Bully Alpha Daddy (Gold Wolves Black Ops #1)

Chapter 7 - Mira

I watched Dani stack a block on a precarious section of her assembled tower. Her tongue stuck out in concentration as she moved slowly, making sure the block was just so as its foundation wobbled. I waited, not realizing I was barely breathing, to see what happened next.

Satisfied with its positioning, she slowly released the block, holding her hand in a grabbing motion in case she needed to jump back in and steady it. It stayed where it was.

“Told you!” Dani said triumphantly.

“I’m impressed,” I said honestly, gazing at the tall, spindly tower that now had a large triangle balancing on top of a rounded piece at the top. “I thought it would topple.”

She puffed out her chest proudly. “You just have to figure out how to balance it,” she said.

I nodded. “You really have a knack for this type of thing, Dani.”

“Thanks!” She beamed at the praise.

A familiar scent wafted toward me. My stomach lurched a second before Declan’s voice asked from behind me, “Are you two having fun?”

“No,” Dani said defiantly, folding her arms as though she hadn’t just been smiling and enjoying herself. I didn’t mind. I knew she still didn’t like the concept of nannies. I was hoping she might be warming up to me a little, but I couldn’t be sure. Even if she was, she wasn’t going to admit it to her dad.

“I’m sure,” Declan said, eyes flicking between me, the tower, and Dani, his face somber even as an amused twinkle sparkled in his eye. “Hey, Mira, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure.” I stood and glanced back at Dani. “Why don’t you keep building without me? I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

Dani nodded. She was already resetting the entire mechanism, her tongue sticking out in concentration as she debated how to improve it. Certain she would be occupied for the next couple of minutes, I stood and headed toward Declan, following him out into the hall.

“Seems like the two of you are getting along,” he remarked. “Even if she’s claiming otherwise. I can tell.”

I nodded, heat rushing into my face. “Maybe,” I said. “She’s difficult to read at times. But she’s brilliant. Really. If you can get her engaged in something, she’s a genius.”

He gave a fond smile. “Problem is, she’s mostly engaged in pranks and mischief.”

“She just needs some creative outlets. She’s smart enough to get bored easily.” An idea struck, and I added, “You should get her more building things. Models and things like that. She’s got a good eye for engineering.”

He raised an eyebrow, peering over my shoulder to look back down the hall as if he could see Dani playing with the building blocks. “Really?” he asked.

I blushed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. Not my place.”

He shook his head. “No, no. It’s fine. Why would I be annoyed that you’re getting to know my daughter well enough to suggest that? Not going to lie, I’m impressed. Most of the nannies aren’t able to handle her energy.”

“She just needs the proper outlets,” I said. “And the trick is finding an outlet that entertains her for more than five minutes.”

He chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the edges in a way that softened his harsher features. My stomach fluttered traitorously. No. I wasn’t going to go down that path again. “Well, thanks.” His hand went to my shoulder. “I appreciate it.”

I sucked in a breath, feeling my body tense at the touch as if he had electrified me. Something seemed to linger in the air between us, something unspoken. My wolf growled, wanted to get closer. For a wild moment, I wanted to step forward, to clear the small gap between us. But I couldn’t. Not with Declan. Not after he had hurt me once already.

“Was there anything else?” I asked, breaking the bizarre spell that threatened to consume both of us.

“Yeah, actually,” he said. His hand fell away, and my shoulder felt cold, almost barren, without the warmth of his touch. “There’s going to be a large party here in a couple of days.”

“Got it.” I nodded. “I can keep Dani entertained in her playroom while that’s happening, no problem.”

He looked confused for a moment, his head tilting as his brow furrowed. Then realization seemed to strike, and he gave a soft chuckle.

“No, no. Dani can keep herself entertained,” he said. “I can just give her a bunch of movies to watch. That means you can take the day off.”

“So you want me to leave?” I asked, confused. “I guess I could go into town. There’s that cute café I’ve been wanting to go to.”

He shook his head before giving me an even more bewildered look. “What? No. I’m inviting you to the party.”

“Oh. Oh. ” Heat flooded my cheeks, and I knew I had turned beet-red. “Right. Of course.”

Declan gave a snort. “Why do you seem so surprised?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it, realizing that I couldn’t tell him the truth. It was too convoluted. Considering I had never been invited to anything when I was part of Harrison’s pack or when I was a kid, it felt almost unnatural to assume I was invited. And the fact that it was Declan, of all people, asking me to come made the situation even more surreal.

All of that felt too complicated to properly articulate. Instead, I took the easy way out. “I just figured you would want me to keep an eye on Dani, that’s all,” I muttered.

He took a half-step toward me, his hand going back to my shoulder. I wasn’t sure if he even knew he had done it. His dark eyes glittered like obsidian as he looked down at me, his face impossibly close to mine.

“Trust me,” he said. “There’s nowhere else I would rather you be.”

***

The mansion buzzed with life.

People mingled, wandering in and out of the large house and into the yard. It was only noon, but everyone was drinking, partying, and having a good time.

I was trying to do the same as I lurked in the corner, trying to get my anxiety under control as I took in the massive crowd. It looked like he must have invited half the town. I wanted to talk to people, to get to know them better. But every time I tried to muster the courage to move into the fray and introduce myself, visions of my old pack flooded into the front of my mind, and that fear of rejection in yet another pack would grip me and keep me rooted to the spot.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Waiting here wasn’t going to do much good. I should find someone, even if it was just Jackson. Maybe not Declan, though. I still couldn’t get the thoughts about our run through the woods out of my mind. But surely I could find someone who wasn’t terrifying to talk to.

As my eyes swept across the room, my eyes snagged on the side profile of a familiar-looking woman, one with wide blue eyes and auburn hair that fell in loose curls around a pixie-like face. I recognized her immediately. Rose, the woman who had hired me. Someone I knew other than Declan and Jackson.

Still, I hesitated, debating whether to go talk to her or not. What if she didn’t like me in person? What if she laughed at me or said hiring me was a mistake?

I forced myself not to think like that. There was no evidence. And besides, it was either see what happened, or stay in a corner looking weird and creepy for the rest of the party.

Steeling myself, I moved from my corner and weaved through the cluster of people until I stood next to her.

“Rose?” I asked.

Rose turned. Her eyes lit up when she saw me. “You must be Mira!” she said, beaming. “It’s so nice to meet you in person.” To my surprise, Rose pulled me into a hug. “Declan told me you’ve been wonderful with Dani.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” I said, trying not to sound too self-conscious. “I appreciate you giving me a chance.”

“You didn’t give me a reason not to,” Rose responded, winking. “How are you liking everything?”

“It’s been a bit of an adjustment,” I admitted. Then, without thinking, I added, “I wish I had the chance to go into town more. I just typically don’t have an excuse to.”

She grinned. “I think I can help you with that. You should come into town sometime soon. We can meet up, and I can show you around a bit! There are so many cute places that I’m sure you would love. And that way, you at least get the lay of the land a bit better.”

“Yeah,” I said, trying not to seem too surprised even as a rush of appreciation mixed with apprehension washed over me. “Yeah, I would like that.”

Rose beamed, then her eyes looked past me. “Oh, there’s Declan. I have to go chat with him. But come find me later, okay?”

As she left, I tried to shake my head to clear it. But I had only been able to take a short reprieve when a booming voice echoed behind me.

“So you’re the one tasked with wrangling in our favorite hellion,” a man said.

I turned to see a hulking man with messy red hair looking down at me and giving a lazy grin. He clapped me on the back. “Has she run circles around you yet?”

“She’s been trying to,” I said, earning me a loud laugh from the man.

“Yeah, she does that. But anyone who can handle that is worth some merit in my books.” He stuck out his hand. “Nolan.”

“Mira,” I said.

“Oh, I’m very aware. You know, Jackson told us he had a sister. He neglected to tell us what a beauty you are, though.”

“Oh.” Heat flooded my cheeks. It was kind of him to say, but I also knew it was a total lie. I was far from beautiful.

“Pay no attention to Nolan,” Jackson said, appearing next to him. “He thinks he’s God’s gift to women.”

“Because I am,” Nolan shot back. “And hilarious and charming to boot.”

Ignoring him, Jackson added, “And the reason I didn’t talk about you much was because I wanted to avoid situations like this.”

“You wound me,” Nolan said.

“You’ll get over it.” Jackson nudged Nolan playfully. Then to me, he asked, “Have you met the rest of the Gold Wolves yet?”

I shook my head. It still felt strange knowing that my brother had become a Gold Wolf. It felt as though I barely knew him. Granted, I really didn’t know him that well anymore, considering I hadn’t seen him in so many years.

“Well, if you’re going to stick around here, you’re gonna have to meet us all, anyway. Might as well do it now.”

I blushed as a flood of self-consciousness washed over me. I had never been great at being the center of attention. But as much as I didn’t want to, I knew Jackson had a point. So, I let him put his arm around me and steer me away from Nolan and deeper into the crowd. He waved at people as we walked past, flashing cheerful grins as he pointed out various people whose names escaped my memory the second we walked past.

Eventually, he pulled to a halt in front of a trio of other large shifters. I didn’t need to see their scars to guess that these were the other Gold Wolves.

“These are the guys who saved my ass on multiple occasions,” Jackson said. “Guys, this is my sister, Mira.”

“The new nanny,” said a man with dirty-blond hair that fell between his shoulder blades. With his piercing blue eyes and stubble, he reminded me of a Viking.

“That’s me,” I said.

“This is Will.” Jackson gestured at him before turning to wave vaguely at the lean but still muscular brown-haired shifter next to him. “And that’s Trent.”

I shook their hands, giving a timid but genuine smile. It felt weird after all this time. My brother had never introduced me to his friends when we were kids. Him doing it now was just another adjustment I had to force myself to get used to.

“Chris,” the final man said before Jackson had the chance to introduce him, holding out his hand for me to shake. “Jackson’s told us a lot about you.”

I tried to hide my surprise. “Um, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” I stammered, earning a laugh from the rest of the crowd.

“Good thing,” Chris promised.

“Chris, despite being around the same age as the rest of us, was sort of a father figure when I joined the group,” Jackson explained. “Kind of knocked some sense into me and stopped me from acting like an arrogant ass all the time.”

“Or tried to, at least. Mixed results,” Chris quipped.

I spoke with the group for a while more, trying not to feel too self-conscious or give anything about my old pack away as they asked questions. It went smoother than I expected, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t relieved when Jackson pulled me away to grab new drinks.

“They seem nice,” I said as I followed Jackson to the kitchen island where a dozen bottles of various alcohols stood sentry, waiting to be used. Jackson grabbed a couple and began creating a concoction.

“They’re all great. I don’t know what I would do without any of them,” he said.

“I’m glad you had them,” I said. Seeing Jackson now compared to what he used to be like was a staggering difference. As strange as it was to reconcile the guy in front of me with the brother I had grown up with, I had to admit that he had changed.

“Me too. Anyway, are you having fun?” Jackson asked, handing me the drink he had just made.

“Yeah,” I said, taking the cup from him. “Yeah. Everyone seems really nice. It’s a great party.”

“Why do you sound so surprised?” he asked. “You would think that we were all evil monsters.”

“Nah. I just didn’t know what to expect,” I said, not wanting to dredge up past history, especially not with Jackson. I was still getting used to the fact that he was falling into the role of big brother after all this time. Especially considering he had never acted that way when we were younger when I really could have used it.

“Well, get used to us.” Jackson clapped me on the back. “If you’re going to keep looking after Dani, you’re going to have to deal with all of us. We all have a soft spot for her.”

I gave a small grin, though a flicker of unease crept over me. Was that the only reason everyone tolerated me? Because I was looking after Dani? It made sense; these people barely knew me. But something about that conditionality made a nugget of disappointment settle inside me.

“I should probably go check on Dani, anyway,” I said, extracting myself so I didn’t have to go down that unpleasant train of thought. I weaved through the crowd and made my way to the stairs.

“You all right?” Declan’s voice called from behind me. I turned and nearly took a half-step back when I realized how close he was—so close, I could see his individual eyelashes. A wild urge surged through me, making me want to clear the distance between us and kiss him.

I forced the thought away. This was Declan. I didn’t care how attracted to him I was. I still didn’t trust him, and I wasn’t going to let myself fall into the same pit I had all those years ago.

“Yeah,” I said. “I was just going to check on Dani and make sure she was all right.”

“I’m sure she’s fine,” he said. He gave a charming grin as his eyebrow raised. “Besides, I thought I told you to take the day off. I’m pretty sure that includes not sneaking off to do your normal job.”

“I’ve never been good at listening,” I said, realizing how dry my mouth was.

Having Declan this close made my wolf want to press against him. Part of me wanted to throw caution to the wind, pull him toward me, and kiss him. It took all my willpower to stay put and ignore those urges. This was Declan. I wasn’t going to make an idiot of myself by making the same mistake twice. The laughter from all those years ago still rang fresh in my head, and his harsh words bounced in my head. I needed to keep him at arm’s length. I didn’t care how attractive he was, or the way his scent drove my wolf wild, or that there was this occasional tug deep in my stomach that seemed to pull me toward him.

“In that case, I guess I’m going to have to steer you away from the stairs whether you like it or not,” Declan growled.

His hand went to the small of my back and guided me away from the steps, deeper into the party. My skin burned where he touched as my heart began working overtime.

The rest of the party went by in a blur. Declan barely left my side, not moving more than five feet away before gravitating toward me again. I was painfully aware of his presence and his precise location every minute for the rest of the evening. I tried to keep the mix of emotions running through me—annoyance, shyness, longing—out of my expression as I met a dozen new people.

Finally, mercifully, the party began to wind down, and soon it was only the Gold Wolves left wandering around the massive mansion.

“See? Was that so bad?” Declan asked me, a tiny smirk on his face.

In the distance, the doorbell rang.

“It could have been worse,” I admitted. “Thanks for letting me enjoy the party.”

“You live here. I would have to be a massive asshole to not let you join in the fun,” he said, giving me a playful nudge.

Will walked over, a small frown furrowed on his face.

“Hey, Declan?” he said. “There’s a guy at the front door.”

“I assumed as much when I heard the doorbell ring.” Declan’s smirk slid into a slight frown as he studied Will’s expression. “What do they want?

Will glanced over at me, and my stomach lurched. “He says his name is Harrison. He’s the alpha of Oakwood pack.”

I sucked in a breath, mind racing. Oh, God. He found me.

Declan saw my expression, and his own body tensed.

“He wants to talk to Mira,” Will said.