Nanny and the Alpha Daddy

Nanny and the Alpha Daddy
#Chapter 11: Tooth & Nail
Moana

“Follow me,” the director of the orphanage, Sophia, said. Her sad expression when I mentioned my identity gave me cause for concern, and as I followed her blonde head of hair up the narrow wooden stairs to her office, I felt my heart start to beat faster than it had been before.

Sophia led me into her office and gestured for me to sit as she closed the door behind us. I sat on the edge of the straight-backed wooden chair across from her desk, clutching my purse nervously in my lap.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about your heritage sooner,” Sophia said as she walked over to one of the tall metal filing cabinets at the back of the room that contained records of current and past children at the orphanage. “It’s our policy to not bring it up, for the sake of the children’s m*ntal health. I hope you understand.”

“Of course,” I replied. I watched as Sophia pulled open one of the drawers and began thumbing through the rows of manila folders. Sophia had been here since I was a child; at the time, she was a spry young woman, around the same age as I was now. Now, as I watched her search for my file, I noticed the slight hunch developing in her aging back, the tufts of gray hair that hadn’t been dyed yet at the nape of her neck, and the subtle wrinkles starting to form on her hands and forearms.

“Let’s see…” she whispered to herself, rifling through the folders until she found one with my name on it. “Here we go.” She pulled it out and walked over to the desk, setting it down in front of me.

I glanced up at her nervously for a moment, waiting for her nod of approval before opening the folder.

Inside of the folder, aside from my basic intake files and other basic information, there was only one thing: a single, sharp canine tooth.

I furrowed my brow and picked up the yellowed tooth, turning it over in my hand. There was a distinct cr*ck down the center, but no other identifying features.

“What is this?” I asked, looking back up at Sophia.

Sophia sighed and sat down in her chair. “As you know, we get a healthy mix of both human and werewolf children,” she said, leaning back and clasping her hands together across her stomach. “But what we don’t often disclose is that werewolf parents will abandon werewolf children who were born without their wolves.”

“Why?” I asked, feeling

You see, children without wolves would also often be subject to an entire host of discrimination for their entire lives. Some parents believe that it’s better for them to

less resentful. If

because I was born without

guess.” Sophia

your own good. Perhaps they had no choice, even.” Sophia paused to take a breath, her lips spreading into a gentle smile as she began to reminisce. “I can still picture your chubby little fingers

had been gripping

I could find them?” I

table and took my hand, squeezing it

stairs, I felt Mina’s presence again and asked

answer, but I knew that she was just

out and decided to stop by to say goodbye, and to thank Ethan for his invitation. As I poked my head into the recreation room and saw Ethan sitting on the floor and helping the children with their papier mache, I couldn’t help but smile. Even though what I had learned from Sophia

looking and shot me a bright smile before

I said about the exhibition, by the way,” he said. “I’d love to see

red at the Alpha’s kind words. “Thank you,” I said, then bit my lip for a

sticking his hands into the pocket of his apron and

of werewolf parents abandoning wolfless children? And if so, have you ever heard

then nodded with a pained look on his face. “I’ve heard of that,” he replied in a hushed tone so that the children couldn’t hear. “But I’ve never heard of the children trying to find their parents. I don’t think most of them would even want to find them once they find out, and