Why
1229 Words
[Noel’s POV]
My eyes grow wide as Nick’s words flow over me, mingling together with an odd feeling that seems to start from the tips of my toes and travels slowly through my veins. It’s not an unpleasant emotion, but it leaves me uneasy as I know that it could be very dangerous, especially after everything I already suffered.
“Why?” I ask quietly, the word erupting from my lips before I can even stop it.
“Why what?” Nick asks as the elevator around us stops and the door opens, revealing a luxurious living room with black leather furniture and a plush white carpet.
For a moment, I don’t speak as I take in the area around us, wondering myself what exactly it was that I was asking.
What did I want to know, and why did I want to know it? Was I already hoping that maybe he was different when I knew that I should keep my guard up since he was essentially a ghost that appeared in the nick of time like the ghost of Christmas past?
There was still so much that needed to be said and so many questions that needed to be answered, but for now, the thing that mattered the most was figuring out our next move, especially since I decided to marry him in order to regain my pack and my family's business and finances.
“Noel,” Nick says gently, snapping me out of my head. “What is it that you’re wondering?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I respond, my guard slamming back into place. “Now, could you put me down?”
Maybe I was being a bit rude after everything he has done for me, but if I continued to stay in his arms, I truly feared that I would relax too much with this odd feeling flowing through me just from his touch.
“Sure,” he chuckles, beginning to move through the living room and toward a room to the right.
“Wait!” I gasp as he begins to open the door. “Where are…”
I don’t finish my words before the door opens in front of me, revealing a bedroom with a California king bed with a simple black comforter and plush white pillows. To the left of the room sits a desk with an open laptop and papers scattered about it, and to the right is a dresser that has a few ties thrown on top of it. And even now, Nick’s comforting scent of soap and cloves lingers about it.
“Um,” I begin as he carries me to the bed and gently sits me down. “Why are you bringing me here?”
“To treat you,” he responds, heading toward a small bathroom attached to the room and disappearing inside. “Why else would I bring you here?” He continues, reappearing with a first aid kit. “Where is that head of yours going?”
As he speaks, he lets a slow smile spread across his lush lips, dimpling his cheeks, and making my stomach do a flip despite everything.
“Nothing,” I hush, flushing as I realize what he could mean. “I wasn’t thinking anything. How could I possibly when…”
“When I’m the brother of your cheating fiancé?” He offers, his voice holding a hint of hurt. “Or when I’m some random man that you ran into after suffering heartbreak.”
Flinching, I don’t speak because that was exactly what I was thinking. I was lumping him in with any other man who only wanted one thing from a woman, and it wasn’t right of me to do that. But I just couldn’t help it since he was essentially some random man since we hadn’t seen each other in so many years.
“Don’t worry,” he continues, dropping down on the bed beside me and opening the first aid kit. “I don’t intend on taking advantage of you. I would never do such things with someone who is unwilling.”
Nodding, I don’t bother responding as he pours some peroxide on a cotton ball and then proceeds to clean my cheek.
“Ouch!” I hiss, pain shooting through me. “Careful.”
Frowning, he doesn’t speak as he continues to clean, moving from one scratch to the other while his dark eyes remain locked on mine until he finishes and bandages me.
“You know,” he murmurs, moving onto my arm, which is scraped from my falling. “There’s something I’ve been wondering.”
“What is it?” I ask, curiosity getting the best of me. “Whatever it is, I’ll answer it to the best of my abilities since you’re helping me.”
“Why haven’t you begun healing?”
“That,” I begin, realizing that he disappeared before I was of age to shift properly so he wouldn’t know that I ended up being the wolfless daughter of a powerful alpha and luna. “What do you think?”
Would he still be willing to help me once he knew that I was like this? Would he consider me to be too weak to help him?
“I have a theory, but it’s rather hard to believe.” He admits, eyeing me.
“Your theory is probably correct.” I sigh, deciding that there was no point in hiding the obvious. “Will you still want me to marry you?”
Growing quiet, I wait as Nick stares at me, really taking me in with an expression that makes my heart twitch and nerves rush through me.
What would he say? Would he too abandon me after promising to stay beside me? Would I truly be alone or, worse, forced to marry someone else so that my stepmother, Joelle, and Dark Wing could have Azure Moon?
“Of course.” Nick’s response takes me by surprise, and I find myself releasing a breath that I didn’t even realize I was holding. “Even if you don’t have a wolf, you’re still you, and that is the thing that matters the most.”
“Why?” I find myself asking again, unable to ignore it like I was preparing to do. “Why are you doing all this for me?”
“That will be for you to determine, angel.” He chuckles, finishing his doctoring and standing up. “But not today. Today, you focus on washing up and relaxing. After all, we’re going to have a busy day ahead of us come tomorrow.”
“What’s happening tomorrow?” I ask, watching his retreating form.
“Our wedding,” he announces, smiling so brightly that his handsome face lights up. “I’ve already got my people preparing for it, so get lots of rest.”
“A wedding,” I gasp, eyes widening. “Do we really have to go that far?”
Honestly, when I agreed to marry him, I simply expected to go down to the courthouse to say a few vows and collect a marriage certificate. I didn’t have any hopes for an actual ceremony.
“Yes,” Nick responds seriously. “We do have to go that far. No wife of mine is going to go without a proper ceremony.”
- Writer
