Page 18 of Billionaire Wolf Needs a Nanny

"It reminds me of the crashing waves of the ocean." She tilted her head as she examined the painting.

I studied the way the brush strokes clashed against each other while moving together in harmony. "It's a reminder of our smallness, that we're all just floating along together, carried by the waves of life."

Lacey hummed in agreement and made a motion tracing the lines of the painting.. "We're all small and adrift, but not alone."

Emilia tugged on the edge of my coat sleeve, interrupting our analysis of the artwork.

"What is it, Emilia?"

She pointed at the corner of the room where it looked like a children's area was set up with miniature easels and drawing paper. The two children who were running around the lobby were there.

"That looks like fun," Lacey said. "Why don't we go see what that's about?"

There was a young woman with the two children. The three of them shared similar eyes and noses. Two siblings and their mother, I deduced.

The older little girl came over first. She carried herself with a confidence that was beyond her age. "Hi, I'm Sorah and that's my brother Will and my mommy."

Emilia clutched at the fabric of my pants and hid behind my legs. Her earlier excitement about meeting new friends faded.

Lacey smiled at the little girl. "It's nice to meet you, Sorah. I'm Lacey, that's Blake, and this is Emilia."

"We're drawing Santa's village. Would you like to help us?"

"Oh, I'm not very good at drawing, but Emilia is." Lacey squatted down to Emilia's height. "Sorah's drawing sounds like a lot of fun. Can we go help her?"

I felt Emilia nod against my leg. Lacey took Emilia's hand in hers and followed Sorah to the easel where her little brother was scribbling vigorously with a marker.

As I watched her play with the two children, a pang of guilt hit me as I realized that this was the first time Emilia had been around other kids. It couldn't be healthy for a child to spend so much time with only adults. I had been so busy with work and barely functioning as her guardian that I had completely neglected her social development.

I heard them coming behind me before I saw them.

"Wulfthorn. I had no idea you were a family man now."

It was Huxley Cain and Derek Fox, alphas of the Huntington Harbor wolf pack. They paused beside me, and together we watched the children with the women who were deep in conversation with each other. It didn't take long for me to put two and two together. These were their pups and their shared mate.

"Cain. Fox." I nodded at them in greeting.

While I had no hard feelings with their pack, we were not exactly on friendly terms. Over the years, they had approached me with an offer to join the pack, but I preferred being a loner. My own family and Reeve were all the wolves I needed in my life.

"Emilia is my niece."

"My condolences to your family. Opal was a formidable she-wolf," Derek said.

I clenched my teeth at the mention of my late sister. Judging by the soft look in his eyes, I could tell that he was being sincere. The two of them had a brief fling in college before they determined that two dominant wolves in a relationship was never going to work out.

"She was taken from us far too soon," I muttered.

Huxley nodded. "That we can agree with." He paused for a moment. "Have you had any luck with the Bean Brewing deal?"

My head shot up.

Derek chuckled. "Everybody in town knows you're gunning for Fisher. You've always been like a rampaging bull in a china shop when it comes to closing a deal."

I let out a growl, hating that they knew me too well despite my efforts to stay under the radar. "He's been avoiding me."

"Fisher's going to be here on Friday. We're having lunch at The Fitzpatrick. Join us." Huxley held up a hand. "Relax. There are no strings attached. You're a lone wolf, and our pack is full as it is. Our kind needs to stick together."

The Fitzpatrick was a private hunting club hidden in the woods in the mountains surrounding Paradise Peaks. It was where politicians, royalty, and the world's leading businessmen made deals that changed society forever. As much as I didn't want to be indebted to anybody, this was my chance to convince Fisher to sell his company to me.

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