The Nanny and the Alpha – Shifters Series

Chapter 5

Gabriela

I needed distance, just that.

Not answers, not explanations, not the way my pulse betrayed me every time Ethan walked into a room. Distance!

Victor was on the floor of the playroom, surrounded by wooden blocks and soft animal-shaped cushions. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, warming the rug beneath my legs. The air carried a faint scent of cedar and something sweet… powder, maybe.

Normal and safe.

Victor laughed softly when one of his towers collapsed. The sound loosened something tight inside my chest.

Then the scar burned.

It wasn’t a mild discomfort—it was a sharp, sudden stab that made my fingers clench against my arm.

I pulled in a harsh breath.

Heat spread from the mark up my neck, across my shoulder, like liquid fire sliding beneath my skin. I felt my cheeks flush instantly.

Victor stopped laughing, his small hands going still. He turned his head toward the door. I hadn’t heard anything—I was too busy absorbing every possible ounce of pain from the damn mark.

But the air around us shifted completely. It grew denser, strange.

My body recognized him before my mind did.

Ethan.

The burning intensified even more. I pressed my palm against the scar as if I could smother it, force it to stop hurting so much. His presence darkened the doorway. He didn’t step inside immediately—he simply watched, and it wasn’t casual. It was calculated. Deeply predatory.

Victor pushed himself up on unsteady legs and walked toward him, his little arms slightly raised.

Halfway there, he froze.

Then he turned and came back to me.

Vic wasn’t confused.

He was choosing.

He pressed his face against my thigh, tiny fingers clutching the fabric of my pants.

Ethan’s jaw tightened.

It was subtle, but I saw it. The muscle flexed once.

The burning turned into pain—a deeper, throbbing ache that spread behind my ear and down my spine. My vision blurred at the edges for a second.

— Does it hurt? — His voice was low and rough.

— No. — I lied, even though my legs felt completely unsteady.

Victor whimpered, as if he could feel my anguish. When Ethan stepped into the room, even the temperature shifted. The air felt heavier, and my lungs struggled to draw it in. He inhaled and exhaled several times, his chest expanding before settling again. Ethan’s eyes seemed golden once more, pulling a desperate breath from my lips.

Vic made a distressed sound, as if he could sense both my pain and his father’s wolf slipping out of control. Ethan closed his eyes again, and when he opened them, he stared at me.

_ I apologize… I… _ He seemed momentarily awkward, but soon the leader’s posture returned.

He was fighting his instincts.

Maybe having a nanny marked by another wolf isn’t the most pleasant thing in the world.

I forced myself to stand, even though my legs trembled with pain.

— I’m fine. — I lied again, without the slightest shame, even knowing it was wrong.

His gaze went straight to my arm, hidden beneath the long sleeve of my shirt—not to my face. For a few seconds, the pain consumed both my body and my mind. Little Victor began to cry, and the sound seemed to pierce through my skull.

Ethan moved quickly, grabbing me around the waist to keep me upright. But as my nose filled with the scent of his cologne, the dizziness intensified more and more.

— You’re not fine. — His voice grew even rougher, and my arm felt like it was on fire.

Suddenly, I felt cold.

A cold so intense it completely swept away the heat, making my teeth chatter against each other. Ethan tightened his hand at my waist, frowning.

My entire body was freezing.

But my arm…

It felt like it might fall off at any moment.

I whimpered in pain, unable to control my emotions, and Victor began crying harder.

_ Sit down, Gabriela, I will ease your pain. _ My brain couldn’t process anything at all.

Ethan guided me into an armchair, then tore the sleeve of my blouse, exposing my arm—and the bite mark of another wolf.

It was red.

Burning with fever.

Ethan did the last thing I expected.

He slid his tongue over the mark left by another wolf, sending shivers through my entire body—and most of all, bringing instant relief.

I looked at Victor, who had grown calmer, and then at Ethan, who looked like a wolf licking its wounds—except he was licking someone else’s.

_ I-I…

_ Our saliva has healing properties, Gabriela. It will ease it for now. _ He stood up and stepped away, leaving me stunned in the armchair.

I looked down at the scar, which had simply stopped hurting.

_ How do I make this stop? _ I asked him, but he didn’t even look into my eyes.

Ethan turned his back on me and walked out of the room.

Vic came to me, and I pulled him into my lap.

Every day, things get stranger…