Page 3 of Alpha Wolf's Nanny
“Yes,” Cassie said. “More than okay. Fantastic, actually. It’s what I was hoping for.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Molly said with a wry smile. “Off with you, now. I’ll be in touch.”
***
“So you got it?” Phil asked, his long legs stretched out on the couch, a beer in hand.
“Not exactly,” replied Cassie, pacing in front of him. “They need to check a few things first. I’ll find out if I’ve got it soon.”
“Trust me, babes,” said Becca, “you’ll get it. My friend told me they never say no to anyone. How can they, when they’re catering to alphas?”
“Becca, that’s a little bit insensitive,” said Tom, Phil’s long-suffering boyfriend. “Shifter culture is actually all about respect and strength and honor—”
“The fuck do you know about shifter culture?” Becca replied, rolling her eyes and flicking her long blonde hair over one shoulder. “Have you actually ever talked to an alpha male?”
“Well, no, but—”
“I have,” Becca replied with a lascivious grin, “and let me tell you there’s nothingrespectfulabout them.”
“Molly did say some stuff about their…temperament,” Cassie said, still pacing. “Apparently, I’ve got to be careful about offending them.”
Phil sat up, his warm brown eyes narrowing in concern. “Cass, if you don’t want to take the job, you don’t have to. You’re welcome to stay here until you find something less intense.”
“No thanks,” Cassie said, with perhaps a bit more bite than she had intended. “I’ll be fine. I mean, that’s very kind of you, but I can’t just crash on your couch for weeks. I told you I’d be out of your hair quickly.”
Phil glanced over at Tom, the two exchanging a knowing glance. Cassie swallowed down her instinctive irritation at whatever passed between them. She didn’t like it when she didn’t know what people were communicating. Didn’t like being excluded.
“Whatever you say,” Phil said, his tone deceptively light.
Cassie didn’t reply. When she had bumped into him in the bar after getting off the bus, he hadn’t hesitated to offer her hiscouch while she found her footing, much to her embarrassment. She hadn’t meant to come to Portland. She hadn’t even looked at the destination when she got on the bus in Indiana. That was the whole point, not knowing where she was going. Making it harder to be followed. And she certainly hadn’t meant to rely on a friend she hadn’t spoken to in years for shelter.
But even she wasn’t stubborn enough to turn down his offer. She knew all too well the dangers of sleeping rough. But if this nanny agency wanted to give her a job with food and shelter included, she was hardly going to turn it down. Even if she had to contend with an alpha male.
“I think we should go out,” Becca announced with a grin, clapping her hands together. “We need to celebrate!”
“I haven’t got the job yet,” Cassie replied, but apparently there was no dissuading Becca once she’d got the idea into her head. The blonde merely grinned, looking her up and down.
“I’ve got a great dress you can borrow; it’ll look super sexy on you, my boobs are too big for it. What do you say, boys? Shall we take little Cassie on her first night out in Portland?”
“It’s a Thursday,” said Tom, earning a glare.
“Why not?” said Phil, taking another swig of his beer.
Cassie sighed and allowed herself to be dragged into Becca’s room to be dolled up. Perhaps a night out would be good for her. Help distract her from the constant anxiety of being hunted down.
Clubbing wasn’t normally her scene. Too many bodies tightly packed together, too much chaos, too much alcohol. She always left early, blood spiking with anxiety. But she’d only just arrived in Portland; there was no waytheywould have trackedher down already. She promised herself she wouldn’t get too drunk and handed herself over to Becca’s pure excitement.
What was the worst that could happen?
Chapter 2 - Felix
“I still don’t agree that I need a night off,” Felix grumbled as Nicolas handed the bouncer a wad of notes that would probably be enough to rent out the teeming bar, let alone get them entry.
“Too bad,” Dane said with a lazy grin as he gave the bouncer a salute. “You don’t get a say in the matter.”
“Did we have to come to Portland?” Rick said, nose wrinkling slightly as they walked through the musty entrance, the corridor thick with bodies and the acrid scent of cheap spirits and cigarette ash. “Why couldn’t we have gone to one of Nick’s joints in New York?”
“'Cause everyone knows us in New York,” Dane rolled his eyes at Rick’s blatant snobbery. “The whole point of tonight is to let loose. Blow off some steam. No pack bullshit, no simpering kiss-ass humans, just four dudes havin’ some fun!”
