Page 52 of Bad Wolf's Nanny

“You’re bleeding.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Dane—”

“I said it’s nothing.”

That quiet snap of temper shouldn’t have made her chest ache the way it did.

He dragged a hand through his hair, then strode past her into the kitchen like he couldn’t stand still. He opened a cabinet at random, stared at the contents, then shut it again.

Lola followed, hovering just inside the doorway. “You didn’t message.”

“I was busy.”

“So busy you couldn’t text once in three days?”

“I didn’t have a signal half the time,” he turned toward her then, sharp and wild around the edges, “and I was a little preoccupied making sure no one’s throat got ripped out by a rogue alpha.”

Silence.

Lola’s arms wrapped around herself. She hated that she was shaking. She hated that she cared.

He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “Sorry. That wasn’t aimed at you.”

“You think I’m weak,” she said quietly.

His head jerked up. “What?”

“Rick came in here, poked at me like I was some sort of loose thread, and I just stood there. I let him in. I answered his questions. I didn’t even push back.”

Dane stepped toward her slowly. “Rick’s a snake. You handled him fine.”

“I didn’t handle him. I survived the conversation. Barely. He was sniffing around like I’m going to turn traitor or something.”

“Because he’s nosy. And calculating. And he knows—” Dane caught himself, jaw locking.

Lola frowned. “Knows what?”

He looked away. “Doesn’t matter.”

The tension between them curled tighter.

“Tell me what’s going on,” she said, “really.”

He hesitated. For a long moment, he just looked at her, like he wasn’t sure which parts of the truth she could handle.

Then he finally spoke.

“There’s been a rise in attacks along the edge of the northern line, near a human town. Too many dead. All of them torn up, savaged. Red Teeth made sure we’d get the message.”

Lola’s mouth went dry. “What message?”

“That he’s close. That he’s building something. A pack of his own, maybe. Or a following. We don’t know. But this wasn’t random.” He exhaled. “Felix thinks it was a warning.”

“And you want to chase him.”

Dane’s lips pressed into a thin line. “What I want doesn’t matter. We need to hold the line. Protect what we’ve got.”