Page 12 of Bully Wolf’s Nanny (Silvermist Wolves #1)

Eight years ago

All the air left her lungs in a great whoosh of air as her back slammed into a tree, her hands instantly crossing over her chest to protect herself from her assailant.

Nicolas sneered down at her, one hand braced on the wood above her head, his teeth flashing in the low evening light.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going, Copperfield?”

‘Nowhere!’ she insisted, scowling up at him, leaning as far back into the tree as was possible to put any amount of distance between them. It didn’t work. His chest rose and fell, his broad shoulders blocking her in, his aristocratic face twisted in displeasure.

“Didn’t look like you were going nowhere.”

“If you must know,” Daisy said, “I was going to get coffee with Jason. He…he asked me out.”

Daisy had expected he might throw his head back and laugh. Might fire insult after insult at her. Might threaten to get her in trouble with the school. All things he had done before.

His reaction therefore took her completely by surprise.

“Jason? That fucking human on the debate team? What the fuck are you doing going out with him?”

Nicolas’s eyes were flashing dark, his voice low and gravelly with anger, his fist balled at his side.

“I…” Daisy started, swallowing her nerves, “I…he’s nice. To me. So I said yes.”

“Nice to you?” Nicolas growled. “Is that really what you want? A pathetic human who’s nice to you?”

“Well, yeah,” she shot back, glaring up at him. “What’s the alternative? Someone like you who’s nothing but cruel to m—"

His lips crashed down to hers, cutting off her words. She squeaked in shock, pushing against his chest, but he was unrelenting.

Somewhere in the panicking recesses of her brain, she recognized the absurdity of what just happened. Nicolas was kissing her. Nicolas, golden boy of the Iron Walkers, her own personal tormenter for years, was kissing her.

And she was letting him.

His arm remained braced on the tree above her head, but his other hand came up to cup the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him. Her fists that had begun beating against his chest relaxed under the onslaught of him, instead curling into the cotton of his shirt.

His lips were cool and surprisingly soft, and she couldn’t help but sigh as his fingers flexed around the nape of her neck. The sound only drove him on, and he forced her lips open with his tongue, claiming her mouth entirely for his own.

Her skin prickled and sparked under his touch, her legs trembling, her chest heaving. He was the only thing keeping her upright.

After what felt like an age he pulled back, his eyes glinting, his dark expression victorious, like he had just won some sort of battle.

“I’d like to see Jason try and kiss you like that,” he said, his voice gruff. He then pushed off from the tree and stalked away without so much as a backwards glance, leaving Daisy near-collapsing against the tree.

***

Present Day

Washing up always gave her mind time to wander. And normally, she liked it. She’d get lost in some daydream or other, her hands rhythmically cleaning the dirty dishes, humming some tune or other.

But these days, the only thing on her mind was Nicolas.

It had been a week since the incident in the kitchen after dinner. When she had thought he was going to kiss her, and only Thea’s timely interruption had stopped Daisy from reaching up and kissing him first.

She had run to bed, so sure it was a mistake, but as she had tossed and turned, she kept finding herself less and less sure.

After all, she had been living here for weeks now, and Nicolas had been nothing but courteous.

Even kind, sometimes. Sure, he was as mercurial as ever, but his moods never impacted the way he treated her. Not like before.

She had never known him like this. Even at school, after that first time he had kissed her, and every time after that, he had always reverted to his normal cruel self when there were other people around.

Especially when those people were members of the pack.

It had never mattered what he said to her when they were alone.

Even when she had thought things were going well, when he had started to show her more kindness in public…

Well. It had all ended spectacularly badly.

But now something was different. He hadn’t said so much as a single unkind word to her. And although she had promised herself she wouldn’t fall under his spell again, she was finding her carefully built walls were being eroded.

Because the truth was, Nicolas was deeply charming.

Of course, she had known this as an objective fact for as long as she had known him. Charming, intelligent, dangerous Nicolas. The thing was, she had never been on the receiving end of his charm. Just the cruel bite of his tongue.

And she was coming to realize that she actually quite liked this version of him.

It was in the little things. The softness in his eyes when he took Gracie from her arms. The mischief as he bantered with Thea. The reverence in his face when he listened to her play the piano.

She felt safe with him. She had never felt safe with him before.

He had desired her, of that she had no doubt, with a sort of dark possessiveness she was certain he was still capable of. But its edges were softened with actual respect for her as well.

But still, something within her told her that she was playing with fire.

Nicolas was not an easy man. He had never been an easy man.

If she gave herself to him again, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t completely burn in the intensity of his flame this time.

And she had Thea to think about. What if they went there, and things went wrong?

She’d have to leave, her daughter’s future uncertain once more.

Or worse, what if things went well? She couldn’t hide the secret of Thea’s true age forever.

And Nicolas was one of the most intelligent people she had ever met.

She suspected the only reason he hadn’t worked out that Thea was in fact his daughter yet was because of his blind trust in her.

Or the cynical belief that any woman he got pregnant would attempt to get as much money out of him as possible.

From the small bits and pieces she had learned about Gracie’s mother, that was certainly the experience he’d had with her.

And a secret that big, that enormous…

She should have told him at the agency. Should have driven him away then and there and avoided this whole mess entirely. Sure, she’d probably be working some crappy waitressing job right now, making less than minimum wage, but at least she wouldn’t have this huge secret dangling over her head.

She sighed, giving up on the washing entirely, wiping her hands clean on a cloth. Night was falling thick and fast, the warm amber lanterns bordering the garden beyond the kitchen window sparking to life.

And in their shadow, her eye caught the sleek figure of a great, black wolf just beyond the trees. Ice blue eyes widened slightly, then blinked slowly, as if in greeting.

She swallowed. She hadn’t seen Nicolas’s wolf in years. She had forgotten how enormous alphas were.

Nicolas lifted his head, obsidian fur shining, and tilted it towards the forest.

An invitation.

Nervously, she crept out the side door, closing it softly behind her and padding over the damp grass in bare feet to join him at the tree line. He didn’t move, just sat and watched, head cocked slightly in seeming amusement.

“Why don’t you shift?” he said, his deep voice echoing in her head.

She gasped at the sudden intrusion, narrowing her eyes at him as he chuckled.

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“I mean I can’t. This is Iron Walker territory. I may have sworn loyalty and fidelity, but that doesn’t mean I can go frolicking about in the woods in my wolf form. The bylaws state—"

“Bylaws that I helped amend,” Nicolas said, climbing to his feet. In his human form, he already towered well over a foot taller than her, and it was no different as a wolf. She would be amazed if the top of her head was level with his shoulder. “You’ll be safe as long as you’re with me.”

Daisy looked out into the darkening woods, chewing her lip. “I’m not sure…”

“Come on,” he said, stretching his paws out in front of him, “when was the last time you shifted?”

“I…I’m not sure,” she said, folding her arms, “it isn’t a very big part of my life.”

“Then you’ve probably forgotten how good it feels,” he said, his voice a low purr. She shivered, rubbing her hands over her bare forearms. His eyes softened at the gesture, and he lowered his head slightly. “Please, Daisy. Run with me. I’d appreciate the company.”

“Don’t you have a whole pack to keep you company?” she grumbled, even as she felt her resolve crumbling.

He blinked once. “I’d like you to keep me company.”

She held his gaze for a moment, before finally relenting, gesturing at him to turn around.

“You know it’s nothing I haven’t seen before—"

“I don’t care,” she said, her voice haughty, “turn around.”

He rolled his eyes but obeyed, spinning around with a swish of his tail.

Daisy gulped, and as quickly as possible pulled her dress over her head, followed by her undergarments. Then, without giving herself time to reconsider, she reached down into her stomach and found her wolf waiting patiently for her, as if she had never left.

Shifting after so long felt like washing caked mud off her limbs. Her torso grew and bent, her hands and feet turning to strong paws, her nose elongating into a graceful snout.

When it was finished, she shook her fur out, walking a few experimental circles in the grass, huffing in delight that she hadn’t forgotten how to walk on four legs instead of two.

Nicolas glanced back, his bright eyes flashing as he drank her in.

Her wolf form was small, only slightly taller than her human body was, so predictably he dwarfed her, which chafed a bit.

However, she had always liked her fur, which retained the gentle fluffiness of her hair, albeit in a slightly grayer color.

He chuffed, the sound coming from his chest instead of reverberating through her skull, and took off into the woods.

“Try to keep up,” he called back at her.

She wrinkled her nose, glancing once more at the house behind her, before following him through the dark trail of the forest.

The steady beat of her paws against the earth spoke to her innate, primal need to run wild. She picked up speed as she wove through the trees, gaining confidence with every step, breathing in great lungfuls of the cool dusk air.

Nicolas was right. She had forgotten how much she needed this.

As a human, Daisy had never particularly considered herself graceful.

Her wolf, on the other hand, muscles lean and built for the forest, possessed all the coordination and elegance necessary to sprint through the trees.

She turned her body this way and that, yipping with delight at the heady rush of the race, pushing herself harder to follow Nicolas’s trail.

She knew he wasn’t going anywhere near as fast as he was actually capable of.

He would sprint ahead and then slow to turn, to make sure she was still behind him, his glowing eyes near-silver in the darkness of the forest. Still, she decided it would be fun to pretend, and flattened her ears as she bounded towards him with a snarl, happy to give chase.

His ears pricked up in delight at the prospect of a challenge, and with a snarl he leapt away from her, almost mocking her with elaborate leaps and turns through the woods.

At some point, she wasn’t sure exactly when, their roles reversed, and she found herself being chased by him. Adrenaline pumped through her muscles as she darted away from his snapping jaws, crowing with victory each time she evaded his attacks.

Of course, he had been going easy on her, and she realized the moment he decided he was done playing when he darted off to the side up a great boulder, gaining height. She paused for just a second, trying to work out his strategy, but that was all the time he needed.

He launched himself from the boulder, clearing her by several feet, twisting in the air so that when he landed, he was facing her with his muzzle peeled back over snarling teeth.

She yelped, stumbling backwards, only to find herself pressed against the very boulder he had used to get out in front of her.

“Well, well, well,” he said, sauntering closer, “look what we have here.”

His fur was so dark that the edges of him bled into the darkness of the forest. Only his eyes shone out at her. His eyes and his teeth.

“You didn’t play fair!” she whined, backing up slightly until her back hit the rock.

He chuckled. “Who said anything about playing fair?”

With that, he ducked low, and then launched at her, tumbling them both down into the dirt. They rolled over each other, playfully nipping at each other’s necks much like pups would, until finally he let Daisy pin him to the earth.

“Haha!” she sang, her paws digging into his side, “I win!”

“Are you so sure about that?” His eyes gleamed, but he didn’t move to dislodge her from her victorious stance.

“Yup,” she said, finally jumping off to allow him to stand and shake his fur, “I won fair and square. What’s my prize?”

He paced around her, huge and dark and intimidating, but she didn’t cower away from him.

“What would you like?” he asked, his voice dripping honey.

She hesitated before answering.

Here they were again. At the edge of a cliff. Ready to tumble off.

Sensing her sudden panic, he sat, tilting his head slightly. “I know what your prize can be. Come with me to New York.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” His ear twitched. “It’s time I showed Gracie the office. Let her meet everyone at the firm. And I’d like you and Thea to come with me. It could be like a holiday. We’ll go to the theatre, and out to dinner, whatever you like.”

His voice had taken on that odd quality again. The one that seemed cool and collected, but with a hint of dark promise running through it.

She looked at him, really looked, as if her wolf’s superior vision could somehow pierce through his mind and get to the bottom of whatever it was he truly meant.

“Is this a job request?”

He paused before answering, “No. It’s not a job request. It’s a…it’s a request.”

“Okay then,” she said, before her brain had time to think better of it, “I’ll go to New York with you.”

As the moon rose higher in the sky, shining off his black fur, she imagined his crystal blue eyes became a shade darker.