Page 49 of Nanny for the Wolf Daddy

Suddenly, the air shifted, and the wind started to pick up. He didn’t like it. Normally this meant a bad storm was coming.

He looked up, seeing gray clouds quickly closing in on them. They needed to move faster. He scowled. If the weather hit them, it could wipe away all traces of Kelli and make it nearly impossible to find her.

He shifted back into his human form and looked at everyone. He needed all hands on deck for this.

“Everyone, move out,” he said as he headed up a hill. “We need to find her before the storm erases her entire scent. And if it gets worse, she could get hurt.”

Nevel looked at him with a frown. “Do you want us all to split up? It would be better that way.”

He nodded as Elise stepped beside Nevel. Nox was a little jealous, wanting the same. Once he found Kelli, he could have that.

“Her scent will start to dissolve once the rain hits.” Elise looked to the sky. “It’s coming in quick, too, so we will have to be fast.”

They had a lot of ground to cover and not enough time.

He shifted into his wolf form and took off into the trees. He could smell she was nearby, but a slight drizzle started to fall, taking her scent with it. Dread settled in his chest at how quickly everything was happening.

Everyone spread out and started searching, and his mind grew cloudy.

How hadn’t he realized she was gone? Sure, everything had gone down quickly, but to miss her? How could he forgive himself?

Beating up on himself wouldn’t take away what he had done, but he couldn’t help himself. Anyone else might have noticed their mate not beside them.

He froze as the wind shifted, and he didn’t know which way to turn. Her scent was disappearing.

“What’s wrong?” Nevel asked, stopping next to him. He shook his head, not wanting to say anything. It wasn’t his brother’s job to figure things out.

Nevel, however, had other plans. He made a face. “Are you berating yourself about this?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “I don’t see you looking around for Elise because you lost track of her.”

“It was dark, and everything was happening quickly. Any of us could have gotten lost. How many of us split off into different corridors?”

“Yes, but it’s not the same.”

“How?”

“I’m the alpha,” he snapped, losing his temper. “And it’s my job to make sure everyone is where they need to be, and she’s my mate. I should have known the second she was gone.”

He frowned. “Nox, anyone could have been in your position and had the same thing happen. We will find her.”

He wanted to believe him, but with the weather and the smell of her vanishing, he was starting to believe they might never meet again.

“I hope so,” he said, looking around once more. “Because she means everything to me, and I don’t know what I would do if she was gone.”

He didn’t want to imagine that. Couldn’t.

“Kelli!” he yelled in the hope that maybe she could hear him. “Kelli!”

THIRTY-FOUR

KELLI

Her stomach growled with empty pain. She had no idea how long she’d been alone, and it was starting to play tricks on her mind. She thought she heard someone, but then the wind would blow, and she knew she’d been imagining it. She looked down and realized she’d already walked the path, noticing the spot where she had fallen earlier.

Anger screeched from her throat, and she kicked a tree, sending a sharp pain up her foot. She howled, tears pricking her eyes.

The mountains were vast, and she had no idea where she was. For all she knew, there could be miles of terrain, and she had only walked a tiny percent of it.

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