Page 30 of Alpha Wolf's Nanny
“Brody and Piper drew the short straws, so they’re on protection duty.”
Daisy nodded. “Excellent. I’ll see you around, Alpha!”
Felix waved goodbye as he made his way through the warm, welcoming hum of the lodge’s main room. The scent of pine and woodsmoke curled in the air, mingling with sugar from the snack tables and the sharp bite of whiskey. The boys werealready in the corner with Thea, arguing over which movie to put on.
“Not another stupid superhero movie,” Thea whined, “why can’t we watch a Disney movie?”
“Because they’re for girls,” Danny retorted.
“That’s sexist,” Thea narrowed her eyes, her teeth baring.
“She’s right, buddy,” Felix said, crossing his arms, “what do we say?”
“Sorry, Thea,” Danny muttered, “but I still want to watch Spiderman.”
Felix rolled his eyes and turned away, content that his boys were happy and settled for the evening, all arguments about movies aside. The pack would run late, maybe until midnight, and he would come back, and all the kids would be fast asleep to whatever movie they’d finally decided on, and there wouldn’t be any more arguing about it.
He headed to the far end of the room, where Nicolas and Dane were leaning against the long windows that overlooked the back meadow, tonight’s starting point for the run. They were both already barefoot, relaxed in old shirts and rolled sleeves. Dane was mid-story, hands waving in dramatic fashion.
“And then she said told me ‘That’s not my sister, that’s my mom,’ and I swear to God, I’ve never run away faster in my life—”
“Do I even want to know?” Felix asked, grabbing a bottle of water from the cooler.
“No,” Nicolas replied immediately, “definitely not.”
Dane turned to him with a grin. “You’re late.”
“You’re not,” Felix shot back. “Arguably more surprising. Where’s Rick?”
As if summoned by name, Rick stepped from the shadows, hands behind his back like a goddamn general surveying a battlefield.
“Evening,” he said coolly, nodding to each of them, his eyes not quite focusing, already half-lost to his wilder instincts. Felix felt the call too, the rippling under his skin, the thrash of his wolf just begging to be released.
The moon was just beginning to rise.
And though the pack’s pulse was gathering, ready to run, Felix couldn’t stop the itch in the back of his neck. The one that whispered Cassie’s name.
He growled, rolling his shoulders back, cracking his neck. Tonight, he would run with his pack, and he would forget all about Cassie.
The pack spilled out onto the lawn behind the lodge, laughter and chatter softening into something quieter, something loaded and ready. Moonlight gilded the meadow, painting the grass in silver, and already a few had begun to shift, their bones cracking, fur blooming, bodies stretching and changing with the ease of long practice.
Felix rolled his shoulders and glanced at Nicolas, who hadn’t moved. He stood beside Daisy, arms folded, jaw tight. His eyes hadn’t left her for more than a few seconds, his whole stance wound up like a spring.
“You know she’s fine, right?” Felix said under his breath.
Nicolas grunted. “She’s still too close to her due date for this.”
“She’s a wolf, not a porcelain doll. She’ll tell you if she needs to stop.” Felix elbowed him lightly. “Come on. Run with me. Blow off some steam.”
Nicolas’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You trying to distract me?”
“Obviously,” Felix replied. “Also, I’m going to smoke your ass.”
That earned a flicker of a smirk. “In your dreams.”
“Then prove it.”
Felix didn’t wait for an answer. He crouched low, letting the shift take him, the pain all but numb after so many years of transformation. His bones rearranged, muscles stretching, fur bristling through skin as he dropped into the form of his true power. The Alpha.
