Chapter 29
Almara
Another week had passed since the whole Noah-Arthur confrontation thing. A week since Kaylee had become my shadow. Other than her name, I hadn’t learned anything about her.
Noah was doing as he promised. He wasn't crossing any boundary that I didn’t want him to cross. But Arthur was still unhappy about me going over there. I was sure if he didn’t have responsibilities at work or with the pack, he’d stay with me as long as Noah was around.
It was those responsibilities that took Arthur away for the day. The house felt empty without his presence here. So I sequestered myself away in the library, reading a book that had caught my interest. It was a rare day lately that I had time to myself.
“Almara?”
I guess I wouldn’t get a day to myself. I looked up from my book to see William standing before me awkwardly. I smiled at him, unsure why he was here. I didn’t think that Arthur would have sent him after what had happened at the banquet.
“Hi, William,” I greeted, standing up so I could shake his hand. It was warm in mine, but it didn’t have the same effect as at the banquet. It was just a hand.
You’ve got too much on your plate as it is without adding another man into the mix, Lily explained and my cheeks warmed. William noticed and grinned at me. He thought the blush was for him.
I inwardly groaned, but it’s not like I could correct him. That would just be embarrassing for the both of us.
“I heard that you had a day off today. Since you’ve been so busy lately, I was thinking I could take you out,” William said and at my raised eyebrows, he quickly added, “Not as a date. Just a fun outing.”
I bit my lip as I contemplated his offer. Before this new life, I had never had a single day off where I could just do something fun. There were always things that had to be worked on, even if I wasn’t at one of my jobs.
“Okay,” I said hesitantly, wondering what William’s version of fun looked like. But I guess itw as better than just lazing about the house.
He beamed at me. “Prepare to have the best day of your life!”
The best day of my life turned out to be at an amusement park. I stared wide-eyed at the huge roller coasters, the assorted foods, and the general merriment that was going on. I was feeling a little overwhelmed, but excited all the same. I had never been to an amusement park before.
“What do you want to do first?” William asked, rubbing his hand together like he was a little kid. I couldn’t help but laugh. His mood was contagious.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never been to one before. What do you think?” I asked and his eyebrows shot up.
“This is your first time?” he asked incredulously. I nodded. I guess for someone like him, trips to the amusement park were probably a given.
“Alright! Then we’re going to do everything. My family owns this place so we can move straight to the front of the lines. We’ll ride a few rides, eat an enormous amount of food, then ride them again until we puke. Sounds good?”
Of course their family owned the amusement park. Of course they did. The thought of it made me dizzy. But I didn’t have time to think about it for long because William grabbed my hand and dragged me along.
We started at something that looked like a massive tower. As I watched, people sitting in a circle were lifted into the air all the way to the top. After a few seconds pause, the seats plummeted to the earth before the mechanism caught it. Butterflies swarmed in my stomach.
William cocked his head, probably listening to my heart, which was trying its best to escape from my chest.
“Are you scared of heights?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t had much opportunity to test it out,” I answer honestly and his mouth presses together in a thin line.
“Was your family really strict about having leisure days? I can’t imagine that you wouldn’t have that many experiences when you come from such a prestigious family,” William said and I inwardly flinched. I had forgotten that I was supposed to be from a family just like his.
“Ah…yeah. I didn’t have much time to myself,” I said, which wasn’t technically a lie.
“Well, that’s going to change if I have anything to do about it,” he promised and once again dragged me behind him as we moved to the front of the line. I could hear the angry grumbles behind us. I frowned.
“William,” I called, tugging on his hand to make sure I had his attention. “If we’re going to do this, I want to do it right. We should wait in line like everybody else.”
He furrowed his brow and I worried he was going to argue with me, but then his face lit up. “You’re right! It’s your first time and you should have an authentic experience. Let’s go!”
For the next few hours, we rode rides, ate food, rode more rides and puked everything up. I learned a lot about myself that I didn’t know before. I found out that I wasn’t afraid of heights, but that I hated the spinning tea cups. Or rather I hated any rides that spun.
I also found that I really enjoyed William’s company. Not in any romantic sense, but I knew that we would be best friends for as long as I was a part of his life. I wondered if he would feel the same once he found out I had been lying to him the whole time.
That thought sobered me up on the way home. William was chatting away about some movie that was coming out that he wanted to watch. Even though he was sitting next to me, I felt a pang in my heart at the loss.
“Would you want to go with me?”
I smiled softly at him. “Yeah, that sounds lovely.”
William continued to chat about everything and nothing all the way to Arthur’s estate. I listened, caught between feeling content and feeling distraught. I shouldn’t be making bonds with any of these people. I was only setting myself up for heartache.
When we pulled up to the front of the house, I knew something was wrong. Arthur was outside pacing back and forth. At the sound of the car, his head shot up and he started storming over before we could even park.
“Uh-oh. I think we’re in trouble,” William sing-songed and I wrung my hands together. He didn’t sound nervous, but the look on Arthur’s face was dark with a rage I hadn’t seen before.
“Where the hell have you been?” Arthur demanded as we stepped out. He went to me first, checking me over, running his hands up and down my body, checking for injuries.
“Relax, Uncle. I just took Almara out on her day off. She’s perfectly safe. We even left you a note,” William said nonchalantly and Arthur turned his gaze on him. To his credit, William didn’t flinch under his stare.
“A note? You think a note was sufficient? You left her bodyguard behind. How could you be so selfish? If you weren’t my nephew…”Arthur let the threat hang open ended, but it was clear what he meant.
“I wasn’t being selfish. I just wanted to give her a fun day. It was all for her.”
Arthur scoffed. “Right. And you had no ulterior motive. I can smell you from here, Nephew. You reek of desire.”
Even in the dark, I could see the red that spread across William’s face. I felt bad for him. I reached out and tugged on Arthur’s arm, turning his attention back to me.
“Let’s just go inside. It’s over now,” I whispered as he turned his ire back on me.
“It most certainly isn’t over, little wolf. Your punishment hasn’t even begun yet.”
