Chapter 0004

Third Person POV

There was a loud crash in one of the hallways of the gigantic mansion. Nan's head whipped in the direction of the sound. She started running towards it.

Nan's heart pounded against her ribs, nerves coursing through her until finally she saw... a broken vase.

She let out a sigh of relief, kneeling down to start cleaning. Then she did a double take.

A little girl had broken the vase. A little girl with long, dark, curly hair. A little girl in a mask, a pair of sunglasses, and Patti's favorite shirt.

"Patti? What are you doing out here?" Nan asked in surprise, moving to kneel by the girl she assumed was her adopted daughter.

"You were supposed to stay in the room, sweetie." Nan said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind the girl's ear. She examined the girl's face closely, not able to read her expression past the mask and sunglasses.

Nan didn't realize that the girl wasn't Patti. She looked just like her, but it wasn't Patti. It was Alpha Lionel's daughter, Vera.

Nan sighed, grabbing Vera's hands and checking her over for any scrapes or injuries. "Are you okay?"

Vera nodded once, stiffly. She was awkward and uncertain.

"Good." Nan said, pulling the girl into a hug. "Did you come out to hang out with mommy?"

Vera never really knew her mother. She had passed only a few months after she'd been born.

But here was a woman calling herself her mother. Vera knew logically that this was Patti's adopted mom. But she felt herself being taken in by Nan's warmth and pretty grey eyes.

“Mommy?” Vera’s voice was soft, confused, but hopeful.

"It's alright, sweetie. Everybody messes up sometimes." Nan reassured her, squeezing her arms lightly.

"Goddess damn it! I bet it's one of those brats!" Ginny hissed, storming down the hall. "Always breaking things-"

Ginny stopped as Vera and Nan came into her line of sight. She took a moment to take in the situation, looking between Nan, Vera, and the vase that was scattered into a hundred different little shards.

"Do you have any idea how expensive that vase was, you little runt?" She snapped, narrowing her eyes with a glare. "You can't just do whatever you want in this house!"

Vera's demeanor changed in an instant, becoming cold and powerful. "I didn't break it." She responded with a sneer.

"Oh, so you think I'm stupid?" Ginny crossed her arms over her chest, scowling down at the little girl.

"No one else was around, brat! And don't talk to adults like that you stuck up, stubborn, stupid, little-" Ginny was cut off mid rant.

"How dare you speak to me like that?" Vera demanded.

Nan looked at Vera in surprise. She was acting so unlike her daughter, soft-spoken, kind Patti. Ginny was also surprised, but the surprise was quickly overtaken by a cold rage.

"What did you just say to me?" Ginny growled, baring her sharp teeth as she towered over the little girl. "You were the only one around so it had to have been you."

"It was not me." Vera insisted, emphasizing each word very clearly and calmly.

"You are nothing but a damn liar, and if your mommy agrees then she's a liar too." Ginny snapped back. She had lost all composure and was now fully arguing with the child.

"Do not call my daughter a liar." Nan scowled, standing up to be closer to Ginny's eye level. "If she says she didn't do it, she didn't do it."

"You're gonna believe a stupid brat? And risk your cushy new job?" Ginny snorted derisively.

"My daughter is not stupid or a brat.Apologize to her, please. You are way out of line." Nan said calmly, even though her heart was racing.

Money wasn't easy to come by, but she would rather trust in her daughter's innocence than have a cushy job. She had too much pride in Patti to swallow it for something like this.

Ginny scoffed. "You think you can talk to me like that?" She put both of her hands on her hips, sneering at Nan.

“You’re fired.” The words were a sucker punch to the gut.

"And I wonder how you're gonna pay for the vase without a job." She tilted her head with a malicious smile. "It's over two million dollars."

Nan swallowed anxiously. That would be tricky, but she still wouldn't back down. She scooped up Vera into her arms.

"Come on, sweetie. We'll be okay." Nan started back towards their room.

Vera leaned over Nan’s shoulder so she couldn’t see her. She pulled down her mask, looking at Ginny with a cold stare. She mouthed the words "You're fired."

Ginny froze, her face going pale as her blood turned cold. She realized her mistake as she realized Nan wasn't holding her own daughter.

Nan was holding the Alpha's daughter Vera.

Vera shook her head before she pulled her mask back over the bottom of her face with a smug look.

Ginny was screwed and she knew it. Vera was one of the only people in this building with the power to fire her and it was clear that she wasn’t changing her mind.

Nan and Vera walked down the hall. Nan chewed on her bottom lip as she thought about what they would do next. She had already been thinking about new jobs to apply to.

She had to find a way to pay rent. And then figure out how to pay for the vase.

Vera was quiet in Nan's arms.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked after a long moment of silence.

Nan looked down at Vera with a furrowed brow. She looked concerned as her eyes swept over Vera's face. "Oh sweetie, of course not." She reassured her gently.

"But I made you lose your job and that sounds like a lot of money." Vera frowned. "I just, I feel like you should be mad at me."

"Everybody messes up sometimes, sweetie. I tell you that all the time." Nan smiled gently at her.

"Besides, it wasn't your fault. I believe in you, and I always will. You're a wonderful little girl and it would take a lot for me to be mad at you."

Nan loved Patti more than almost any mistake the girl could make. "I love you so much, sweetie. Please don't worry about a thing."

Vera nodded hesitantly, feeling tears sting at the corners of her eyes. "I want you to be my mommy." She said quietly, burying her face into Nan's shoulder.

Nan laughed softly. "What do you mean, sweetie? I'm already your mommy."

She squeezed the girl she thought was her daughter, close to her chest. "And I always will be."

Nan’s POV

I let out a breath, starting to pack up our few belongings. I looked up, about to tell Patti something, but she was gone.

"Patti?" I called out, stepping out of our small room. "Patti?"

"Over here mommy!" Patti ran into the hall from outside, grabbing my hand. "I found a daddy!"

"That's nice, sweetie." I said, absentmindedly. I grabbed our things, leading Patti out of the mansion.

When we stepped outside, I instantly heard a group of people shouting and calling for someone named Vera. I frowned slightly. If I remembered correctly, that was the name of the alpha's daughter.

I didn't have the energy to think about it. We started walking away from the mansion, when I felt someone's eyes upon me.

"There! That woman! Alpha, she's got Vera!"

I looked up, confusion coloring my face as Lionel stormed towards us. Darkness seemed to follow him as anger turned his features more wolf-like. He snatched Patti's arm away.

"How dare you try to steal my daughter?" He roared.