Page 53 of Rejected Nanny Mate
“Joe, I... I’m not sure how to say this,” she began, and she looked so nervous that I almost felt bad for her. “But I know we're not on the same page when it comes to us and Rose, so I think it would be best if I just came out with it.”
“Okay...”
She took a deep breath, then leaned in, laying one perfectly manicured hand on my chest before I could step back. “I want to be with you. I still think about the night we had together, and there was a reason I came here when I was fleeing my old pack. I wanted to be with you. I thought I could have it all: you, my daughter, and the safety of the alliance, but...” she bit her lip. “I feel like you're pushing me away, and I don't know why. Don't you find me beautiful?”
It would be a lie to say she wasn't. Mia was beautiful, but beautiful, like a work of art behind the glass at a museum. Not the warm, touchable, irresistible type of beautiful that Gwen was to me. I barely remember the night we spent together, either. Itwas just one link in a chain of hookups I'd had to try and fill the emptiness inside of me to no avail. Part of me wanted to tell her exactly that, and part of me didn't want to be a total asshole to the woman who had saved Gwen, Rose, and Rhie, and who was still recovering from being part of an abusive pack.
I sighed. “Mia, you are gorgeous, and you're a wonderful mother, but you need to understand that there is no us. That night...I barely remember it. I was drunk, you were drunk, and we both made a mistake. Something amazing came out of it, our Rose, but I have no interest in pursuing anything else with you. Maybe instead of joining my pack, you should consider joining one of the others in the alliance. I'm not your Alpha and—”
“You're right,” she whispered. “You're not my Alpha.” She took a step towards me, and then another until I had nowhere else to go. My back hit the wall, and Mia's face was inches from mine. I could smell her perfume, and something deeper underneath it. Something I couldn't place, but it was making my skin crawl.
“Then what are you doing?” I asked, voice low. “I don't want to hurt you, but if you keep pressing, I will. We can't be anything more than Rose's parents.”
“I'm not going anywhere,” she said, her tone matching mine. “I don't think you're taking this seriously at all. We share a daughter, and that means we should be together. You have an obligation to me, Alpha.” She put a hand on my chest. “So, I'm here to collect what I'm owed.”
Mia, in heels, was tall enough to barely have to stretch when she tried to kiss me, but I'd had enough. I grabbed her shoulders and held her away from me, letting some of my wolf slip into my eyes, making them glow. Her seductive smile fell, but if anything, she looked even more determined.
“I said no.”
She took her hands away from my body, but instead laid them on the straps of her dress, sliding them down. “Then maybe you'd just like to watch me—”
I sensed Gwen only a second before she pushed the door open, and I caught a whiff of her scent as she stormed into the room. Gwen rarely got angry, and while her emotions were a whirlwind, she still froze when she saw the two of us—me against the wall, and Mia slipping the straps of her dress down in front of me. There was fury inside of her, I was sure of it, but Gwen wasn't a fighter, and when she looked at me, all I saw in her eyes was pain.
“Gwen—”
She shook her head, then turned around and left without another word. I heard her footsteps flying down the hallway and then up the stairs to the first floor. Fuck! I'd been waiting for her all night, planned this fucking party just to be able to have some time alone with her, and now it had all gone to shit.
I didn't fight women as a rule, but I was so angry at Mia that I had the wild thought that I wished she'd attack me with her magic so I had a reason to fight back and force her out of my territory. I was hit by a wave of hate for the mother of my child. There was no proof that she'd planned this seduction with the intention of Gwen finding us, but the worst had still happened, and it was Mia's fault.
And mine, for letting myself be trapped in a room alone with her. I had to fix what had just happened. I had to catch Gwen.
I growled low, letting Mia see how angry I was, and she still reached out for me, the top of her dress nearly off. “Wait,” she pleaded. “Just stay. I want you. Even if it's just sex, Joe, I—”
“Get the fuck out of my house,” I snarled, grabbing her wrist and squeezing until she gasped and pulled away, fear flashing in her eyes. “Get out of here before I throw you out, Mia.”
“Joe!”
I ignored her, tearing down the hallway and flying down the stairs. I had to catch Gwen. I had to tell her everything. That I was hers, and no one else's, if she'd have me. I'd do whatever it took to convince her that Mia was nothing to me, and that I'd been thinking about her since the moment I laid eyes on her.
The party outside was in full swing. No one seemed to notice or care that I'd been upstairs with another woman. Everyone was drinking and having fun, and for a moment, I wanted to stop and enjoy it. The wolves of all the packs were getting along, laughing, eating, talking, playing music, and I'd been the one to provide all of them with a night off from fearing the surge. I felt good about that. I'd done something for my pack, and it seemed to be working.
But none of that would matter if Gwen hated me.
I spotted Rhie immediately. She was talking to Jayce, and even from across the yard, I could tell she was tipsy. The two of them were leaning in close, smiling, with a flirtatious air between them. Maybe that was a mistake, but it wasn't my business.
Jayce spotted me, and when he saw the look on my face, understanding dawned on him. “I saw her go east, away from the house. I yelled for her because she seemed distraught, but she didn't stop.”
Most—but not all—of the animosity I'd felt towards Jayce dissipated. I nodded at him in thanks, and, between one step andthe next, shifted, put my nose to the ground, and went to find my woman.
Chapter 20 - Gwen
Tears were flowing down my face by the time I made it to the first floor of the house, and I was holding back a full-on sob by the time I made it outside. I pushed through the crowd, desperate to get free, even when I heard people yelling my name.
He'd been alone with Mia. She'd been undressing.
It was ridiculous to feel this way. I knew I had no claim on him. Joe wasn't mine, and he never would be. He was an Alpha, and I was just a poor, broken Omega wolf. It didn't matter that I thought I was in love with him, or that every time I looked at Rose, I wanted to make her my daughter, too. He was a catch. He was a prime example of a wolf shifter, and even if he wasn't, he was a good man. Anyone would be lucky to have him as a partner.
Even if it wasn't me.
