Chapter 77

Kayla

Eventually, we had to leave the hospital.

Not that we even wanted to—we both would have stayed forever if the nurse hadn’t come by and practically forced us to leave.

“I’m sorry, you two,” the nurse said, his brow furrowed, “but I’m going to have to ask you to leave. You both have been here without sleep, food, or even water for over a day. We can’t risk having two more people collapse on our watch.”

Nicholas and I resisted at first, but eventually realized that the nurse was right. We weren’t helping Noah any by sitting and wallowing by his bedside. If the guild really did have something to do with his sudden sickness, then we had to investigate. And we couldn’t do that if we were both too exhausted, hungry, and dehydrated to focus.

The house was dark by the time we pulled up to the driveway later that evening. For a split second, I thought maybe we had gotten lucky. Maybe the reporters would have packed up and gone home by now.

But the moment Nicholas rounded the corner to the driveway, I saw them—a group of at least six or seven reporters lingering near the front gate, cameras hanging from their necks and notepads poised to write down every little thing.

I groaned, sinking lower into my seat as we slowly pulled up to the gate. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I murmured, covering my face with one hand. Already, the reporters were moving toward the car, their voices muffled through the windows. “I thought they would have left by now.”

Nicholas didn’t say anything at first. He just pulled past them, angrily laying on the car horn when they stood in our way. They were like vultures feasting on prey, barely even fazed by the sound or the threat of Nicholas running them over.

“Marcus did warn us that they’ve been here all morning trying to get the scoop on us,” he muttered, finally managing to move past them—nearly hitting a particularly daring one in the process. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

I leaned my head back against the seat with a frustrated sigh. After spending over twenty-four hours in the hospital with Noah still fast asleep, this was the last thing either of us needed.

“Great. Just great,” I groaned. “I can practically hear the headlines already. ‘Luna Kayla and Alpha Nicholas Caught in Love Triangle Scandal: Is the Engagement Real or Just For Show?’”

Nicholas glanced at me, his eyes glinting faintly beneath the bright lights of the flashing cameras outside the car. “Don’t forget the part where they photoshop Noah’s face onto the background of every picture,” he added.

I let out a quiet laugh, despite myself. “Right. Can’t leave him out.”

But the humor faded quickly. We both knew the situation wasn’t exactly something to joke about. If the reporters got even the slightest whiff of the truth—that I didn’t actually love Noah, that the whole ‘I love my fated mate’ stunt was just a ploy to get him medical attention—it could turn into something even messier. The guild would know we were onto them and would potentially retaliate in some nefarious way or another.

And yet, pretending to break up with Nicholas wasn’t exactly an option either. Not without risking everything we had been working toward so far.

We really were stuck between a rock and a hard place. But I supposed we were stuck there together, which was a relief.

Finally, the security guards opened the gates and ushered us in. The reporters tried to rush forward, but were promptly shoved back by the guards as Nicholas pulled into the driveway. Once the gates were safely locked behind us, I let out a breath of relief; but even that was short-lived, because the reporters’ shouts and flashing cameras followed us all the way to the door.

Once we were parked in front of the house, Nicholas shifted beside me, gripping the door handle. “Come on,” he said after a long moment. “Let’s just get inside before they start climbing the fence.”

I nodded, too exhausted to even come up with a snarky response of some kind.

We barely made it inside with our dignity intact. Marcus had been waiting at the door, ushering us in like some kind of bouncer at an exclusive club. The reporters had shouted questions the entire time—asking about Noah, about the fight, about whether Nicholas and I were ‘on the rocks.’

Nicholas hadn’t said a word, of course. Neither had I.

Now, the house was blissfully quiet, save for the faint sound of voices outside.

I sank down onto the couch, kicking off my shoes and curling my legs up beneath me. “This is ridiculous,” I muttered. “We can’t leave the house without being bombarded. What are we supposed to do until this all blows over? We can’t exactly go around investigating with reporters tracking our every move.”

Nicholas shrugged off his jacket and tossed it over the back of a nearby chair. “We’ll just have to wait. They’ll get bored and move on eventually.”

“Wait?” I raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s your big plan?”

He shot me a look. “Unless you want to give them an actual scandal to write about.”

“Tempting,” I teased. “But no. I guess you’re right.”

His eyes flicked toward me, lingering just a second longer than necessary, and my stomach did that stupid little flip again.

I looked away quickly, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Fine. But if we’re stuck here, we might as well do something to pass the time.”

Nicholas sank down onto the couch beside me, close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating off of his body. “Like what?”

I shrugged and reached for the remote—anything to keep my hands busy and avoid his meaningful stare, really. “Movie night?”

Nicholas made a noncommittal noise, but he didn’t argue. I supposed that even the master playboy himself was too busy worrying about his friend to try and flirt with me.

The night passed slower than I expected. We ordered takeout, cracked open a bottle of wine to help us relax, and picked out a random action movie to get our minds off of everything.

Neither of us really spoke all night—we were both too busy recovering from the events of the past couple of days. And focusing on getting drunk enough to soothe our frayed nerves, otherwise sleep wouldn’t come.

But then, halfway through the second movie, I felt something change. Nicholas’s arm stretched lazily along the back of the couch, his fingers brushing lightly against my shoulders. For a moment, I stiffened, wondering if he had done it on purpose or not.

And when he didn’t move away, I didn’t move away, either.

If anything, I found myself sinking in a little closer.

I wasn’t sure why I wanted to be close to him. Maybe I needed the comfort after everything that had happened. Maybe I was just getting loopy from too little sleep and one glass of wine too many.

But deep down, I knew it wasn’t either of those things. Not really.

His scent was distracting. That same rich, warm scent that lingered in the bedroom for days after he had last stepped foot inside it. I could feel his eyes flick toward me every now and then, like he was checking to see if I’d noticed.

I had, of course. And despite myself, despite everything… I liked it.

The memory of the aphrodisiac-induced kiss was still too fresh in my mind to ignore our closeness. The way his lips had felt against mine, the way his hands had gripped my waist like he couldn’t bear to let go, the way my mind had only thought of him and nothing else—it was going to haunt me for a long, long time.

But now, sitting here with him in the quiet, I wasn’t entirely sure if that was a bad thing.

As the credits rolled, Nicholas shifted slightly, and without thinking, I leaned into him, letting my head rest against his shoulder. His arm dropped naturally around me, pulling me just a little closer.

And for the first time in a long while, I felt safe. Not just safe, but comforted. Secure. At peace.

A soft smile tugged at my lips as my eyes fluttered shut. And just before I drifted off, I could have sworn that I felt Nicholas press the faintest kiss to the top of my head.

I let sleep take me, wrapped in the warmth of him, and for once, I didn’t mind.