Page 11 of Rejected Nanny Mate (Crystal Creek Wolves #3)

Gwen crossed her arms, still rubbing one hand over her chest. She was breathing rhythmically, in for three seconds and out for three seconds, and it made me frown.

But before I could ask if anything else was wrong with her, she spoke, “I'm working two jobs, as you know, and the schedules just really aren't lining up.

We're busiest in the morning at the cafe, and I'm one of the most experienced servers there, so I'm missing out on money.

Scott still has to keep me on the payroll, which prevents him from hiring anyone else.

“Sometimes I'm so exhausted after being with Rose all day that I'm slower than usual at work, and it shows.

Scott keeps pressing me to just go on leave so he can hire a temporary replacement, and I can be here full time, but that's not possible.” She threw her hands in the air at the end of her rant, but quickly went back to pressing her hand to her chest.

I was baffled.” But why isn't it possible? I know when you first took the job, that was one of your stipulations, that you stay at the cafe, but now that things have settled down and we know you're the right fit for Rose, why not take the leave?”

“You wouldn't understand.” Her tawny hair was in a single braid, and it caught the moonlight when she turned her head, a few pieces having escaped the plait and curled around her face.

“Try me.”

Gwen shook her head. “I need to keep the job. It's important to me.”

“Even if it's causing you this much stress?” I paced closer to her, and to my satisfaction, she didn't move away. “I can pay you more, if that's the problem. I can pay you like a full-time, live-in nanny, which you basically already are.”

“It's not the money,” she huffed. “See? This is what I mean. You don't understand.”

“I'm trying to understand, Gwen,” I kept my voice low, not wanting to spook her. “But you're not making it easy. Explain it to me like I'm an idiot.”

That made her smile, just a little. “First off, you are an idiot. But...” Gwen swallowed, and I watched the graceful, pale column of her neck as she did so.

“If I give up the job at the cafe, I'm fully at your mercy for housing and pay—” I tried to push back, but she held up a hand to stop me.

“It's nothing personal. I would feel the same way even if it were Samson and Kiera, or, hell, my own sister.

But as long as I keep the job at the cafe, I still have that single piece of my independence, and if you decide to fire me tomorrow, I'd still be fine.”

“Scott said your job would be there when this was done, though.”

“There's a big difference between continuing to work there and going back after a long leave. This way, I don't lose my skills or my regulars. The cafe is my safety net, and I won't give that up.”

It hurt a little bit to realize she didn't trust me, even if I'd given her every reason not to. “If I promise not to fire you, will you take the leave from the cafe?”

“Joe,” Gwen looked at me, exasperated. “I don't actually think you're going to fire me. At least not anytime soon. But we both know this nannying thing is just temporary.”

“It doesn't have to be,” I said before I could stop myself.

Gwen froze, but then shook her head again, braid flying.

“Yes, it does. You'll find her mother eventually, and work out some sort of.

..I don't know, custody agreement. I never agreed to do this on a long-term basis, anyway.

I'm doing it as a favor to my Alpha and Luna, who asked me personally, and that's it.”

I wanted to argue, to tell her that I saw how much she'd bonded with Rose and how painful it would be for both of them if Gwen left one day.

Not to mention the fact that I still had no idea who Rose's mother was, so the idea of a custody agreement was laughable at the moment.

But if she was this adamant about the cafe, I didn't want to push her.

She'd had her life interrupted just like mine, and while I was a grown-ass man, Gwen was an Omega, and had been treated her entire life as less than an equal.

It was easy for me to forget, since I'd never seen her that way, but even the strongest wolves had limits.

“Alright. Fine. You win.”

“Thank you,” Gwen let out a sigh, and relaxed against the deck railing. “I'll get used to the rush of it all, I guess. Maybe I just need more time.”

“No. I've messed up by not making a firm schedule for you to work around.

Tomorrow, we'll sit down and write out your weekly schedule with Rose, and then send it to Scott so he can schedule around it, that way, you aren't rushed or overworked.

No more random hours. If you won't be my nanny full-time, this is the least I can do.”

“Won't that make things more difficult for you? I mean, you've got the shop, the pack, Rose...”

“Don't worry about me. I'll figure it out.”

“...You're sure?”

I grinned. “Of course. And the first rule is, no more nighttime calls from the boss. If you need anything, I'll call Scott for you. I have a feeling he'll be a lot more agreeable if it's me on the other line.”

She chuckled. “Deal. As long as you don't go eavesdropping anymore.”

“Deal,” I nodded. “Are you feeling better?”

“A bit.” She wrapped her arms around her middle.

“Is it cold out here, or something?”

“Just a little.”

“Hm.” I looked her over, those sinful pajamas and that barely-robe making me feel anything but cold. “You could shift and come running with me. Fur might warm you up.”

I was shocked when Gwen seemed to consider the offer for a second, but then she exhaled heavily. “Not tonight, and it wouldn’t be worth the trouble of getting someone to stay with the baby anyway. I need to get some sleep, and I'm always restless after a shift. Have fun, though.”

As Gwen walked back towards the door of the house, I watched her hips sway, encased in diaphanous fabric, and thought that I'd have a lot more fun staying there with her if she'd let me. When I was done with her, the chill would be long, long gone.

But I didn't reach for her, or call her back, because I was sure she didn't want me to.

The talk we'd just had was the most we'd spoken since the confrontation downtown, and I didn't want to push it and make her ice me out again.

But damn, after being so close to her, looking so irresistible, I needed the nighttime hunt even more than before.

So, with a heavy sigh, I ran down the steps again and finished undressing, leaving the clothes behind in the grass and letting my wolf take over.

Shifting wasn't something that really needed to be taught. Every wolf learned the skill naturally when they were young, and by the time we were old enough to start training as fighters, we were nearly as comfortable as a beast as we were a person.

The sensation of changing from two legs into four was indescribable. There was pain, yeah, but only for a few seconds, and then everything felt right, and the world looked different.

My vision and sense of smell were amplified in both forms, but they were stronger when I was a wolf. I shook off the tingling feeling of the transformation, silvery fur glittering in the moonlight, the power of it was pulsing through my veins.

I took one more look at the house, thinking of the two people waiting inside and how much they both meant to me.

Rose was the blood of my blood, and Gwen.

..well, she had a hold over other parts of me, especially the one beating in my chest. Overwhelmed, I tilted my head back and howled, long and mournful, before I tensed my muscles and took off into the forest, looking for a scent trail.

The hunt was on, and I wouldn't return until my belly was full and both my body and mind exhausted. It was the only way I was going to make it, living side by side with Gwen without being able to touch her the way I yearned to do.