Chapter 1 - Mira
The knock on the door came at the same time it had the last two days. For a moment, I debated whether or not to answer it. Maybe I could pretend I wasn’t home. But then the second, more adamant knock echoed through the cramped apartment, and I knew it wouldn’t stop until I answered.
Inside, my wolf snarled, her hackles bristling, her irritation growing every second as I moved closer to the door.
Sure enough, when I opened the door, a tall, barrel-chested shifter stood on the other side. Rex, the pack alpha’s second, stood on the other side, arms folded and unsmiling as he regarded me.
He raised an eyebrow. When I remained silent, he said, “You know why I’m here.”
“I do,” I said. His intense stare got the better of me, and I glanced away, looking down at my feet.
“Harrison wants to know if you’ve made a decision,” he said.
I nodded my acknowledgment, still looking at his shoes.
“Well?” he growled.
I took a deep breath and raised my head. “No,” I lied. “I haven’t decided yet.”
He didn’t react, just looked at me with mild dislike. His lips turned into a thin line, curling downward at the ends a little to show the contempt he felt for me without being too obvious about it. Anyone who walked by outside, heading to their own shabby apartment, might have just assumed there wasn’t any genuine animosity between us; we were having an unpleasant conversation.
Which we were.
“You know he isn’t going to wait forever,” Rex warned.
“I know,” I said, leaning against the door frame and trying to keep my gaze even. “I’m pretty sure he made that perfectly clear when he told me he was going to give me a week. But funny enough, it hasn’t been a week yet. Which means, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’ve still got time. And he’ll still wait.”
Rex growled low in his throat, eyes narrowing. Internally, my wolf snarled in response. Rex leaned forward, eyes boring into mine. My heart started pounding, and I tried to keep eye contact.
“You’ve got quite a mouth, you know that?” he hissed. “I’m looking forward to Harrison knocking that out of you.”
I couldn’t hold his gaze. I glanced away, shame rippling through me even as I did. God, I was a coward.
He straightened, his eyes cool. He gave a tight, sinister grin, showing his sharp fangs. More a threat than anything else.
“See you tomorrow,” he said, then turned and strolled back toward the parking lot and the idling car waiting for him.
The instant he walked away, I slammed the door shut and locked it. I leaned my back against it, closing my eyes as I took a deep breath, willing my heart to stop hammering. I was certain he could tell I was lying, but it seemed I had gotten away with it, at least for now.
The truth was, I had made my decision. Only, Harrison wouldn’t like it, and I hadn’t decided what I would do when he found out. Telling Rex I needed more time to deliberate would give me some breathing room while I figured out the next steps.
One thing was certain: Rex was right. I couldn’t stall forever. My instinct had always been to wait things out, to take a passive approach to things. The last time I had tried to take things into my own hands and take initiative, I had been publicly rejected and had fled from my old pack. I knew I couldn’t take the “wait and see” route this time. I needed to get out of here, to put as much distance as possible between myself and the pack. Though if I just ran off without a plan, they’d find me in a heartbeat.
I needed more of a plan than to just run away. I needed somewhere I could go.
I closed my eyes, slowing to a halt so I could focus and come up with a first step. If I could figure that out, then I could go from there.
So what was the first thing I would need? Money, probably. My waitressing job, before I lost it, had paid next to nothing thanks to a stingy boss. I only had about a thousand dollars in savings, not enough to set myself up comfortably in a new town. I could sleep out of my car, but that small puddle of stashed-away money would evaporate in no time. So, job first.
Opening my ancient laptop, I pulled up a job board, looking for anywhere over a hundred miles away from here. The more I looked, the more discouraged I got. Any of the jobs that fit my qualifications didn’t pay well enough to pull up my entire life and start over. The ones that did have that type of salary, I was vastly underqualified for.
After an hour, I groaned, leaning forward and massaging my head. If I really was committed to running off, then it seemed like I was going to have to resign myself to being homeless for a while. At least I had my car.
Just as I was about to give up for the day, a posting caught my eye.
Live-in Nanny Wanted—Room and Board Included
It seemed like a standard nanny posting: must love kids, expected to do light cooking, and so on. The town it mentioned, Falcon’s Reach, seemed like a small place. Not quite in the middle of nowhere, but at least adjacent to nowhere. Deep in the mountains of Colorado, miles and miles away from here.
I tilted my head, raising an eyebrow. I had experience with kids from my previous job, and I liked them. I liked to think I was good with them. And this job came with room and board. On top of that, the salary was insane. It seemed perfect.
Still, I hesitated. It seemed almost too good to be true. What was the catch? Even if there wasn’t a catch, there were probably hundreds of other people applying for this job. There was no way I would ever get it.
Part of me wanted to just avoid the whole thing. Maybe if I kept stalling, the entire problem would sort itself out and things would go back to normal. But I knew I was kidding myself. I couldn’t sit and wait. Not this time.
I started writing a cover letter, going over my qualifications. I had never been great at selling myself, and it didn’t come naturally. Still, I worked meticulously, trying to explain why I was the right candidate despite not believing it myself.
As I signed the cover letter, I hesitated. I glanced over my shoulder as if someone was watching me. Intuition screamed at me to use a fake name. If I did, the harder it would be for Harrison and his goons to track me. Was it overkill? Maybe. But paranoia got the better of me. Better safe than sorry. The entire point of this was to run away. Might as well leave a trail that’s difficult to follow.
I deleted “Mira” and typed in “Lacey.”
Once finished, I read and reread the letter, looking for anything that came across as too desperate. When I decided it wasn’t going to get any better, I pulled up the email address listed in the posting.
I typed out a short introductory email and attached my resume and cover letter. The cursor hovered over the “send” button as I deliberated. I almost deleted the email and wrote the whole thing off. But what was the harm in sending it? I probably would get thrown in the pile of useless applicants, but I might as well throw my hat in the ring. Worst-case scenario, I never heard back from them.
Taking a deep breath as if I were jumping into the deep end of an icy pool, I clicked “send.”
***
Hi Lacey,
Thank you for applying to this position! I was wondering if you had a few minutes to hop on a video call so we could talk more?
Thanks, and looking forward to chatting!
-Rose
My breath caught in my throat as I read and reread the email, trying to tell myself that the words I was reading were the actual words on the screen. There was no way this person wanted to speak to me.
But the email stayed the same. I had gotten through the first round. And she wanted to talk more.
I realized I still hadn’t responded, so I hurriedly typed out an email telling her I was happy to chat whenever. A minute later, I got a new email, though this one was a link to a video chat.
Quickly, I checked my appearance in the mirror and grimaced. My hair and makeup looked all right, but my face was way too round, along with the rest of my body. I had tried losing weight several times, and it had never worked, no matter how hard I worked at it. Still, I looked at least okay. Decent enough for a spur-of-the-moment interview.
I sat in front of the computer and clicked on the link. My face appeared on one side of the computer. A moment later, a pretty woman with auburn hair and a pointed chin appeared on the other side. She gave a warm smile.
“Hi! Lacey?” the woman asked.
“Yeah, hi,” I replied, trying not to think about how I was going to have to get used to that new name if I ended up getting the job. “Thanks for meeting with me. I’m guessing you’re Rose?”
“That’s me!” the woman chirped. “And it was my pleasure. I’m sorry for going so quickly. We’re just trying to fill the position quickly, so the sooner, the better.”
“Of course,” I said. “I’m happy to help.”
“Excellent. I’m guessing that means you’re able to start immediately?”
“It would take me a day to drive there, but effectively, yes.”
“Wonderful.” Rose bent down to look at something, presumably a list of questions. “What do you enjoy most about working with kids?”
I debated for a moment. “I think it’s really fun to see their personalities grow over the years, and I like getting to help them explore their interests and help teach them. They’re little sponges, you know?” I winced inwardly. Sponges? What the hell was I saying? I was making an idiot of myself.
But Rose was nodding, taking notes. “Falcon’s Reach is on the small side, and a bit remote,” she said. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yes,” I said. “Honestly, I’m looking for a fresh start. I did some research on the town, and it looks amazing. I could really see myself living there.” I cringed again. You don’t tell someone you’re looking for a fresh start, not unless you’re okay with them asking why.
Mercifully, Rose didn’t seem to notice. Or if she did, she had other inquiries she was more interested in following. “This next question is a bit awkward, but sort of needs to be asked… how are you with a bit of chaos?”
“Chaos?” I echoed. “I mean, I think all kids can have a bit of a wild streak, so it doesn’t faze me.”
“And pranks?” she asked, a hint of concern now on her face.
“I mean, I’m fine with them for the most part,” I said. The truth was, I didn’t know how to answer that question, but I had a funny feeling she wanted to hear they weren’t an issue.
Sure enough, a look of relief washed over Rose’s face. “Good to know,” she said.
The interview went on, Rose asking a variety of questions and me answering, sometimes more confidently than other times. She continued taking notes, nodding along. After what felt like a surprisingly long time for an interview, she looked up and said, “I think that’s everything on my end. I’m sure you have some questions?”
“Yes, I do,” I said. “How much supervision will the kid—I think you mentioned she was a girl—need?”
Rose nodded. “Great question. Dani is seven, so she’s not going to need constant supervision like a toddler. But she can be a little… mischievous.” She hesitated. “I hope it doesn’t scare you off, but I have to let you know that you wouldn’t be her first nanny.”
“I can handle mischievous,” I said. “And no, it doesn’t scare me. Some people just aren’t the right fit.”
Rose brightened at that, looking relieved. “Good. Just to be clear, she’s a sweet girl. She just likes playing pranks and is used to having her parents wrapped around her little finger. I think she’s starting to realize that won’t always be the case, though.”
“Are you her mother?” I asked.
Rose laughed. “No. Her parents aren’t together. I’m just helping out because her dad’s busy.”
“Who is he?” I asked.
“He’s requested anonymity for the time being, mostly because his previous job made him a lot of enemies. He would rather they not know he’s searching for a nanny—there are too many ways that can go wrong. But I can say he’s the alpha of the pack, hence the need for a nanny. He’s going to be busy getting the pack adjusted and settling into his role.”
The fact that he was the alpha sent tendrils of uncertainty running through me. I hadn’t exactly had a great track record with interacting with alphas or alphas-to-be, so the idea of working for one was more than a little disconcerting.
Rose must have sensed my unease because she gave a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. He’s a good alpha. I wouldn’t be working for him otherwise.”
Weirdly enough, I believed her. I gave a short nod. “In that case, I’m pretty sure I’ve got everything I need.”
“Great,” Rose said. “I’ve got a few more interviews, but you can expect to hear back from me in the next couple of days.”
I nodded. “Of course. Thank you so much for meeting with me. It’s been great.”
“You too!” Rose waved as her camera turned off.
I exited the interview, then sat back in the chair, taking a deep breath as I ran my hand through my hair. How was that? She seemed to like me, but I knew I had put my foot in my mouth at least twice. I wished that I hadn’t said the bit about wanting a fresh start. It’s a miracle she hadn’t asked me what I’d meant by that.
The more I thought about the interview, the more I cringed. Referring to kids as sponges? I probably came off as so weird. Story of my life. I knew I had babbled more than once during the interview.
I sighed, pushing away from the computer. It was out of my hands now. I just had to wait and see.