He narrowed his eyes. “Because, apparently, you’re his mate,” he rasped softly. “Wouldn’t he want you to be like him?” He sat up, leaning against the cushion of the chair, as though he could no longer hold his head up on his own.
Lauren’s eyes went round with shock. “How could you say that? You know him.”
I suddenly felt in the way and wondered if I was the only one that realized that they were getting a bit off track. Someone just tried to kill Will, and he was arguing with his daughter about her boyfriend. But it wasn’t my place to interrupt. This was between father and daughter.
I stepped out into the hallway to call Joe. I didn’t want to talk to Nate after what had happened earlier. I explained to him about the attempt on Will’s life, and he said they would be right up.
As I waited for reinforcements, I leaned against the door listening to the two people inside as I stared at the wood grain in the oak.
“Stop accusing Joe. He had nothing to do with this.” Lauren’s voice was raised, filled with annoyance. Had they forgotten that only minutes before a pair of hands were wrapped around Will’s throat?
The front door swung open, startling me before I could hear Will’s response. Joe and Nate entered the house, poised for attack. By the look on their faces, they were ready to defend their family. Was it wrong to feel a little smug that I had taken care of the problem myself?
Nate rushed toward me, reaching for my hands. I pulled them behind my back and tried to ignore the hurt that flickered in his eyes.
“What happened?” he asked. He stood just inches away. I could feel his breath and the heat that radiated off of him. I wanted to take a step back, but after I pulled my hands away, I decided I had hurt him enough.
“When Lauren and I got here, we smelled the scent of werewolf and rushed into the office. A guy with blond hair was choking Will. His face was blue.”
“Damn him,” Nate growled. His hands were clenched at his sides, and his eyes flashed yellow. He seemed to know who the attacker was. “Did he hurt you?”
“No, she kicked his ass and scared him away,” Lauren answered for me.
The three of us turned to face her; Lauren was in the doorway. I didn’t even hear the door open.
Nate’s expression was bemused. “What do you mean?” he asked Lauren.
“When we saw that guy trying to kill my father, I panicked, and I couldn’t move. But Megan didn’t even think—she just rushed the guy and kicked him in the face. He fell back and let go of my dad. That’s when I snapped out of it and pulled my dad away from him.”
Nate faced me. “Where is he?”
I shifted my feet. “When he realized he was up against two werewolves, he jumped out the window.”
The hallway fell silent. Nate’s face was blank as he stared at me, but I could see in his eyes he was struggling with something. Electricity seemed to pop at the intensity of his stare. I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“Lauren, let’s go tend to your father.” Joe led her away without waiting for a reply.
I was sorry to see them go since the stare only intensified. I couldn’t help but quake under his gaze.
When I thought the silence would go on forever, Nate took a step forward, closing the gap between us. This time I did retreat from him until I hit the wall. There was nowhere else to go. Again, he stalked toward me. He placed his hands above my head, enclosing me with his arms. The air sizzled with emotion, and his gaze was intense, all traces of the wolf gone.
“Did you really take out James on your own?” he whispered, his voice rough.
He had taken away my ability to speak. We hadn’t been this close in weeks, and my body was betraying my mind. It screamed to fill the small gap and wrap my arms around him. But my mind wouldn’t let me. All I could do was nod in answer.
“How did you do it?”
I swallowed loudly, since my throat had suddenly gone dry. “I...I ran at him, twisting into a back kick...I kicked him in the head. There’s more power in that move.” He moved closer, his breath caressing my face and his scent whirling around me. I blinked, forgetting what I was about to say. “Um…he lost his balance, and ran off.”
Nate smiled, his dimples popping out to mock me. He knew how he was affecting me. He leaned in until his lips touched mine. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered against my lips. And then he kissed me. His actions had turned my mind to mush, and I couldn’t push him away like I wanted. Or did I want to? The kiss ended abruptly, and when he pulled back, he looked at me with a hooded gaze. Then he was gone. I could hear him in the office with the others, but I couldn’t move to follow him. Along with my brain, my limbs had turned to mush.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Almost Home
“How could you let this happen?” Will rasped and then coughed at the strain he was putting on his throat. He was staring at Joe, but his eyes flicked to Nate. He was angry at both of them.
I stepped into the office unnoticed and took a seat on a bench in front of the window. Will was still sitting in the big arm chair while Lauren was perched at the end of the sofa next to him. Joe had taken the spot beside his girlfriend, and Nate was standing up facing Will.
“You need to calm down, Will, and rest your voice. We have to talk about what happened to you.” Of course, it was Nate speaking calmly. My emotions were going haywire because of him, and my body was still tingling with sensations. Nate, on the other hand, appeared totally unaffected as he spoke to his nephew.
“Calm down? My daughter’s a werewolf, and no one will tell me how that happened.” His voice was once again a whisper. Any voice that had returned was gone after his continuing attempts at speaking.
“Charlotte turned me when she kidnapped us.” Lauren’s voice was low, nervous to give him all the details.
Will’s head snapped to me. “She turned you too?” he asked, his face unreadable.
“Can we discuss this later?” Nate spoke before I could answer, which was good, because I didn’t know what to say.
Lines formed on Will’s forehead. “Fine, I’ll let it go for now. But damn it, I want answers!” He was trying to yell again and then winced with pain. By the angry glares he was throwing around, he wasn’t finished with the conversation. It was understandable since everyone in the room had lied to him for weeks.
“Was it James?” Nate asked Will.
Will sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. A look of guilt and sadness crossed his features. He nodded, trying not to speak.
“Why did he do it?” Nate asked gently.
“He said he wanted to take back what was owed to him,” Will whispered softly, but we all heard him.
“What does that mean?” Lauren asked.
“Money,” Nate mumbled. “Your father is the head of the family right now. If he’s killed, someone can take over.”
“Who?” I asked, shocking myself. I hadn’t intended to speak at all, just listen.
Nate turned to me. His face held a serious expression, but his eyes twinkled. He was thinking about our time in the hall. My breath caught, and I knew he heard it.
“In the old will, it was James,” Nate said.
“Who’s James?” I asked.
Nate sighed heavily. “He is my nephew and Will’s cousin.”
“He’s the guy I was telling you about,” Lauren explained.
Oh right, Nate’s nephew who had also been turned by Charlotte. I nodded in understanding, willing myself to keep quiet. I lifted my leg up on the cushioned bench, and jiggled my foot, suddenly feeling restless.
“I knew it was James that was looking into that file,” Nate said, shaking a clenched fist in front of him.
“Maybe he’s working with Emma?” Will suggested, earning a growl from Nate. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I knew they were yellow.
“I told you not to speak of her,” Nate’s voice was a snarl, making me wonder who Emma was and why he didn’t want to talk about her. I could tell Lauren was just as curious. She o
pened her mouth as if to ask a question, but Joe laid a hand on her knee, shaking his head to silence her. There was definitely something going on here, and I was determined to find out what it was.
“Are all the wills in that file?” Joe asked, glancing from Nate to Will.
They both nodded, but Will spoke softly. “Nate has the hard copies in his safe, but we have another problem.”
Nate’s head swung to face his nephew. “What now?”
Will pursed his lips. “Lionel called just before James appeared. The files were accessed, and all the recent wills were deleted. All that’s left is the one naming him next in line after me.”
“So, if all the other copies are destroyed, that one will be valid?” Joe asked.
Will winced. “Yes, and in that will, my father was in control with me as his successor. James was next in line. With me gone, he can take control of half the company.”
“But that can’t happen right, because we have the original wills?” Lauren asked as she fiddled with the pendant on her necklace.
“Right,” Will answered, the lines on his forehead forming a permanent etch on his skin.
“Are you sure?” I blurted and then scolded myself for doing so. I was supposed to stay silent. I wanted to listen, not talk.
Everyone in the room turned to me. “What do you mean?” Nate asked, fidgeting with a throw pillow.
“Well, have you looked at them lately? I can’t see why James would try to kill Will if he didn’t have access to them. What good would that do, if you have the originals?” I paused, and tilted my head in thought. “You were gone from the cottage for days searching for us, and Charlotte was there alone after she knocked Lauren and me out.”
All at once all the eyes staring at me bugged out with alarm. Nate and Joe jumped up and raced to the front door. It slammed shut behind them.
If what I said was true, then the only thing between James and millions of dollars of Riley money—was Will. The atmosphere in the room was filled with tension as we waited.
They weren’t gone for long. And when they returned, we knew the answer before they spoke. Their faces told us what we needed to know. There was defeat and terror in their eyes, and it was directed at Will. As long as James had the original copies, Will was no longer safe.
Although I didn’t really know who James was, I could guess the situation. Lauren had told me a while ago about the consequences of not taking the secret of Nate well within the family. While we had to worry about Will, Nate’s half of the estate was safe in any version of the will. Even if he was killed, the money would go to Riley House. The other half didn’t have that loop hole, thus leaving the current head of the company vulnerable.
“They’re all gone. And there was no damage to the safe, so they didn’t force their way in. Someone must have found out the combination.”
“Do you think it was Charlotte?” I asked.
Nate shrugged, looking frustrated. “I don’t know when it happened, but it makes sense that it was when you were kidnapped. We were so distraught to find you two gone, we didn’t even notice if Charlotte’s scent went to the safe.” He shrugged. “And now the scent is gone.”
“What do we do?” Lauren asked, her voice quaking with fear.
He turned to her and sighed. “We guard Will at all times and send Nathan and Carolyn away, along with all the cleaning staff. I will not put them at risk.”
Will gave him a sharp nod. “I’ll call her and make it happen. I don’t want them caught in the middle either. Nathan still doesn’t know about werewolves, and I don’t want him finding out this way.”
Lauren and I sat down watching the three men take action. Will called Carolyn, Nate called Nathan, Lauren’s brother who was at his friend’s house, and Joe called the office telling Lionel—whoever that was, what had happened. He also asked him to get Richard to take over. Will would be working from home for the time being.
When they had all finished their respective calls, Joe and Nate went to search the house to make sure there were no more werewolves around. Will made a call while they were gone to have someone come out and fix the window. The air was warmer today, but even still, with the outside air blowing in the enclosed room, the office was chilly. Feeling useless, I stood up and wandered to the hall closet to fetch a broom. There was glass all over the floor, and Will could hurt himself if he stepped on it. So could we, but we’d heal right away.
“Thanks,” Lauren said, once I returned to my seat from cleaning the glass and putting the broom away.
“You’re welcome. I feel like I should be doing something, other than sitting here twiddling my thumbs.”
Will ended his call and turned to me. “You did enough. Thank you, Megan, for saving my life.” His face was so full of gratitude. I could feel my cheeks heat up.
Feeling embarrassed by his appreciation, I waved his words away and simply smiled. I didn’t know what to say.
“So girls,” Will whispered, leaning back in his office chair. “Will you please be honest with me, and tell me what happened on that island. How did you become werewolves?”
My face surged with heat. I couldn’t tell him the details. Lauren caught my look and took pity on me. She explained everything to him. I think she was tired of lying and felt the need to make it up to him. She didn’t gloss over anything. She ended the story when we were back on solid ground.
Will’s eyes resembled those bug eyed gold fish. His expression was filled with shock and what looked like gratitude to Joe for helping Lauren change without the excruciating pain. Once he regained his composure, he smiled sadly. “I’m so sorry that happened to you both. It must have been terrifying.”
I pressed my lips together, speechless. There were no words to express how horrifying our experience was.
Lauren was as quiet as I was, no doubt thinking of the wolves attacking us. As the memories flowed through my mind, I thought of Adrian and tried to think of the color of the wolves. There was a black one, but I couldn’t remember if it was aggressive to us. Was Adrian the one in the window appearing savage and hungry? I pushed that thought away and replaced it with the training he gave me that helped save Will’s life.
As we were lost in our thoughts remembering our time on that island, Will tilted his head, and his brow furrowed. “Why didn’t you react the way Lauren did?” he asked me. My stomach dropped down to my black sneakers. “Did you have trouble changing as well?”
I just gaped at him, not sure how to answer.
“No, she was already one, but she didn’t know it.” Nate’s voice cut through the room, making me jump. My stomach was queasy with apprehension, nervous about what was about to happen.
“How did she become a werewolf?” Will asked softly and winced. He really should be resting his voice, but after learning all he did, it was understandable to have questions.
“I bit her.” Those three little words fell out of Nate’s mouth like an anvil. They were so small, but carried so much weight. They changed me, him, and by the look on Lauren’s father’s face, Will himself. Rage and disappointment filled Will’s eyes, emotions I had never seen directed at his uncle before.
“You what?” Will gasped as he stood up to face Nate.
Nate’s expression was one of guilt, but also determination. He hated what he had done, but he also had to face the consequences. “I bit her the night before Charlotte kidnapped them. No one noticed because it takes a day or two for the werewolf DNA to travel through the body.”
“How could you!” Now Will’s voice held a desperation that brought a tear to my eye. He seemed even more upset than I had been, like a child learning that superhero’s powers were not real. I understood his reaction. That was how he saw Nate. He could do no wrong in his eyes. He had looked up to Nate his whole life, and now, Will realized Nate wasn’t perfect. “I never thought you’d hurt anyone.” His voice was now a raspy whisper.
Nate’s face had shown many emotions, but guilt was one he wore like a badge. And he wore it
now, yet again. He took everything on as his fault. It was a wonder he could stand upright. “It was a mistake. I didn’t mean to do it.”
“Is that why Megan moved home?”
Nate nodded, but stayed silent, his face a mask, hiding his true feelings.
Will closed his eyes and took a ragged breath. In that moment Will’s image of Nate shattered. When he opened his eyes, he didn’t look at Nate, but he gazed at me. “I’m so sorry, Megan.” And with that, he stood up and left the room, closing the door behind him.
My heart broke again by the whole situation. Why couldn’t life be black and white? After what Nate had done to me, I should hate him, but seeing the despair in his eyes after Will’s reaction, how could I?
“He’s been through a lot, Nate. He’ll be fine,” Lauren assured him, breaking through the awkward silence.
Nate nodded and moved to the window gazing out at the night sky. No one spoke, not knowing what to say to make him feel better. How do you ease someone’s guilt when what they had done was so wrong?
“Did your father call someone to fix the window?” Nate asked Lauren, his voice strained.
“Yes.”
The last few hours only added to my already stressful day, and my eyes began to droop. Relieved to have a reason to leave this emotionally charged room, I stood up. “I’m going to turn in early. Will I be staying in your room?” I asked Lauren.
“Yes. I’ll meet you up there.”
“Okay, goodnight.” I directed my words to everyone, but only Lauren and Joe responded with sad smiles.
Nate stayed where he was, staring out at the window without acknowledging me at all.
Chapter Twenty-Five
One Step Closer
After borrowing one of Laurens t-shirts, I climbed into her soft bed. I was practically asleep when I hit her fluffy pillow. My emotions were in turmoil, and I welcomed the oblivion of sleep. I vaguely heard Lauren climb into the bed some time later. It was the good Nate I dreamed of this time. I yearned for him to kiss me as he hovered above me in my bedroom at home, but I always woke before that happened.
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