Nathan left Laurel in the room and went to take care of the paperwork that he had put off but needed to be done. Some of it was a couple of orders that were needed. If he didn't get them sent in, they wouldn't get the supplies by next week like they needed. While he was boasting about how he was running the Academy, nobody was going to think very highly of it if the cafeteria ran out of food or the new books didn’t make it before the class started next term.
He was just about to his office when he heard a voice and groaned inwardly. What the hell was she doing there? Nathan kept walking, but slower, letting her catch up. It’s not like he could avoid her, she had sought him out. He also wanted to get more distance between them and where Laurel was. Already, he was seeing the error of his ways. It wasn’t pretty to see.
“Hey, baby! I have been looking all over for you.” Nancy came running toward him, like she hadn't seen him in years, and wrapped herself securely around him.
He tried to respond in kind, hugging her back and waiting a moment or two, before he asked her what the hell she was doing there. He didn't say it like that, though. Nathan still didn't understand why he was supposed to be with her, but he learned a long time ago how to handle Nancy. He had to talk slow and gentle and basically talk to her like she was a child who couldn't handle anything.
“I am just here to see you, silly. You have been gone a whole day. Where did you go?”
He hadn’t technically been gone the whole day, but it was close enough. She was messing with his collar, while he tried to figure out an answer to give. Nancy would have not understood why he went thirty miles outside of the city to a human’s house to check on a human female. She certainly wouldn't have understood why that said human was staying in his guest room presently, either. Nancy wouldn’t understood any of it, because she did not have a compassionate bone in her body. So, there was no way that he could tell her the truth. He had to lie. Something he admittedly wasn’t very good at.
Instead of taking the risk of making up a story, he just blamed it on Vincent. It was easy enough to believe because he was always doing this or that for the Alpha. It was also someone that he couldn’t say no to.
“What did he have you out doing so late at night? He really should give those sorts of things to the grunts to do.”
He looked at her with the expression that told her that he couldn't say. It was an excuse he had used many times before, and it usually quashed the situation. For tonight, though, she was not going to let it go. She also wanted to spend more time with him, and even though he wasn't feeling up to it, he suggested that they go out to a restaurant. It wasn't at all what he had in mind, but it was the best he could come up with to keep the two women apart.
If Nancy found out about Laurel, he was afraid that she would get violent with her. And Laurel being a human, would not be able to defend herself. It was one of his worst fears at the moment. He needed to protect Laurel and that meant getting Nancy out of the way.
While he was getting his things together, he thought about how weird it was. Nancy was to be his mate in a couple of weeks, and he was far more worried about the welfare of the human that he didn't even really know that well. It didn't make any sense to Nathan, but recently, not much in his life had made sense.
Nancy was quick to jump on the dinner offer. Whether it was right or wrong, he had a tendency to put her off about a lot of things. She was constantly wanting to go out, do things, meet people, everything like that. He just didn't have any desire to. The only desire he truly had was to be rid of her. With that thought in mind, it was easy to see why they didn't go out that much. A part of him felt like he had to marry her already, that eternity was long enough. Once they were mated, Nathan would be stuck with her for the rest of his life. That was probably scarier than anything, and he was doing his best to prolong it as much as possible.
Thankfully, Nancy did not seem to notice him acting differently or anything like that. He felt like he was just pouring out the nerves, but it was probably just him.
He was thankful that she called it a night early. Nancy was tired. Or that's what she said, anyway. He didn't want to spend the whole night with her, so he was quick to agree when she wanted to call it a night. It wasn't like Nancy to be so easy to deal with, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He didn't know why she was being so cordial and easy, but he was just going to be thankful for it.
***
Nathan didn't get back to his house for several hours from when he left. Even though they hadn't spent that long at the restaurant, it took quite a bit of time getting to and from the restaurant. He had not wanted to leave Laurel that long but did not really have a choice. When he got back, he went up to her room and knocked on the door lightly. When she didn't answer, he figured that she was mad at him. Nathan was quite used to women showing their displeasure in that way, even if it was childish. That's what he was used to.
Thinking that she was pouting, he pushed the door open gently and said her name again. As soon as he said her name, he was also apologizing, telling her that he had to run out for a little while.
When he got in there, though, he realized that she wasn't making a game of things. She was asleep and that bothered him a little bit more. If it would have just been her being mad, they could have worked it out and he wouldn't have had to worry about anything. But her being asleep meant that he had to go to bed with all those thoughts in his head. Thoughts that he honestly didn't want to have.
She was sleeping so peacefully. Part of him wanted to slide into the bed next to her, delight in her human flesh and see where it took them. There were so many reasons why he shouldn't, but there were just as many reasons why he needed to badly.
There was nothing he could do, though. He was feeling impotent. She was out like a light, and he was left with his thoughts and the inability to fall asleep. How could she sleep when all he could do was think about the human only a few doors down from him?
A little bit later he got a phone call, and since he wasn't sleeping, he answered it. He was rather surprised to find that it was Nancy. She apparently wanted to come by, and he immediately said no. He must've said it too quickly, because she immediately got suspicious. Nathan cursed under his breath at the next question and her obvious line of thinking.
“Why don't you want me to come over and see you?”
“Because I just don't think it would be a good idea.”
“Why? Why don't you want to see your fiancé?”
He literally cringed at that word. It made it sound like he had some choice in it. She was not his fiancé. She was the woman that supposedly he was to be with. It wasn't like he had a choice. How could he have a choice when it came from fate?
“What is going on that you don't want me to come over? Something is up and you’re acting strange, just like you were earlier.”
It was the second time she had asked the question, and Nathan knew that he needed to answer. If not, she was going to storm over and then all hell was going to break loose. That's what he was trying to avoid from happening. Even if it felt impossible at the moment.
“I'm just tired, Nancy, and I don't think I would be able to give you the time that you deserve.”
It sounded good and he was hopeful that it would massage her ego. Nancy did not believe that he could not want her. He knew her well enough to know that she thought she was irresistible. Maybe she would have been to him if he didn't know her personality. To Nathan, though, the personality just killed it when it came to Nancy.
When he had met Nancy for the first time, it was several years back, and he remembered thinking how beautiful she was. It had been consistently on his mind. He had actually been excited when he had first found out about the setup. It was a perfect match. Fate had deemed so, and how could he go against that? How could he not want the beautiful girl that had an easy smile on her face?
