Page 13 of Captive Nanny to the Wolf

“What do you mean, ‘now?’ We haven’t been this close in years. Hopefully, we can find his trail, though I doubt it. If we come up empty, we’ll circle up at the Grizzly Den. Got it?”

Rollo hesitated for an instant, and briefly thought of telling Dax his predicament, but quickly realized this wasn’t the time. Maybe theycouldstill catch Frederick.

What was her name? Winona. Right. She would just have tokeep the boys safe for a little while longer.

* * *

The Grizzly Denserved as the pack’s sort of unofficial clubhouse. When they wanted absolute secrecy, there was no better place to meet than the back room. It was true that things had been going smoother with Finch, Nilsa, and the rest of the fae council. And having the king as a fanboy didn’t hurt, but still at times it seemed there were too many listening ears over at the Tribunal.

Sure enough, they had in fact come up empty. The pack, minus Jack, sat around their table in back.

The bar owner’s wife came back to take their orders..

“Bessie, feel free to charge us like we’re drinking, but I’m afraid we need to stay sharp at the moment. Maybe just some sweet tea, or water, thank you kindly,” Rollo said.

“Are you kidding? Duke would have my hide if I were to charge our boys a penny for a water.”

Duke was an old timer, and had been a contemporary of their parents’ generation, and in truth, the couple were almost like the pack’s parents, if such a thing could be said.

“We appreciate it,” Dax said.

He quickly turned his attention back to the group. “As you know, there was no body in the wreckage. So, maybe we almost had him, or maybe he is just fucking with us.”

This elicited a round of grumbling and low growls.

“We need to tighten up our ship. Mistakes were made, and we need to learn from them.”

“Are you gonna start talking about Scorpions and Frogs again?” Dayton quipped.

Rollo gave Dayton a subtle shake of the head. Dayton didn’t always know when to shut up. And this wasn’t the time to make a joke about one of their alpha’s favorite teaching stories.

“No, I am not,” Dax said in a flat tone that let all present know he meant business. “And don’t make me teach you the same less twice, Dayton. You took Jack to the hospital yourself, so you should know the dire consequences we are facing here.”

“Actually, the witches are the ones handling it. He’s in the back room at Curiouser.”

“Fine. Look, I called you guys here for one reason. Our brother Rollo here is counting on us. My mate Bloom is counting on us. Once again, Fae Crossing is counting on us. We. Cannot. Fuck. This. Up.”

Dax had made his point. Playtime was over.

As Rollo finally left the bar, the adrenaline surge that had been driving from the moment he had gotten that text began to fade.

Double fuck. Now I have to deal with that nanny.

* * *

Rollo approachedthe house with his head down. How was he going to face the boys knowing hestillhadn’t caught the psycho? He was exhausted. It was nearing midnight. His pack mates had decided to take Jack to the witches. He would be fine, but it had been close. Luckily, shifters were tough bastards, and Jack was as tough as they came.

When the cleanup had been finished, the pack gathered to discuss the situation. There had been no body found in the wreckage of the garage, and they had to conclude that the entire thing was most likely a ruse. There were so many layers of mistakes to sift through. They couldn’t be this sloppy. Working together at the Tribunal for years had taught them that their mistakes were their greatest teachers. But it was hard not to beat themselves up about it. They had to do better. They had a job to do. They were supposed to be the protectors. They didn’t get to fuck up like this.

Thank God it hadn’t been worse. He couldn’t bear to see any more kids orphaned. How was he ever going to make it right if the madman was still out there?

As he passed through his own front gate, he noted all was as it should be. Now all he had to deal with was the nanny. The one he had basically kidnapped. Fuck. How was he going to talk his way out of this one?Hopefully, I won’t have to beg Bloom to do some memory wipe spell or something. Dax would explain it to her, and as his mate, he was sure she would comply. From what he understood she had been studying up on spells as a way to get more in touch with her “fae heritage.” That’s what Dax said at least. Dax had suggested he take some fae studies classes like he was.No thanks.It was hard enough having them all over the place. He had zero interest in taking a class on them. Regardless, if she couldn’t, or would help, then he would have to go to plan B. But he didn’t want to think about approaching the witches.

Locking her in had been unfortunate, but there was just no way around it.

Maybe she won’t be mad.He almost laughed out loud at the thought as he unlocked the door and stepped inside.Yeah, right. She is gonna be pissed.

He stepped into the house and took a moment as his eyes adjusted to the dark. With his wolf senses, it was almost instant.

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