Chapter 80

Kayla

The bed creaked as Nicholas sat down on the opposite side, his movements slow and controlled. I kept my gaze fixed on the ceiling, pretending I didn’t feel the weight of him sinking into the mattress, or the faint shift of the blankets as he pulled them over his waist.

He was keeping his distance. Respectful and polite, the way Nicholas always was when he wasn’t trying to get under my skin just for sport.

And yet, I couldn’t ignore the fact that even with a solid foot of space between us, I could still feel him there. His heat radiated through the sheets, warming me all the way from the other side of the bed.

I shifted, turning onto my side to face the window so I wouldn’t have to look at him. The moonlight filtered faintly through the thin curtains, illuminating the edges of the room in a silvery glow. I heard Nicholas exhale softly, and then the bed shifted again as he turned his back to mine.

For a while, neither of us spoke. It was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable, tense but oddly peaceful. I couldn’t make sense of it, and whatever strange pull I’d felt before was gone now, replaced by mild embarrassment over my insistence that he share my childhood bed with me.

I knew sleep wasn’t coming anytime soon—not with my head buzzing the way it was. And judging by the faint rustling of the sheets as he moved around, I doubted he was sleeping either.

“You awake?” I asked quietly, almost regretting it the second the words left my lips.

“Yeah. You?”

“Obviously.”

He huffed softly, a half-laugh that made my cheeks flush a little. I was suddenly glad for the darkness and the way our backs were turned.

For a moment, I debated letting the conversation die there. But the darkness had a strange way of loosening my tongue, making it easier to say the things that felt too crazy to admit in daylight.

“Noah told me something,” I murmured, watching the faint ripple of shadows dancing across the wall as the trees swayed in the wind outside. “About my father.”

Nicholas shifted again, his arm brushing faintly against mine beneath the covers. I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or not, but the contact sent a subtle shiver scuttling down my spine.

“What did he say?”

I hesitated, the words catching briefly in my throat before I forced them out. “For years, I thought that my dad’s coma was caused by an arrow tipped with wolfsbane. But Noah said he believes that it was a snake’s venom. And that there may be more to it than a simple accident during battle.”

Nicholas didn’t respond right away, but he didn’t have to. His silence spoke volumes.

“You believe him?” he finally asked carefully.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to, but now that Noah is asleep too…” I exhaled, rolling onto my back and running a hand through my hair. “I can’t help but wonder if he’s been poisoned the same way. And if the guild might have something to do with everything.”

Nicholas was quiet for a long moment, his breathing soft and steady beside me. When he finally spoke, his voice was lower, softer.

“I’ll help you look into it. If there’s even a chance the guild was involved, we’ll find out.”

I swallowed, my throat tightening unexpectedly. “Thanks,” I said quietly.

But as the words lingered in the dark, a new thought wormed its way into my mind—one I hadn’t let myself dwell on until now.

If my father did wake up… what would happen to this arrangement between us?

Nicholas was only stepping in as Bluemoon’s Alpha because I had no one else to fill the role. But if my dad returned, everything would change. Nicholas wouldn’t need to stay. Our fake engagement would be terribly one-sided.

The thought left a strange, hollow ache somewhere in my chest. The same ache I felt when I was forced to choose between him and Noah.

I looked over slowly, risking a glance at Nicholas. His eyes were closed now, his expression relaxed but unreadable. I wasn’t sure why, but the sight of him there—calm and steady as ever—was enough to ease some of the weight in my chest.

Even if this arrangement wasn’t real, his presence was. And that was enough. For tonight, at least.

The next morning came more quickly than I expected, and breakfast was filled with Ava’s cinnamon rolls and too-sweet coffee. After breakfast, I toured Nicholas around the estate, pointing out the various landmarks of my childhood as we walked the grounds.

“This place is bigger than I thought,” he admitted as we passed the training yard.

I shot him an amused glance. “What, did you think that Bluemoon was some kind of backwoods territory with five people living here?”

He smirked. “If I said I did think that, what would you do?”

Rolling my eyes, I pulled my fist back as if to punch his arm. Nicholas just laughed and jumped out of the way just in time, and I couldn’t help but laugh a little, too.

But as we continued to walk, Nicholas’s arm slid easily around my waist. The gesture was as casual as it was deliberate. I knew why he did it—to keep up appearances, to make sure anyone watching saw exactly what they expected to see and to quell any lingering vestiges of those attempted coups.

And it worked, too; the wolves watching us with hate in their eyes glanced at where his hand met my waist and immediately snapped their gazes away, ashamed of themselves.

But it didn’t stop the faint flutter that stirred in my chest every time his fingers pressed lightly against my hip.

Eventually, our path led us toward the tree line, where the old, weathered treehouse that I used to play in as a kid still stood nestled among the branches.

“You used to play up there?” Nicholas arched a brow.

“Don’t judge. It was cool back then.”

“Sure it was.”

I shot him a glare, but he was already climbing up the rickety ladder. “Let me see for myself,” he called over his shoulder before disappearing inside the treehouse.

I watched him, but the moment her set foot on the wooden planks, a loud crack echoed beneath him.

“Nicholas—wait, I think—”

Too late. The rotten old floorboard beneath his foot gave way, and he plummeted straight through the floor, landing with a solid thud on the forest floor below.

“Nicholas!” I scrambled over to him, my heart hammering in my chest. “Are you okay?”

By the time I reached him, Nicholas was flat on his back, grinning up at the sky.

“I think I bruised my pride,” he said, wincing playfully. “But otherwise, I’m fine.”

Relief washed over me, and before I could stop myself, laughter bubbled up from my chest. “You idiot,” I muttered, kneeling beside him. “You should know you’re too big for a place like that.”

Nicholas just grinned, sitting up with a groan. “Can you blame a guy for wanting to feel like a kid again?”

Smirking, I opened my mouth to respond. But before either of us could say anything else, Henry’s voice echoed through the trees.

“Kayla! Nicholas! You might want to see this.”

We exchanged glances, and without another word, I helped Nicholas to his feet. We rushed toward the front gates, but skidded to a stop when we saw who was waiting by the security booth.

Isabella.