Page 4 of Bully Wolf’s Nanny (Silvermist Wolves #1)

Eight Years Ago

“I can’t believe Mr. Sandhurst. Like, does he think we have no lives?

Like, does he think we spend all weekend in the library or something?

Who has time to write a thousand-word essay in two days?

I’m supposed to be going camping with my dad as well, does Mr. Sandhurst think I’m gonna, like, haul all my textbooks on a wagon into the forest or something? ”

Daisy sighed, leaning back against the locker, letting Megan’s words wash over her in a haze of teenage angst. They had a free period before geography, and Daisy had wanted to finish off some homework assignments, but Megan had insisted they go into town for milkshakes. Daisy hadn’t argued.

“—gonna take, what, like two hours to get there? I can’t write essays in the car or I’ll get sick!”

“Why don’t you write it tonight, then?”

“Because Cody and his dumb jock friends are having that bonfire party in the woods? Duh?”

Daisy winced. The bonfire party. Shit.

Seeing her friend’s pained expression, Megan slammed her locker shut with an alarmingly loud crash. “Wait, you are coming to that, right?”

Daisy chewed her lip, tugging nervously at a lock of blonde hair. “I don’t know, I don’t think my dad will let me. It’s too close to the border, and there have been more skirmishes, and…”

“Border? Wait, shit, is that like a pack thing?”

She shrugged. “I guess. If I get into any trouble then Dad will be in trouble with the alpha, and that’s just like…too much to deal with right now.”

“Ugh, I’m so glad I’m not a shifter, all these stupid politics. I don’t know how you have the time for it. Like, it’s a party? Who even cares?”

Daisy shrugged again, not knowing what to say.

Megan was nice enough, but she had a habit of conveniently forgetting that Daisy was technically an Iron Walker sometimes.

Though, to be fair, it wasn’t like Daisy ever went to any of the socials or hung out with any of the shifter kids, or even turned all that often.

But she was a wolf. And her dad wouldn’t let her forget it, even if she really, really wanted to.

“I heard that Nicolas and Dane are going,” Megan said, her tone deceptively light. Daisy frowned.

“So?”

Megan raised an eyebrow. “So, they’re also shifters, right? And they’re in our grade, and they’re going. So why can’t you?”

Daisy groaned, kicking off the locker, even as her stomach did a weird somersault in her belly at the mention of Nicolas.

Unlike her, there was absolutely no mistaking what Nicolas was.

Or Dane. Both of them stood an easy head taller than the other boys in the grade, and were roped with muscle from years running with the pack.

They just had to narrow their eyes or cross their arms and people would fall over their own feet to do things for them, to respect them.

Nobody ever respected Daisy. Not really. Not in the same way.

“They’re alphas, it’s different for them.”

“Are you sure that’s what it is?” Megan asked, looping her arm through Daisy’s to drag her down the corridor through the throngs of students. “Because I heard an interesting rumor earlier.”

Daisy swallowed, staring with wide eyes at her friend. It wasn’t good when humans talked about pack stuff. That’s what her dad said.

“Megan, I’m not sure…”

“No, you’ll be interested in this. You know Felix?”

Daisy nodded mutely. Of course she knew Felix; everyone knew Felix. He was the son of the current alpha. The heir apparent. Two years older and already causing ripples through the pack. Not that Daisy had ever really spoken with him. Not really.

“Well, I heard that he’s getting all, like, annoyed at his dad and stuff. That he thinks they’re not leading the pack well, or whatever.”

Daisy stopped short, her feet turning to concrete, her heart in her throat. “Megan, you really shouldn’t be talking about this—"

“Oh, it’s fine, Daisy, don’t be such a baby! Anyway, as I was saying, he’s apparently got a bunch of his shifter friends in on it. They’re calling themselves the New Guard or something stupid like that.”

“Megan, please stop it, you shouldn’t get involved in any of that…stuff.”

“Are you involved in it?”

“Of course not!”

“Alright, sorry, geez. I just thought…like, since you’re a shifter and everything…that you might know something?”

“Even if I did, I wouldn’t go gossiping about it in the middle of the school corridor! If one of them heard, if Nicolas heard, then—"

“If Nicolas heard what?” the smooth voice, cold with cruelty, came from behind her.

Her heart leapt into her throat. Hands quivering, she turned slowly.

It was him. Of course it was him. Terrifyingly beautiful, towering above her, pale face twisted into a sneer.

Daisy’s throat was dry, her fingers numb.

The noise and hubbub faded away until it was just the two of them.

Her, tiny and terrified, and him. A pure predator.

He flicked a lock of dark hair out of his eyes, a lazy smirk stretching over his lips.

“Look what we’ve got here, boys. A lone pup digging in places she shouldn’t.” The guys around him, members of the Iron Walkers, snickered.

Daisy was dimly aware of Megan backing away, but she couldn’t move. She stayed rooted to the spot, cowering before the alpha in front of her.

“Nicolas, I didn’t—"

“Didn’t what?” he crooned, taking a step towards her. Instinctively, she took a step back, and then another, and then another until her back collided with the lockers and he loomed above her, far too close for comfort.

“I don’t know what she was talking about,” Daisy whispered, barely able to force the words out.

Nicolas raised an eyebrow, his blue eyes glinting in anger. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I promise!”

He stooped down, angling his head into her neck, his breath ghosting over her ear. She whimpered, clutching her bag close to her chest, straining away from him but too terrified to move her feet.

“I think you’re lying.”

She squealed as his fist crashed into the locker right next to her head, his teeth flashing dangerously close. His scent was spiking in pure rage, his eyes glowing strangely even through the neon pulse of the hallway lighting.

“I think you’re trying to spread trouble. Talking about pack shit with humans, spreading rumors, lying. You know what that makes you?”

She shook her head, tears burning in the corners of her eyes.

“It makes you a fucking traitor bitch. And you know what we do to traitor bitches? We rip them to shreds.”

Daisy was openly crying now, tears falling down her cheeks. “Please…”

Nicolas scoffed, rearing away from her, his nose wrinkling in disgust. “Just what I thought. Utterly pathetic. You’re a fucking waste of shifter blood.”

One of the other shifters leaned in, his face twisted in an ugly sneer. “Yeah, she’s not even any good for breeding. I mean, who would want a fat bitch like her?”

Daisy sucked in a breath, the cruel words ramming into her like so many knives. It wasn’t the insult itself. She was more than used to people making fun of her weight.

It was the way Nicolas’s eyes lit up as devastation painted itself across her face.

“Watch yourself, Copperfield,” Nicolas said after a beat. “If I hear you spreading shit again, it’s over for you.”

He spun on his heel and stalked off down the corridor, hands in his pockets.

His cronies chased after him, snickering and jeering.

Daisy let out a sob, collapsing back against the lockers, her heart threatening to hammer through her chest. She didn’t register Megan as she cautiously approached.

Didn’t notice the whispers and murmurs of the students around her.

All she could think about was the pure hatred in Nicolas’s eyes.

***

Present Day

“No. Absolutely not,” Daisy said to Molly, before spinning on her heel, fully intending to storm out of the room.

“Daisy,” Nicolas said, and damn her, it stopped her dead in her tracks.

Seven years. It had been seven years since she had heard his voice in person. And it still had the same effect on her as it did all that time ago.

“Oh, you two know each other?” Molly asked brightly, either choosing to ignore the thick tension in the air or too human to scent it.

Daisy turned slowly, her throat suddenly thick, eyes suddenly burning with so many unshed tears.

He had changed since she last saw him. Of course he had.

He was still tall, towering well over a head above her, his frame still lean with muscle.

But there was a definite sharpness to his jaw that hadn’t been there before, a serious tilt to his brow.

His hair was shorter than she remembered it, but still thick and inky black. His pale face was an unreadable mask.

But his eyes. There was something different in those sapphire blue eyes. She didn’t want to know what it was.

Looking back to Molly, she swallowed the lump in her throat, schooling her features into careful neutrality. “I’m sorry, Molly, but I won’t accept this assignment.”

She wasn’t sure if she imagined it, but she could have sworn that Nicolas’s shoulders tensed.

“On the contrary,” he said, his voice deep and commanding, “I’d like to hire you.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Did you not just hear me? I said I won’t take this assignment.”

Nicolas folded his arms, his expression firm. “I’ll pay you whatever you want.”

“Money isn’t the problem.”

“Gosh,” said Molly brightly, clearly choosing to ignore Daisy in favor of simpering over Nicolas, “I thought you said you weren’t interested, how marvelous that you are!

I had a good feeling about this one, I knew I did, from the moment you walked into this office I thought to myself, ‘I have just the girl for this one,’ and I was correct!

Don’t you just love it when that happens! ”

“Molly,” Daisy hissed, skin prickling under the weight of Nicolas’s stare, “are you not listening to me? I won’t work for him. He lives in Silvermist, that’s much too far away.”

“I’ll buy you a car.” His tone was stony, as if having to fight through the words.

Daisy’s head whipped towards him, frustration bubbling under her skin. “It’s a two-hour drive from my apartment to Silvermist.”

“Then you’ll move into my house.”

A laugh bubbled from her. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“Excellent,” Molly said, her voice cracking slightly, her scent spiking with anxiety, “I’m sure we’ll be able to find a compromise that suits both parties. Miss Copperfield, why don’t you write out your requirements and then I’m sure Mr. Accardi can—"

“I can deal with Daisy myself,” said Nicolas, his eyes never leaving her. A blush rose hot on her cheeks.

“I don’t want you dealing with me. I’m not taking the job.”

“Fifteen thousand.”

“Fifteen thousand a year?” Molly’s voice pitched upwards. “Forgive me, Mr. Accardi, but I’m afraid that falls rather short of our—"

“Not fifteen thousand a year. Fifteen thousand a month.”

“A month !” Molly squealed, followed by a series of inscrutable noises.

Daisy didn’t care. She meant what she had said. She’d sooner go bankrupt.

“I’m not working for you.”

“Twenty thousand.”

“Nicolas, this isn’t a negotiation, I’m not—"

“Twenty-five”

She huffed, pushing her hair out of her face, her feet tapping against the floor. “I told you, it’s not a case of money. I can’t commute to you, and I can’t move in with you.”

“If you’re worried about the size of my house, then I can assure you—"

“Oh, of course,” Molly said, having apparently regained the ability to speak. “Mr. Accardi, remember I mentioned earlier that Miss Copperfield here is a mother herself, and—"

“What?” Nicolas growled, every muscle in his body tensing. Daisy swallowed, fear replacing her irritation.

Shit. She had to keep her face neutral. She couldn’t react, couldn’t get angry, couldn’t give it away—

“You have a child?” Nicolas’s fists were clenched, his jaw working.

“You do, too,” said Daisy, careful not to break eye contact.

He was silent for a while, his eyes a distant, unknowable storm, before he finally spoke again. “They can come with you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your child. Bring your child with you to live with me. Apart from anything else, it would be…beneficial for my daughter to socialize more.”

Daisy’s heart twisted in her chest. Of course.

In her shock, she hadn’t quite put two and two together, but the reality came into sharp focus.

Nicolas had a child. Which meant…which meant he likely had a partner.

A girlfriend. A wife, perhaps. She didn’t dare look down at his hands in search of a wedding band.

Of course he had someone. He was Nicolas Accardi. Women threw themselves at his feet, shifter and human alike. Of course he hadn’t stayed single.

Not like she had.

That did, however, beg the question—why was he so apparently desperate for her to come and work for him? Surely his partner wouldn’t want Daisy anywhere near him, or their child. Not after…not after everything.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, her voice small.

If he was shocked by the question, he didn’t let it show. “Because I want the best for my daughter. If I’m to return to work, I’d rather not leave her in the hands of a stranger. You’re not a stranger.”

All the air left Daisy’s lungs in a huge whoosh. Not a stranger. That was all she was to him. Somebody he happened to know.

She shouldn’t be surprised. She knew him, too. She knew what cruelty he was capable of.

Somehow, that didn’t diminish the sting.

“My answer is no,” she said.

His jaw tightened. “I’m afraid I can’t accept that answer, Daisy.”

“You can’t always get what you want, Nicolas.”

“Thirty thousand,” he said, just as she turned to leave, “thirty thousand a month. And a car. Rooms in my house. Flexible hours, if agreed in advance. Thirty days of vacation. As much money as you need for anything you require to be comfortable, on top of your salary. Fucking…dental.”

She turned back slowly, unable to resist the bait. “You know as well as I do that I don’t need dental. I’m a shifter, same as you.”

The corner of his lip quirked, almost imperceptibly. “Fine. No dental. Instead, I’ll start a college fund for your kid.”

Daisy sucked in a breath, all her pride, all her rage suddenly crumbling to dust.

A college fund for Thea. It was…it was…

Well, it was rather ironic, really.

But how could she say no, when Nicolas had single-handedly promised to give her daughter every single thing that she couldn’t? In the end, she truly had no choice.

As they shook hands and signed contracts, her heart wrenched in her chest.

Nicolas could never know. He could never find out. It would ruin everything.

As they walked outside and Nicolas asked about Thea, Daisy gave some non-specific age, some general description, some passing mention of favorite colors and animals and movies. Nicolas nodded, his jaw still tight.

No. He could never find out that Thea was his.