Zane POV

I confess I rarely have time for humans, though I wish them no ill will, but the need to protect Ella’s maid from what were obviously false accusations propelled me into the kitchen. Standing beside her, I could easily smell her fear and the cleaning solutions she had been using, even a whiff of burnt hair that indicated she’d been using a vacuum recently, but there was no trace, quite distinctive, of the jewelry cleaner Ella used on her baubles.

The chef, however . . .

I turned to look at him and saw his dark eyes widen as sweat burst out on his forehead. Betas and omegas constantly underestimated the senses of an alpha, though this hardly excused his stupidity or his duplicity.

“Zane?” Ella asked me, her hand lowering.

I pointed to the man’s right pants pocket. “Hand them over.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said, sweating harder. “I would never do what you’re—it’s obviously the human!”

“I said, hand them over,” I repeated, bringing my alpha voice to the fore. “Kneel down, apologize, and give Ella back her things.”

With a gasp and a sob, the beta fell to his knees. “I’m, I’m sorry,” he got out, sounding strangled as his trembling hand reached into his pocket. He handed a folded handkerchief to Ella, who opened it to reveal her necklace and earrings.

I heard the maid sigh in relief, her body sagging slightly. I glanced at her ashen face to make sure she wasn’t about to faint or something, and then met Ella’s dark eyes, perfectly made up and glittering.

She looked down at the chef, who was crying openly though silently. “You are dismissed without reference. Be grateful I don’t have the time or energy to press charges. Get out of my home.”

With a toss of her blond hair, Ella performed a catwalk-worthy twirl and headed back into her bedroom. I looked to the chef but then realized my daughter was standing on the other side of the maid, clinging to her leg in a way she usually only did with me.

The maid seemed to realize this at the same time and looked down at my daughter with concern, then with a smile, then with a puzzled look I couldn’t interpret. While we weren’t watching, the chef shot to his feet and raced out the door.

“What’s your name?” I asked, needing to know at least that much about a human woman my daughter was holding onto so trustingly. Also, there was another scent I picked up on her, something painfully familiar I couldn’t yet name. It smelled almost like Grace, which might explain why my daughter had glommed on to her.

She looked at me, and I was struck by the odd thought that she was quite pretty, for a human. Her eyes were bright blue and her hair, undyed, was deeply black, pulled up into a large, tidy bun. After so often in Ella’s sparkling company, it took me a moment to realize the odd quality of the maid’s face was its modest application of makeup.

“Sarah Astor, Mr. Cavendish.”

I nodded, unsurprised she had recognized me, but before I could say anything, Ella had swept back in, the sapphire jewelry that had led to the trouble refracting the light at her neck and ears. She looked down at my daughter with a little frown, obviously noticing her arms around the maid—around Sarah’s leg.

“Daddy,” Grace said very quietly, which was her usual way, “that was scary.”

“It was,” I said, smiling down at my daughter. “Would you like to go home?”

Grace nodded, and I heard Ella exhale in frustration. But when I looked up at her, she smiled with understanding and nodded. “I’m sure that was difficult for her. Theft is such an ugly crime.”

I couldn’t help thinking a little less drama from Ella would have made everything considerably less ugly, but Ella was a good friend of mine, not to mention the sister of my late and dearly missed wife, so I just nodded and went to the door.

“I’m leaving now, Miss Ella,” I heard Sarah say. “I will not be coming back.”

“That’s your choice, of course. If the agency calls, I will let them know you didn’t steal from me.”

There was a noticeable pause before Sarah responded with just a trace of sarcasm, “That’s very kind of you.”

I left then and went down the elevator to the lobby with Grace in tow. But I found myself lingering after that. When Sarah emerged from the double door a few minutes later, she seemed surprised to see us standing there.

“Ella said you have no car,” I explained. “I’m sure you’re quite capable of taking the bus, but considering tonight’s upset, perhaps you would allow me to drive you home?”

The human woman looked tempted for a moment, then torn, then smiled. “I admit I’m eager to get home to my daughter. Thank you very much.”

I escorted her out the door and into the car waiting for us near the entrance to Ella’s apartment building. Grace seemed happy to sit with Sarah in the back, which again I thought was odd, but even odder, she did not pull out her phone and play with it, evidently happy enough just to sit there.

Once I was belted into the passenger seat, my beta chauffeur, Ollie, started the car and asked for an address. Sarah gave the number and street of a low-income but quite respectable neighborhood, and Ollie pulled out into traffic.

“So, you have a daughter?” I asked, turning slightly to see Sarah smiling down at my child.

“Yes.” She looked at me with a trace of caution.

“I confess when I smelled a pup on your clothes I assumed you were simply a wolf child’s caretaker.”

“My daughter is about Grace’s age,” she responded, dodging my obvious question.

“What’s your daughter like?” Grace asked, which was surprisingly outgoing for her.

“She’s the cutest, best little girl,” Sarah said. “You and she are a lot alike, actually, though her hair is short in a little pixie cut. She loves to draw things, and she’s friends with everyone in her class.”

“Do you work as a maid throughout the day?” I asked, making sure to sound friendly.

Sarah shrugged, playing an odd little game with Grace’s fingers and making my daughter giggle. “I babysit as well, when my daughter is in school.”

“What school does she go to?” Grace asked.

“Pellum Kindergarten.”

I nodded to myself. It was a public school with a high werewolf enrollment. A good choice for what I assumed was a half-were child. I wondered where the father was.

“I go to Pride Academy,” Grace said.

“Do you like it there?”

Grace nodded. “Our art teacher is the best. And our computer teacher lets us play games if we finish early.”

“That sounds very nice.” Sarah pointed. “There, that’s our apartment right there.”

Ollie pulled over, and I made sure to get out of the car before Sarah could say it wasn’t necessary. In the end, all of us, including my chauffeur, walked into a small, well-kept courtyard.

Sarah stepped up to a door and knocked, calling, “Mrs. Thaller?”

A cheerful, impossible familiar voice called out from the other side, “Mommy!” The door swung open, and suddenly I was staring at Grace’s twin sister, missing these five years.

“Chloe,” I said faintly.

“Chloe? Grace asked.

“How do you know my daughter’s name?” Sarah demanded.

Rage swelled up inside me, and I grasped the wrist of this woman, this thief in front of me.

“She’s my daughter,” I told her. “How dare you kidnap my daughter?"

Sarah POV

Reeling from a second criminal accusation in one day and shocked by the sight of Zane Cavendish laying his hands on my daughter, I just stood there for a second as the werewolf all but shoved Chloe and Grace toward the beta chauffeur.

“Take them to safety while I take Ms. Astor to the police station,” he told him. Then he turned to me in fury. “I’ll see you in jail for what you’ve done here.”

I could only wonder, could it be true? Was Chloe somehow Cavendish’s daughter? Had someone stolen her from him only to leave her on my doorstep?

How?

Why?

“Daddy, no!” Grace yelled. “Don’t hurt her!”

Meanwhile, the beta had put his hands on Chloe’s shoulders, and she was struggling to get away, screaming they couldn’t take me. The sight snapped me out of my daze.

“Let go of my child!” I shouted at the beta even as the alpha reached down to Grace and shushed her.

“I’m not going to hurt her,” he said much more softly. “But she needs to be punished for taking your sister.” Then he rounded on Chloe. “I am your father, and this woman is a disgraceful thief who kept you away from me for five whole years!”

“Don’t you touch my mommy!” Chloe shouted back at him. “You’re my daddy! You’re supposed to be nice to her! I hate you!”

Cavendish pulled back in surprise, but then he scowled harder than ever, and told his beta to take the girls back to his place. He then swung around on me with a growl to grab my other wrist and drag me back into his car.

All the ruckus had brought my neighbor outside, where she was blinking in confusion. Her hair was covered in a red bandana, and underneath curlers peaked out.

“Mrs. Thaller!” Chloe cried to her even as I was pulled back toward the street. “Help us! Don’t let him take Mommy!”

“Get in,” he told me grimly as he shoved me into the passenger seat. There was something about his voice that made me sit, and before I could shake it off he was behind the wheel. In a moment, we were speeding down the street.

I stared at the shops and apartment buildings, dazed again as the world felt less real with every second. Why did I just get into the car like that, leaving my daughter behind?

“I didn’t take—” I started to explain.

“Tell it to the cops,” he snarled.

“I found Chloe in a basket on my doorstep five years ago,” I said, noticing bruises on both my wrists from where he had grabbed them. They hurt, and I rubbed them. “There was a note with her name on it and a small blanket, and that was it!”

“A basket on your doorstep?” he scoffed, not taking his eyes off the road. Considering how fast he was going, I was grateful for that. “Next you’ll say she fell from the sky.”

“I went to the authorities,” I insisted. “I had her placed in an orphanage! There are records. No one would take her, and the human children weren’t treating her well. I had to take her in!”

The car sped up even further. “You put my daughter in a human orphanage?”

“I didn’t have the money for a wolf facility.”

“You disgust me.”

“It was a legal adoption! Everything was sanctioned! I didn’t take her from you!”

“You’re lying, and I’ll prove it.”

“You’re being irrational! If she’s really your daughter, all this can be legally resolved!”

He said nothing, the overbearing and tyrannical alpha who obviously thought a human couldn’t be trusted. And to think I had regarded him as my savior less than an hour ago!

“Why would I want to steal and raise a werewolf child?”

“For the money, of course.”

“What money? I thought she was an orphan! I had to give up my job to care for her. I’ve worked two jobs babysitting and cleaning for her!”

He snorted. “Then you should be happy I’m here to take her off your hands.”

“She’s my child! I love her. I would do anything for her.”

“Is that why you took her from me?”

“I didn’t take her!”

He stomped on the brakes and turned right into the parking lot of the district’s police station. He turned to me, blue eyes hard as diamonds. “If you’re so sure the truth will exonerate you, you should want to go inside.”

“Not like this,” I pleaded. “Not as a human being accused by an alpha werewolf! They’ll take your word without a second thought, and I’ll never see my daughter again.”

My words angered him again, and he all but shoved me out of the car to march me inside the station. It was dim after the sunlight, but still, at a glance, I could see the werewolves behind the counter and two humans in cuffs waiting in chairs. The place smelled like stale French fries and floor cleaner.

“Please,” I whispered to him. “At least let me see Chloe before you do this. I may never see her again.”

He frowned at me as the door flew open behind us. A small, swiftly moving shadow attacked Mr. Cavendish before either of us could blink.

I looked down to see Chloe. She was pummeling his thigh with her fists, panting and screaming, “Let go of Mommy! Don’t hurt her!” over and over.

Her short hair was plastered with sweat, and her clothes were tattered. She had clearly run there behind the car. How had she kept up? How had she known where I was?

I tried to reach down to get her, but the alpha shaved me back in what seemed an instinctive move and picked her up himself, being careful to avoid her blows.

The door burst open again, this time to admit the beta chauffeur. I looked behind him for Grace, who came in looking terrified.

“Let go of Mommy!” Chloe shouted again, angry and clawing at the air.

Suddenly subdued, he let go of me and put Chloe down. She leapt at me, and I gathered her up in my arms, smelling her anger and sweat.

“It’s all right, baby,” I soothed as best I could. “I’m here. Mommy’s here.”

Grace started crying. “Don’t hurt Sarah, Daddy. Please.”

Mr. Cavendish looked at me, then at the little alpha I held in my arms who glared back at him. He signed, closed his eyes, and then opened them again and stopped down to pick up his daughter.

Without a word, he turned and walked back out the door. I noticed the police said nothing either. No werewolf would challenge him, I thought with despair.

My whole life and that of my daughter were in his hands.

We walked silently back to the car parked in a VIP space: him holding Grace, me holding Chloe, and the beta following us until we neared the car. Then he quickly went to the front passenger door and opened it for his boss. I took Chloe with me into the backseat as Cavendish settled himself with his daughter.

He held up a hand when the beta got ready to start the car. We all sat in silence for a moment.

“All right,” he said, looking back at me. “Tell me everything.”

Sarah POV

I had the suspicion Mr. Cavendish wanted something stronger than the water he ordered from his housekeeper, Ms. Liesel, after we had all sat down in the living room and tried to adjust to this new life.

In the car, I had made a great effort to quietly, firmly, and consistently lay out what had happened with Chloe. I had just been accepted as a kindergarten teacher at Hamilton Prep, a mostly human school with an excellent reputation. I had also been dating a fellow teacher, though I downplayed that because Chloe was listening.

And then there had been the day I’d come home to my apartment, and there in the courtyard was a man I’d never seen who was leaving a wicker basket on my doorstep.

I called out to the man and even tried to chase him, but he disappeared too quickly. I came back and opened the basket to find an infant, though I could tell it wasn’t a newborn. A small printed note in the basket had read only: This is Chloe, born May 5. Please take care of her.

That, Chloe’s diaper and onesie, and a small blanket were all I had to go on when I went to the police.

At this point, I couldn’t help but gather Chloe up in my arms and apologize solemnly for lying to her about her parents. I explained I had wanted to wait until she was just a little older to tell her the truth.

To my surprise, Chloe took several minutes to consider things before nodding very seriously and saying she understood. Then she hugged me and said, “You take care of me, Mommy.”

Grace, who had been sitting on her own in the loveseat, got down, walked over, and sat down next to me on my other side. I cuddled them both and held back a few tears. I saw how the girls looked at each other in happiness. I thought my heart would burst.

When I could continue, grateful for Mr. Cav’s patience, I explained how I’ve been raising Chloe, skipping the part about how the man I had thought I might marry disappeared as soon as I moved her in. I talked about the werewolf lore I’d learned, including seeing to it that my daughter participated in rites that were appropriate for pups, providing her with books on werewolves and humans, and never letting Chloe forget her heritage.

“And what can you remember about this man’s appearance?” Mr. Cavendish asked.

I shook her head and hugged both girls a little tighter. “He was just a silhouette, and not even that was clear, considering the evening shadows. And it’s been five years now. I remember he was tall, but I don’t even know if he were human or a werewolf.”

The chauffeur knocked briefly and opened the door to the living room. At a nod from his employer, he gestured behind him, and three strong-looking betas entered carrying my sofa, armchair, and coffee table. It was all I could do not to shout in my surprise.

“What’s that?” I wanted to know, and I would have stood up if two little girls weren’t in my arms.

Three more betas entered carrying Chloe’s mattress, box springs and bed frame, and her little white headboard with the flowers carved into it.

“Oh, we will need to discard some of this,” Mr. Cavendish said oh-so-casually, looking it over with a judgmental eye.

I bristled. Yeah, my sofa didn’t cost as much as a new car, but my furniture was fine. Hiding my dismay, probably poorly, I asked, “Wait, please, what exactly is going on here?”

“As of today, you’ll be living here,” he told me.

“You’ve just made that decision for me?”

“You don’t have a choice.”

I looked at Chloe, who immediately hugged me tighter, whispering, “Mommy. Are we going to live with Daddy?”

I saw Mr. Cavendish purposefully soften his expression. “My child deserves the best education, the best environment, and they, well, they need you. Besides, I must learn the truth about the past, and you are the only clue.”

I wanted to argue, but then I looked down into both girls with their bright blue puppy eyes. Was I supposed to deny Chloe a better life because of my pride? And yes, he was being officious, but he was an alpha and doubtlessly used to getting his way with no questions.

“All right,” I said. “I can see the necessity and how this would be the best for our, I mean, Chloe and Grace. They need to get to know each other, after all, and I won’t be parted from Chloe.”

He nodded.

“But at least I should have the right to decide where these pieces of furniture go, right?” I said. “Each item was bought with the money I earned and is filled with memories of Chloe and me. You can’t just decide to throw them away. If I’m to live here, where’s my room?”

He looked surprised that a “little” human would assert herself. He looked back over my things, and then at the kitchen table, flat-screen TV on a stand, and chest of drawers as they were brought in on a second trip by the first trio of betas.

I knew my furniture was all quite simple, but it was comfortable and clean with a homey feel. I hoped he could understand the familiar items would help Chloe to adjust to living in this new place.

“You’re right, and you will take the guest suite,” he said as he gestured to his chauffeur, who led the betas out of the room and down the hall. He returned a moment later and murmured something to Mr. Cavendish, who nodded and then asked me to go into the room and show where the things should be placed.

Ms. Liesel led me, Chloe, and Grace into a suite larger than my entire apartment. It had an attached bath and a kitchenette, and I wondered if it had been sitting empty or if Mr. Cavendish had had it emptied for me and Chloe that morning.

Soon enough, I had the betas placing the beds, nightstands, desks, and bookshelves where they would maintain go flow through the room and clearly mark off the space for my daughter from my bed area. By the time the betas were bringing in boxes of books, Chloe was putting up the pots, pans, and utensils with an air of authority that made me smile.

Grace was standing next to me as I was putting the linens on Chloe’s bed. The sheets and pillowcase were plain white, and the comforter was covered in black-and-gray sketches of wolves with blue eyes. I hoped Mr. Cavendish wouldn’t object to it. I wanted this to feel like Chloe’s “real” home as much as possible.

“Will you be my mommy now?” I heard Grace ask in a whisper.

“How is that possible? She’s just a human,” Liesel snapped, all but rolling her eyes at the idea. “Only Miss Ella is worthy of Alpha Zane.”

“Miss Ella?” I asked. What was my old employer’s relationship with Mr. Cav, exactly?

Liesel drew herself up a bit. “Miss Ella is the twin sister of Zane’s former wife, and she raised Miss Grace. Remember your place; you’re just a human.”

I shrugged and said, “You’re right, but that has nothing to do with me. I’m just here for Chloe, but that doesn’t mean Grace and I can’t be great friends, does it, sweetie?” I looked down at Mr. Cav’s daughter, who smiled and nodded shyly.

Then I realized Mr. Cavendish was standing in the doorway and turned away from the officious Ms. Liesel’s proud, beta-brown eyes.

“Sign this,” he instructed, handing me a folder, which I opened with a frown. What new thing did he want from me now?

“A nanny non-disclosure agreement?” I asked, scanning it. “I’m to be responsible for the daily care of Chloe and Grace.” That was fine.

Then I read it: Remember your human status, and do not disclose any private information about your employer. Do not seduce the employer or engage in sexual relations with him.