Chapter 14

My face immediately went bright red as I took in my surroundings. I took in a deep breath, unintentionally breathing in Lionel's scent. He smelled incredible, warm, musky and sweet.

Between his scent and the closeness, my legs were weak. If I tried to stand, I wasn't sure if I would've been able to. I shook my head slightly trying to figure out what I should do to get out of this situation before Lionel woke up and it got awkward.

I heard Patti and Vera giggle from the other side of the bed. They peeked up over Lionel, looking at me with wide grins and sparks of mischief in their eyes.

"We thought mommies and daddies should sleep together." Patti said cheekily.

"So we moved you two together after you fell asleep." Vera continued.

I took in a deep breath, trying to calm myself. They were young. They didn't know what they were doing or how this was going to affect us.

"Girls-" I let out a heavy breath in my frustration. Slowly, I grabbed Lionel' s muscular arm and lifted it up from around my waist. I tried to be careful so that he hopefully wouldn't wake up, but it was hard.

Before I was able to slip out of the bed, Lionel's eyes fluttered open. He looked at me groggily, a small almost smile on his face. Then he bolted upright, the smile disappearing instantly.

He frowned at me. "Are you trying to seduce me?" He asked, his voice still raspy from sleep.

I tried to ignore the shiver his voice sent through me. It was not helpful right now. My heart was racing, but I couldn't tell if it was from how close we still were or the anxiety of this whole situation.

"No, no, please don't overthink it." I said quickly, raising my hands in defense. "It wasn't-"

"It's difficult not to overthink it when you are continuously acting this way." Lionel said harshly. He shook his head slightly, as if disappointed.

"Continuously?"

"The lingerie, the Ferris wheel, the way you look at me and speak to me-" Lionel started listing off.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, brow furrowed. Some things I understood, but the way I spoke to him? That didn't make any sense.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Lionel snapped back at me.

I opened my mouth to argue back to him, but we were interrupted as Vera cleared her throat from the other side of the bed.

"Are you arguing?" Vera asked with a frown.

"No." Lionel and I responded quickly in unison.

"No, definitely not." I added. "We were just-"

Lionel hesitated, looking from me to Vera. "We were just... playing around." He said, gesturing awkwardly.

Lionel could be cool and calm under pressure with business meetings and negotiations, but if his daughters asked him a question, that cold, professional demeanor went out the window. I thought back to what he had said to me yesterday about showing true emotions around the girls. It could have been funny if it wasn't so frustrating for me.

I shot a glare to Lionel, finally getting out of the bed. "Girls, it's time to go wash up. Let's go."

Vera got out of bed without issue, but Patti stumbled as she was getting out of bed. It was a sight I recognized from taking care of her when she was sick for so many years.

She frowned, swaying on her feet. "Mommy, I don't feel good." She mumbled.

I rushed over to her side, feeling her forehead. "She feels really warm. I think she might have a fever."

I looked back to Lionel, concern in my eyes. "She needs to go to the doctor." I stood up, moving to go get Patti's clothes so we could get her dressed and go.

Lionel moved towards Patti, a small frown on his face. He knelt beside her, first he felt her forehead with the back of his hand. Then he took hold of her wrist, as if he was feeling for her pulse.

Lionel let out a breath, standing back up. "Don't worry about her. It's not anything to be concerned about."

He brushed himself off and started to walk to the door. I stopped, my brow furrowing in frustration.

"What? No, you know about her condition-" I insisted.

Lionel turned back to me, and he looked at me as if he was holding back from rolling his eyes at me. "I promise you, it's normal." He responded insistently.

"You don't understand. My bloodline is ancient. We are descended from the pure-blood Inferno wolves."

"There are many benefits to our heritage, but this is a trial that we all must go through. Young wolves in our line usually experience high fevers, aches and pains, things like that." He explained, nonchalantly.

I looked at him with a shocked expression. I didn't care about the history of his family. Patti was in pain and she didn't need to be.

"Normally the fevers occur around age three as our skeletons restructure themselves into their permanent form. But due to Patti's health issues, her unique condition, it appears that she is going through the skeletal restructuring now." He said it all as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I didn't trust it. I had never heard of this before, and more than that I wasn't sure if I cared about any of this. "I really think-"

"Mommy-" Patti whimpered pathetically. "Please help. My body feels like it's on fire."

She reached towards me, still swaying on her feet. My heart broke just seeing her in pain. But the fact that Lionel didn't want me to help her filled me with a rage and frustration I had never felt before.

I stepped towards her, but Lionel held out a hand to stop me. "No. There's nothing you can or should do to help." His voice was hard, strict and insistent.

"Please just let me hold her." I begged him, my heart aching as I saw the girl I raised, my daughter, in so much pain.

"Or at least let me get some ice or an ice pack to cool her down." I suggested instead, willing to compromise to help ease her suffering.

"No." Lionel snapped. He shook his head with a frown.

"This is a trial that she needs to endure. Every person in our line goes through this. It toughens us up and makes it so that we can be the leaders that we were born to be."

I had to hold back from rolling my eyes and scoffing. The more he spoke, the more convinced I was that he was just being stubborn and old fashioned. In my opinion, pain was very rarely necessary. And it was never necessary like this.

Patti stumbled again, finally falling to her knees. She moved to curl into a ball on the floor, her cries growing quieter. Vera sat beside her but didn't touch her, didn't say anything to comfort her.

Lionel looked at both of the girls with a sort of pity. He didn't move to help or comfort either of them. He didn't speak to Patti to comfort her, only to me to stop me from helping her.

"Please." I pleaded desperately. "I've never heard of this Inferno wolf thing. Is there something you can show me to prove that's what this is?"

He scoffed, shaking his head.

I stepped closer to him. "Can we please just take her to a doctor just to make sure?" I begged him.

He shook his head again, otherwise seemingly ignoring me.

"She is in pain." I said, emphasizing each word carefully and clearly.

"Even if this is some Inferno wolf thing, and I don't know if I believe that, I am sure that modern medicine can help." I looked at Lionel, hoping he would understand my concern, hoping that he would let me help her.

Lionel just scowled at me. "You are overstepping your bounds." He snapped.

"You are just a nanny. You have absolutely no right to interfere and tell me how to treat my daughter." He said, viciously.