Page 22 of Nanny for the Wolf Daddy

“Don’t tell Kelli,” he muttered back.

He watched her go around the corner with his nemesis and felt his heart shrink. He had to force himself to return the car, placing Violet into her car seat. He then sat in his own seat and gripped the steering wheel so hard that the leather nearly ripped.

“Okay, think, think.”

Nox in no way wanted Kelli to sacrifice herself for the mission, whether it was physically, emotionally, or spiritually. She impressed the hell out of him by doing so, but he would have given one of his limbs to have changed it.

Maybe driving around would help him to focus. He puttered around, trying to locate the vehicle Kelli had left in, but he was unable to find a trace. Thinking through the whole situation clearly for the first time, he realized what a stupid idea it was for Kelli to sacrifice herself for him.

He wasn’t going to wait the few days Archie said it would take to train Kelli. That had to be a ruse for something else. He would find his mate right now. Tonight. But Nox needed someone to take Violet while he tracked down Archie with the rest of the pack’s help.

He was soaked with sweat, still craving violence, yearning to pop Archie’s head off his neck like a cork out of a champagne bottle.

He held himself back, of course, for the sake of his brother and wife. Nox gazed into the back seat at Violet, who was still munching on her knuckles, a defensive response to stress.

“Are you okay, honey?” Nox said.

“Kelli,” the little girl said. “Kelli.”

Nox’s heart sank in his chest. He breathed out heavily and dialed a member of the Gray Tip Pack who lived nearby ... Sydney Pelton

Sydney, of course, accepted the call for help. Nox made accommodations for them at the most expensive resort nearby, so he didn’t have to worry about Violet and her needs. He figured that since Sydney and his wife had children, she would feel comfortable staying with them.

He made another call to the pack and told them to come out ASAP to where he was. But he had to wait for Sydney to get Violet off his hands. She appeared mostly docile, too young to comprehend the danger her caregiver was in.

He waited at the hotel, impatient and irritated. Kelli meant everything to him. He wished he had done something other than standing there like an idiot, uselessly saying nothing and watching as the only woman he had ever loved disappeared into what could be oblivion.

He told himself to take it easy and focus on the task at hand. That was what made him such a good alpha ... being practical and letting go of the emotion that blinded him.

His love for Kelli was as strong as a hurricane, but he needed to tame it for the time being.

Sydney came with his wife, Brenda, and two children, Fred and Lucky. Violet and Lucky were around the same age, so they quickly bonded. Nox found it difficult to leave the girl who had run into Brenda’s arms quite easily.

“Don’t worry,” Sydney said, clapping his alpha on his back. “She is going to be fine with us.”

Nox left the hotel, kissing Violet goodbye. He managed to meet up with the pack a few hours later, frustrated by the time lost in hunting his mate.

Roland managed to calm him down with his serene energy. They started along the route where the barbecue had taken place, then followed a path around the road. They did it all in human form to avoid attention from the locals.

They worked until nightfall, following Kelli’s scent as it traveled far up the trail and hill, leading away from the main town and closer to several old mining roads they found, which were blocked by construction.

“There are several abandoned mines up there,” Roland said. “There are also other cabins that have been abandoned. It’s likely that he took Kelli somewhere up there.”

Nox stood on the trail as the moon peeked out behind thin clouds, his hands on his hips. For one of the first times in his life, he was terrified about losing someone who was bound directly to his soul.

“We can’t get in there?” he growled, directing himself toward the construction.

Roland shook his head.

“We could try, but there are cameras. They will quickly pick us up in our wolf form, and we’d alert Archie of our presence.”

Nox muttered to himself, feeling his anxiety crawl up his spine like a lizard skittering up a tree. He paced back and forth, thinking about the worst-case scenario, wondering what the hell Archie was doing to his beloved.

Roland tried to console him, placing a hand on his shoulder beneath the still of the moonlight.

“We will find her,” Roland said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Nox wanted to attack him, but he didn’t. He knew he had fucked up by allowing Kelli to be taken instead of him, a man who knew what terrible people were capable of. More so than Kelli ever could know.

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