Page 26 of Nanny for the Wolf Daddy

“We are here to discuss a personal matter,” he began. “Our alpha, Nox here, has had his mate kidnapped by a local human. It is also likely that the same human has his brother and sister-in-law.”

Damon nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. He gazed at Nox.

“You have searched through the old mining cabins?” he asked.

Roland and Nox nodded.

Damon rubbed at his jaw, which was sharp and refined.

“We have heard strange rumblings around that area. We generally stay away from it, and that has worked out better for us.”

Silence sat between the wolves, which Nox interpreted as the end of the conversation.

“What have you heard?” Nox piped in.

“Odd things,” Damon responded, not meeting his eye. “Things that our pack would rather not be connected to.”

Roland and Nox were leaders for a reason and got a bad vibe from Damon and his pack, so they retreated quickly after getting next to zero information. As they hurried in the dark back to Archie’s cabin, they spoke, making sure the other pack was out of earshot.

“I think they have been compromised,” Roland said.

Nox nodded, agreeing.

“I supposed the same. But what I don’t understand is why. Why does a human have so much power over shifters?”

Roland shrugged.

“This is a lot more to this tangled web than we initially believed,” he said quietly.

They returned to where the wolves were camping out just beyond Archie’s cabin. He told Roland to stay with the pack for the night while he went back to check along the trail.

“The trails again?” Roland said.

Nox rubbed his face, feeling exasperated.

“As you said earlier, there are miles upon miles of these cabins, some with bunkers, some without. I think she’s there. And maybe even Nevel and Elise.”

Roland gave him an approving nod, and Nox went on his way, shifting into his wolf form and trotting into the moonlight.

His logical mind had been continuously beaten by his emotions. His love for his mate was boundless, eternal, and utterly painful. He wished he could tell her how sorry he was and how much he wished that he had just cut off the head of the snake when he had the chance.

But what of Nevel and Elise? They could’ve been left for dead. Especially if they were hidden away in some bunker or cabin without food, light, or anything to sustain them.

Nox sniffed along the trail obsessively, forgetting to eat and drink himself. He continued on all night but found nothing new.

While he searched the forest, the unknown situation with Damon’s pack ate at him. He needed to find out why they appeared so loyal to a random human.

When the sun came up, he was still alone. He checked in every now and then with Sydney, talking to Violet on the phone, reassuring her that he and Aunt Kelli would be home soon. She was young and unaware, of course, of the mortal danger Kelli was in. Nox felt somewhat guilty about lying to her, but he had no other choice.

He had to return to his hotel for a brief nap, knowing it likely wasn’t going to work. His entire body was twisted with anxiety, anger, and a corrosive bitterness. The moment he got his hands around that slimy bastard’s neck would be the moment he was finally satisfied.

EIGHTEEN

NOX

Nox, once again, barely slept and returned to where his pack spied on Archie’s cabin. A few minutes after he arrived, they informed him that Archie had left and driven into town.

Now was the opportunity to investigate the actual cabin the human lived in. Nox told them to watch the roads and let him know with their distinct pack howl when Archie had returned.

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