003|| Encounters In The Dark

DANA

Directly after the painful introduction, I hurried into my bedroom and I haven't left it since.

I'm pretty sure everyone's having dinner right about now, but Carter hasn't asked anyone to fetch me. It's better this way, in any case, for everyone involved. 

That man... Every time he looks at me, shivers race down the length of my spine. 

What are the odds that the man I had a one-night stand with all those years ago would end up here, right under the roof my home? Ex-home, I should say, because this place doesn't feel that way anymore. 

My biggest worry right now is Lenny. I can't even leave without jeopardizing his future. He has school, and here, he's the Alpha's little brother-in-law who's adored by everyone. Even Carter loves him. 

If I leave, what will his future look like? Because there's no way I would leave him here all by himself.

Years ago, when I first found out that the stranger from the bar knocked me up, I hated myself. I felt selfish for bringing Lenny into this world without a father figure. My father made my life hell for those nine months. He was the one who came up with the idea of making it seem like Lenny was my brother, mostly because he was terrified that Carter's father wouldn't want a pregnant she-wolf to clean his household. 

So, the secret was kept, and when Lenny was born, he stayed with my father while I came here to the Fallen Moon Pack. But as the months passed, I realized that I couldn't live without Lenny. I didn't trust my father, and every day, I thought about how I would keep Lenny by my side. 

After Carter took over, two years after I was practically sold, I asked him whether Lenny could live with us, and of course, he said yes. In his mind, Lenny is my little brother, not my son. 

Nobody but my father knows the truth. 

Right now, though, I have all sorts of fears that I never considered. I don't even know if the prince is going to act like he never met me, or if he'll keep his distance. 

A knock on the door interrupts my train of thought. I swallow the annoyance I feel and open it. It's Mathilde, and this time, she has an even bigger smirk on his lips. 

"I don't mean to bother you, Luna, but the Alpha has asked me to help you pack your things to move you into the room at the end of the hall."

Her words hit me like a punch in the gut. My mouth falls open and my eyes bulge, and for several seconds, I don't know how to respond. 

"What?" I finally burst out. "Is he out of his mind?"

"This is the biggest room in the packhouse, and I'm betting the Alpha wants his new bride to be more comfortable," she claims. "I already cleaned up the smaller room down the hall. If you'd excuse me, I have to start packing. The princess has a lot of belongings, and they'll all have to be packed before the end of the night."

Mathilde slides right past me without waiting for me to say anything else. I stand rooted to the spot for a few seconds, then decide to confront Carter about this. First, he tells me I have nothing to worry about, then he pulls this?

I venture downstairs, so angry that it feels like my feet aren't even touching the ground. I find Carter downstairs, giving orders to a few of the maids. It seems dinner is over. The princess and her brother are nowhere to be seen. 

"Carter?"

He whirls around quickly at the sound of my voice, and his expression softens right away. He tries to walk up to me to put his hands on my shoulders, but I back away quickly. 

"I know what you think, but I thought it would be the best decision."

"So, now, she needs the biggest room in the packhouse, is that it? Could you explain to me how we're both going to manage in that small guest bedroom?"

"We'll find a way, honey. She's a princess. She's used to this kind of comfort."

My eyes widen and I scoff. "She's a princess without a home! she has to survive in the real world like all of us do! Carter, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"We're not going to have this argument again," he claims patiently. "It's just for a little while, honey. Trust me, alright?"

I turn my face away and he pinches my chin between his fingers to make me look his way again. In a much softer voice, he asks me, "Don't you trust me anymore?" 

I realize just then that I don't. I don't want to say the words out loud, though, so I keep my lips pressed together. 

"We can share that little room," he claims. "We've shared a smaller bed once, remember?"

He's referring to the times when he'd come into my tiny room in the servants' quarters, back when his father was still alive. Though the memory softens me a little, I'm way too hurt to make proper sense of all this. 

"Baby—"

Mathilde calls his name from the top of the stairs with an urgency, and he smiles at me once before walking past me. I turn my head to watch him walk away, feeling torn all over again. I've never known Carter to be a liar, but all of this is just throwing me off. 

Are his intentions truly as noble as he claims? Is he lying to me?

Shaking my head, I decide to just head outside for some fresh air. A walk around the grounds will help me clear my head. I won't lift a finger to help pack my things. Mathilde can do it. 

The cold air hits my bare arms right away. I walk several steps away from the packhouse, telling myself that I'll have to sit with Lenny and explain what's happening to him. I'll have to figure out the right explanation for a seven-year-old to be able to make sense of, but he's just so smart that—

I'm suddenly slammed against a tree, but before I have the chance to scream, a hand clamps down over my lips to muffle every sound I make, and I find myself eye-to-eye with the lycan prince. 

His eyes search mine for a charged moment before asking, "It's you, isn't it, doll? You know who I am."

My throat bobs at the pet name he called me all those years ago, and a shudder courses through my body. He's standing so close to me that his body is practically flush against mine. His warm, spicy scent is all I can smell. 

"Dana Fawcett," he says. "You told me your name was Roxy, remember?"

I don't, but that doesn't matter. I manage to place my hands on his broad chest and shove him off me as best as I can. "Don't think you have any right to question me? That was seven years ago! You were just a stranger I was with once! I didn't owe you anything then, and I owe you even less now! I'm a married woman."

I'm glad my voice isn't shaking. The fact that he came after me in the dark freaks me out way more than it should. 

His eyes narrow at me. "A married woman, huh?"

It kills me that I know exactly what he's implying. I ball my hands into fists as I keep staring at his face. He tilts his head to the side, watching me the same way he did years ago right before he approached me. 

I don't wait for him to say anything else. I decide to make the rules very clear. "I don't want you to approach me ever again. Whatever happened between us is in the past. I don't know you, and you don't know me. Is that clear?"

"Why?" he asks. "You don't want your precious husband to find out about us?"

"There is no 'us'!" I grit out. "That was a one-time thing. As far as I know, I was drunk and my drink was spiked, so you took advantage of me!"

A dark laugh rumbles through his chest and I hate the way it makes me feel. Stepping even closer to me, he says, "We both know that's not exactly true. We both had way too much to drink."

"Whatever," I retort. "It doesn't matter anymore. Don't walk up to me again!"

He pulls me right toward him again, and this time, my back is pressed right against his front and he wraps an arm tightly around my middle so I have zero chance of escaping. His lips graze my earlobe as he says, "You seem a little tense, Dana. Why is that?"

"Let go of me!" I grit out, hating the way his proximity makes me feel. "If you don't take your hands off me, I'm going to scream!"

"Go on. Do it. I'm curious to know what your husband's going to do if he finds us like this." His arm inches a little lower, and my skin crawls. "He seems like a man full of character, doesn't he? Would he stand against a lycan prince? Would he dare to challenge me?"

Before I can stop myself, I blurt out, "You don't know anything about his character, so don't you dare say that about him!"

Again, that dark laugh reaches my ears, and this time, he forces me to turn around before saying, "I bet you everything I have that he'll be in my sister's bed before the week ends, and you, doll, will be tossed aside like nothing."

I go still, and the sudden weight in my chest makes it impossible for me to breathe. "Why are you telling me this?"

His eyes search mine in the dark, and then he says, "Because it's been seven years yet my tongue still remembers the way you taste, doll. I'd be a fucking liar if I said I didn't want to get familiar with that taste again."

His words hit me like a whip, but I can't show him how affected I am. "You're crazy. I love my husband. I would never in a million years get into your bed!"

"No?" he asks, completely unfazed by my harshness. "You're sure about that, doll?"

I whirl around, ignoring him, but his voice stops me in my tracks again. "I wouldn't be so sure, if I were you. He doesn't deserve your loyalty. You have no idea the kind of man you're dealing with."

"My husband has a deal with the princess," I grit out. "She knows this is temporary, and if she knows, that means you do, too. So, cut the shit and don't approach me ever again. You've been warned."

"Yes, I'm aware of a deal," he continues, which makes me stop walking once again. "but I don't think we're talking about the same thing here. As far as I'm concerned, your husband's a widower. That's what he told us, anyway."

I can't hide the terror from my voice as I ask him, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

A slow smile curves his lips. "According to your husband, the man whose character you're trying so hard to defend, you'll be dead by the end of the week. Do you think my sister would agree to marry him if she knew his ex-wife was around here, posing a threat to her life? We're running from danger, not straight toward it."