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“Excuse me,” Nyx snapped. “Can you take your eyes away from the porn for a minute and see us downstairs?”
But as they collectively lowered their devices, their faces were an identical shade of opaque.
“Uh, Alpha?” one of his guards muttered. I couldn’t recall this one’s name. “You should see something.”
Striding forward angrily, Nyx snatched the phone from his hand as the others fell into position protectively, including Drakias. He shot me an odd look, and I gulped.
Why is he looking at me like that?
Over the past couple of weeks, I thought that the stoic guard and I had been getting along, but now he cast me sidelong glances as if I’d sprouted a second head.
“Oh, shit,” Nyx cursed in a hiss. I jolted my head toward him, but he turned off the phone and shoved it back toward his guard. “Get to the bottom of this and put an end to it. NOW!”
“Yes, Alpha!” he agreed quickly, hurrying off to do what he’d been asked.
“What is it?” I implored Nyx as he again grabbed my hand and led me toward the elevators, the Royal Guards in lockstep behind us like they always were. Would I ever get used to seeingthem there? Nyx never appeared to notice their presence, as if they were ants or birds.
“It’s nothing.” He stopped abruptly and told me to wait before rushing back toward the apartment.
Conflicted, his security looked at one another when he disappeared into the unit. But before they could decide whether to go after him, Nyx reappeared, my takeout container in his hands. My eyebrows shot up to my hairline.
Is he really thinking about food at a time like this?
I couldn’t help but snicker at the thought, but Nyx’s face remained grim.
“Since when do you like vegetarian dishes, my alpha wolf?” I teased when we stepped on the elevator. “Aren’t you a staunch carnivore?”
The doors closed, and Nyx gave me a distracted look.
“It’s not for eating,” he mumbled, his mind clearly elsewhere. I eyed him curiously when he didn’t elaborate, but something told me not to press him when he was already so on edge. “Let’s just get you home,” he growled, snaking his arm around my waist as the doors opened, and the guards exited first. “I want you where I can keep you safe from all the wackos in South Havenmire.”
Chapter 3
Nyx
The fact that Maren couldn’t remember exactly what had happened shook me to the core. It had to be the effect of some kind of spell, but who would do that to her? It was a personal attack on me, on our child. That was the only viable explanation I could come up with, and it boiled my blood to no end.
But there were other problems to address as well, like the ones the guards had brought to my attention.
There was cell phone footage of Maren’s dive, videos that would soon be in circulation if the Royal Guards didn’t work fast to eliminate them as I had instructed. That’s what the guards had been gawking at when I’d found them in the hallway. It might already be too late. Too many may have already seen Maren jumping from the balcony, and we would have to spin that in a way that didn’t make her look unhinged.
I’d never known so much rage, and I barely managed to contain myself as we drove to Steelshire Castle, my mind whirling. I tried my best to keep my true sentiments from Maren, not wanting to scare her any more than she already was, but it was difficult in my current state. I had never beenpersonally attacked like this before, and I could hardly contain myself.
How did they manage to do this?I asked myself rationally, struggling to keep calm, to think logically. Losing control would serve no purpose at all.
The fire from the night before had left for easy access to her unit. There was no one standing watch at her door as Drakias and I cleared the building until the firefighters had cleared the source. Another arson under my nose, in the house of someone I loved. This was personal. There was no doubt about that.
“You’re mad at me,” Maren whispered, reaching for my hand across the leather seats. I grabbed her palm and shook my head vigorously.
“No,” I insisted. “How could I be? You were bewitched. This isn’t your fault.”
“If anything had happened to our baby—” Maren started to say.
“Stop!” I interjected, not wanting to imagine the worst. I’d already been through this scenario in my head. “Nothing happened, and nothing will happen. I promise you.”
At least not this time. And I’ll make damn sure that it never does again.
The magic-armored SUV pulled up to the front of the castle, the wrought-iron gates swinging inward as we approached. The gate guards peered into the vehicle as we passed, but they couldn’t see anything through the tint of the window, the protected car preventing them from trying.
