The Nanny and the Alpha – Shifters Series

Gabriela  Sometimes I find myself reflecting on life, on the countless traumas I have endured, and on the fears I still carry. None of it will help me grow. None of it will take me where I want to be. And yet, my mind and my heart keep trying to sabotage me while I am awake and even while I sleep. I dream about that day as if it happened yesterday. I can still smell the scent of dried blood stuck to my arms, and sometimes the bite burns as if it is still on fire. It is always the same dream. The same feeling. The same pain. I remember it clearly. My parents and I were on the road, and it was already past midnight. We never traveled at night. My father did not see well in the dark, and my mother was a terrible co pilot, so we always chose to travel during the day. But that night, we left my grandparents’ house later than we should have. That was when everything happened. My father was driving. My mother sat in the passenger seat. I was in the back. All of us were wearing seatbelts, laughing and talking, until something crossed in front of the car. My father slammed on the brakes while my mother screamed his name, telling him to stop the car. He tried, but we hit something so rigid and solid that the impact made the car roll over again and again. I remember waking up with blood on my face and a searing pain in my leg. Somehow, I was outside the car, lying face down. My entire body ached. A few meters away, the car where my parents still were was in flames. I tried to move several times, but my body was paralyzed, completely lethargic, while my eyes watched my parents burn inside that metal coffin. My heart pounded harder with every passing second. For a moment, I thought I had died and that my soul was temporarily trapped inside my body just so my eyes could witness that horror. But no. I was completely wrong. Everything that is bad can always get worse. I heard a strange sound, like an animal approaching me. The way it breathed made my body feel even more numb. When I sensed it getting closer to my motionless body, still face down, a sharper pain tore through my arm. I could not see it from that position. But when it moved in front of me, I saw it clearly from below. The size of the monster. Or rather, the size of the wolf. My entire body burned even more, while a strangled scream fought its way up my throat. I knew shifters existed. Everyone did. They lived among us. Some were even famous. But I had never seen one in person. That wolf blocking my vision had fur so black that it blended into the night itself. The only thing illuminating it was the fire consuming what remained of the car and of my parents. My eyelids grew heavy. The last thing I saw before everything went dark was the wolf’s amber eyes staring deeply into mine. The morning dawned cloudy, as always. But that would not stop me from going out and fighting for my survival. If I did not do that, I would not survive at all. After the accident, I found myself completely alone, thrown to fate. And I have never been lucky. I was still young, so I went to live with my maternal grandparents. Soon after, they passed away too, and I ended up in a shelter filled with younger children. I grew up moving from house to house because no family truly wanted someone as troubled as me. By the time I reached my last foster home, I was nearly of legal age, and that was when the struggle ended. I was on my own. I found a job and moved back into the house that had belonged to my parents. Things were going well until the nightmares returned. With them, sleep abandoned me. No matter how hard I tried, I could not close my eyes. I was terrified of seeing the burning car again and those amber eyes that still haunt me to this day. Sometimes I feel like I am being watched. Maybe it is paranoia. Maybe. Damn, my head hurts, I muttered to myself after handing out yet another résumé. I had spent the entire day job hunting, and after delivering the last sheet of paper, I gave up. On my way home, exhausted, I decided to buy a newspaper. I remember my father looking for jobs in newspaper ads. I know it is old fashioned, but it does not hurt to try. As soon as I got home, I dropped onto the couch, took a deep breath, and began scanning the few job listings available. Most of them required education and experience I simply did not have. Until one made me sit upright. Babysitter position. This is interesting. Whether I like it or not, I have experience with children. A lot of experience. I grabbed my phone, saved the number, and immediately messaged the contact through a messaging app. Let’s see where this leads, I murmured.