Page 29 of Bully Wolf's Nanny
But still, something within her told her that she was playing with fire. Nicolas was not an easy man. He had never been an easy man. If she gave herself to him again, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t completely burn in the intensity of his flame this time. And she had Thea to think about. What if they went there, and things went wrong? She’d have to leave, her daughter’s future uncertain once more.
Or worse, what if things went well? She couldn’t hide the secret of Thea’s true age forever. And Nicolas was one of themost intelligent people she had ever met. She suspected the only reason he hadn’t worked out that Thea was in fact his daughter yet was because of his blind trust in her. Or the cynical belief that any woman he got pregnant would attempt to get as much money out of him as possible. From the small bits and pieces she had learned about Gracie’s mother, that was certainly the experience he’d had with her.
And a secret that big, that enormous…
She should have told him at the agency. Should have driven him away then and there and avoided this whole mess entirely. Sure, she’d probably be working some crappy waitressing job right now, making less than minimum wage, but at least she wouldn’t have this huge secret dangling over her head.
She sighed, giving up on the washing entirely, wiping her hands clean on a cloth. Night was falling thick and fast, the warm amber lanterns bordering the garden beyond the kitchen window sparking to life.
And in their shadow, her eye caught the sleek figure of a great, black wolf just beyond the trees. Ice blue eyes widened slightly, then blinked slowly, as if in greeting.
She swallowed. She hadn’t seen Nicolas’s wolf in years. She had forgotten how enormous alphas were.
Nicolas lifted his head, obsidian fur shining, and tilted it towards the forest.
An invitation.
Nervously, she crept out the side door, closing it softly behind her and padding over the damp grass in bare feet to join him at the tree line. He didn’t move, just sat and watched, head cocked slightly in seeming amusement.
“Why don’t you shift?” he said, his deep voice echoing in her head.
She gasped at the sudden intrusion, narrowing her eyes at him as he chuckled.
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?”
“I mean I can’t. This is Iron Walker territory. I may have sworn loyalty and fidelity, but that doesn’t mean I can go frolicking about in the woods in my wolf form. The bylaws state—"
“Bylaws that I helped amend,” Nicolas said, climbing to his feet. In his human form, he already towered well over a foot taller than her, and it was no different as a wolf. She would be amazed if the top of her head was level with his shoulder. “You’ll be safe as long as you’re with me.”
Daisy looked out into the darkening woods, chewing her lip. “I’m not sure…”
“Come on,” he said, stretching his paws out in front of him, “when was the last time you shifted?”
“I…I’m not sure,” she said, folding her arms, “it isn’t a very big part of my life.”
“Then you’ve probably forgotten how good it feels,” he said, his voice a low purr. She shivered, rubbing her hands over her bare forearms. His eyes softened at the gesture, and he lowered his head slightly. “Please, Daisy. Run with me. I’d appreciate the company.”
“Don’t you have a whole pack to keep you company?” she grumbled, even as she felt her resolve crumbling.
He blinked once. “I’d like you to keep me company.”
She held his gaze for a moment, before finally relenting, gesturing at him to turn around.
“You know it’s nothing I haven’t seen before—"
“I don’t care,” she said, her voice haughty, “turn around.”
He rolled his eyes but obeyed, spinning around with a swish of his tail.
Daisy gulped, and as quickly as possible pulled her dress over her head, followed by her undergarments. Then, without giving herself time to reconsider, she reached down into her stomach and found her wolf waiting patiently for her, as if she had never left.
Shifting after so long felt like washing caked mud off her limbs. Her torso grew and bent, her hands and feet turning to strong paws, her nose elongating into a graceful snout.
When it was finished, she shook her fur out, walking a few experimental circles in the grass, huffing in delight that she hadn’t forgotten how to walk on four legs instead of two.
Nicolas glanced back, his bright eyes flashing as he drank her in. Her wolf form was small, only slightly taller than her human body was, so predictably he dwarfed her, which chafed a bit. However, she had always liked her fur, which retained the gentle fluffiness of her hair, albeit in a slightly grayer color.
