Page 57 of Alpha Wolf's Nanny
She glanced again at the backpack. No, that wasn’t true. She believed that the boys loved her, and she loved them. But she was putting them in danger just by being here. If the debt collectors found her…
No. She couldn’t go down that road.
She would avoid Felix and do her job. That was it.
She tried to pretend that it wasn’t breaking her heart.
Chapter 18 - Felix
Felix sat behind his desk, his eyes watching the flames in the hearth dancing, his fingers drumming against the wood. He had work to do. Lots of it. Emails to reply to, invitations to deal with, and Accord documents to read through. And yet, whenever he glanced at his computer screen, he found his eyes glazing over, and his thoughts turning yet again back to Cassie.
Fuck. He was royally fucking things up. And he knew it.
After the confrontation with Henry, the conversation with Rick, Felix had figured that a bit of distance might be enough to get his thoughts straight. To remember his priorities. His duties to the pack. More than once, he had forced his thoughts to turn to his ex-wife, to how terribly that had ended, to how poorly suited shifters and humans were.
It hadn’t worked. It had just made him even more obsessed with her.
Every movement she made, every lingering whiff of sweet fig on the air, every echo of her laughter as she played with his sons lingered in his mind, driving him wild. Whenever he was in the same room as her, he had to focus on something else, distract himself, keep himself separate to stop himself from launching at her and claiming her lips with his.
But what was he supposed to do? He was a shifter, an alpha of a pack. He had duties. Responsibilities. Including keeping her safe. And he knew for damn sure she would be safest far, far away from him.
He couldn’t send her away, though. His wolf wouldn’t let him.
He really was a selfish bastard.
“Are you still doing that paperwork?” Nicolas hadn’t bothered to knock.
Felix glanced up. The chiseled lines of his best friend’s face were drawn into a scowl, the firelight glowing against his dark hair. “Yeah. Lots to get through.”
Nicolas raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
Felix sighed, leaning back and drawing his hand down his face. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“No, but I think perhaps there’s something I can helpyouwith,” Nicolas said, bracing his hands on the desk as he leaned forward. “Whatever bullshit narrative you’re telling yourself, it’s just that. Bullshit.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Cassie. What else?”
Felix’s brow furrowed, his jaw tightening. “What about her?”
“The fact that you’re so obviously in love with her.”
Felix’s chest constricted, his fists clenching. “What?”
“You heard me,” Nicolas replied, his voice dropping low, “you’re in love with her. Any idiot could see that. And you’re not doing anything about it.”
“What do you expect me to do?” Felix asked, his chair clattering as he stood suddenly. Nicolas reared back, his expression wary. “She’s a human. Even if I wanted to, I can’t do anything. It puts her in too much danger. I can’t be selfish.”
“So instead you’ve decided to mope around here and avoid her? Forgive me, Felix, but that’s not exactly what I’d expect from you.”
Felix growled, “I’m not avoiding her, I’m…I’m giving her space.”
“Bullshit.”
“Nicolas,” Felix snarled, a warning note entering his tone, “you may be my closest friend, but don’t push me on this one. She’s human. That’s that. There’s nothing more to it.”
Nicolas considered him for a while, watching as he sat back down and flicked through several tabs on his computer without actually stopping to read anything.
