Page 31 of Arranged Wolf's Nanny
“—they’re a little bit worried.”
“About what?” Rick said with a sneer. “Do they expect me to braid their hair or join their book club? They know I’m loyal to the pack, that I’d kill to protect them and your children. Ihavekilled to protect them. What more do they need?”
Felix hesitated, and it was Nicolas who finally broke the silence.
“Rosalia.”
Rick’s temper iced over, his muscles tensing at that one word, “Oh.”
Nicolas tapped the table a few times, considering his words carefully. “Daisy says that every time she goes over, Rosalia shuts out any attempt to join in pack activities. She’s gotten better in recent weeks, but she…westill worry that she never leaves your house. You’ve been married for well over a month now, she’s been part of the pack for weeks, but she’s never been to a single event. It’s not normal.”
Rick’s jaw worked as Nicolas held his eye. The other two males had shifted slightly, their attention fixed on him.
Clearly, Daisy wasn’t the only one voicing her worries to her mate.
“Things were difficult at first, I won’t deny it,” Rick said, his voice clipped. “She clearly had some…adjusting to do. But it’s as Daisy says. She seems to have gotten over her depression and is now absolutely fine.”
Nicolas raised an eyebrow. “Did she tell you that?”
Rick growled, “I made it clear that I would not babysit her. If she has no interest in pack activities, then that is her business. I’m hardly going to force her to join the Yule committee.”
“She’s your wife, Rick,” Nicolas said.
“Yes, mywife,” Rick snarled, taking a step towards Nicolas, wolf thrashing beneath the surface, “notmy mate. Our union is political. That isit.”
He didn’t mention the spike of anxiety in Rosalia’s scent whenever he entered a room. The terse, polite mask she adopted whenever forced to talk to him. The way hishomehad become a battleground, their own personal cold war.
The rage his wolf felt whenever she looked at him with fear in her eyes.
He was constantly on edge these days. Constantly looking for a fight, a challenge,anyexcuse to let his wolf free to blow off some steam. Get some of the aggression out. More and more, he resented Felix’s restraint, his refusal to allow them to fight the Black Claws. There would be nothing like the blood of an enemy in his teeth to cool his building fury.
Rosalia’s fear had woken something ugly in him. Something cold and bitter. He wasnota cruel male. He was well aware that he was intimidating, calculating, even savage when he needed to be. Butonlyto those who threatened his pack. Hisfamily. And like it or not, Rosalia was part of his pack. She was under his protection. And her constant terror made his wolf viscerally fear he was harming those he had sworn to guard.
He was not his father. He had chosen Felix. The New Guard. The new way.
And now, his own brothers were calling his actions into question because it was so blatantly obvious how much Rosalia feared him.
Rick didn’t need her to love him. He didn’t even particularly care if she liked him.
But he needed her to know she was safe. That she was his responsibility, and he took that seriously, no matter his feelings about the circumstances of their union.
He needed his brothers to know that, also.
But Nicolas was standing across from him, ice-blue eyes narrowed, and for a brief, wild moment, Rick seriously thought he would throw an accusation. That things would get ugly.
After witnessing the things his own father had done, it was no surprise that Nicolas was especially protective of females. Felix and Dane as well.
Rick was less discerning. Hispackearned his protection. Any threat to his pack, female or otherwise, would be dealt with. Perhaps that was why his brothers seemed cautious.
He exhaled sharply through his nose, relaxing his stance, showing Nicolas that he would not fight. “It’s Eva’s birthday next week,” he said. “She and Rosalia have grown close. I know that Rosalia wants to help with organizing it. Perhaps it would be a good opportunity for the pack to visit and for her to mingle with them.”
Felix’s eyebrows rose slightly. “That sounds like a wonderful idea, actually. Give her a chance to see what the Iron Walkers are truly like.”
“AndI can talk to Lola,” Rick added, turning to Dane. “If she did agree to be an advisor in the inner circle, we’d be working very closely together. She’s far too intelligent to allow petty insecurities to hold her back.”
Dane nodded slowly. “Only if I’m there as well.”
Rick didn’t argue. Lola was heavily pregnant, and Dane’s instincts were getting harder and harder for him to push away. Nicolas had been the same when Daisy was due to give birth to Max. Hell, Rick couldn’t remember a time when hehadn’tbeen overly possessive of her. Daisy was so gentle for a shifter.
