Chapter 115

Cara’s POV

I do feel somewhat less panicked with security out of my house. They are still patrolling around outside, which I don’t mind as much. There was just something about having so many strangers in my house, so soon after the knife attack, that had me unnerved.

At least my kids are safe with my brothers. But me? I’m not sure what’s going to become of me.

I sit on the couch in the living room, with Alaric sitting to my right and Noel to my left. I felt safe with Alaric and wanted to feel safe with Noel, but perhaps inviting them both to stay was a mistake.

Even now, they are casting sideways suspicious glances at each other over my head.

“Are you comfortable, Cara?” Alaric asks, just as Noel asks, “Are you hungry, Cara?”

“I’m fine,” I say to each of them.

Since the moment Noel came in through the door, he and Alaric have seemed to be locked in some kind of contest to prove themselves as the best protector. It seems, now that Eamon and the others have left, that behavior is persisting.

It started with small things.

“I’ll check the back door to make sure it’s secure,” Alaric said.

Noel added, “I’ll check the windows.”

Alaric heard him, yet when he returned from checking the back door, he insisted on checking the windows again, “Just to make sure they are locked.”

“I wouldn’t endanger Cara,” Noel replied.

“Then you won’t mind me double checking,” Alaric said.

“Then perhaps I should double-check the back door.”

From there, it has escalated.

I thought I found the peace when I told them both to sit down. Yet, with them on either side of me, I feel the tension continue to flicker.

Even these simple questions, asking after my comfort and about my hunger, feels like some kind of competition. If I answer one, the other would probably jump in and they would make a show of outdoing each other.

A request for a blanket would lead to be being entirely wrapped in a cocoon of blankets. If I admit to being hungry, I’m sure my kitchen would become a warzone as they both try to outdo each other making me a meal.

I’m already tired of it and it hasn’t even truly begun.

It’s been a long day alright. Truly, I just want to go lay down for a while. They don’t need my presence for their contests, if that’s how they want to occupy their time.

But I need sleep.

I push myself up to my feet, surprised when they each do the same a half-beat after me.

“I’m going upstairs,” I say.

“I will accompany you,” Alaric says.

“No, I will accompany you,” Noel adds. “And I’ll check to make sure the room is secure.”

“I will do that and check the bathrooms and closets,” Alaric says.

“There’s no need,” I say. “The security already checked everything.”

“It doesn’t hurt to give it another once over,” Noel says.

“I think my eyes are more suited for the task than yours,” Alaric says.

Noel glares at him.

“No one is checking anything. You are both staying here while I go to bed,” I tell them. “I appreciate you watching the house and staying here to help keep me safe, but I am still capable of looking after myself to some extent. I can at least go to bed on my own.”

Both men look at me like they want to argue the point, but neither says a word.

At least, not until Alaric says, “If you are sure…”

“I am,” I tell him. “Goodnight, Alaric, Noel.”

“Goodnight, Cara,” Noel replies.

“Cara,” Alaric says, then let the name linger like he wants to say something else. He doesn’t though, at least not in the short window I give him, before I turn and walk away.

I am somewhat nervous to go upstairs on my own, but I’ve always felt safe in my own house. That feeling persists, even now. Besides, with Alaric and Noel in shouting distance, and the security guards patrolling outside, I really don’t think I have anything to worry about tonight.

I don’t usually like the attention. Even now, it feels somewhat strange to have so many people worrying about me. But in this case, it also provides a sort of comfort.

With my life in danger, to know so many people are watching out for me helps me feel safe.

Maybe, thinking of Alaric and Noel downstairs, I’ll be able to relax enough to sleep.

Alaric’s POV

When Cara leaves the room, it takes everything in me not to follow her. I’d only just saved her life this afternoon. For her to leave my sight, even for a moment, feels so incredibly wrong.

Yet, it’s clear she wants some time to herself, so I force myself still, trying to respect her, her wishes, and her boundaries.

That, I know, is the way to winning her heart, even if my Alpha nature is screaming at me to protect, protect, protect.

With her gone, I glance at Noel. He’s staring at the doorway where she disappeared. Yet, after a moment, he finally looks at me.

“This is your fault,” Noel says.

“She’s allowed to go to bed,” I say.

“You chased her off.”

“She was tired.”

We glare at each other.

“You might think you have some kind of authority here, because you are the Alpha of another pack,” Noel says. “But Cara is my mate –”

“She was my mate first,” I snap.

His eyes narrow. “Yes. So I’ve heard. I’ve also heard that you threw away your chance to be with her. You should step aside now, and let her have the chance to be happy with someone who actually wants and appreciates her.”

Inside of me, my wolf starts to growl. It takes all that I have not to let it reverberate in my own throat.

In a way, I can almost relate to Noel, maybe more than anyone else can. We both care deeply for the same woman. Yet, where his affections are felt only through the bond, I have had years to grow and cultivate my feelings for Cara.

He knows nothing of the depths of my feelings, nor does he have any hope to.

“I will never back down,” I tell him. “I made mistakes in the past, but this is the time for me to right them. I will not just stand off to the side so that you can attempt to swoop in and steal her from me.”

Noel smirked. “Well, it’s not like it will matter. Even if you attempt to pursue her as well, she will soon realize which of us is better suited for her. The one who let her go in the past… or the man who would do anything just to have the chance to be in her life now…”

I open my mouth to reply, when a knock sounds at the front door.

Noel and I both immediately tense as we turn to face the door.

“Did you hear that?” Noel asks.

“I did.”

“Where the hell is security?” Noel curses.

I have the same question, but I also know that sometimes you have to trust in yourself.

So I walk toward the door. Pressing my ear close, I try to listen to the sounds on the other side.

As I’m listening closely, the door thuds with the weight of one last hard knock. Then I hear footsteps scurry away.

I throw the door open, ready to give chase – when I stop, seeing a bloody note pinned into the outside of the front door with a dagger.