Page 6 of Bad Wolf's Nanny
Ethel took her hand and marched her through the crowd, either unaware or uncaring of the girl’s clear discomfort. Felix pushed off the bar, his face falling into a carefully neutral welcome, though Dane could spot a telltale tightness at the corners of his eyes.
Felix had never liked unexpected shifters appearing, not when they were strangers.
He tried not to roll his eyes. What was this girl gonna do? Pose some sort of threat?
Please.
Even if she did have malicious intent, it would beDane’sjob to get her back in line. And he would be only too happy to pin her down if she ever gave him reason to—
“Control yourself,” Rick hissed, elbowing him in the side. “Your scent alone is going to make us seem like a bunch of back-alley street dogs.”
“Like you’re such a saint, Reinhardt.”
“At leastI’mcapable of controlling my own—”
“Both of you,” Felix said through gritted teeth, ‘be silent.’
Rick rolled his shoulders, irritation pouring from him in waves at the command. Dane, on the other hand, was thoroughly distracted as Ethel led the beautiful young girl to Felix, bowing her head slightly. The girl’s cheeks pinked, and she hurriedly dipped her head, too, glancing up at the alpha through thick lashes.
“Alpha,” Ethel said, craning her neck to narrow her eyes at Felix. Dane snorted. Not many people of her tiny stature could make such a pose look intimidating.
“Ethel,” Felix said, “it’s wonderful to see you at the club. Who’s this?”
Ethel rolled her eyes. “No preamble, I see. Fair enough. Felix, may I present Lola Devereaux. She’s a student at Yale University who will be carrying out some work for me at the library alongside her research. Oh, and she’s a wolf shifter.”
Lola Devereaux.It was a beautiful name. Elegant and refined with just a hint of girlishness. It suited her, Dane decided, with her long skirt and her riot of chocolate brown curls and red lips. Certainly far too refined for the likes of him. More Rick’s type, but when he glanced over, Rick was looking at her with his normal haughty ice-queen routine.
“What pack?” Rick asked, his voice silky and laced with danger, despite Felix’s warning glance. Lola practically shrank under his scrutiny.
“Um,” she squeaked, glancing between Rick and Felix, “Braddock. Pennsylvania. They’re my pack. I mean—they’re notmypack. They were my pack. Where I grew up, that is. I’m not—they’re not—I’m not in the pack anymore.”
“Kicked out, were ya?” Dane asked with a grin, unable to help himself. Lola’s eyes shot to him, at first wide with fear, but then she looked him up and down, and her gaze narrowed.
“No, actually,” she replied, her voice stony, her expression turning haughty, “I left when I got my place at Yale. It was a friendly departure.”
Dane’s grin widened. It seemed Rick wasn’t the only one capable of acting like an ice queen.
“Friendly,you say,” he replied, leaning down slightly so they were at eye level. Her lips thinned and her cheeks flushed red. “Is that the line ya wanna go with?”
Lola sputtered slightly. “If you’re implying that I’mlyingto you, then I’ll have you know that I—”
“Lola,” Ethel murmured, throwing a scowl at Dane.
Lola’s teeth clicked together, and she took a deep breath in, steadying herself before turning back to Felix. “My apologies, Alpha. What I meant to say is I’m not currently affiliated with a pack.”
“A rogue!” Dane said, elbowing Rick with glee. “Never woulda guessed it! Didn’t anyone ever tell you that pretty little things such as yourself don’t tend to do so well as rogues?”
“Dane,” Felix said in warning, but Lola was already bristling with anger, her little fists clenched at her sides.
“I’m perfectly aware of the dangers, thank you,” she said through gritted teeth. “I happen to spend my time amongstcivilizedpeople who don’t worry about such things.”
A flash of anger warmed in Dane’s stomach at her words, her arrogance, and he couldn’t help but take a step forwards, muscles in his arms bunching at his sides. “Civilized people, you say?”
Lola seemed to realize the implication of her words too late, and her cheeks warmed as fear laced her pretty brown eyes. “I only meant—”
“No, no,” Dane said, baring his teeth, “please do tell us more about howuncivilizedwe are.”
Rick clapped a hand over his shoulder, pulling him back with decided firmness. “To be fair to the lady,” he said, his voice soft in that way it normally was before he got angry, “youarebeing rather uncivilized.”
