Chapter 2

Nova

The man stepped out from the shadows, revealing himself fully.

He was tall and slim, his dark suit perfectly tailored to fit his well-built form. His face, although somber, was incredibly handsome—dark, low-set brows over eyes like pools of honey. Silky, shoulder-length black hair half pulled back into a bun. A slight stubble across his sharp jawline.

Like all werewolves, there was something ethereal about him as well. He had a knowing look in his eyes, as if he had more years to him than his face let on. He had perfect skin. And his posture was straight, his chin lifted.

He looked at me down a long nose that had a faint bump in the middle of it like an ancient statue.

And he was looking at me expectantly; looking for an explanation.

Realizing I had been staring at him for a long time without answering his question, I quickly straightened and said politely, “I’m Nova Brooks. I’m here for an interview. For the nanny position.”

The man looked at me for a moment longer, and I resisted the urge to wriggle a little under his cold gaze. But I managed to keep my spine straight and my face pleasant, and took a moment to glance down at his attire.

Given his crisp suit with a matching waistcoat under the form-fitting jacket, I realized he must be the butler of the house—or was it the Beta? I wasn’t entirely sure, as I’d had little experience with werewolf hierarchy being a human myself, but I had heard Betas were essentially the right-hands to the Alphas.

“You? An interview?” The man looked almost amused, and a little annoyed. “I knew humans were opportunists at heart, but I didn’t expect one to try to get into the Alpha’s bed.”

My jaw dropped. “Get into the Alpha’s bed?” I blurted out, incredulous and extremely offended. “Would you have said that to the dozen other women sitting inside, or are you only saying that because I’m the only human here?”

The man didn’t answer right away, which was all the answer I needed. I folded my arms and stared at him. When he did finally speak, his voice was low and even.

“You should leave now before the interview process begins. You’ve already violated the rules of the Alpha House by entering a place you’re not permitted to be in.”

I frowned, starting to wonder if coming here had been a bad idea after all. The women in the parlor had obviously intentionally told me to go outside specifically to get me in trouble.

For a moment, I considered leaving just like he said.

Still, I couldn’t help but think about my sweet little Lila waiting to be picked up from school. Lila depended on me. I couldn’t back down from a potential job just because I didn’t like the way the butler spoke to me.

“I’m only in the garden because the other applicants told me to come here,” I said. “If there were enough chairs for everyone in the parlor, I wouldn’t have come out here at all.”

The man blinked. I went on, feeling bold now, “And for the record, I have a daughter—I have no interest in any man, not even the Alpha. He could strip naked in front of me for all I care, and I wouldn’t bat an eye. I just need a job.”

With that, I turned on my heel and stormed back inside, leaving the man standing speechless in the courtyard.

By that point, it was almost time for the interviews to begin. The other applicants were too busy practicing their answers to notice that I had returned, and I found a spot by the window to lean and think.

It wasn’t long before a young man in a crisp blue suit entered the room. He had a head of sandy blond hair and blue eyes, and looked younger than I.

“Announcing Alpha Dominic Blackwood,” the young man said. Was that the Beta, I wondered? Or another servant?

All of the women stood as the French doors swung open. I pushed away from the wall, hurriedly smoothing down the front of my dress and fixing my hair, wanting to make a good impression.

My stomach dropped when I saw who entered.

The man from the courtyard.

His cold, assessing gaze swept across the applicants, and I ducked my head, feeling ashamed. My face heated as I realized that I hadn’t just offended a butler or a Beta earlier—I had offended the Alpha of Wintercrest himself.

Alpha Dominic.

For a heart-stopping moment, as Alpha Dominic’s gaze settled on me, I thought he was going to single me out and kick me out of his house right in front of everyone. I braced myself for the scrutiny.

But surprisingly, he hardly gave me more than a brief, almost indifferent glance before he resumed looking around the room at the other women. I couldn’t decide if that was a bad thing or a good thing, but since he wasn’t kicking me out yet, I assumed it was the latter for now.

After a moment, he cleared his throat. “The selection process will be simple,” he said, his voice rich and sonorous in the spacious room. “Whoever can earn my daughter’s favor will move on to the next round. After that, I will select a few finalists before deciding which one of you will get the job.”

He then abruptly turned on his heel and left the room without another word.

The moment he was gone, the other women began whispering amongst themselves, but I remained silent and still. I didn’t know what to think of that.

Well, at least he hadn’t made me leave—and now I had nothing to lose, since I had already made a bad first impression in the garden. Heat crept up my neck just at the thought of how I’d mentioned him stripping naked—while the very man I was talking about was right in front of me.

But, even if the garden encounter had cost me the job, I decided I would stay and see if I could win the child’s favor anyway. If the child didn’t like me or Dominic decided he wanted me gone after all, I figured I would just go and try to find a job somewhere else.

“The Alpha’s daughter,” I heard one woman whisper. “I hear she won’t get close to anyone.”

I blinked at that. I moved a little closer to the group to hear better.

“Just six years old, and already she’s got a chip on her shoulder,” someone else said, shaking her head bitterly.

Another woman, the same woman who had taken the seat earlier, scoffed. “Well, can you blame her? She has no werewolf gift—she’s likely wolfless. Recently, she was even taken to the hospital for an evaluation…”

Alpha Dominic and his late wife were both Alphas. How could they have a wolfless child?