Page 81 of Arranged Wolf's Nanny
“Letters can be intercepted,” Rick snapped, “used.”
“Yes,” Felix said, voice flat as hammered steel, “and if they were, then your anger should have been for the hands that stole them. Not for her.”
The words hit harder than a blow.
Rick turned away, pacing to the window. The town spread out beyond the walls of his manor, down the hill, lights smeared across the black like spilled jewels.
“I couldn’t risk it,” he muttered, “not with Eva.”
“You weren’t risking Eva,” Dane said quietly, “you were risking yourself. You were afraid of being fooled again.”
Rick’s hand curled into a fist against the glass. Dane wasn’t wrong. He hated that he wasn’t wrong.
“Do you believe her?” Nicolas asked, “Right now. If she stood in front of you again, would you believe her?”
Rick closed his eyes. He saw Rosalia’s face as she pleaded with him, the tremor in her voice, the way she hadn’t flinched even when his anger had burned hot enough to sear. She had stood there and told him she would never hurt him. And he had refused to listen.
He drew a long, shuddering breath. “I don’t know.”
“Find out,” Felix said, voice cutting the room to silence. “Don’t assume. Don’t condemn her on your guesswork. Go and get the truth from her.”
Rick turned to face them. “And if the truth is worse than I fear?”
“Then deal with it,” Felix said, “but deal with it head-on. Not like a coward hiding behind old scars.”
Rick stiffened, and he turned back to the window. “I couldn’t if I wanted to,” he said, his voice full of bitterness, “she went back to her father.”
The spike in tension was palpable.
“Rick, she could be in danger,” Felix said. “You need to go get her.”
“She made her choice,” Rick said, the words catching in his chest. “I always gave her a choice.”
His wolf howled within him.
The room went quiet again. Nicolas tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. Dane shifted his weight, restless. Felix remained still as stone, eyes never leaving Rick’s face.
Rick was just beginning to question his judgment, just beginning to admit that maybe, just maybe, he had been wrong, when Dane’s phone rang.
The sharp trill shattered the silence. Dane yanked it from his pocket, answered with a curt “What?”
Rick watched the change in his face. Alertness sharpened into something darker. His eyes met Rick’s, grim.
“They’ve moved,” Dane said.
Rick’s stomach dropped. “Who?”
“The Black Claws. And the Green Mountain Pack. Scouts say they’ve crossed the border. Heavily armed. They’re coming straight for us.”
Felix’s arms uncrossed. His voice was low, dangerous. “How many?”
Dane listened a beat more, then swore under his breath. “Too many.”
Nicolas was already on his feet, expression sharpened to a blade, “So this is what all the noise was about. They’ve been planning this.”
Rick’s heart thundered. Rosalia. His wolf surged, furious. If the Black Claws and Green Mountain had invaded, then she would have been caught in the center of it.
Felix looked at him, no softness in his gaze, “You wanted clarity, Reinhardt? Here it is. They’ve declared war.”
