Chapter 109

Nicholas

I picked up my drink from the open bar—a whiskey, neat, just to help the night pass by a little more quickly. As I glanced around the crowded venue, I couldn’t seem to spot Kayla anywhere in the sea of glittering gowns and crisp tuxedos.

She had shown up in a flurry, in typical fashion for her, upset over her choice of outfit.

Honestly, I thought she looked sort of cute. She didn’t need to put on a sparkling dress or expensive jewelry, and that simply would have been a plus. I didn’t tease her, of course, over the fact that she looked like the staff, even though I really wanted to.

But when she had hurried off to fix her hair, I hadn’t stopped her. I just shook my head, suppressed a chuckle, and got myself a drink.

That was nearly fifteen minutes ago, and she still wasn’t back. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was alright.

“You’re worried about her,” Marcus suddenly said. I glanced up to find him leaning on the bar beside me, one hand planted on his hip. He was smirking.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Can you blame me?” I asked. “She’s barely been eating, barely comes out of that shed. When I put that space together for her, I meant for it to be a little refuge for her away from the house, a little slice of Bluemoon. But now it seems it’s turned into her panic room.”

Marcus snorted softly, knowing fully well that I was right. We’d all noticed Kayla’s change. She tried her best to hide her true feelings after she found out about the baby—a baby that still wasn’t even confirmed to be mine—but I could see the dimming of her eyes. The subtle fade of her smile.

Her sparkle only dimmed further when Anna moved in.

Kayla said she was alright with it—that it was the right thing to do.

But ever since that day, Kayla’s spirit had died. And I blamed myself—for letting her lie to me. For letting her stand there and tell me it was okay, and convincing myself to believe her.

Most of all, I blamed myself for even coming up with the idea to begin with.

Marcus gave me a meaningful look then, as if reading my mind. I sighed. “I’m going to move Anna out at the end of the week. I’ll assign her a bodyguard to keep her safe until we hear back about the paternity test, then go from there. But I think having her move in was a mistake.”

My Beta nodded. “That’s a good call.”

I pursed my lips and took another sip of my whiskey, feeling it burn a hot path down my throat. I felt bad for Anna, truly; she hadn’t done anything wrong. She was a perfectly nice person. But I simply couldn’t have her in my home.

Not if it would ruin Kayla like this.

As Marcus moved away to speak to someone else at the event, I slipped my hand into my pocket to feel the small box containing the gift I’d purchased for Kayla. It wasn’t much, and I knew it wouldn’t fix everything, but I hoped it would show her how much I cared.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and my eyebrows shot up when I saw Anna standing there. She was wearing a silky nude gown that shimmered slightly in the dim light, the fabric taut across her pregnant belly so that it was on prominent display. Her dark hair was curled perfectly, cascading across her shoulders like a curtain.

“Anna,” I said, taking a step back. “I didn’t know you were coming tonight.”

She beamed and waved her hand. “Oh, one of my friends asked me to come last-minute. I saw you and thought I would say hello.” She glanced around. “Where is Kayla?”

“She’s…” I didn’t really know how to answer that, because I didn’t actually know where Kayla was at this point. “She’s in the restroom,” I finally said.

Anna nodded slowly, as if considering my words. “I see. She’s not by your side tonight?”

“Like I said, she’s in the restroom.”

“Of course.” Anna hesitated, then turned toward the dance floor. “I’ve been dying to stretch my legs. If you’re just standing around waiting for Kayla, would you like to pass the time with a dance?”

That made me hesitate. People were already beginning to stare at us now, given the recent media coverage of the unexpected pregnancy. Dancing with Anna while Kayla was nowhere to be found would just cause even more trouble.

And frankly, I didn’t want to dance with Anna. I wanted Kayla, even if she tried to bite me.

“Actually, I should find Kayla,” I said, moving to sidestep Anna.

But she stepped in my way. “I thought you said she was in the restroom.”

“Yes, well…” I managed a terse smile. “I have to talk to her about something.”

Once more, I went to move past Anna, my eyes already scanning the crowd for Kayla. And, once more, Anna stepped in my way.

“Just one dance, Nicholas,” she said, placing her hand on my arm. “If this is our baby, I’d be heartbroken to have to someday tell him or her that we can’t get along.”

I hesitated. Not because I was actually considering her words, but because I was so taken aback by them.

If that was my baby, I had no intention of a relationship with Anna. I would help her financially and share parental responsibilities, absolutely, but ‘getting along’ wasn’t really at the top of my list. Not in the way she seemed to be implying, anyway.

“Anna,” I said slowly, furrowing my brow, “I’m not sure if you’ve misunderstood. But Kayla is my mate. She’s the one who holds my heart.”

She blinked up at me as if she didn’t fully believe it. It was at that moment that I felt it—a slight tug on the mate bond, the faintest fluttering of a presence on the other end. I hadn’t felt Kayla manipulate the bond in quite some time, what with that adamantine wall that had formed between us.

But I felt it now. And she didn’t seem to be in danger, but rather… perturbed. As if her mental voice were calling out to me, saying, “I need you.”

I didn’t hesitate. If Kayla was even remotely uncomfortable, then I had to go to her. So, just as Anna was opening her mouth to speak, I gently touched her shoulder and moved her aside.

“I’m sorry, Anna, but Kayla needs—”

That was when it happened. When everything changed.

With a gasp and a shriek, Anna fell to the floor, right on her butt. Nearby onlookers shouted as she collapsed, her trembling hands clutching her belly. “Y-You shoved me!” she cried. “What the hell, Nicholas?!”

I didn’t know what to do. My mouth worked uselessly, my body torn between helping her and going to Kayla. I hadn’t meant to push Anna—I thought I just gently moved her out of the way so I could leave.

Ultimately, with all these eyes on us, I knew I had to act. I crouched to help Anna to her feet. She was crying already.

“Anna, I’m so sorry. It was an accident.”

“Don’t touch me!” she cried, swatting my hand away. By now, the onlookers had fallen completely silent, their gazes filled with shock and fury as they stared at me. Anna was fully sobbing, and two security officers were pushing through the crowd.

The damage had been done.

I didn’t know what to do now—go to Kayla anyway and make sure she was okay, or help Anna. The security officers came and helped her to her feet, and her wailing rose through the vaulted ceilings, drawing even more attention.

And then I felt that tug again—slightly more insistent this time.

I had to go to Kayla. And I was about to; I turned, muttering an apology, and began to push my way through the crowd in search of her. But I didn’t make it far, because suddenly an even louder chorus of gasps and shrieks echoed through the room, and I turned to see Anna standing in a puddle of water.

“Her water broke!” someone cried, pointing. “He shoved her so hard that he broke her water!”

I took a step back, my eyes widening. That wasn’t possible… Anna wasn’t that far along yet.

Right?

At that moment, one of the security guards stepped forward. “Sir, you need to come with us. Miss Anna must be taken to the hospital right away.”