Chapter 23


    Chapter 23: The Alpha Pups


    Moana


    As I was drying off my hands on the plush hand towel, I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder.


    It was Kelly.


    “Oh… You scared me,” I said, taking a step backwards. “Do you need something?”


    “Why haven’t you been doing your job?” she asked abruptly, her voice somewhat shrill. She seemed


    incredibly irritated, and her face was a bit red from alcohol.


    “Um… Excuse me?” I asked.


    Kellyughed and rolled her eyes abrasively, folding her thin arms across her small chest. I was never


    much of the type to judge other women negatively for their bodies, but it was apparent that she was


    wearing a pushup bra through her almost-sheer dress, and it wasn’t working. In fact, now that I thought


    of it, I had hardly seen her eat anything at the luncheon the other day or at the banquet just now. It


    made me wonder if it was a regr thing for her to refuse food, which made me sorry for her.


    “You’re the nanny,” she said, stepping toward me and poking her index finger into the center of my


    sternum. “You’re basically just a glorified maid whose only duty is to y with children all day. So, pray


    tell, why are you spending the evening running around with Edrick and Ethan instead of doing your


    job?”


    I blinked, taken aback by Kelly’s rude behavior.


    “Don’t just stare at me,” she snarled. “When someone asks you a question, you answer.”


    “I’m entitled to spend a few minutes socializing when E is with her grandmother.” I attempted to step


    around Kelly, but she moved with me and stood in my way. She had her hands on her hips now.


    “E is still with Verona,” she said. “She doesn’t need you, but I know someone else who does.”


    I watched, confused by what Kelly seemed to be getting at, as she held up her hand in front of her face


    and inspected her nails. “There are children here who need watching, nanny,” she said, ncing up at


    me over her nails with an almost evil look on her face. “Do you want me to take you to them?”


    I nced over at the door. “Well, I promised Edrick I’d stay with him and E for the remainder of the


    night,” I said.


    Kelly shrugged. “I spoke to Edrick. He said that he doesn’t care, so long as you’re preupied and not


    trying to f**k his brother.”


    “He… said that?” I asked, my voice quivering slightly as I felt my face flush hot with embarrassment. “I


    wasn’t trying to–”


    “Come with me,” Kelly interrupted, turning on her heel and heading for the door. “I’ll take you to where


    the children are.”


    I still felt embarrassed at the thought of Edrick speaking about me like that to Kelly, but decided to


    follow her; I couldn’t hide in the bathroom for the remainder of the night, but I also didn’t want to see


    Edrick at the moment if that was what he was saying about me, so I figured that it would be easiest to


    just “do my job”, as Kelly liked to put it.


    I followed Kelly through the winding pce hallways. She always stayed a few steps ahead of me,


    taking sudden corners and mming doors in my face, essentially making me jog to keep up with her


    so that I didn’t get lost in this maze of a mansion. If I was being honest, I wasn’t sure how I would find


    my way back to the party on my own if Kelly left me wherever she was taking me.


    “Almost there,” Kelly called over her shoulder as she rounded a corner in a sh of long blonde hair.


    “I’m sure you don’t mind the trek, though. You could use the cardio, right?”


    I wanted to shout back at Kelly that no, I didn’t need the cardio and that I was actually quite fit, but I


    decided to keep my mouth shut and just follow her for the sake of keeping my job. If Edrick really


    thought that I was trying to sleep with his own brother after sleeping with him and bing his


    employee, then it would also be a risk to talk back to his childhood best friend. Regardless of how


    much Kelly aggravated me, one wrong word from her could potentiallynd me in the unemployment


    office… And I didn’t want to have to go there again if I could help it.


    Finally, we rounded onest corner and pushed open a set of heavy double wooden doors,ing out


    into another courtyard garden. This one wasrger than the other with a massive oak tree in the center,


    but it was much further from the banquet hall. In fact, it was so dark outside now that we were away


    from the glow of the party that I could hardly see, nor could I hear any sounds of music or people


    talking anymore.


    “And here we are,” Kelly said, gesturing with a condescending flourish toward the two children who


    were standing in the middle of the courtyard. “Good luck, nanny.”


    I went to ask Kelly why she was wishing me “good luck” in such a sinister tone of voice, but when I


    turned around and opened my mouth to speak, she was already gone.


    “Um… Hello,” I said, approaching the two young boys that stood in the middle of the courtyard. “I’m


    Moana. What are your names?”


    The boys didn’t reply. They appeared to be too busy ring at each other, their little fangs bared and


    their pointy wolf ears pri cked backwards. It was reminiscent of the way that E had looked the night


    that I had my interview, except these boys were a bit older and bigger, and were more frightening than


    E had been.


    “Is everything alright?” I asked.


    Still no answer.


    Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org.


    I started to get concerned and looked over my shoulder, hoping to see Kelly standing nearby, or


    anyone passing by who might be able to help; but there was no one. I was too far from the party to call


    for help, nor would I be able to find my way back to the banquet hall by myself. I couldn’t just leave


    these boys alone, either, since they appeared as though they were about to fight. Who knew what


    trouble two werewolf boys could cause on their own!


    The boys started snarling more loudly and began to approach each other, crouched down. My first


    instinct was to put myself between them in the hopes that they would stop, or that they would even sc


    atter, but I was met with a menacing growl as I made my first move toward them. I stopped in my


    tracks, my heart racing as I tried to think of some other way to stop this before anyone got hurt, but


    there was nothing I could do.


    I watched in horror as the boys shifted into their wolf forms. They wererger than I expected for such


    young boys, indicating that they were both going to grow up to be Alphas — which would also indicate


    that they could kill me in a matter of seconds if they tried.


    Gulping, I took a few steps back as the little Alphas began to circle one another.