Miranda Bonham
Preston wasn't saying anything, as Nixon and I stood side by side.
"Preston, what are you doing here?" I nervously asked.
I was trying to sound normal, but the nerves were breaking my voice. There was no way I could explain what was happening.
"What the fuck is going on?î Preston asked, looking between Nixon and me, before directing his eyes toward Clay.
Clay didn't say anything, but his tense body gave it all away. Nixon was looking at Preston defiantly. I was at least glad he didn't start fighting with my brother.
I made my way toward Preston, trying to look casual about the whole situation.
"What do you mean?" I asked him.
"Who is that?" He asked, nodding toward Nixon.
Nixon raised an eyebrow, looking like he was sizing up Preston.
"This is Nixon," I replied, motioning between Nixon and my brother.
"Nixon, this is my twin brother, Preston," I introduced them.
Preston and Nixon went into a staring match. Both were trying to see who would back down first. I was scared of what would happen after that.
"He's a Wolf," my brother stated, finally turning to face me.
I slowly nodded as a reply.
"What is he doing here, in your apartment? It's late and you were alone," Preston questioned.
I stayed quiet for a few moments, before looking up at Clay.
"Clay was here," I told him.
The moment I said his name, Clay noticeably cringed.
"Is that so?" Preston asked, sounding a lot like my father.
"Well, you're looking at him," I said, now getting comfortable with the situation.
Nixon was quietly looking between Preston and me. I wasn't sure what he was noticing, but he seemed amused by something.
"Clay has been with me since I left your apartment," Preston told me.
The expression he had on his face was one of disappointment. I had seen him give that look to others in the pack, but never had it been directed at me.
"Leave," Preston ordered Nixon.
My bad luck had apparently run out. The moment Preston said that, Nixon growled at him audibly.
"You do not speak to me that way, and you do not order me around," Nixon said through clenched teeth.
Preston took a step in his direction, his Wolf threatening to come out as his eyes started shifting to black.
"You are in my territory, Wolf. You are the one who shouldn't be talking to me like that," Preston shot back.
Nixon tried to close the distance between him and Preston.
Clay thought faster than me, and took a few steps to stand in front of Preston. I did the same, but stood in front of Nixon instead.
"Get out of my way, Clay," my brother ordered. Even though Preston was still not the Alpha of the pack, his orders usually carried through with any pack member. Clay was not an exception.
I was now the only one standing between the two.
"Explain why there's a Wolf in your apartment," Preston ordered me.
"Do not speak to her like that!" Nixon growled, trying to move me aside.
"Hey, it's okay. He's my brother," I told Nixon, placing my hands on his chest, trying to sooth him.
His features softened by either my touch or my words, because he was now standing still, looking at me tenderly.
"Don't touch him Miranda!" My brother yelled. I heard his steps behind me. It wasn't until I was yanked away, that I felt Preston's strong grip on my arm.
"Get out of here, and stay away from my sister!" Preston told Nixon angrily. He wasn't loosening his hold on my arm, and it was already starting to hurt.
The murderous look on Nixon's face was what distracted me from my pain.
He made his way toward Preston, and threw a hard punch at my brother, hitting him square in the jaw. My eyes widened as Preston was knocked down. I felt myself falling, and noticed he was pulling me along with him.
I was about to fall to the ground with Preston, when Nixon yanked me away from my brother's hold.
Clay walked closer to Preston, trying to help him up. Preston pushed him away and got up on his own.
I was now behind Nixon, with his hand holding onto mine, tightly.
"I am going to kill you for that," Preston threatened, with a dark look in his eyes.
"Stop," I said from behind Nixon.
I knew they both heard me, but they were still staring at each other.
"I don't think you can kill me," Nixon replied to Preston's threat. His voice was calm, but menacing. The smooth voice he used sent chills up my spine.
"You two don't have to be fighting!" I snapped at both of them.
It seemed to get them out of their 'I'm going to kill you' moment, because they both directed theirs eyes to me.
"Nixon, I need to talk to my brother."
I didn't wait for Nixon to reply, knowing he was going to oppose to the idea.
"He isn't going to hurt me," I told him with a pleading voice.
Nixon looked at my brother. I could see the hatred in his eyes. There was no reason for him to be so angry at my brother, but he still was.
"I'm not leaving you here alone, with him," Nixon finally spoke.
"I'm her brother you idiot. If anyone should leave, it's you," Preston said, taking a step toward us.
I moved once again to stand in between Nixon and my brother. I was hoping they wouldn't go at each other if I was between the two.
"I warned you about disrespecting me," Nixon's voice sounded leveled, but with a certain warning to it.
"Preston please- stop. Nixon is already leaving," I said, holding my arm out to try and keep him away.
I knew that with any little wrong movement, all hell would break loose.
"Let's go," I told Nixon, trying to sound imposing. He gave me a look that let me know he wasn't happy with what I was doing.
"Please," I whispered, giving him my best puppy eyes.
He sighed, and significantly relaxed his stance.
"C'mon," Nixon said, wrapping his arm around my waist.
"You aren't taking my sister with you," Preston told Nixon, trying to confront him again.
"We're just going to talk. I'll walk him to the door and then he's leaving," I told Preston, hoping that would be enough for him to give us a few minutes.
He seemed reluctant to let me walk away with Nixon, but Clay was telling him he should give us some time.
I was really thankful that he was here. If Clay hadn't been present, I wasn't sure I'd be able to stop Preston and Nixon from going at each other.
"I'm going to wait nearby the building. When he leaves, I'm coming in," Nixon said, keeping his voice low.
"I don't think he's going to be leaving now," I told him, feeling helpless.
I was looking forward to spending some time with Nixon. Now, I wasn't sure if Preston would ever leave me alone. He wouldn't trust me on my own.
"I don't care. Get rid of him. If he isn't out of here in an hour, I'm taking you back to the mansion," Nixon stated, without leaving any room for argument.
"I am not scared of your brother. The only reason I am leaving is because I can see you do not want a confrontation between him and me. If he doesn't learn his place, I can gladly show it to him," he said.
I nodded my head at him, not having anything else to say.
Nixon placed his hand under my chin, making me look up at him.
"Miranda, I don't want to see you unhappy over this. Forgive me for my behavior in there, with your brother. I'll wait until he's gone. I'll trust that since he is your brother, you will be safe with him," Nixon softly spoke.
"Andy!" Preston called from the living room.
Nixon pressed his lips to mine for a few seconds. I relished the soft feeling of his lips, before he pulled away. With one last look, he made his way down the hall.
"Who was that guy?" Preston asked me, suspiciously. He still looked mad, but not as much as when Nixon had been in the room.
I still wasn't sure how to answer that question. Was Nixon my boyfriend? Was he my friend? He had told me we were mates. Fate had decided we matched, and were meant to be together.
But in our world- the one my father had built with lies- there were no such thing as mates.
"Nixon is important to me," I replied, not necessarily lying.
"Where did you meet him? How come I've never heard anything about him?"
While Preston questioned me, Clay just stood silently, on the side of the room. He looked alert, ready to intervene between Preston and me.
Clay didn't really have anything to worry about. Preston wouldn't hurt me. He would probably yell at me, or get angry, but never would he hurt me.
"I met him the other day."
"Is he interested in you?"
I nodded.
"Well I'll be damned," Preston replied, taking a seat on the couch.
I looked at Clay in confusion, wondering if he was also thrown off by Preston's reaction to my answer. Clay looked just at confused as I was.
"What about you? Do you like him or something?" Preston asked.
I decided it was now or never. It wasn't like I could actually hide Nixon from Preston for much longer. It was better to have Preston on my side with this either way.
"I do. I like him a lot," I replied sincerely.
My brother remained quiet, thinking about something. His expression didn't give away what was running through his mind.
After torturous minutes of silence, he finally spoke.
"I talked to dad after Zander left," he said.
I looked at him with hopeful eyes. Preston almost looked disappointed, while shaking his head at me.
"He wants this to go through. Dad thinks your union with Zander will make the pack stronger. He also said that Zander is interested in you. Apparently, Zander isn't fully trusting dad unless he has some sort of assurance that dad isn't going to betray him," he explained.
It was my turn to sit down.
"So where does that leave me?"
"You- are the assurance," Preston said.
Tears started welling up in the edge of my eyes. Of course I'd already expected something like that, but I was hoping Preston would convince my dad to go back on his words.
Preston started walking toward me, until he was kneeling at my feet.
"Hey, Andy, you don't have to cry. They're not going to get away with it. Don't worry. I won't let dad do that to you. I promised you that, didn't I?î He wrapped his hands around mine, looking at me with concern in his eyes.
"Everything will be okay," he said, giving me his usual playful grin. He was doing it for my benefit, to reassure me. I appreciated his efforts.
"The pretty boy is going to be a problem though," Preston commented after a while.
I offered him a smile, cocking an eyebrow at him.
"Pretty boy?" I asked.
Preston shrugged his shoulders, dismissing my teasing tone.
"That dude doesn't look like he's from around here," he replied causally.
"He isn't."
"If dad is going to burst a vein when he realizes you're not accepting Zander's marriage offer, I'm not sure how bad it will go when he sees a strange Wolf is after you."
His words were true. Dad wasn't going to be so fond of my relationship- or whatever it was- with Nixon. But that wasn't my biggest problem. The problem would come when my dad realized who Nixon was.
"You won't tell him, will you?" My voice sounded worried, almost desperate.
"Have a little faith in me. You know I won't." I heaved a sigh of relief at his words.
"It doesn't mean I like the guy. Someone has to get that dude off his high horse," Preston said, shaking his head.
I chuckled at his words, feeling relieved that at least now he wasn't mad at me.
"Nixon is- different. But he's a good guy," I told Preston, a smile automatically making its way to my face. It was hard not to smile when I thought about Nixon.
"I just came to tell you that, but I do have to head back home," Preston said after some more talk.
He had asked me a lot of things about Nixon. I answered him as best as I could. Considering I'd just met Nixon, there was still so much I didn't know.
"Okay. But, will you keep me updated with anything that happens?"
"I will. That's why I'm going home. I'm going to keep an eye on dad," he said, already walking to the door.
"Take Clay with you."
Preston raised an eyebrow, and crossed his arms. I replied to his gestures by rolling my eyes at him.
"I'm honestly safer here than I am at the house. I just don't want you alone if there are these Wolfs out there. I'm not sure who we can trust anymore," I said.
"Alright, let's go," Preston said, nodding toward Clay.
"Bye Andy," Clay said, as he started walking away.
"Be careful with that guy, please. The last thing we need is more problems with Wolves. If you need me, no matter what time it is, call me," Preston said, as he wrapped his arms around me.
He gave me a bone crushing hug, laughing at me as I tried to shove him away.
"I'll see you later Andy." He messed with my hair, before jogging away to catch up with Clay.
"I'll get you back for that!" I yelled, and heard as they both laughed at my empty threat.
Not five minutes after Preston had left, my front door opened and closed. I already knew who it was, but seeing him standing there still tugged at my heart.
"Is everything alright?" He asked, closing the distance between us.
I didn't think twice, before wrapping my arms around him, letting his alluring scent invade me.
"What happened?" He asked worriedly. His body was tensed, waiting for me to say something.
"My dad has gone crazy," I said.
"Did he do anything?" Nixon asked, his face turning serious.
"He proposed a crazy idea. Don't worry, we're going to sort it out," I explained. Nixon shuffled me around so that I was sitting on his lap.
"What did he propose?"
"Did you see my brother on his way out?" I asked Nixon, trying to change the subject.
"I noticed as he drove away, but we didn't cross paths- if that's what you're worrying about."
I was still wearing Nixon's shirt. Even though it was nice to wear it, I opted for taking it off.
I was washing my teeth, while Nixon waited around in my room.
"I still think you should come with me," Nixon said.
I came out, and shook my head at him.
"I don't trust all those dudes you're living with. They look like murderers," I replied, making my way to the bed.
Nixon looked amused by my words.
"They're part of the royal guard," he said, like if his words made any sense to me.
"Which means?"
"They are what you would consider a soldier. Except their number one priority is to protect the Crown- meaning my family and me."
"Oh wow, that's crazy," I said.
He chuckled at me, giving me that boyish look I so much loved.
He was only wearing his boxers, and the white undershirt he had on. Even though I would've liked to stare at his muscular chest, I was glad he was wearing a shirt. It would be easier to control myself if he wasn't half naked, in my bed.
"I am safe with Nixon," was my final thought, before drifting off to sleep.
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