Page 29 of Alpha Wolf’s Nanny (Silvermist Wolves #2)
Felix stood at the stove, shirtless, hair tousled, flipping pancakes with practiced ease. A mug of coffee steamed on the counter beside a small plate of scrambled eggs and toast.
He glanced over his shoulder and smiled, a rare, genuine thing that cracked his usual intensity.
“Hey,” he said, his voice low, still husky with sleep, “I was going to bring this to you.”
“Too late,” Cassie said, pulling the mug into her hands. The warmth made her sigh. “This is just what I needed. I still feel like I could sleep for a thousand years.”
“And you have every right to,” he said, flipping another pancake onto the stack. “You can go back to bed if you like.”
“It’s okay,” she said softly, “I want to be here when the boys get back. When are they coming?”
Felix glanced at the clock. “I told Nicolas to bring them over in an hour or so. I didn’t know how long you needed to get ready this morning. I talked on the phone with them earlier; they’re very excited to see you.”
Cassie couldn’t help the flush that spread over her cheeks. “I’m excited to see them too! Are they okay? I mean…did you tell them about…?”
“I told them that you’d accidentally gotten yourself wrapped up in some nasty business and the pack needed to help you. They had a lot of questions, but I told them to ask you about it. I hope that’s okay, you don’t have to share anything with them that makes you uncomfortable.”
She smiled, leaning against him, and he wrapped one heavy arm around her shoulders, drawing her close into his side.
She relished the warmth of his skin, the pine scent of him, the heady presence.
“I’ll talk to them,” she said after a beat, “they deserve to know the truth. Besides, I’ve been hiding it for far too long. ”
Felix pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m having some of the guys look into the men that came after you, make sure there’s not a larger operation. You don’t need to worry, but I want to make sure you’re safe. That everyone else they might hurt is safe.”
“Oh, Felix, you don’t have to—"
His arm tightened around her, a low growl rumbling in his chest, “Try and stop me keeping you safe, Cassie. You won’t get very far.”
She huffed, but smiled secretly to herself, nestling further into his side.
“Oh God,” she said suddenly, her hand flying to her mouth, her eyes widening. “Rick, is he okay? He was holding all of them off alone, and he seemed drugged, and I think a few bullets hit him—”
Felix snorted. “Trust me, he’s had far worse in his time. He’s at home, and Dane and some of the others are with him. As far as I’m concerned, anyone who whines as much as he currently is must be fine.”
Cassie chewed her lip. “Still, I feel awful!”
“Don’t,” Felix said gently, transferring the latest pancake to a nearby plate and turning off the stove so that he could fully draw her into the safety of his arms. “I know Rick can be…superior…but he’s one of the most loyal, protective shifters I’ve ever met.
He won’t stand by and watch innocents suffer.
Even if he was drugged, he knew what he was doing, protecting you. ”
Cassie groaned against his chest. “Should I bake him some muffins or something to say thank you? I have no idea how any of this works.”
Felix laughed, low and rumbling in his chest, the sound infectious enough that it drew a few giggles from Cassie. “He would absolutely hate that. I think you should do it.”
“Okay then,” Cassie smiled, “some terrible chocolate muffins coming right up.”
They stood there for a while, Cassie safe in Felix’s arms, until eventually the groaning of her stomach forced her to peer up at him. “I think those pancakes are calling my name.”
He pressed a kiss to her lips, smiling against them. “I made plenty. I’ll make more when the boys get here.”
“That sounds nice,” she said, finally pulling away from him to sit down at the kitchen table, wincing slightly as she curled her legs up. Felix caught the movement and frowned.
“Are you okay? Do you need any painkillers? From your scent last night, I didn’t think you needed to go to the emergency room, but we can go now if you’re feeling—”
“Felix,” she interrupted, her cheeks warming, “I’m fine. Really, I am. I’ve had plenty of scrapes from misadventures hiking. And not all the pain is…bad.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
She blushed fully then, dipping her head to hide from him. God, how long would it take for her to stop being bashful around him? “You know what I mean,” she said, unable to stop the smile tugging at her lips, “you are rather…”
“Rather what?” he asked, sitting opposite her, the movement punctuated with several flexes of his impressive muscles.
She rolled her eyes, “I’m not gonna boost your ego.”
“Too late,” he stretched his arms out, biceps bunching, “you already have.”
She giggled, swatting at him, before loading some pancakes onto her plate. Her movement was halted, however, when Felix placed a hand over hers, his gaze suddenly serious. “I hope it was okay that we slept together last night. I genuinely don’t want you to be sore.”
“It’s fine,” she said, “more than fine. Amazing. It was…well…amazing,” she cringed slightly at her awkward wording, but the gentle devotion in Felix’s answering smile thawed her.
“So what now?” she asked, glancing at him, raising a forkful of pancake dripping in maple syrup to her lips.
He cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” she gestured between them with her fork, “this. Us. If I ask to see you again, are you gonna give me the same nonsense about shifters and humans as you did last time we slept together?”
“You know what,” he said, catching her chin, “I don’t think I’m ever going to live that one down, am I?”
“Nope,” she sang, popping the ‘p’ at the end.
Felix didn’t falter. He pulled her into his lap, ignoring her shriek as the motion sent the maple syrup flying, and kissed her soundly. He tasted like pancakes and sweetness and coffee and home .
“In that case,” he said, his voice husky, “I guess I’m gonna have to spend a very, very long time making it up to you.”
***
It was an emotional reunion when the boys came thundering into the house about an hour later, Nicolas shepherding them in with their bags slung over his shoulder.
Cassie had fallen to her knees to greet them, their warm, solid bodies knocking the wind out of her as they leapt into her arms, tears forming in her eyes.
“Boys, oh, my boys!”
They buried their faces in her chest, their words coming a thousand miles a minute. Greetings, questions, grand proclamations of how much they had missed her, how scared they had been, how glad they were to see her. It damn near broke her heart.
Dimly, she was aware of Nicolas exchanging words with Felix before the crunch of gravel indicated he had left again, no doubt to give them some time together.
She pulled back, smoothing down their hair, gazing into their bright, earnest faces. “I’m so happy to see you both,” she said, choking on the words, “I love you both very, very much!”
“We love you too,” Danny mumbled into her shirt.
“We love you,” Logan echoed, his arms tight around her torso.
“Come on now, boys, give Cassie some space to breathe,” Felix said, gently, kneeling down beside them. The boys dislodged from Cassie’s embrace and clambered into their father’s arms with similar enthusiasm.
“Alright,” Felix said as one of the boys began to snivel rather loudly, “it’s alright. We’re all okay. Why don’t we go inside and have some pancakes, hmm? Does that sound like a good idea?’
The boys nodded furiously, grabbing their bags and scrambling to their feet, each taking one of Cassie’s hands to drag her into the house with them.
Felix chuckled softly, closing the door behind them. “I’ll get a fresh batch on.”
“So what actually happened? Was it bad guys? Did they get you?”
“Uncle Nick said the whole pack went to rescue you. Is that true?”
“Are you okay? Were you scared? I bet you weren’t scared?”
“How did you escape?”
She guided them to the kitchen table, her ears ringing with all their questions. “Well, actually,” she said, pressing a kiss to each of their heads, “I was able to escape because somebody was clever enough to teach me how to pick locks!”
The boys looked at her in awe.
“What! No way, was that us?”
“I told you that would come in handy, Uncle Dane says—”
“—should know how to, it’s basic survival—”
“—use a paperclip? Or something else, Uncle Dane says any small bit of metal will—”
“—have to show us what you did!”
She grinned, her heart swelling with love at the two boys across from her.
It was funny. In such a small space of time, they had become her entire world.
She would do anything for them, she realized.
She would give them the best parts of her childhood.
Hiking and camping, and stargazing. She would teach them all the constellations, big and small.
She would teach them how to use her mother’s telescope.
Anything to keep those bright smiles on their faces.
“Cassie will have plenty of time to show you how she can pick locks,” said Felix, placing a plate down in front of Cassie. “She’s going to be sticking around for quite a while.”
Logan rolled his eyes. “Well, duh , she’s our nanny!”
Cassie glanced at Felix with a smile, and he winked back at her.
“Actually, boys, that’s precisely the thing we’d like to talk to you about.”