Page 1 of Alpha Wolf’s Nanny (Silvermist Wolves #2)

The woman glaring at her from behind the desk, with her graying hair held in place by several pencils and her lumpy, fraying cardigan, was far more menacing than someone with her appearance had any right to be.

For the second time, Cassie shifted in her chair, forcing her grin to stay firmly in place, sweat beginning to prickle at her forehead. The woman—Molly, her name was—didn’t so much as blink. She just carried on staring with those penetrating, terrifying, confidence-murdering eyes.

Cassie swallowed. “As I was saying, I’m available to start work immediately, and I—”

“Cassiopeia Blake,” Molly interrupted, one fingernail tapping against the desk. “Beautiful name, Cassiopeia. I can’t say I’ve ever met anyone named Cassiopeia before.”

“I prefer Cassie, actually,” Cassie replied, somewhat weakly.

Molly raised an eyebrow. “Really? If I had a name like Cassiopeia—I am pronouncing it correctly, I hope, Cassie-o-pia ?”

“It’s more like Cassio-peya ,” she winced, “with not as much emphasis on the…’ oh . And it’s a soft…sort of… peya sound at the end.”

“Well, anyway,” Molly continued, “if I had a name like Cassio- peya , I definitely wouldn’t go by Cassie. Cassie is a nice enough name, don’t get me wrong, but a girl can go places with a name like Cassiopeia. Get people to notice her. Unless, of course, you don’t want to be noticed?”

Shit, shit, shit.

Cassie opened her mouth the answer, trying desperately to remember the line she had practiced with Phil that morning.

What was it he said to say…something about emphasizing travel?

A wandering spirit? All she could remember was the way his eyes caught on the stains on the sleeves of her smartest top.

Molly rolled her eyes, folding her arms with a long-suffering huff.

“Oh, there’s no need to panic, dearie. We get all kinds coming to us looking for work.

Funnily enough, not many girls are tripping over themselves to sign up to our agency.

As long as whatever it is you’re…hmm… leaving behind won’t make a reappearance, then as far as I’m concerned, you’ve got a shiny clean slate. ”

“It won’t,” Cassie said, crumpling forward in relief, fighting the urge to take Molly’s hands. “Everything’s fine!”

If Molly had any doubts, it was obvious she was choosing to ignore them.

Because the truth was, everything wasn’t fine. It hadn’t been fine for a very long time.

She had been all of seventeen when her mom had been diagnosed. Five years ago, now. It felt like a lifetime. And her dad, her stupid, cowardly, awful dad, had gone to the wrong sorts of people for the money for treatment.

But he hadn’t put his own name down for when the debt collectors decided to call. He had put down Cassie’s.

And then he left when she was twenty, looking after her mother full-time instead of out in the world, at college, studying, meeting people, falling in love…

Cassie shook her head. She’d made her peace with the death of those particular dreams the moment they’d gotten the phone call from the doctor.

Lung cancer, stage three. It was amazing she’d lasted three years.

Perhaps if Cassie’s father had stayed, perhaps if he hadn’t run away , she would still be alive.

People with stage three did live five years—Cassie had done the research herself.

When she could, that is, between the extra jobs she had had to pick up.

At least the debt collectors had waited until after the funeral to send their threats. That was mighty decent of them.

After the funeral, after three years of medical bills, Cassie didn’t have a cent to her name. And they had made it very clear, in excruciating detail, what would happen if she couldn’t pay.

So two years ago, she had packed a bag and started running. And she hadn’t stopped.

“In that case,” Molly said, clearing her throat, “why don’t we start the formal interview!”

“This…this wasn’t the formal interview?’ Cassie asked, tugging her sleeves down over her hands to stop from pulling on the end of her braid.

“Of course not, dearie,” Molly laughed. “Had to get the measure of you before putting you through your paces. This one will be recorded and put on file, so just make sure any answers you give would be…acceptable to a potential client, okay?”

Cassie nodded briskly, sitting slightly straighter in her chair.

Acceptable to a potential client. Got it. I can be acceptable.

Molly nodded once before clicking on an old-fashioned tape recorder, the small mechanism whirring to life, irritatingly discordant against the drone of the air conditioning.

“So,” Molly settled down, steepling her fingers beneath her chin, “Cassie. Why do you want to be a nanny?”

I want to be a nanny because I only got off the bus like twenty-four hours ago and bumped into an old friend who let me crash on his couch. One of his friends told me about this gig looking after kids that pays ridiculously well, and I’m broke.

“I want to be a nanny because I’ve always loved children,” Cassie said brightly. “My family and I lived near Redwood National Park, and I loved volunteering for the kids’ camps, helping them learn about the trees and hiking, and astronomy. They just have so much energy, and I love that!”

Molly nodded sagely as she jotted down a few notes, a secretive smile on her face as she gave Cassie an approving wink.

“That’s excellent to hear! Shifter children have even more energy than human children, so the ability to keep up with them is a must!

Did you get much involved in your shifter community at home? ”

The closest I got to the local pack was when my dad called them a bunch of violent assholes when their scouts caught him smoking weed with his buddies in the forest and made them leave.

“I worked closely with the local pack as a volunteer,” said Cassie. “Spending so much time in the forest, part of the Ursae Clanlands, there had to be a lot of mutual respect and teamwork between the human conservationists and the pack.”

“The Ursae? They’re bear shifters, if I’m remembering correctly. So would you be most comfortable with a bear shifter father?”

I’m not sure I’d ever be truly comfortable around a man who can turn into a thousand-pound killing machine.

“Not necessarily,” Cassie said. “There are quite a lot of wolf shifter packs in Maine, right? I’d be just as happy with wolves. Or…mountain lions. Or…”

“So you don’t have a preference,” Molly interrupted, a slight steeliness in her voice. Cassie sank lower into her chair, desperately hoping she hadn’t said anything offensive.

“No,” she squeaked, “no preference.”

Molly nodded, scribbling down some more notes. “Well, I’ll keep an eye out for any bear or wolf shifters. It seems you like the woods, and their territories are mostly in the forests.”

Cassie nodded, fiddling with her fingers. Molly watched, her gaze narrowing, before she paused the recording and leaned forward.

“Cassie, you do have experience with alphas, right?”

“Of course I do!” Cassie said, perhaps a bit too quickly.

She had experience with alphas. Enough experience to avoid nomadic alphas when she was on the road. And to change up her shampoo and deodorant often, so that if the debt collectors decided to hire a shifter to track her down by scent, she at least had a fighting chance.

“These males aren’t like human men,” Molly said.

“There’s a reason we’re always looking to hire.

Normally, I only like sending shifter females into alpha homes.

They know what to look out for, know how to read scents, and are aware of the million things that could set an alpha off.

As a human, you’re vulnerable. You don’t have that inherent awareness. ”

“Would I be in danger?” Cassie asked, nerves settling in the pit of her stomach.

Molly’s lips thinned. “We meticulously screen all of the alpha males looking for nannies. They must be members of approved packs, with adequate means to reimburse our nannies for the level of care they expect. But they’re still alpha males.

Dominant. Sometimes violent. Intensely and fiercely possessive over their children and their packs.

More often than not, our shifter nannies will join their packs, even if only temporarily, as biologically that gives them a safety net.

As a human, you do not have that luxury.

You are an outsider and will be treated as such until you prove yourself worthy. ”

“So I would be in danger?”

“I’m not in the habit of sending my girls into dangerous homes, Miss Blake,” Molly said, “but you should know that you will face a steep learning curve. You may get things wrong. And you have to be able to hold your own against an alpha. Many of them are incredible males, intelligent and loyal and protective, but they can also be stubborn bastards. Prone to outbursts. Their pack alphas should keep them in line, but not all pack alphas respect humans. Then again, there are some…”

Molly’s voice drifted off as she grabbed a couple of the folders that were scattered on her desk, flipping through them with a furrow in her brow.

Cassie held her breath as Molly discarded page after page, muttering slightly under her breath as she did so, praying to any god that would listen that Molly might find something for her.

Eventually, Molly found what she was looking for, grinning in victory as she stabbed a page with her finger. “Got it!”

“Got what?” Cassie asked, fighting the urge to lean over to take a look for herself.

“Miss Blake,” Molly said, a gleam in her eye, “I have no doubt that you would do a good job. You’re young, energetic, and I have no doubt of your…

let’s say… motivation to do a good job. But let’s face the facts.

You have no idea what you’re doing when it comes to shifter males.

And this agency caters exclusively to shifter males. ”

“I understand,” Cassie said, her heart sinking in her chest as she pushed her chair back. “Thank you for your time—”

“Oh no, dearie, I’m not dismissing you,” Molly said, “quite the opposite. Not all shifter males are defined by their biology. A temperate male is rare. A gentle one is rarer still. But they do exist.”

“They do?” Cassie asked, giving in to the urge to tug at her braid.

“They do,” replied Molly, “and I think I’ve got one for you.”

Cassie exhaled, a grin creeping across her face. “Oh my God, that’s amazing! Thank you so much! Who is he? Is he a bear shifter? And where does he live, I’m willing to travel and—”

“All in good time, dearie,” Molly said, holding up a hand to interrupt the flow of questions.

“I need to, ah, iron some things out before giving you any of the details. Confidentiality clauses and all of that—need to get approval. But if all goes according to plan, you should hear from me in a few days. I can tell you that it’s a live-in position in Maine, if that’s okay? ”

“Yes,” Cassie said. “More than okay. Fantastic, actually. It’s what I was hoping for.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Molly said with a wry smile. “Off with you, now. I’ll be in touch.”

***

“So you got it?” Phil asked, his long legs stretched out on the couch, a beer in hand.

“Not exactly,” replied Cassie, pacing in front of him. “They need to check a few things first. I’ll find out if I’ve got it soon.”

“Trust me, babes,” said Becca, “you’ll get it. My friend told me they never say no to anyone. How can they, when they’re catering to alphas?”

“Becca, that’s a little bit insensitive,” said Tom, Phil’s long-suffering boyfriend. “Shifter culture is actually all about respect and strength and honor—”

“The fuck do you know about shifter culture?” Becca replied, rolling her eyes and flicking her long blonde hair over one shoulder. “Have you actually ever talked to an alpha male?”

“Well, no, but—”

“I have,” Becca replied with a lascivious grin, “and let me tell you there’s nothing respectful about them.”

“Molly did say some stuff about their…temperament,” Cassie said, still pacing. “Apparently, I’ve got to be careful about offending them.”

Phil sat up, his warm brown eyes narrowing in concern. “Cass, if you don’t want to take the job, you don’t have to. You’re welcome to stay here until you find something less intense.”

“No thanks,” Cassie said, with perhaps a bit more bite than she had intended. “I’ll be fine. I mean, that’s very kind of you, but I can’t just crash on your couch for weeks. I told you I’d be out of your hair quickly.”

Phil glanced over at Tom, the two exchanging a knowing glance. Cassie swallowed down her instinctive irritation at whatever passed between them. She didn’t like it when she didn’t know what people were communicating. Didn’t like being excluded.

“Whatever you say,” Phil said, his tone deceptively light.

Cassie didn’t reply. When she had bumped into him in the bar after getting off the bus, he hadn’t hesitated to offer her his couch while she found her footing, much to her embarrassment.

She hadn’t meant to come to Portland. She hadn’t even looked at the destination when she got on the bus in Indiana.

That was the whole point, not knowing where she was going.

Making it harder to be followed. And she certainly hadn’t meant to rely on a friend she hadn’t spoken to in years for shelter.

But even she wasn’t stubborn enough to turn down his offer. She knew all too well the dangers of sleeping rough. But if this nanny agency wanted to give her a job with food and shelter included, she was hardly going to turn it down. Even if she had to contend with an alpha male.

“I think we should go out,” Becca announced with a grin, clapping her hands together. “We need to celebrate!”

“I haven’t got the job yet,” Cassie replied, but apparently there was no dissuading Becca once she’d got the idea into her head. The blonde merely grinned, looking her up and down.

“I’ve got a great dress you can borrow; it’ll look super sexy on you, my boobs are too big for it. What do you say, boys? Shall we take little Cassie on her first night out in Portland?”

“It’s a Thursday,” said Tom, earning a glare.

“Why not?” said Phil, taking another swig of his beer.

Cassie sighed and allowed herself to be dragged into Becca’s room to be dolled up. Perhaps a night out would be good for her. Help distract her from the constant anxiety of being hunted down.

Clubbing wasn’t normally her scene. Too many bodies tightly packed together, too much chaos, too much alcohol.

She always left early, blood spiking with anxiety.

But she’d only just arrived in Portland; there was no way they would have tracked her down already.

She promised herself she wouldn’t get too drunk and handed herself over to Becca’s pure excitement.

What was the worst that could happen?