Page 76 of Bully Wolf's Nanny
“Even if they do, they’ll want to come back eventually,” he said. “They’re Iron Walkers. It’s in their blood.”
“I didn’t want to come back.”
“And yet,” he pulled her in close, ignoring her giggle and half-hearted attempt to push him away, “here you are.”
“Here I am,” she agreed, craning up to kiss him.
“Ewwww,gross,” came an indignant voice from behind him, and he turned to see Thea skipping towards them, backpack swinging from her shoulder.
“Thea,” Daisy chided, but without any real heat behind it.
“Hello there, kiddo,” Nicolas smiled as his daughter, despite her seeming disgust, wormed her way between her parents to give them both a hug.
Adjusting to Thea as his daughter, and not just Daisy’s daughter, had been much easier than he had expected. After all, he had already grown very fond of her presence around the house, and it was only too simple to slip into the shoes of her father for real, rather than just as man of the house.
There was no doubt in his mind that she was a shifter. Officially, it wouldn’t be confirmed until she first turned when she was older, but even without having two shifter parents the signs were all there. She adored the woods, spending every moment she was allowed racing through the trees with other children of the pack. It was his understanding that, alongside Felix’s two sons, she had established her own miniature kingdom. There was a wooden fort and everything. When he wason babysitting detail, Dane would shift and pretend to invade their territory, much to the children’s delight.
It was good. Healthy. They were all practicing for the day when they would step up and take their place in the pack proper. Nicolas only hoped they wouldn’t feel the need to form a Guard of their own and overthrow their predecessors.
When she wasn’t running wild with the other kids, she loved dragging Nicolas on camping trips, insisting that he teach her how to light fires and tie knots and all the hundred other things that children of the forest loved to learn. It was wonderful, watching her grow before his very eyes, seeing himself reflected in her intelligent face. A more innocent version of himself, perhaps. She would never have to bear the burden he had as a child, and for that he was grateful.
None of his children would have to go through what he had. Or what their mother had. He would see to that.
“Did you just walk yourself here from school?” Daisy asked, a hint of horror in her voice.
Thea rolled her eyes. “No. Uncle Felix picked me up, but he was walking too slow, so I ran ahead.”
Sure enough, Felix was walking towards them with a broad smile on his face, his twin sons sulking behind him.
“Heya, Nicolas. Daisy,” he greeted, pushing a stray blond hair out of his face.
“Thanks for picking her up,” Daisy said with a smile. “Did they let them go early?”
“Yup, just in time for the festival to begin,” Felix said.
“Wait, does that mean the assault course in the woods is open?” one of his sons, Danny, asked with delight.
“Can we go, Dad?” the other, Logan, chimed in.
“Bet I can beat you there!” Thea grinned, shoving her backpack into Nicolas’s hands before racing off across the square, the boys close at her heel.
“Wait! You need to get changed before you…ah, shit. Too late.”
Nicolas gave his friend a sympathetic pat on the back. “Are they getting too fast for you already?”
Felix snorted. “Say that again once we hit the track, Accardi. You’ll be mincemeat.”
“At least they’ll get some energy out?” Daisy suggested, taking Gracie from Nicolas and kissing the top of her head.
“Mamama,” Gracie said, “I wanna go with Thea!”
Daisy laughed, nuzzling their daughter. “Not quite yet, you’ve got some growing to do first!”
“We’re not gonna see them until sundown, are we?” Felix asked, the defeat in his voice clear.
“Ah, it’s okay. I think Dane’s down the assault course helping to move rocks. He’ll haul their asses back.”
“That’s what you said last time,” Felix groaned. “He instead taught them how to do a football tackle. You should see the state of my living room!”
