Page 46 of Nanny for the Wolf Daddy

She heard the water and tightened her fingers around the rocks. “Think about lying in bed with him and resting your head against his chest. Listen to his heartbeat. Remember how gentle and calming it was.”

The water grew louder.

“Thump … thump, thump. Thump. Thump. Thump,” she sang it out loud. It helped. Her body shook a little less. She kept walking until she felt the passage widen, but she was too tired to continue. She needed to rest, at least for a little while.

She felt dizzy, and if she kept moving, she was going to pass out. So, she seated herself on the ground and rested her head against the wall.

“You have this. It’s okay,” she whispered to herself. “You’re going to be just fine. The cave has to open up again, and then you’ll be free. Once you’re outside, you can figure out the plan from there.”

THIRTY-ONE

NOX

He couldn’t tell how long they had been walking while he had shut his mind off. He had to. Otherwise, God only knew what he would’ve done. He couldn’t go back and beat the shit out of Archie because he had to get everyone out safely. While they could see, that didn’t mean the task of walking through the dark was fun.

He knew everyone was struggling to get out of the cave, and being the alpha, he needed to be the one that made all the hard decisions. He kept pushing them forward.

They finally made it to the entrance of the cave and out into the sunlight. He smiled, finally feeling like the hard part was over. He turned, watching the rest follow him out, looking just as eager to be free.

Everyone looked like shit, covered in blood and dirt. But that didn’t rain on anyone’s spirit of being free.

His eyes landed on Nevel and Elise. He smiled, happy to see they were okay. They both were covered in mud and bruises and looked exhausted, but that was better than being dead. Elise wrapped her arms around him.

“Is Violet okay? Did anything happen to her while we were gone?” she asked, her entire body shaking. He felt her sobbing and saw the worry for her child. He understood. He would have reacted the same way if roles were reversed.

“She’s doing amazing. She’s been taken care of the entire time you were gone. And she’s been kept happy and content. She’s safe.”

He pulled back, giving her face a pat. Her eyes looked at him with concern and panic. “Everything is going to be okay. Violet is going to be so happy to see you again.”

She gave him a smile, wiping at her eyes. He gave her a kiss on her forehead, giving her another tight squeeze. As he pulled back, she looked over her shoulder at Nevel. Nevel looked disheveled and just as worried about Violet. Elise pulled away, allowing him to hug his brother.

Pride coursed through him. He’d saved his brother and knew that his father would have also been pleased. He handled the situation better than he thought he would have. His brother was safe because of it.

For a few moments, he thought he could lose them both. He didn’t want that to happen and to suddenly have to tell Violet her parents were never coming home. It wasn’t anything he wanted to ever tell anyone.

His brother squeezed him. “Thank you. For everything.”

“I’m glad you’re safe,” he said, giving him a squeeze in return. While he and his brother might not always have seen things the same way, at that moment, they did.

Nevel broke away, stepping toward his wife. They hugged, and his heart dipped. He suddenly wondered where Kelli was. He turned, looked around, and scanned the crowd. Kelli wasn’t there.

His anxiousness grew. There were several corridors she could have happened to stumble into as the cave was huge. He tried to remain calm, knowing they didn’t even have their full crew out yet. Everyone had split off because it was so damn dark.

He paced as a few others came from the left corridor and several more came from the right. He walked quicker as each group that joined them didn’t have Kelli. It wasn’t good. No one seemed to even remember Kelli going with them either.

Kelli was blind in the dark, and he frowned, angry at himself. Why hadn’t he taken her hand and guided her the entire way? He should have. He knew that everything was going to become chaotic, and he didn’t think about her.

He should have made her one of his top priorities, but he hadn’t. And now, she was lost in the cave.

“Damn it!” he rumbled, kicking at the ground. He ran his hands through his hair, feeling his wolf growl at him, pissed.

“Calm down,” Nevel offered. “She could still come. Not everyone is even back yet.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! If your wife was still in there, would you calm down?” Nevel frowned, and he knew he had a point. “I didn’t think so, so don’t fucking tell me to calm down.”

Nevel fell silent. Nox frowned, realizing he shouldn’t be yelling. His brother had already been through so much. He didn’t need his brother bitching at him. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Nevel said, giving him a gentle smile. “I get it. We will find her. She has to be with someone’s group.”

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