His Nanny Mate (Moana and Edrick Morgan)

Chapter 329 Not Alone

Ella

The evening shadows stretched long and dark across my apartment’s hardwood floor, a stark contrast to the flickering yellow street light outside that threw mottled patterns on the dark brick walls of my apartment.

The fragrant scent of the lavender candle l always had lit hung in the air despite the fact that I hadn’t lit it yet today, but either way, its calming effects seemed lost on me now. The buzzing of the intercom had felt like an electrical jolt to my system. Every nerve in my body was on high alert. Gripping the knife tightly, its cool, reassuring weight in my palm, I cautiously approached the door.

“Who’s there?” My voice wavered, betraying the tight knot of fear in my stomach. The silence that followed was deafening until he finally spoke. “Ella, it’s me. Logan.” The muffled voice came through, carrying a hint of surprise and confusion.

I swallowed, somewhat relieved, and hit the button to let him into the building. “Don’t leave the door open,” I murmured.

A few moments later, there was a knock on the door. Instinctively, even though I knew it would just be Logan, I felt my body tense once more.

Gazing through the peephole, my heart rate steadied a touch as I recognized Logan’s tousled dark hair and worried blue eyes. He held a bottle of wine in his hands-probably the same brand that we had shared together before. It was clear that he planned on coming here to celebrate, if not at least for our win earlier, but for our kiss.

But tonight, everything was different. My grip on the knife didn’t loosen, even though I opened the door slowly.

Logan stepped in, a warm smile taking over his features. He held the wine bottle up so I could see it in the light. “Thought I’d splurge on a bottle of wine. And…”

But then, that initial smile of greeting faded as his gaze landed on the knife. I wasn’t quick enough to pull my sleeves over the red marks on my wrists from being bound, either, and so he saw those, too.

“Jesus, Ella,” he murmured, eyes widening in alarm. “What the hell happened to you? Why do you have a knife?”

“Logan, now’s not a good time.” I tried to sound firm, but the undercurrent of my distress was palpable. Yet he stepped forward, concern evident in every line of his face. He took a moment to survey my apartment, noticing the bags scattered in haste, the remnants of my desperate need to flee.

“Talk to me,” he pleaded softly, his eyes darting between my face and the knife. I hesitated, torn. The memories of the night’s events threatened to drown me, each detail playing on a torturous loop. My wolf side, the fierce protector, was battling my human side’s emotional turmoil.

“You know we can trust him,” Ema said inside my mind. “He’s Logan. Just Logan. Maybe he can help.”

Ema was right; I did trust Logan, more than I wanted to admit. He had done nothing but keep me safe so far. At least, that was how it seemed.

“I’m… I’m leaving the city, Logan.”

The admission felt heavy on my tongue, tasting of defeat. His expression turned incredulous. “What? After all we’ve achieved together? After everything? Why?”

The pain and fear sitting heavily in my chest finally bubbled to the surface, and the words spilled out uncontrollably.

“I was attacked tonight, in the subway. They took me to some godforsaken underground area and… and showed me pictures of Daisy. They know where she is, what she does. They threatened her life, Logan.”

As I spoke, I pulled my sleeves back to reveal the full extent of the red marks on my wrists. Logan’s eyes widened.

The bottle of wine slipped from his grasp, shattering on the floor, red liquid pooling like blood between the shards of glass. For a split second, the crash sounded like the shattering of my own heart. Logan’s eyes held a storm of emotions: fury, worry, disbelief.

Without even taking a moment to pay any attention to the mess he had just made, Logan’s hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I flinched and winced, feeling the burning. sensation on my skin from his touch-and the electric shock of our close proximity coursing through my body.

“Who did this to you?” His voice was low, every bit the growl of the alpha wolf. I quickly pulled away. “I don’t know, but they were clear in their threat.” My voice trembled, the painful welts on my wrists and the aching. sensation in my skull serving as a brutal reminder of my ordeal. “But Logan, I can’t stay. Not if it means putting my little sister in danger.”

He ran a hand through his hair, looking utterly defeated. “Ella, this is your home. You’ve built at life here, a reputation. Hell, look at what you accomplished today! That was all you! You can’t just run away so easily, not after that.”

“But it’s not about me!” I snapped, frustration mounting. “It’s about Daisy. If anything happened to her because of me…” The thought was unbearable. Logan’s features softened, his anger replaced by understanding. “You love her very much, don’t you?”

“She’s my baby sister. I would do anything for her,” I whispered. “Even if it meant giving up on all of my dreams.”

A heavy silence settled between us, punctuated only by the distant sounds of the city outside: a car horn, distant laughter, the distant hum of life going on. Despite the dangers in this city, there were still countless people out there living their lives in harmony, free from the darkness. And here I was, still standing here with wine spilt all over my apartment floor and a kitchen knife still clutched in my hand.

Ignoring the knife, Logan took a cautious step closer, his blue-eyed gaze never leaving mine. Instinctively, I took a step back. I felt my wolf pulse inside of me, her very presence chiding me for being so distrustful, but I couldn’t help the fact that my body was on edge after everything.

“Ella…”

Logan paused, holding his hands up in surrender. His clear blue eyes were nothing but full of genuine pain and concern, and I found myself sighing and allowing my shoulders to slump in exhaustion. For a few moments, we just stared at each other, each of us speechless.

And for another fleeting moment, I remembered our kiss from earlier-how electric it had felt, how comforting it was to entwine with my fated mate, even for just a moment. And for a moment, I almost wanted to kiss him again.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “I’m just…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Logan shook his head. “I won’t pretend to know exactly what you’re going through, but I want to help, Ella.”

I shook my head, tears threatening to fall. “I can’t drag you into this. It’s too dangerous.” Before I could react, Logan closed the distance between us, pulling me into his strong embrace.

The knife slipped from my grasp, clattering harmlessly to the floor. And for a moment, surrounded by his warmth and the familiar scent of cedarwood, the weight of the world seemed to lift just a little.