Chapter 20

Lionel’s POV

I felt the mate bond spark between us as I kissed her, but it lost the connection as soon as I pulled away. I didn't know why it wasn't staying. Why the connection was so brief.

I looked down, seeing Nan had fallen asleep while I had been lost in thought. I took in a heavy breath, as I pushed myself off of the bed so I could go call a doctor.

I explained everything to the doctor, including the strange brief mate bond that sparked between us. He had never heard of anything like that.

"Keep an eye on her for the rest of the night, but it doesn't sound like anything to be too concerned about." The doctor reassured me over the phone.

I nodded as he hung up. I glanced back to Nan, asleep in the bed. I must have been imagining things when I felt a mate bond manifest. It didn't make sense otherwise.

But I couldn't shake the uncertainty that filled me as I sat in a chair beside Nan's bed.

Nan’s POV

I woke up, still in my dress from the night before. As I shifted, moving to get up, I could tell that my underwear were ruined. I furrowed my brow, trying to understand what had happened the night before.

"Good morning." Lionel greeted groggily from a chair next to my bed.

I practically jumped out of my skin as I looked at him with wide eyes. "Lionel? I- did we..." I swallowed, my mouth suddenly very dry.

"Did we what?" Lionel asked. For a moment I thought I caught a glimpse of something mischievous in his eyes.

"Did we..." I cleared my throat. "Did we sleep together?" I finally asked.

Lionel raised his brow. "Well, I am in your room. We're both in the clothes that we were in the night before."

"I think the logical conclusion is that we did sleep together." Lionel said with a shrug.

I felt my face flush, knowing it must be bright red as I looked at him. I couldn't remember anything after Cora forced the wine down my throat. I couldn't believe it.

I shook my head. "But, we didn't. Did we?" I asked, eyes searching his face.

"Disappointed you can't remember it?" He teased lightly.

Finally, he shook his head. "No, we didn't actually sleep together. Although you did try to beg me."

I nodded, slowly, my face warm. If he had been teasing me before, then he could be teasing me now too. But I couldn't help the embarrassment that crept through me.

"What do you remember?" Lionel asked, voice more serious now.

"I remember Cora making me drink some wine." I responded hesitantly. "After that it's all really fuzzy."

I looked down, biting my lower lip as I thought. "There was a man, I think." I said thoughtfully.

"And then I started running and..." That's where the memories turned from fuzzy to nonexistent. "That's all I remember."

Lionel nodded slowly, looking at me with an unreadable expression. "Cora drugged you with some sort of aphrodisiac. She hired a man to take advantage of you, but you got away before anything happened."

I sucked in a breath, a shiver going down my spine. It was frightening, knowing I had been so close to danger like that and I couldn't even fully remember it.

"Cora and the man are both in jail for the time being." Lionel explained to me, reassuringly. "Although apparently Cora has said that she wants to speak with you."

He paused, looking down at the floor, as if he was avoiding my gaze. "You are under no obligation to go speak to her, if you do not want to. She has been nothing but rude to you and this latest offense is..." He shook his head. "Unforgivable."

I looked down at my hands. I didn't want to see Cora. She was rude and cruel and had apparently paid a strange man to assault me just to make me look bad in front of Lionel.

But I was filled with curiosity. I couldn't imagine what Cora would have had to say to me after everything. The only thing was the small thought at the back of my mind that maybe she would apologize so that Lionel would forgive her.

"I'd like to speak to her." I said, nodding my head decisively.

"Are you sure?" Lionel asked softly with a furrowed brow. I could see the concern in his eyes from across the room.

I noticed the bags beneath his eyes that came from a poor night of sleep. He had been asleep in the chair beside my bed. He had been worried about me.

I felt a wave of happiness crash over me and I smiled lightly at him. "I want to see what she has to say." I said. "I'll be okay."

"I'll send some security along with you." Lionel said after a moment. He stood up from the chair, his back cracking as he stood.

"I'll leave you to get dressed. I'll send a body guard down this way to escort you to the detention center." He cleared his throat, starting towards the door.

"Thank you." I smiled. He reached out for the door.

"Wait-" I let out a heavy breath. "Did the girls have fun at their party?" I asked, feeling guilty that I wasn't able to be there for the girls blowing out their candles.

He stopped. "I think they had a great time." He responded. "I'm sure they'll tell you all about it once you get back."

"Thank you." I repeated. "For everything."

"Of course." He slipped out of the room.

After I got dressed and ready for the day, I left my room. A security guard stood outside waiting for me. It was the same one that was assigned to Patti, Vera and I during our trip to the amusement park.

The security guard led me to the car and we drove down to the detention center. When we arrived, I went through a brief security check before I was sat at a table where Cora was waiting for me.

"Hello Nan." She said with a venomous smile. "I'm going to get straight to the point." She said, tilting her head at me.

"I know your secret." She said, threateningly as she sneered at me.

"What do you mean?" I asked with a furrowed brow.

"I tried to poison you last night." Cora said, raising her brows at me as if it was obvious.

"Yes, I am aware." I responded with a huff.

"The poison renders werewolves completely powerless, but you were able to escape. Only one type of person has that sort of resistance to the poison I was using." She explained.

"You're wolf-less, aren't you?" She asked me with a haughty sneer.

I blinked at her in surprise, but she didn't give me a chance to respond either way.

"Once Lionel finds out that you're just a lowly wolf-less, he will never choose you." She said with a cruel laugh. "An alpha will always choose a pureblood werewolf as their mate."

I dug my nails into my palms as I tried to remain calm and unshaken. "You don't know what you're talking about." I said, shaking my head.

"Even if you were right, no one will ever believe the ramblings of a criminal." I pushed myself to my feet, storming out of the detention center with my arms wrapped tightly around myself.

As I rode back to the house, I couldn't stop the anxiety that began to spiral within me. No one would take Cora's words at face value after what she did, but I couldn't help but wonder how long I could keep it hidden. Someone was bound to find out that I was wolf-less eventually, and when they did, what would happen?

What would Lionel think of me when he knew the truth?

I couldn't bare the thought of Lionel looking at me with disgust after learning my secret. I couldn't stand the thought of him feeling betrayed by the fact that I didn't tell him sooner.

As we approached the mansion once again, I had to face the facts. I didn't want to leave the mansion. And while Patti was a big reason for that, she wasn't the only reason I didn't want to leave.

I didn't want to leave Lionel either.