Chapter 308

The sun was warm on my face, a tender caress that was both comforting and haunting. Comforting because it felt good to be out of that stifling waiting room; haunting because the light seemed to intensify the confusion that clouded my thoughts.

Jade, my wolf, was restless inside me, picking up on my rollercoaster of emotions.

“You need to be strong,” she muttered, her voice echoing in the recesses of my mind. “This isn’t about you or what people say. It’s about family. Yours and Nathan’s.”

“I know, Jade. I know,” I replied mentally. “It’s just difficult. I wish that Nathan would open up to me.”

“He’s getting there,” Jade replied gently. “Last night was a testament to that. But this whole witch business… I think there’s something that he isn’t telling you. Maybe something that he hasn’t told anyone.”

“Like what?” I asked.

Jade audibly sighed inside my mind, her disappointment reverberating like an echo inside my skull. “I’m not sure. Could be anything. A secret, maybe. Some sort of trauma. All I know is that I can sense that something is eating away at him, and he’s grappling with opening up about it and showing weakness. Just give him time and he’ll come to you, I’m sure of it.”

Jade was right; Nathan had opened up last night and tried to show that he still cared and that he was here for me and the twins. If he had something to tell me, he would eventually let it out. I had to hold onto that. For a few more minutes, I sat in silence, my gaze focused on the cars passing by the clinic’s parking lot. Each vehicle seemed like a fleeting thought—here for a moment, then gone, leaving only exhaust and dust in its wake.

I was so caught up in my internal dialogue that I barely noticed them at first.

Nathan and Layla stepped out of the clinic, and the sight of them together yanked me out of my introspection. I couldn’t help but observe how close they were standing to each other as they walked.

It was probably innocent, but the sight triggered a primal twinge of jealousy inside me, an emotion further fueled by Jade’s low growl.

Then, Layla did something that made my blood boil. She touched Nathan’s arm and smiled up at him, a simple gesture that under normal circumstances wouldn’t mean much. But right now, it was like a match to gasoline.

I had to look away, my gaze falling to the ground as I tried to control the surge of emotion.

“Olivia? Is something wrong?” Nathan’s voice broke through my internal storm, tinged with concern.

I forced a smile, lifting my eyes to meet his. “No, nothing’s wrong.”

But Nathan clearly wasn’t easily convinced. He sighed as he took a step closer, taking my hand in his. The familiar touch was like a balm to my frayed nerves, yet also a painful reminder of the distance that had grown between us.

I took in a shaky breath. Nathan parted his lips to speak, but before he could, his phone suddenly began to ring. Sighing, he dropped my hand and pulled his phone out.

“Hello? Yeah… Alright. I’ll be there soon.”

“Who was that?” I asked, feeling my heart sink.

Nathan sighed. “Alpha duty calls yet again,” he murmured. For a moment, just a moment, he lifted his hand to meet my cheek. I leaned my cheek into his palm, but before I knew it, he was pulling away.

“Sorry, Olivia. I have to go.”

…

The drive home was almost painfully silent, filled with unspoken thoughts and questions that neither of us dared to voice. Nathan’s grip on the steering wheel seemed tense, his knuckles occasionally whitening.

My own hands were folded neatly on my lap, fingers nervously playing with the strap of my purse. The atmosphere was thick, suffocating almost, yet neither of us made any move to cut through it.

Finally, Nathan pulled up in front of the house.

“We’re here,” he said, almost as if he were announcing an accomplishment.

“Yeah, we are,” I replied softly, unfastening my seatbelt. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Of course.”

I grabbed my purse and got out of the car, taking a deep breath of fresh air as soon as my feet hit the driveway. It felt good to be out of that confined space, away from the tension that had become an unwelcome third passenger. I closed the car door and took a step toward the house, eager to put some physical distance between us, if only to gain some emotional space as well.

I was halfway to the front door when I heard the familiar hum of the car window being rolled down. “Olivia,” Nathan called, his voice tinged with a vulnerability I hadn’t heard in a long time.

Turning around, I walked back to the car, my heart pounding in my chest. I leaned down to the open window, meeting Nathan’s gaze. His eyes searched mine as if looking for something—answers, permission, reassurance—I couldn’t tell.

Nathan sighed, a simple exhalation that seemed to carry the weight of our recent hardships. Then, surprising me, he reached out through the window and gently took my hand. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” I said, my voice coming out softer than I intended.

“Would you be willing to go on a date night with me? Just the two of us,” he asked, his words careful but his eyes hopeful.

The question caught me off guard, stunning me into silence for a brief moment. Given the tumultuous landscape of our relationship these past weeks, a date was the last thing I’d expected.

“You want to go on a date?” I managed to ask, still trying to wrap my head around the sudden turn of events.

Nathan nodded. “Yes, Olivia, a date. We haven’t had a simple, fun night by ourselves in such a long time. And I think we need it, especially with all that we’ve been going through recently.”

He was right. Between our struggles, the issues with the pack, and now the paternity test with Layla, we’d been drowning in problems and responsibilities. The concept of a ‘fun night’ had become foreign to us, a luxury we couldn’t afford.

But maybe that was the issue. Maybe we needed to remember the simpler things, the happier times, in order to get through the complexities that currently entangled us.

“I’d like that,” I found myself saying, my own eyes meeting his in a moment of shared understanding.

The smile that broke across Nathan's face was as genuine as it was contagious. “Really?” he asked, as if he needed to confirm that he'd heard me correctly.

“Yes, really,” I confirmed, my own lips curving into a smile.

“Great,” Nathan said, his grip tightening slightly on my hand before letting go. “I’ll pick you up tonight. And please, wear something nice. Let’s make this a special night.”

“I will,” I promised, stepping back from the car window.

As I walked back toward the house, I couldn’t help but feel a small glimmer of hope flicker within me.

Perhaps this date was exactly what we needed, a chance to put our problems aside, if only for a night, and rediscover the love that had brought us together in the first place.