Page 25 of Nanny for the Wolf Daddy

“Let’s get going.”

He then guided her into the room by her shoulders, and before Kelli was able to say anything, Archie slammed the door shut. Kelli was left listening to the wretched sound of the lock sinking into the doorframe, a click into oblivion.

“Fuck,” she whispered.

There were no windows in the room, not even a little lamp for her to use next to the bed. Her heart began beating like a racehorse in her chest, and she breathed deeply, urging herself to calm down.

“Think of Violet. Think of Nox.”

They were the reasons she was there, after all. It wasn’t some fruitless endeavor, even though it was beginning to feel utterly misjudged.

She walked slowly over to the cot, the metal bars catching her feet. She sat, put her hands over her heart, and continued breathing deeply.

Archie brought her food nearly an hour later, which was a mere piece of bread and a pithy glass of water. Kelli knew he was certainly not what he seemed.

SEVENTEEN

NOX

Nox spent the next day searching for Kelli’s scent. Roland managed to find a way around the construction site that allowed them not to be observed and found several cabins in the wooded area around the old mining road. Nox took over Roland’s position while Sydney and Brenda continued to babysit Violet.

Nox, along with the Gray Tip Pack, stealthily moved through a trail surrounding the construction area. They found that the site itself was barely active. Roland suggested that it may be some kind of diversion. Nox had that in mind when he came upon a cabin absolutely reeking of both Archie and his beloved.

“Surround the cabin,” Nox instructed telepathically. “I am going in, but be ready.”

His pack moved around the building like soldiers, each taking position. Nox sniffed at the door, doing everything he could to control his emotions.

Before he bashed the door in, he noticed through the murky windows that there wasn’t any furniture. As soon as he knocked the door aside, he noted that Kelli’s scent remained, but the two were not present.

“Motherfucker must have diverted us here with her scent,” Nox said to his pack.

After thoroughly checking out the bunker, they followed another trail that led to the abandoned mine, which wasn’t blocked. Nox moved through it, searching for the remnants of anything that indicated a moonshine operation.

Nox and the pack came across a dozen empty barrels along with a massive stone furnace. All appeared rusted and heavily unused within the past few years.

Irritated by his own stupidity for letting his mate get so involved, he started to think they should have investigated this Archie person more thoroughly before diving into something that appeared far more sinister than simply making moonshine.

He took the pack back out to where the cabin was and scrutinized it closer. Some of the most powerful noses in the area sniffed around in the woods, finding very little, but noting that Kelli’s scent wasn’t as strong as Archie’s.

What that told Nox was that Archie’s scent was recent, while Kelli’s had begun to fade due to lack of presence. He knew she was around there, and he needed to find out where.

Nox instructed some of his pack to stay behind while they toured the rest of the cabins. There appeared to be dozens, along with hidden bunk areas that spanned miles. He simply didn’t have enough pack members to cover it all.

When Roland met up with him on the trail of the mining road, they tried to concoct a plan.

“I’m thinking we should find some local shifters,” Roland said. “They know the area better and could help us with any strange sightings.”

Nox smiled in his human form and clapped his friend on the back.

“I know I could count on you,” he said.

Roland and Nox had a few of their pack members accompany the locals to breach unknown territory, where they sniffed out other wolf shifters. They came upon their den and requested a conversation with their alpha.

The local alpha had long, red-flaming hair that reminded Nox of his dear love. It made his heart pang in his chest, thinking about the scent of her lovely locks.

“What can we do for you?” Damon asked.

They stood in the woods surrounded by majestically tall maple trees. The wind was sweet and crisp as Roland’s calm voice whispered through it.

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