Page 85 of Bad Wolf's Nanny
“I messed everything up.”
Rick raised an eyebrow. Nicolas said nothing.
“She’s pregnant.”
A beat of silence.
“Fuck,” Rick muttered.
Nicolas sat forward, elbows on his knees. “Yours?”
Dane gave him a flat look.
“Sorry. Reflex.”
Felix was as still as a stone. “She knows?”
“Not until tonight.”
Dane told them everything. The fight, the wall, the anger, the panic. The way he’d tried to control her, the way she’d pushed back, the way her eyes had flamed with pain and fury and heartbreak.
When he was done, the silence was heavy.
“You’re an idiot,” Rick said.
“Thanks.”
“No, I mean it,” Rick said, “you slept with her. Then pushed her away. Then tried to claim her again, the second she became something you couldn’t bear to lose.”
“She’s not a possession,” Felix added, “she’s a shifter. A woman. An academic. She’s part of us now, whether you like it or not.”
Dane exhaled, resting his elbows on his knees, “I know. I just…I didn’t think I could do it. Be with someone. Feel that much. And then when I realized I already did, I panicked.”
“You always do,” Nicolas said.
“Gee, thanks.”
Rick stood and poured three glasses of whiskey, handing them out. “So what now?”
Dane stared into his drink.
“Now I fix it.”
“How?” Felix asked.
“I don’t know,” Dane admitted, “but I know I can’t keep going like this. I miss her. I miss seeing her face light up when Sam giggles. I miss her awkward, snappy little comebacks. I even miss her scowling at me.”
Nicolas sipped his drink, expression unreadable, “Then you better tell her. Before it’s too late.”
Rick nodded toward the window. “And maybe stop treating every threat like it’s a reason to lock her in a tower.”
“I’m trying,” Dane said quietly.
He rose, setting the glass down.
“I’ll talk to her tomorrow. In the morning. No excuses this time.”
The men nodded. Felix gave him a tight smile. Nicolas’s gaze softened. Even Rick looked marginally less frosty.
