Bully Alpha Daddy (Gold Wolves Black Ops #1)

Chapter 3 - Mira

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I drove my car through the small town of Falcon’s Reach. I had never heard of it before the interview. It took a solid hour of driving up a mountain on winding two-lane highways to reach the outskirts. Quaint wooden houses and cottages began dotting the road, growing closer together the longer I drove. With the autumn backdrop, the entire area had a soothing, picturesque quality to it.

By the time I got to the center of town, my legs and back ached from the drive and I needed to stretch. Plus, I had some time to kill before I was supposed to arrive at the house, so I thought I might as well check out the area. I pulled into a small public parking area and clambered out.

The instant I started wandering through town, I realized I had made the right choice. I loved the cobblestone streets and the wooden houses, some of which looked like they had been there for a century. The town square seemed to bustle with life, clearly the hub of the town, and no cars were allowed within a block of it. I saw stall vendors selling, haggling for the fun of it. A small ice cream parlor with a line out the door sat next to a general goods store, the kind that had buckets of candy you could scoop into bags. The store also offered all sorts of basic grocery needs and had a deli attached. There wasn’t a chain store in sight.

Across the square, I noticed an elegant, gray stone building, the type that screamed “Town Hall.” I regarded it for a moment, wondering if my new boss was in there right now. Probably not. He was supposed to meet me at his house. Still, it got me wondering what he would be like and what type of alpha he was. I hadn’t exactly had great luck with alphas in the past, and wondering about that now made my skin crawl uneasily.

I pushed the thought away. It wasn’t going to do me any good. Tearing my gaze away, I forced myself to keep moving. I wandered past the large brick library, past the bustling diner, and went around the corner, passing a vintage clothing store and an old-timey movie theater.

A small grin spread over my face. I felt more at home here after ten minutes of walking than I had felt anywhere else in my entire life. I wanted to keep wandering, to check out the bakery with the delicious aromas wafting from it or maybe grab a milkshake.

Eventually, though, I knew I had to get back in the car. It took a surprising amount of effort to pull myself away from the allure of the town. I felt the sudden urge to explore every crevice of the small town.

You’ve got plenty of time to do that, I promised myself as I got back in the car. The thought was oddly cheering. I was out of my old pack, and this was my new home. Assuming everything went well.

I followed a street toward the outskirts of town that led higher up the mountain. Eventually, it turned into a one-lane road before the trees vanished to reveal the home beyond.

I froze when I saw the massive house. I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting. Some sort of quaint cabin or medium-sized home, maybe. Not this. It loomed over me. It was an old Victorian mansion nestled among the forest, its winding driveway so long, it took a solid five minutes to navigate it. Now that it was in full view, I could see several turrets jutting out from two corners, the walls interrupted by tall, arched windows with intricate molding that created space between the floors. There was something gothic about it, something that made it both beautiful and imposing. It also should have appeared out of place, tucked on the side of a mountain, surrounded by nothing but trees decorated with fall-colored leaves. Except it felt as though it could have been there for eons, as though the woods had sculpted themselves around it rather than the other way around.

I drove my ancient car—which now felt even shabbier in the wake of the elegant manor than it had before—down the circular driveway (complete with a mini-garden in the center) and parked in front of the steps. I killed the engine, staring up at the house for a long moment. A sudden prickling of foreboding crept up my spine, and I wondered exactly what I had gotten myself into. Still, at this point, there was nothing else I could do. I clambered out, leaving my things in the car for the time being.

Walking up the steps, something piqued my wolf’s interest. She was intrigued, though I couldn’t figure out exactly what had captured her attention. I took one last pause in front of the large oak door, knowing it was my last chance to turn back around and come up with a new plan while also knowing there was no way I was going to do that. Instead, I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

Nothing happened for a long moment. The trees rustled all around, and multicolored leaves skittered across the ground. My wolf paced restlessly, wanting to get out into the woods and run, to relish the new freedom and celebrate us removing the noose from around our neck. The unease that had run through me when I saw the mansion ebbed away. For the first time, I actually breathed easily. I hadn’t realized how stressed and trapped I had felt until now. As I waited for the door to open, I let myself relax and accept that I had managed to get away.

Figures shifted behind the frosted glass on either side of the door. My heart pounded in my throat, the tiniest hint of anxiety creeping into my head. I took a deep breath and forced a smile.

The door opened.

“Hi! I said. “I’m—” The words died in my throat as Declan stood before me.

“Mira?” he said, sounding as shocked as I felt. He glanced around. “What are you doing here?”

My jaw had gone slack as I stared at Declan. My bully for my entire childhood. The guy I had professed my love for who had rejected me publicly, laughing at me and telling me I was delusional. He was the reason I had joined Harrison’s pack in the first place. And here he was, standing straight in front of me.

The first thing that came into my head was that he was even more attractive now than when we were kids. His dark hair was cut short, but the loose, messy curls still fell effortlessly around his forehead. His heavy stubble only accentuated the sharp lines of his jaw and cheekbones. He wore a leather jacket that did nothing to conceal the rippling muscles beneath. A spindly tattoo poked out beneath his shirt, barely visible as it caressed his collarbone.

He smelled the same as I remembered, of campfire and leather. My wolf pressed at me, wanting to step closer, to fall into his arms and let his scent wash over me. I remained rigid, petrified from shock. Perhaps the worst thing was that I immediately started worrying about how I looked.

I knew I looked like a slack-jawed idiot. On top of that, my clothes and hair were rumpled from travel, and I had deep bags under my eyes from lack of sleep. It shouldn’t matter; it didn’t matter. But all I could think was how if I were forced to run into Declan again, this was the last way I would want it to happen.

He was clearly waiting for me to say something. I scrambled to string some words together, something eloquent. Something that would make me seem composed and put together. The last time I saw him, I had been running away in tears. I needed to say something suave, calm, collected.

“Declan,” I said. And nothing else.

I forced myself not to cringe at myself. But if he noticed how wrong-footed I was, he was at least polite enough not to acknowledge it.

Which, considering it was Declan, was hard to believe.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Are you visiting Jackson?”

I blinked, momentarily distracted from my stupor. “Jackson? He’s here, too?”

His lips quirked upward into a distracting smirk that drove me wild despite myself. “I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” he said.

“No. I mean, yeah. I mean…” I tripped over the words. “I’m your new nanny.”

His brow furrowed. “You’re Lacey?”

Shit. I had already forgotten about that part of my lie. Seeing Declan had turned me completely on my head. I hesitated, scrambling to come up with some excuse.

“Yeah,” I said. “It’s, um, a nickname. Long story.”

I waited for him to question me more about it. I saw him look me up and down, and I knew he was gauging whether I was telling the truth. Regardless of whether he believed me or not, he stepped aside, holding the door open for me.

“Come on in,” he said.

I stayed on the landing, my heart pounding as my mind raced. This whole thing was a mistake. I should run. I should turn on my heels, head back down the road, and get as far away from here as possible. If I had known Declan was going to be my boss, I doubted I ever would have applied.

My wolf protested, wanting to stay near the other shifter. She didn’t particularly care about my own feelings toward Declan. She had that same pull to him that she’d had when we were younger. She snarled, continuing to argue with the part of me that wanted to flee.

Except, what good would running do? Where would I go? I couldn’t go back to my old pack, and I had no other plan. So unless I wanted to wander aimlessly with no money or job, I didn’t have many options.

So, smiling, I crossed the threshold into the house.

“Should I call you Lacey or Mira, then?” he asked.

Once again, the question put me on the wrong foot. “Oh, Mira is fine,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. I hesitated, trying to figure out a way to change the subject without coming across as suspicious, but all I could think about was the fact that Declan was here. In front of me. After all these years. The thought filled my head, overshadowing everything else.

“It’s been a while. You look good,” he said, stating it as simply as if he were commenting on the weather. I almost blushed, knowing I was gross from hours of travel, dressed in frumpy clothes that made me look even larger than normal. I wished I had thought to clean up when I’d been in town, but I’d been so tired, it hadn’t crossed my mind.

“Thanks,” I said. “So, uh, do you.” Then, unsure what else to say, I babbled, “So, you had a kid. Congratulations.”

Declan gave a warm, paternal smile, an expression that I never would have expected to see on his face. It softened his features, making him seem more approachable. I could almost believe it, were it not for all my memories of him growing up.

“Yeah,” he said. “She’s the best thing I’ve ever done.” He raised an eyebrow. “A bit of a handful at times, but a good kid. Do you want to meet her, or do you want to relax after the drive?”

“I’d love to meet her,” I said, meaning it.

“Great. In that case, let’s head up the steps.”

I followed his lead. The silence pressed between us, and all I could think about was the last time we’d had that lingering silence and the disaster that had followed. Not wanting to relive that moment, I scrambled to think of something, anything, to say. Saying anything would be better than another lengthy silence.

“Rose said that you wanted anonymity,” I said. It was still the one thing I hadn’t fully understood.

“Yeah.” Declan stuffed his hands in his pockets as he continued to lead me through the house. “I guess it’s kind of obvious that I never became alpha of the Blue Moon pack.”

“I guessed,” I said. “I can’t say I’m not surprised.”

“Yeah. My life turned out a bit different than I expected,” he said. “I decided to step down from my birthright and join the military. After a while, I ended up getting tapped to join a special ops group. The Gold Wolves.”

I nearly tripped over my feet. “Seriously?” I blurted.

I had heard of the Gold Wolves. Almost everyone had. An elite special-ops group who didn’t have loyalty to any one pack and worked to eliminate inter-pack threats like rogue shifters, enemies trying to overthrow the Wolf’s Council, and threatening supernatural creatures. They’d done it all. The stories about them sounded more like legend than reality. And Declan was one of them.

He nodded. “As you can guess, I made a bunch of enemies during that time. Some of them are still out there. So I figured it was easier not to advertise I was looking for a nanny. Too many ways someone could come after me.”

“And now you’re the Falcon Pack alpha?” I asked.

“And the Gold Wolves,” he said. “Even if we are retired.”

“Why did you retire?”

“Too many near misses,” he explained. “I’ll tell you about them sometime, but after an incident with a witch’s coven, I decided it was time to hang up the mantle. I wanted to be around for Dani, and I can’t exactly do that if I’m six feet under. We’re coming to her playroom now.”

The door to the playroom was open. When I peered inside, I saw a young girl with black hair, the same color as Declan’s, crouched in the middle of the room. She looked up when she saw us. Her blue eyes regarded me with a shrewd intelligence I wouldn’t have expected from a seven-year-old.

“Dani, this is Mira,” Declan said. “She’s your new nanny.”

Dani frowned. “I thought you said her name was Lacey.”

“People can have two names,” Declan said.

Dani’s little face twisted in disbelief. Then she turned her attention fully back on me. Her head tilted as those eyes similar to Declan’s regarded me. Her gaze moved up and down. Something like dislike crossed her expression. No, not dislike. It was more like annoyance or disgruntlement.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out what was going on. Based on the way Rose had talked about her, and based on the look she was giving me now, it was obvious she wanted a nanny about as much as a wolf wants a thorn in their paw.

Still, I wasn’t going to change that just by standing here. I walked inside and sat in front of her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Dani,” I said.

“I don’t need a nanny,” she grumbled, folding her arms.

“I’m sure you don’t,” I said. “I’m just here to help out in case something goes wrong.”

She gave me a suspicious look. Then something dawned in her eyes, and her lips curled into a mischievous smile before she remembered to conceal it.

“There are lots of things that go wrong here,” she said cryptically. “You probably won’t like it.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What types of things?”

“It’s the ghosts you’ve got to worry about,” she said in a stage whisper. “They do all sorts of things.”

Over at the door, I could hear Declan give an amused, if exasperated sigh. I ignored him, instead adopting a worried expression.

“There are ghosts here?” I asked.

Dani bobbed her head. “And some of them are really mean. They don’t usually like new people. So you better be careful.”

“Dani—” Declan warned.

“It’s okay,” I cut in. “I’m not afraid of ghosts.”

Dani eyed me suspiciously again. “You aren’t?”

I shook my head. “You see, I’m a ghost whisperer,” I said. “So I can talk to ghosts and tell them not to be mean to me.”

Dani pouted. “I don’t know if they’ll talk to you,” she muttered mulishly. “They’re picky about who they talk to.”

Behind me, I heard Declan give a soft chuckle.

“Well, if they want to talk to me, then I’m more than happy to chat with them,” I said. “Ghosts have some very interesting stories. I once talked to a ghost who used to be a pirate.”

“You did not,” she declared, folding her arms.

Raising my eyebrow, I asked, “And how do you know? We only just met. I could have talked to a dozen ghosts since we first started chatting.”

“No, you couldn’t. You’ve been talking to me.”

“I can do both.”

“Why don’t I show you the rest of the house, Mira?” Declan said. “Give Dani a bit of time to adjust to the new status quo.”

I nodded. “Sounds good.” Turning back to Dani, I said, “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”

“You too,” Dani said, though with little conviction.

I stood and headed back toward Declan. As soon as my back was turned, I heard “Boo!” at the same time as someone grabbed my sides.

I didn’t shriek. Instead, I turned and looked down at Dani. “You’re going to have to try harder than that,” I said.

Dani pouted, even as something like reluctant admiration glinted in her eyes. Declan chortled, and I turned to see the same amused smirk that had made my heart flutter all those years ago playing on his face.

“She’s got you there, Dani,” he said. “I’m going to show Mira the rest of the house and let her settle in. I expect you to give her a couple of days before you start tormenting her too much.”

The words were lighthearted, but I caught the sternness in his gaze. Dani huffed but nodded.

Declan met my gaze and jerked his head out the door, I followed him out. We walked a little way in silence, though this one felt less uncomfortable than the previous one, if only a little. What was I doing? This was Declan. I hated him. He’d made my life miserable and then made an ass out of me in front of everyone. And now he was going to be my boss, and I was going to live in his giant mansion. The whole thing was absurd. I needed to get in my car and leave.

“Sorry about that,” Declan said when we were far enough away from the room. “She likes playing pranks.”

I flapped my hand dismissively. “It’s harmless. Though she definitely has a mischievous streak.”

Declan flashed a warm, knowing grin. “Can’t imagine where she got that from,” he said innocently.

I gave a half-hearted smile as part of me bristled in indignation. Was he seriously acting like all the things he did to me when we were kids were because he had a “mischievous” streak and not because he was an awful bully who’d made my life miserable? God, why had I agreed to work here?

Because you don’t have any other options , a voice in my head reminded me.

Right. I was stuck. At least until I came up with a better plan.

I followed Declan through the rest of the house. It was impossible for me not to be blown away by the sheer size of it. He led me through the massive kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances. He showed me the living room with a massive TV above a grand fireplace, along with one wall made entirely of floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out on the stunning mountain landscape beneath us. He showed me an indoor-outdoor pool, and even a home theater.

“You’ve clearly done well for yourself,” I remarked, my head spinning as I tried to recall the labyrinthine halls and construct an internal map.

“Years and years of hazard pay for being a spec-ops agent,” Declan quipped. “It wasn’t an easy job. The pay made it worth it. That, and a very generous pension now.” He came to a stop in front of a closed door and opened it, gesturing for me to step inside. “This is your room,” he said.

I sucked in a breath. The room was practically the size of my old apartment. A massive bed was nestled in one corner, and large windows let the natural light stream in, the view outside a landscape of woods and mountain range. An open door opened onto what appeared to be a bathroom, the edge of what looked like a built-in jacuzzi just in view.

“Is it all right?” he asked when I remained silent.

“Yeah,” I said, bringing myself back to reality. I gave a warm smile even as my mind continued to spin. “It’s perfect.”

“Glad to hear it. I’ll have someone bring your bags up from your car,” he said.

“There are other people who work here?” I asked.

He laughed. That same laugh that used to melt my heart even when it was directed at me. My stomach lurched, and I had to remind myself that this man publicly rejected me and made me look like an idiot. He was the reason I had run away from my old pack. He didn’t care about me beyond being a nanny. Falling for him again was off the table.

“I couldn’t clean this whole place myself,” he said. “And if I expected you to do that, then you wouldn’t have any time to take care of Dani. There are a couple of maids who come in, and another couple of people who come in a couple days a week.”

“Right,” I said, a faint blush creeping over my face. “Makes sense.”

“I’ll leave you alone to get settled,” he said. He gave a short nod. “I’m glad you’re here.”

I nodded in return, the lump in my throat preventing me from saying anything further.

The instant he was gone, I collapsed on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, finally allowing myself to feel all the emotions that I had been suppressing ever since seeing Declan. The surge of emotions engulfed me, making it hard to breathe.

I tried to parse out exactly what I was feeling. It was an amalgamation, a concoction of shocked, angry, and nervous. The shocked part was understandable. A man I had written off as a part of my past had just barged back into my life without warning. A man who had rejected me and bullied me was now my boss. He had a kid he clearly adored. It felt so unlikely that I half-thought I was dreaming.

The anger also made sense. Declan had belittled me, insulted my appearance, and rejected me in public just because he could. He’d made my life a living hell for years and drove me out of the pack. I thought I had gotten over it. It had been years, after all. Apparently not. Seeing him had resurfaced all the suppressed anger. Part of me wanted to slap him, to yell at him, to make sure he knew just how much he’d hurt me. With the way he’d acted when I showed up, it didn’t seem like he fully understood the damage he had done.

And the anxiety. My plan to run away seemed to crumble before my eyes. He hadn’t bought the lie about me using the name Lacey. He might not think too hard about it right now, but once the shock was over, he was going to ask questions, and I wasn’t going to have good answers. What would he do when he found out the truth?

I couldn’t worry about that. I just had to make sure I did everything in my power to make sure that didn’t happen.