Page 26 of Bully Wolf’s Nanny (Silvermist Wolves #1)

“It hardly matters,” Francesca interrupted, “and I don’t particularly care. Because your little charade ends here and now, do you understand me?”

Daisy couldn’t speak. Couldn’t formulate words, could barely even bring two thoughts together. There was no way this was happening. This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t real. It was just a bad dream. It had to be.

“I do admit, I’m curious why you never told him. Were you waiting for him to accept Thea? To get closer with her so that when you finally confessed, he wouldn’t throw her out like the trash she is?”

Daisy’s wolf reared in anger and against her will a ferocious growl erupted from her lips. Horrified, she clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes widening.

She had never growled at anybody before. Never .

Francesca didn’t look scared. If anything, a vindicated smirk curled over her lips.

“You’re just as bad as he is. Oh, you try and hide behind this little miss perfect routine, but underneath it all you’re just as savage.

God, I hope the government finally comes to its senses and puts you people into cages.

We’d all be better off if shifters were wiped from the face of the planet. ”

“Is that why you waltz around wearing pheromone perfume,” Daisy bit back, unable to stop herself, “because you hate shifters so much?”

Francesca’s eyes darkened. “Watch your mouth, you little bitch.”

“No! How dare you insult me, insult Nicolas , when all you want to do is cozy up to whatever shifter alpha will have you. Nicolas, Felix, even Dane.”

“Shut up!”

“You seem so preoccupied with why I’m here, with my life, but what about you, Francesca? Why did you come back after all this time?”

“You know that,” Francesca replied, her voice pure venom, “I was in a toxic relationship, and Gracie wasn’t safe —"

“A toxic enough relationship that Nicolas Accardi, literal billionaire , couldn’t have protected you?”

“I didn’t want him to get into trouble! If he knew what that man was doing to me…”

“He’s a shifter! The laws don’t work the same for him! If he thought that his child, and the mother, were in danger, then he could have done whatever he liked! Nobody would have stopped him, and he wouldn’t have been in trouble at all!”

“So what, you expect me to have good judgment while I was being abused? That’s awful, Daisy, even for you.”

“You handed Gracie over to him, didn’t you,” Daisy replied, fists clenched, “in person?”

“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”

“You saw him in person when you gave him Gracie?”

“Yes, of course I did. I know you don’t think much of me as a mother, but of course, I made sure he got our daughter safely.”

“And I assume you were in this abusive relationship at the time?”

“Yes, my ex was waiting at home to give me a fresh beating.”

“Nicolas would have smelled it.”

“What?” Francesca spat.

“He would have smelled it. Your injuries. Your fear.”

Francesca opened her mouth to spit out some other retort, but the words died on her lips.

“Alphas bond with their young, even when they don’t know it. If you were being abused, Nicolas would have smelled the danger on you. He would have been aware of it, because it meant Gracie was in danger. He wouldn’t have been able to ignore it.”

“He doesn’t seem to smell that Thea is his daughter.”

“It’s not a conscious thing, it’s primeval. Rooted in our shifter biology. So either Gracie isn’t his daughter, or you’re lying. And let me guess, he insisted on a DNA test at the time.”

Francesca didn’t respond, her face pale as a ghost.

“Of course he did. He’s not an idiot. Gracie is his daughter. So you lied, Francesca. There was no abusive relationship. Why make one up?”

The two women faced each other, locked in a battle of wills, until finally Francesca shook her head and advanced on Daisy with a snarl.

“Listen up, you nosy little cow. My reasons are none of your business. I’m here to reclaim what’s rightfully mine, and you are getting in my way.

So here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to leave, because if you don’t, I’m going to tell Nicolas you tried to poison Gracie on purpose so that Thea could inherit his empire.

I’ll tell him all about how she’s actually his daughter, and you’ve been scheming from the beginning. ”

“You can’t,” Daisy whispered, “you won’t. I’ll tell him you’re lying!”

“And you think he’ll believe you? After you lied to him for years about his daughter?

You seem so keen on educating me about how alphas feel about their young, how about you apply that logic to your own situation?

How do you think Nicolas will respond when he finds out you’ve been hiding his heir from him this whole time? ”

Daisy had no words. Because deep down, she knew Francesca was right.

She had nowhere to run. No way to hide. Nothing would shield her from Nicolas’s fury.

Unbidden, Amelia’s words echoed round her head.

“This kind of secret doesn’t stay buried, and I don’t think Nicolas will just let you go.”

“Finally worked it out, have you?” Francesca sneered.

“Well, I’ll tell you what. If Nicolas manages to hunt you and that brat of yours down, I’ll take her in.

Gracie will need someone to look after her, after all.

And if you don’t want that to happen, well…

” She leaned down, whispering into Daisy’s ear, “I would start running.”