The Alpha King's Secret Nanny

The Job That Cursed Me

Episode 1: The Deadly Job Offer

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The ad glowed blood-red on the magical notice board.

WANTED: NANNY. Must have magic resistance. Must be female. No questions asked. Pay: 500 Gold Coins/month. Location: Blackthorn Castle.

I read it three times.

500 gold coins. That was ten years of work at the bakery. Ten years of flour-covered hands and aching feet. Ten years of watching my little sister Lila waste away while I couldn't afford the healers.

The healers wanted 300 coins for the moonflower potion.

She had 3 days left.

"Don't you dare," my best friend Mara hissed, grabbing my arm. Her nails dug in. "Everyone knows Blackthorn Castle is cursed. The Alpha King lives there. He eats humans for breakfast."

"He eats shadows for breakfast," I corrected. "And I don't have magic for him to steal."

"You're insane."

"Lila is dying."

Mara's grip loosened. Her eyes filled with tears. "I can't lose you too."

"You won't." I pulled the paper off the board. It burned my fingers. "I'm just going to be a nanny. How hard can it be?"

Two hours later, I stood at the iron gates of Blackthorn Castle.

They were massive. Ten meters tall. Carved from black stone that seemed to drink in the light. Purple vines snaked up the bars, pulsing like veins. Alive. Watching.

The air smelled like ozone and old blood.

The gates opened by themselves with a screech that made my bones ache.

"Enter," a voice boomed. No body. Just voice. It came from everywhere and nowhere at once.

My heart hammered. My hands shook. But I walked in.