Page 13 of Bully Wolf's Nanny
“I think Amelia said she would be here in half an hour or so,” said Daisy, shuffling slightly in her socks. Nicolas fought the urge to glance down at her legs, her calves bare to his gaze below her dress.
“Why didn’t you just bring her with you in my car?” he asked, folding his arms.
Daisy squirmed, biting her lip. “Because…because I wanted to talk to you first. Without her overhearing. She wouldn’t understand.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And yet, you didn’t say a word to me in the car.”
She scowled then, her sweet face scrunching up in displeasure. “Yes, well, I was…distracted. I haven’t been back to Silvermist in years.”
“What did you want to talk about?” he asked, turning away from her to walk through into the kitchen. She hurried after him, skirt swishing.
“I wanted to talk about the Iron Walkers,” she said, her frustration at his long strides evident.
He swallowed. The pack. Of course she wanted to talk about the pack. Not about…not aboutthem.
He couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed.
“What about the pack?”
“I know you’re a prominent member now,” she huffed as he made his way to the liquor cabinet. One small bourbon wouldn’t hurt.
“Acquisitions is what Felix calls my role,” Nicolas rolled his eyes. “Business tycoon is what he means.”
“Well, I was reading the pack charter, and I was hoping you might ask Felix if I could be excused from joining. I could just swear loyalty and fidelity instead, like the other non-member shifters. I know that the law says blood descendants of the pack have to join if they want to live in pack territory, but I was thinking, you know, my family doesn’t even live here anymore. They broke faith. So, technically, I’m not a blood descendant, and—"
“Wait, you’re worried about pack membership? Seriously?”
Daisy’s cheeks flushed again, her scowl deepening. “I know it may seem silly to you, but I don’t want to rejoin the Iron Walkers. I wasn’t exactly a…welcomemember before, and I can’t see that being any better given I broke faith too when I left.”
Nicolas’s lips pressed together, and he downed the bourbon in one long gulp.
“Fine,” he said, his voice hard, “I’ll talk to Felix. As long as shifters in our territory swear loyalty and fidelity, they’re welcome. No matter their history.”
Daisy sighed, the tension leaving her face. “Thank you. I appreciate it, I really do. And I’ll make sure Thea swears it too when she comes into her wolf.”
“If she comes into her wolf, you mean,” Nicolas said. Daisy froze slightly, her eyes widening, and Nicolas watched as she buried her trembling hands in her pockets. “Unless, of course, her father is a wolf shifter too?”
Daisy shrugged, gnawing at her lip. “Yeah, he…he was. Is. I don’t really speak with him.”
Nicolas nodded, but couldn’t help the swell of satisfaction at her words. He’d guessed, of course, that Daisy wasn’t on speaking terms with whoever had fathered her child. He didn’t know the story, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Whatever Daisy had chosen to do with her life since leaving, well, that was her business. It wasn’t like he had been celibate.
Just then, there was a clatter and a series of muted curse words, and then his assistant Cecily stumbled into the room, Gracie gurgling happily in her arms.
“Thought I heard you come in. Here you go, boss,” Cecily said, unable to hide the slight grimace as Gracie tried to grasp her short spiky hair. “She’s been very well behaved. Mostly.”
“Mostly sounds about right,” Nicolas said, sweeping his daughter into his arms. “Cecily, this is Daisy. Daisy, Cecily. Daisy is going to be Gracie’s new nanny, and Cecily here is my assistant in pack business.”
Cecily snorted. “More like first, you’ve been useless this year.”
“A problem that’s now been solved,” Nicolas said through gritted teeth.
Cecily looked Daisy up and down, apprehension clear on her sharp features. “So, you’re a shifter too?”
Daisy nodded, her gaze flitting between Gracie and Cecily, her own apprehension clear.
Cecily’s eyebrows quirked up. “Well, good luck to you. I’ve got to get back, Emily and I have date night.”
“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon.”
