Chapter 351

Olivia

When I finished speaking, Nathan’s eyes widened, and he looked like I had just slapped him. “You’d really leave? Over this?” he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

I shrugged, blinking back the tears that were threatening to spill. “Maybe. I don’t know, Nathan. I just… I don’t feel right with this whole situation.”

Nathan was silent for some time. He sank down onto the side of the bed, running his hands through his dirty blond hair in that way that he always did when he was thinking deeply.

“Olivia,” he finally said, “it’s just temporary. Why do you hate Edward so much?”

I sighed, the exasperation seeping through my words. “Nathan, I don’t hate him. But you didn’t even consult me before you let him move into our house. I’ve got two infants in the other room and I’m pregnant with another. I think I have the right to be worried, don’t I?”

Nathan looked up at me and his face was etched with frustration. “Look, if it makes you feel any better, my wolf recognizes Edward. That’s got to count for something, right? If he were an imposter, wouldn’t my wolf sense it?”

“Would it, though?” I retorted, my voice rising ever so slightly, although I tried to keep quiet for privacy’s sake. “Or do you not want to know the truth?”

“I want to trust my family. Is that so bad?” Nathan’s eyes met mine, his gaze intense.

I paused, biting my lip. Part of me wanted to remind Nathan about his family’s proclivity for backstabbing, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Was I being unreasonable? No, I had a gut feeling, and it was screaming at me to be cautious.

“It’s just… I can’t shake this feeling, Nathan. And until I can, I don’t want Edward here. But,” I sighed, "if it means that much to you, then maybe we could compromise.”

Nathan looked relieved but cautious. “I’m listening.”

I sighed. “Edward can stay for one more week. After that, he needs to get a hotel, or find another place, or whatever. But at this point in time, I can’t handle someone—a stranger, really—to live here for an entire month with everything going on.”

“Deal,” Nathan agreed, the tension in his shoulders visibly easing. “But I’m not doing a blood test. I trust Edward.”

“Even when it’s a simple way to remove all doubt?” I asked, placing my hands on my hips.

Nathan rolled his eyes. “My wolf knows him, Olivia. Isn’t that reason enough for you?”

“Is it reason enough for you?” I shot back, sensing hesitancy in his voice. “Or are you scared of what we might find?”

Nathan’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t respond to my accusation. “So, are we in agreement? One week, then a hotel?”

I nodded, although a small part of me still felt like he was dodging a bullet. “Fine. But one more thing. I don’t want him here alone with me and the kids while you’re at work. Take him to the Council building with you.”

“Okay,” Nathan conceded. “I’ll bring him with me. Is that everything?”

I nodded again, my arms crossed over my chest now. “For now.”

We stood there in silence for a moment, our compromise lifting a bit of the tension in the room. But I sensed a sort of tentative pause from Nathan, as though maybe he wasn’t as sure about this situation as he was letting on.

“In his own time,” my wolf said, her voice echoing in my mind. “He’ll come to his senses.”

I almost laughed out loud. “That could be forever.”

Suddenly, Nathan moved toward me, breaking me from my train of thought. He stopped in front of me, his blue-green eyes gazing down at me in a way that made me instantly soften. “Are we okay?” he murmured.

I hesitated, then nodded. "”We’re okay. But Nathan, if anything happens, if my instincts turn out to be right—”

“You won’t have to say ‘I told you so,’” Nathan interrupted, pulling me into a hug. “I promise to listen more closely next time.”

I hugged him back, but as his arms wrapped around me, I couldn’t shake the gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to believe that everything would be fine, that my doubts were unfounded. But something told me we were far from having this all figured out.

For now, though, this was the best compromise we could manage, and I only hoped it wouldn’t be one that we would come to regret.

…

Sleep was elusive that night.

I kept tossing and turning, unable to relax enough to drift off. My eyelids were heavy, but my body felt as though it was on high alert for any sound, any movement. That was why, when the baby monitor went off, my eyes shot open.

My heart leapt into my throat. Flinging off the covers, I climbed out of bed, not bothering to wake Nathan. He was sprawled out beside me, blissfully unaware, snoring lightly.

I tiptoed out of our room, padding softly down the darkened hallway to where the twins slept.

I cracked the nursery door open and peered inside. The nightlight on the dresser cast a gentle glow over the room, illuminating the twins’ faces. I half expected at least one of them to be awake, but much to my surprise, they weren’t.

They were sound asleep, tiny fists curled beside their heads, completely at peace. I felt both relieved and confused. Why had the motion detector gone off?

My eyes darted around the room, scanning for anything out of place. The stuffed animals were all accounted for, the curtains were drawn, and even the mobile above the cribs was motionless. I took a few cautious steps inside and bent over each crib, making sure the twins were breathing.

They were. I even placed a hand on their chests to be sure.

I sighed, baffled. “Weird,” I muttered under my breath. Maybe it was just a glitch in the motion detector.

Convinced everything was okay, I started to leave but hesitated.

Standing there in the doorway, I felt the subtlest prickle run down my spine. It was like the room was holding its breath. And for a moment, I did, too.

Then I shook my head, dismissing the sensation as sleep-deprived paranoia. Maybe I was letting the tension with Edward get to me, making mountains out of molehills.

I quietly closed the door and headed back to the bedroom. As I slipped back into bed, being careful not to wake Nathan, my mind began replaying the evening’s events.

Dinner had been uncomfortable, to say the least. Edward’s plan about using me as bait for the witch had thrown me off balance, and the way he looked at me just before we parted ways for the night didn’t sit right with me. I couldn’t explain it, but it felt as though he was sizing me up, evaluating my reactions; but why? Was I imagining it, or was it real?

Lost in my thoughts, I was almost back to sleep when I heard it—the sound of a door creaking open.

It wasn’t loud, but in the middle of the night, it might as well have been a gunshot. My eyes flew open. That sound had come from the direction of Edward’s room.