William went straight to my father. “Mr. Wilson, I apologize for showing up at your dinner party uninvited.”“Nonsense. William, you are always welcome in my home,” Alex told him. “I’m glad to see you have returned to us.”Mrs. James couldn’t control herself any longer and jumped to her feet. She threw her arms around William’s neck. “William, I’m so happy to see you. Please tell me you are staying.”He returned his mother’s embrace and wiped away her happy tears. “I’m staying. I’m sorry if you were worried, but I’m back now, Mother.”“How did you know we were here?” his father asked after he shook his son’s hand.“The staff at our house told me you were here. So I had to come here to tell you I have returned to the city. From your letters, I knew you were eager for my return.”“It’s wonderful to have you back, son,” Mr. James said. “We’ll talk more later.”“It's great to be back, “ William said. He glanced across the table at me and smiled. “Daisy, it’s wonderful to see you. And you
William and I went into the living room, and I closed the door behind us. We sat on the couch, and I waited for him to speak.He nervously rubbed the palms of his hands on his slacks as he gathered his thoughts.Then he looked up at me with a smile that reached his sky-blue eyes. “It is good to be back. I did a lot of thinking while I was gone, about us and about you.”“That’s what I thought. It made me feel guilty that you left town over me,” I said. “I hope you’re doing better.”“Don’t feel guilty. I’m fine,” he said, but he still looked a little sad. “My wolf gets restless and craves Diana, but he understands the situation better now. We both do.”We were both silent for a moment.“Daisy, when you rejected me, you said you had to remain engaged to Victor because you have a deal with him.”“Yes, that’s true,” I said. “And I still can’t go back on my word.” I hope that wasn’t what he wanted to talk about because I didn’t want to disappoint him again.“I know you would never go back o
Victor noticed William’s eyes on me from across the table. “What were you two talking about?” he inquired.“We were just catching up,” William replied. “It was easier to speak privately than to yell across the table.”It was apparent that Victor wasn’t convinced, but he nodded slowly.“Everything is fine,” I assured him.Victor leaned closer and whispered into my ear, “Then we are still engaged?”“If we’re not, I am at the wrong party,” I teased. “Of course, we’re still engaged.”Victor’s fake smile turned genuine. “Glad to hear it.” He turned his attention to William. “Are you sticking around now?”“I’m not going anywhere,” William declared to his mother’s delight.I was glad to hear it too.“Daisy changed quite a bit while I was gone,” William said. “She looks even more beautiful, and she is much more confident.”“I’ve been learning about my mother’s charity foundation,” I told him. “I’m going to start running it soon.”“You’re doing a good job now,” Victor said. “I told your father
“Never correct your elders in public,” I told Lana while she was quizzing me on werewolf rules of etiquette. “Who came up with that rule, an elder, right?”Lana fought back a smile. “Most likely. Nevertheless, you must follow the rule. It’s important in our society to respect your elders.”“I respect them, but they’re not always right,” I said.“Agreed, and if it’s regarding something important, you privately present your facts to them, with proof of your argument,” she added.Lana and I had enjoyed a delicious lunch together on her patio, and now we were going over some rules of etiquette that Victor had gone over with me last week.“What is the main rule concerning acceptable ways to raise money for your foundation?” she asked.I like how she called it my foundation. I guess it is mine now even though I can’t run it by myself yet.“Never directly ask for money; instead, express the need for donations,” I said.“Correct. You saw that in action while we were networking at the ambassad
Victor drove us deeper into the country to a spot in the hills that overlooked the river below.He turned off the car and turned to me. “What’s on your mind?”“I never thought about how our agreement would affect the people around us,” I said.“What do you mean?” Victor responded. “How does whether or not we ever get married affect anyone else but us?”“If your parents find out the truth, they will probably realize we were faking all the time and be disappointed in both of us,” I replied. “I’ve gotten close to your mother, and I don’t think I can handle her being upset over me.”I needed to vent, and he was the only person who could listen to me.“How are they going to find out?” Victor demanded.“You haven’t said anything have you?”“Of course not,” I replied. “I could never face them again if they knew we’ve been lying to them…lying to everyone.”“Why are you worried about this now? Our fake engagement has been happening for months, practically since I met you.”“I didn’t know your p
William and I hurried outside and scurried to the rose garden.“Do you always shift in the rose garden?” William asked.“Yes,” I replied. It’s close to the house, and the roses offer the privacy that I need to be comfortable while I shift, and the bushes keep my clothes off the ground.”“The pavilion in the center of the pond would be ideal also, or are you still afraid of the water.”“I’m not afraid of it anymore,” I informed him. “I learned to swim in that pond while you were away.”“That’s wonderful,” William said. “I’m glad. You’ll be much safer now around water. I Will never forget the day you almost drowned in my parent’s pool.”“Me either, although I’d rather forget it,” I sighed. The roses were now in sight.“Have you taken many runs out here?” he asked. “It is a lovely place, and there is a lot of room to run.”I didn’t want to mention Victor right now, so I avoided his name. “I’ve come out here several evenings for a run, and I swam in the pond once.”“I hope you didn’t try
Victor’s POVI couldn’t stop thinking about the argument with Daisy. My reaction to her concerns was way out of line.She needed me to tell her everything would work out. Instead, I accused her of things and acted horribly.I couldn’t control my tumultuous emotions while I wondered if Daisy was going to end our deal now that she could have William.I blamed it all on Adam.To make matters worse, she was right about hurting our families. She was also correct about my motivation for proposing the deal in the first place.The situation was all my fault. But I don't know how to fix it now. It would have to play out, or things could get worse for both of us.But I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else until I apologized to her, and I had to do it in person.I texted her to tell her I was on my way to talk to her before leaving my office.In the parking garage, I jumped into the Lamborghini and started the engine. There would be a lot of traffic in the city at this time of day, b
The next evening, Victor and I were on our way to a cocktail party at the home of a wealthy widow with an electronics company she wanted to sell.No matter what happened last night, I was responsible enough to follow the decided schedule.Victor’s family wanted to acquire the company, and he warned me before he would need to spend a lot of time talking to the older woman at the party.“I’ll try not to leave you alone as much as possible,” he said. “But I need her promise to give me the first bid on the company.”“I understand,” I replied. “Maybe I'll try to do some networking for the charity while you’re busy.” Being successful was time-consuming. The opportunity to make a deal was everywhere in an Alpha’s life.Victor sighed. “Thanks for being here… and I really am sorry about how I acted yesterday. I should have listened to you and let you vent. And I have no excuse for not being able to control Adam.”“Forget about it,” I told him. “Diana says his aggression is due to the strong ma