Page 35 of Bad Wolf's Nanny

She looked away first, cheeks turning pink. She busied herself wiping at a non-existent smudge on his jaw.

“I saved you some leftovers,” she said, voice too fast, “there’s lentil stew. And those rolls Daisy made. The ones with the seeds on top that I know you like.”

He blinked. “You didn’t have to—”

“Iknow. But you don’t eat proper food after patrols, only that junk from the club, and someone has to make sure your body doesn’t fall apart.”

There it was again.

That soft, sharp truth nestled in her rambling sentences. She cared.

And she didn’t even realize how much.

That scared him more than any rogue wolf ever could.

“Thanks,” he said gruffly, “I’ll eat in a bit.”

“Good.”

She hovered for a moment, then turned to go.

He caught her wrist gently. Not tight. Just enough to make her pause. “Hey.”

She turned.

“Thanks. For everything.”

Her mouth parted slightly, eyes wide. She looked like she had no idea what to do with that: his gratitude, his touch, or the silence hanging between them.

“I’m just…trying to help,” she whispered.

“I know. And you’re doing a hell of a lot more than that.”

She swallowed, then nodded once, and slipped away. He heard the front door close with a softclick, then exhaled, sitting for a while in the quiet of his apartment.

Sam was stirring faintly on the monitor. The low static crackled, then gave way to a soft sigh.

He stood, moving toward the nursery with slow steps.

The moment he opened the door, the scent of his son wrapped around him—powder, milk, warm blankets.

Sam was wriggling in his bassinet, fists tucked under his chin, little face scrunched.

Dane bent over, scooped him up carefully, and held him against his chest.

He breathed him in.

And just like that, the ache in his ribs, the sting of his scrapes, the noise in his head…it all softened.

He loved this kid. Fiercely. Wildly. Stupidly.

And the more time passed, the more he feared it wouldn’t be enough.

Because the world didn’t stop for fathers.

And his heart was starting to split between the job he was born for…and the family he’d never expected to have.

Sam settled easily into his arms, warm and weighty and entirely real in a way Dane still couldn’t get used to.