Page 74 of Alpha Wolf's Nanny
“Felix,” she whispered, and her entire body crumpled.
He pulled the jacket and jeans off the limp figure of a nearby man, shrugging the clothes on before pulling Cassie into his arms gently, careful to avoid the raw marks on her arms. She clung to him like a lifeline.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple. “You’re safe. I’ve got you. I swear it.”
Behind them, Rick let out a low, guttural sound, no longer a snarl, but something tired. Resigned.
Felix looked at him.
The wolf’s head was down, his flank heaving with exertion. His gaze, now more lucid, flicked between Felix and Cassie, a flicker of regret glinting in his eyes.
“You kept her alive,” Felix said quietly. “You did good, Rick.”
Rick gave a short, gruff noise in response before slumping against the floor.
Dane approached, having shifted back, running a hand through his hair. He stepped over one of the bodies, his face grim. “We’ll take care of this. Get her out of here.”
Felix nodded without looking up. His arms tightened around Cassie.
“I’m taking her home.”
***
Felix didn’t stop moving until they were back.
He carried her the whole way, even when she murmured that she could walk. She didn’t protest long. She was too tired. Too hurt. He laid her gently on the couch, pulled a blanket overher, and crouched beside her until her breathing evened out. Then she spoke, her voice hoarse and cracked.
“I knew they’d come for me eventually,” she whispered, not looking at him, “but I didn’t think they’d find me here. Not with you. Not after everything I did.”
Felix frowned, his brow knitting. “What did you do?”
Cassie looked at him, eyes glassy, her body still curled tight beneath the blanket like she might fall apart if she so much as stretched. “Everything.”
He waited. Gave her the silence she needed. He didn’t want to pressure her. But she was already unraveling.
“I ran from them. Years ago,” she said slowly, “back when I still thought I had a choice. When my dad’s debts became mine. My mom was sick, you see, and he borrowed money from the wrong kind of people to pay the hospital debts. When he ran, and Mom died, I found out he’d left the debts in my name. They wanted to make me pay it off, the only way they thought a girl like me could. I didn’t…I couldn’t…” she swallowed hard. “So I ran. State to state, earning just enough money in shitty diners and bars to take me to the next location. They always found me. It got to be too much. I got on a bus, going who the hell knows where, and ended up here.”
“Silvermist,” Felix murmured.
She nodded. “It was supposed to be safe. It was supposed to be quiet. I thought if I stayed low, never stood out, never got too close to anyone…”
“But you did,” he said gently.
Her eyes flicked to him. “Yeah. I did.”
Felix reached for her hand, hesitated, then laid it gently over hers. She didn’t pull away.
“I never meant to put any of you in danger,” she whispered, “you or the boys. You have to believe that.”
“I do,” he said, “but Cassie, you’re not alone anymore. You don’t have to run. Not from them. Not from us. You should have told me.”
A tear slid down her cheek, and she bit her lip. “They said they were going to make an example out of me. That they’d kill me slow, make sure everyone saw. And Rick…” Her voice cracked. “They were going to sell him. Drug him. Turn him into a thing.”
Felix’s grip on her hand tightened. “They’re dead now.”
“I know.” Her voice was flat, quiet. “But that doesn’t undo what happened.”
“No,” he said, “but it means they won’t hurt you again.”
