Chapter Thirty Eight

I was hoping by some miracle I was completely wrong. I was hoping Nolan told me he lied about the girl and actually bought the suit from someone. Most of all, I was hoping he was in no way involved or connected with the murder.

Sadly, I couldn't automatically believe Nolan didn't do it. He was both hard-headed and stubborn, a bad combination. His determination was the daring type, willing to do whatever dirty deed needed to get his way. It was the reason I wasn't calm.

My heart was beating as fast as the wings on a hummingbird as I tried not to run down the halls and openly scan every face. That would only increase suspicion and probably cause trouble, two things that wouldn't smooth out my chaotic thoughts.

I decided it was best to at least appear calm, although I was anything but. Maybe the act itself would actually help calm myself down. So my pace was brisk, as if I had a destination in mind, but not alarming. My head was held high to display confidence and not hung as if I had something to hide. My eyes took in everything, but discreetly.

I was quick to find Nolan's temporary room before rushing inside and closing the door. The room was dark so I turned on the light, but it didn't cause Nolan to appear. It was spotless without a single sign that anyone has even been here. He scent touched the air though, faint and light. He couldn't have possibly left.

Nolan wouldn't have left without at least saying goodbye to me one way or another. I knew his stay here wasn't permanent, but still. So maybe he'd left a note in my room somewhere and I overlooked it. Maybe it would tell me where I could find him.

I left the room after turning off the lights and retraced my steps back to my own. After a few minutes of searching the more obvious places, I became frantic. I nearly stripped the paint off the walls in my frenzy, but it wouldn't have helped. I would've been as empty handed as I was now.

I sat on the bed with a sigh as I closed my eyes. There was a reason Nolan had stayed here so long. I didn't particularly care for the reason, but it meant he had unfinished business. He couldn't leave until all his cards were placed in the perfect order. So Nolan was still here somewhere in the palace. The question now was where.

I walked back out, deciding I would just glance down the halls for him. If I happened to see anyone familiar, I would casually ask if they had seen Nolan. Hopefully, someone would say yes and this would all be over.

Walking down and glancing through the halls was proving to be useless. I hadn't found anyone familiar or seen Nolan. I was only growing more panicked, and the images roaming my head were becoming increasingly gory.

Just as I was about to give up and start calling obscenities along with Nolan's name, I spotted a familiar dark gray suit that calmed me just the slightest.

I walked over to him, briefly noticing the hand that slid around my waist. "I have been getting compliments on my attire," he said with a smile that I couldn't bring myself to return.

"Have you?" I asked, scanning the hall again. But Nolan still wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Snowflake."

His hand was now cupping my chin, guiding it gently towards himself until my distracted eyes were meeting his serious ones.

"I would like to speak with you for a moment," he said, and my eyes narrowed before I pulled away and crossed my arms. He was too relaxed to know what had happened.

"About what?" I asked, but Kendall only smiled once more and moved closer to me.

"It does not need to be a public announcement. Come," he tried, beckoning me to walk with him. But I couldn't just yet.

"I have to find Nolan first. You haven't happened to see him, have you?" I asked him. Just like that, the light switch in Kendall turned off.

His smile was replaced with a frosted look that revealed just why he was whispered to be "icy." His features had hardened and his body had stiffened, both showing no signs of changing anytime soon. A look of hurt flashed through his eyes before they, too, became ice.

"I have yet to see the mutt and have no desire to. I hope you find him and see him for what he truly is," Kendall spat out before he whirled out on his heel and walked away, creating a storm behind him.

"Bastard," I spat back, seething. I asked him a simple question, and he went cold on me as if I had done something absurd. I hoped his "attire" ripped later.

Kendall may be a Prince, but it didn't give him the right to snap at me like he had. Even if his day turned sour since I saw him, Kendall still shouldn't have done so. I was going to be sure he regretted turning his attitude on me.

Kendall's attitude seemed to be contagious. I now walked through the halls with a scowl and turned my glaring eyes at anyone who dared to meet my eyes. I was sure I scared a few people, but at the moment, I didn't even notice.

It seemed as if an hour passed before I saw another familiar face. But this one I wanted absolutely nothing with. As if my day couldn't get worse, Valeria was walking out of a room a foot from me.

My lip curled up in distaste as she looked around, her eyes landing on me. The first thing she did was smile and give a round of laughter. I nearly bit my tongue off in an attempt not to snap at her.

"There's the little Snowflake. I was beginning to worry you had melted away," Valeria commented, her red-stained lips coiled in a smile. It annoyed the hell out of me.

I growled felt at her, my anger at Kendall and annoyance towards her redirecting themselves into a darker emotion. Right now, I would give anything to show her just what a "Snowflake" could do.

My muscles were coiled, and I could feel adrenaline darting through me. Just a moment before I lingered, the door opened and out walked Nolan whistling his heart away as if he wasn't suspected of murder.

"Come here," I said through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the watchful witch.

"Hello to you too, flower," Nolan said with sarcasm that I didn't particularly care for at the moment. This only made the witch throw her head back and laugh again.

"A snowflake and a flower? My, you certainly have a fragile reputation," she said, laughter still thick in her voice.

I snarled, lunging, but I didn't get very far, unfortunately. Nolan was beside me in an instant, restraining me. My struggling seemed to have little effect on him.

"Yes, keep your fragile flower under control. Lilith sends her regards and says until next time," Valeria said, that smile still on her face as she slithered away from us.

Nolan waited until the witch was out of sight before relaxing his hold on me but not letting go. His hands only disappeared when I shoved him away, placing my furious eyes on him.

"You have some explaining to do," I said lowly, dragging Nolan into the room he'd just left by the cuff of his shirt.

"I enjoy this whole dragging me into a room thing we have going on, but it seems I always walk out disappointed. Perhaps not tonight?" Nolan teased, but I didn't find him very funny.

"Did you kill a guard?"

Nolan became quiet, his face turning from teasing to neutral. I'd taken him by surprise with the blunt question, as I wanted. If I beat around the bush, Nolan would catch on and slither his way out of the situation. No, now I would study him and catch him in his lie.

"Why would I kill when I can seduce?" Nolan tried, but my heart dropped.

"Damn it, Nolan, now isn't the time for lies!" I snapped at him, desperation sneaking into my voice. I hoped I was wrong, for the first time in my life.

"I'm tired of your bullshit. You tell me the truth, and you know I'll know if you're lying," I warned him, the threat visible to both of us in the intensifying atmosphere.

I knew Nolan better than anyone in this palace, and I also knew his lying habits. The moment he lied, I would hold back.

Nolan was quiet for a moment, his facial expressions unchanging as he sighed and said, "The female guards here are traditional prudes. They had no interest in me when they found I wasn't as human as them."

I thought the truth would frighten me, but if anything, it relaxed me; the suspense was gone and my body was no longer coiling together like a ball of stress. That was when I started yelling.

The yelling was blurry to me. I don't really remember exactly what I was saying and if it even related to Nolan, but I do know I couldn't stop. It was as if I was inside my body, but I wasn't in control anymore.

Nolan seemed to recognize this and interrupted my yelling. "Relax, my darling. Nothing ties me to either one of them; we'll both be fine," he started and walked over to me.

I growled defensively, steeling my spine as I backed away. But Nolan caught me, his arms trapping me against him. The harder I struggled and snarled at him, the tighter his arms got.

"I'm not going to hurt you, darling, and I wouldn't allow anyone to lay a finger on you. You realize that, don't you?" He asked, forcing me to meet his eyes.

"You killed someone, Nolan! You can't just act like it didn't happen," I said, and he frowned in distaste at me.

"Why should he live? So he can work another wolf to death? Did you know he'd already killed two wolves? All he did was laugh. He was a heartless bastard who deserved worse than he got. He was rewarded for his brutality, not punished," Nolan spat, hatred thick in his voice.

As bad as it was, I slightly agreed with Nolan. The guy deserved worse than the swift death he'd gotten. But that didn't mean Nolan had the right to serve him his justice.

"I realize that. I realize it wasn't morally ethical, but I'm not one for standing by. I had planned to knock him out, but I saw him beating a wolf. When I questioned him later, he told me it was a bonus of the job. So I snapped," Nolan explained, but it didn't help much.

"If someone finds out, Nolan, I swear I'll hunt you down like the animal you are and kill you myself," I whispered and relaxed against him, unable to do or say anything else.

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