Page 32 of Rejected Nanny Mate
The man looked thoughtful for a moment, and then nodded, kneeling down and scooping Joe up in his arms. He struggled under the weight of the shifted Alpha wolf, but his unnatural werewolf strength prevailed. “I've got a truck parked on the road a bit from here. We'll have him taken care of soon.”
“Thank you.”
I stood and followed him, staying close and keeping an eye on Joe, whose face was slack.
“I'm not sure how well you know our pack,” Vernon said, and his voice had an odd, almost wary, tone to it. “But you'll want to watch yourself. We aren't always...as forward asthe Saltfangs and Shadowbays have become. I know they're perfectly happy to have witches as Lunas, but that ain't our way. Joe runs his pack like his father. He respects the old ways.”
The old ways where women stay at the bottom of the pack until a male decides she'd make an adequate mate, he meant. The words went unsaid, but I heard them loud and clear. It made my stomach drop, but I also thought that Joe might be more progressive than he let on to his pack. He never treated me, a lowly Omega from another pack, with anything but respect.
I didn't say that out loud, either. I needed Vernon to get Joe to the pack healer without stopping to argue with me about a woman's place in a wolf pack.
“Thank you for the warning,” I said instead, and then, unable to resist, I added, “It's nice, though. The changes Samson has made.”
“You don't have to convince me,” Vernon replied, sounding amused. “I like things just the way they are.” He grunted under Joe's weight once more and adjusted his hold on the Alpha. “I've been waiting a while to see Joe take the lead. I'm glad he's finally done it. That's why, no matter how much the Alphas might trust witches, the rest of the pack doesn't. They've seen what the Saltfang pack has become.”
“And what is that?”
Vernon's eyes darkened. “Soft. Women taking charge, witches...a mess.”
My blood boiled, and I bristled. “You know, you can't even imagine how good it is to not be at the bottom. To be respected. To have the freedom to choose what you want. To know that no matter what, you're strong and capable and can handle whatever is thrown at you.”
“Like you could handle this?”
He didn't have to elaborate. I knew exactly what he meant, and the worst part was, Vernon was right. I didn't even know why I spoke up in the first place. Arguing with a more dominant wolf was a nightmare scenario for me most of the time, but I was so exhausted, and there was still so much adrenaline in my body that I'd spoken before thinking about it.
My shoulders slumped under the weight of his words, and I pressed my palm to my chest, focusing on my breathing. There were a lot bigger things to worry about besides arguing, and all of them had to do with Joseph Longwood.
He would be okay. He had to be. I'd been able to slow his bleeding using the magic—or was itmymagic? The idea was mind-boggling. Both of my best friends were witches, and powerful ones at that, but I'd never thought I would have power manifest, too. Maybe it was just a one-time thing, or a side effect of the magical surge.
Or maybe it really was mine. Far back in my family, there had been women with magic, but it hadn't manifested in at least two generations. I thought it was just an urban legend in my family, but now...
Whatever. That was a problem for another day. For the time being, I would just count it as a blessing and pray it didn't decide to come back.
A few moments later, a pickup truck appeared on the road, and a young man hopped out. There were other wolves emerging from the forest, apparently having abandoned their search once word spread that the surge was gone and the Alpha was missing.
“Boss!” the first guy called, racing over.
“Get the door,” Vernon commanded.
The younger man jumped to attention, rushing around and opening the backseat, where we could lay Joe across the seats. The five or so other wolves hovered in the background, and it took some effort for me to push my way through to be closer to Joe.
“Is he dead?” the young man asked, his face pale.
“Not yet,” Vernon answered, laying Joe down gently. “But we've got to get him to the pack healer.”
“What happened?” someone else asked, and a low murmur of chatter spread through the small group. I'd finally pushed through to the front. I laid my hand on Joe's damp, furry thigh and felt my heart in my throat. He just had to be okay.
“He was searching for the magic surge,” Vernon said, “and we all felt when he went down through the pack bonds. I found him over by the river, with the nanny bombarding him with magic.”
I whipped around to stare at the man that I'd previously been so grateful for, despite our differences. I'd have never been able to carry Joe out of the forest on my own, but it looked like Vernon could be turning on me.
And I was all alone, the only wolf, not part of the pack, surrounded by worried, potentially pissed-off males. My anxiety surged as the chatter kicked up higher.
“Bombarding him with magic?” a wolf asked.
“Yeah. It seems like Alpha's new nanny is also a witch.”
Everyone went quiet at that and looked at me. I moved closer to Joe, even if he was still passed out, fingers clutching his fur. “I'm not a witch.”
