Chapter 143

NOLAN

Yena’s voice was breathy when she answered Nolan’s call.

“How are you doing?” he asked, after they traded awkward hellos.

She laughed nervously and said, “I’m okay.”

“You don’t sound so sure about that.”

There was a pause. Nolan kept quiet. A sudden increase in his heart rate made him aware he was still holding out hope that any day now, Yena may just come back to him. He waited to hear what she was about to say.

“I’m just all over the place,” she said with a sigh.

Nolan knew that there was more to be said, but Yena did not elaborate. He shook his head.

Wasn’t that always the problem with them? The things that really mattered felt impossible to say aloud. It was better when he and Yena were together and could let their bodies do the talking.

But, Nolan thought with a frown, maybe that had never been enough. They had spent all their time together letting their desire for each other’s bodies take them over. But it wasn’t until the very end that Nolan got past his pride and was able to tell Yena that he loved her.

And somehow everything fell apart quickly after that… before he even had a chance to convince her that what he had said was true.

“I’m calling because I have your flight itinerary,” Nolan heard himself saying. “I just forwarded it to your email but wanted to call and confirm you got it.”

“Oh,” Yena said. He could hear in her voice that she was, for some reason, disappointed at the sudden change of subject.

His frown deepened. Nolan was always saying the wrong thing on accident. Upsetting Yena without meaning to.

“Let me check my email real quick,” Yena said. Then she made some distant hmmm sounds. Nolan heard what he was sure were her long fingernails clacking on the touch screen. Finally, she was back on, saying, “I got it. Everything looks good.”

“Great.” Nolan’s heart was heavy as he thought about how this might be one of the last times he would speak to Yena. Or maybe even the very last. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“I don’t think so, Nolan. Seems like everything is in place now. Thank you… for everything.”

“I saw your new account,” he said abruptly. “I just wanted to tell you congratulations, Yena. You’re always up to something new. It’s impressive.”

She giggled and said, “Thank you.”

“Just… tell her to stay…” came his wolf’s voice from within him.

Nolan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He told Yena that he needed to go, said goodbye quickly, and hung up.

Opening his eyes again a moment later, Nolan finally looked around the room, taking everything in. He’d been standing in the doorway to Yena’s studio while talking to her on the phone.

He walked across the room slowly, running his fingers over all the soft surfaces as he made his way to the couch where he and Yena had some wild fun together not all that long ago.

Nolan heard quiet footsteps approaching from a distance before Yena’s deaconess appeared, poking her head meekly through the open doorway and saying, “Sir?”

He nodded, giving her permission to enter.

“Apologies, Your Highness. I saw the open door, and thought…” Her round eyes searched the room quickly. She frowned deeply once she confirmed that Nolan was alone.

“It has gotten dusty in here,” the prince said in a neutral tone. “Please have the maids come in to clean this room right away.”

The old woman gave Nolan a puzzled look. He wiped a finger along the surface of a small glass table nearby, covering it in a layer of fine gray dust. He held the finger up at the deaconess.

“Right away, Sir,” she said, her face still holding a confused expression. But then she left to complete her task.

Nolan sat on the couch and dropped his face into his hands. This room still smelled faintly like Yena’s scent. He had not been allowing himself to come in here, but today he could no longer resist.

The smell had him feeling a little more relaxed. He let his body fall back against the soft cushions on the back of the couch.

And his thoughts went back to his last interaction with Yena, at her parents’ home…

They had come so close, neither thinking about what it would mean if they did let their lips touch. That moment when their eyes locked and their bodies got close and everything that felt complicated about their marriage was drifting away into the meaningless distance…

He heard the maids approaching and stood. Indulging in reveries was not a good use of the prince’s time, anyway. He righted his tie and buttoned his jacket and swept past them down the hallway before the two women reached the door with their noisy cart full of cleaning supplies.

Nolan locked himself in his office. He strode over to the shelf where a bottle of whiskey sat waiting. Beckoning him, really. Promising to take his mind off his strife with his soon-to-be-ex Luna.

He touched the cool glass bottle. But left it and instead took his phone back out of his jacket pocket again. He dialed the nursing home, then started pacing the room while waiting for an answer.

Finally, a hurried voice answered the phone. Nolan gave a polite greeting then inquired about his friend. “His name is Alaster. Could you tell me if he’ll be available for a visitor on Saturday?”

Nolan was placed on a brief hold. The experience of visiting his elderly friend was not as easy as it used to be. Alaster spent a lot of time sleeping lately, and a lot of his waking hours were devoted to the professionally administered medical care that was keeping him alive.

With a fresh wave of emotional exhaustion crashing over him, Nolan remembered what Alaster looked like the last time he saw the old man. He appeared to be on death’s door.

But Alaster had made it very clear that he wanted to visit the werewolf orphanage with Nolan. And the smile on the old man’s face when he asked Nolan to take him there was not something that Nolan could say no to.

Nolan promised Alaster he would take him on the outing. And the prince was a man of his word. He needed to make it happen before it was too late.

Just when Nolan was starting to wonder if the employee at the nursing home had forgotten about him, the line clicked back on. “Yes, Saturday’s fine,” the person said. “We can let him know you’re coming. What time?”

“I’ll be there in the morning. Nine a.m. He should be up for breakfast by then.”

“Great. We’ll see you then.”

Nolan called the orphanage next but was told that Cindy wasn’t available. He left a message for her using his old alias and mentioning that he would swing by for a visit with their old friend on Saturday morning.

He sat at his desk and drummed his fingers on the surface. He wanted to get back to working on his speech now. Wanted to keep his mind occupied.

But his body felt restless, like he needed to run. Needed to shift. Needed to find some release, somehow.

A troubling voice inside his head told him that the only real solution was to reunite with his fated mate.

That without Yena, he’d be feeling restless like this forever.