Walkers losing face.
“They want us to strike the first blow,” Felix said, massaging his temples, “it’s the only way they can hope to get support from the other packs.”
“Surely the other packs aren’t stupid enough to believe we’d be doing anything other than defending ourselves?” Nicolas asked, adjusting a cufflink.
Rick’s eyes narrowed, “Fear is a powerful motivator. If we were to attack first, and the Black Claws manage to spin it as us attempting to capture more territory, it’s feasible that other packs will think it’s an expansion attempt. They’re worried enough as it is about our level of power.”
“But we’re not trying to expand our territory,” Felix said through gritted teeth. “I just want my people safe. I thought I’d made that clear.”
“Your people aren’t safe,” Rick said. “Dane nearly got his eye swiped out the other day, from what I heard.”
“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” Dane argued, folding his ridiculously muscular arms as if feeling the need to demonstrate his physical prowess.
“Not for much longer,” Rick replied, “and not if they keep sending more wolves. Stronger wolves.”
“Perhaps we should start joining the patrols,” Nicolas said, raising an eyebrow at Rick.
Ricked hummed in agreement, a grin spreading across his face. “Now there’s an idea.”
“No,” Felix said sharply, “it’s bad enough that Dane gets involved as enforcer. If you two start joining in the fringe scraps, it’ll be seen as a clear escalation.”
“Only if we leave any Black Claws alive to report back to Raph,” said Rick, his voice deceptively silky.
“It would send a message,” Nicolas agreed, coming to stand next to Rick.
Rick’s grin widened. As much as he and Nicolas could clash on pack issues, both slightly too inclined towards the more cunning aspects of their savagery to work in harmony, there was one thing they had in common.
Their sheer, unhesitating ruthlessness.
Dane had a certain playfulness to his violence, the easy, upfront boisterousness that came with his nature and size. Felix, while not exactly gentle, only ever resorted to violence when there was truly no other choice.
