E
<b>“</b><b>Remember</b><b>,</b><b>” </b>Lilith said <b>as </b>she <b>stood </b>beside me in the <b>dusty mirror</b><b>, </b><b>“</b>always refer <b>to </b>him as ‘<b>Alpha</b><b>‘</b><b>, </b>and <b>always </b>curtsy when <b>you </b>enter and <b>leave </b><b>the </b><b>room </b>he’s in. Oh, and don’t look into his eyes <b>for </b><b>too </b>long.”
I <b>pursed </b><b>my </b>lips<b>, </b>turning this way and that to inspect the subtle blue dress Lilith had loaned me today. <b>It </b>fit <b>perfectly </b>on my new body<b>, </b>although it was still difficult to get used to being two inches taller and a little <b>more </b>slender than before<b>. </b>
<b>And </b>although my new hair and eyes were striking, I didn’t like looking for too long because they were just
a reminder <b>of </b>the situation <b>I </b>was in now.
Once, I was thedy of this house. Even when Alexander and Gabriel had both treated me like dirt under their shoes, the staff had always deferred to me. I was the Luna of Ashw, whether anyone liked it <b>or </b>
not.
But now <b>I </b>was a nanny<b>. </b>
No. I wasn’t even a nanny yet. I was just a rogue applying to be a nanny. A face in a sea of other faces. Worst of all was the fact that I still didn’t even fully recognize my own face. How could I be certain that
Alexander would choose me over someone else? <fn7e97> N?w ?ovel chapt?rs are published on Find_Novel(.</fn7e97>
Taking a deep breath, I turned to Lilith. “I never realized there were so many rules to being a servant,” I
pointed out with a small, wry smile.
Lilith’s face softened. “I was in the same position as you when I was reborn all those years ago. Having to go from being a respected pack leader to the lowest of the low. But you get used to it, and it’s not all bad.” She smiled forlornly. “Besides, it’s sort of nice going unnoticed. Less pressure.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said softly. Frankly, I really didn’t care about fancy dresses or gs or titles anymore. All that mattered to me now was being close to my son and being there to protect him if he
needed me.
Once I was ready, I carefully snuck out of the cer and around to the front of the house, where, to my surprise, lines of cars were parked in the driveway–and not for a funeral this time.
When I entered the house, I found that the parlor was packed full of women. All young, all beautiful, all
elegant.
This felt more like an application to be the Alpha King’s next wife rather than a nanny.
But truthfully, I couldn’t me them. Alexander was young and handsome, and any woman with half a brain would be flocking to him now in the hopes of him noticing her. I tried not to let my jealousy take hold of me as I thought of any one of these women bing the future Luna.
<b>For </b>a moment<b>, </b>just <b>a </b>moment, <b>I </b>wondered if <b>Alexander </b><b>was </b>truly even grieving <b>me</b><b>. </b><b>The </b><bst </b><b>time </b><b>we </b><b>had </b>spoken, he had <b>made </b>it abundantly clear that he didn’t trust me. He still thought <b>I </b><b>was </b><b>a </b><b>spy </b><b>after </b><b>everything</b><b>, </b>and he had <b>gone </b><b>so </b>far <b>as </b><b>to </b><b>lock </b>me up in <b>my </b>own home.
Furthermore, <b>I </b>couldn’t help <b>but </b>think about Sophia’s confession. She imed that Alexander <b>was </b>truly <b>a </b>bad <b>man</b>, that he had horrible intentions for me and our child and even that he’d burned my <b>childhood </b><b>home </b><b>down </b>on purpose<b>. </b>
I didn’t trust Sophia as far as I could throw her, but I also couldn’t entirely rule out her ims<b>. </b><b>Not </b><b>until </b>I had tangible proof. <i>So </i>for now, I had to ept the notion that one of these women could take my ce in <b>a </b>heartbeat.
For right now<b>, </b>though, I needed to focus on getting this job so I could be close to my son. Nothing else mattered until then.
I kept my head down as I made my way through the crowd of women, hoping to just get through the interview without incident. No one seemed to notice me, and if they did, it was only for a moment–likely believing that I was another servant and not an applicant.
But then a familiar voice drifted across the room, making my footsteps slow.
“Oh, Alex and I go way back,<i>” </i>Sophia was saying airily. “We’ve known each other since we were kids, and I love his son already as if he were my own. But I insisted on going through the regr application process because I wanted it to be fair. I told him he shouldn’t y favorites.”
A gaggle of women cooed in response to Sophia’s words. I snapped my head up, spotting her sitting in the window seat in the corner, dressed elegantly in a burnt orange dress with her brte locks piled high on top of her head.
She looked beautiful, even amongst the other finely dressed women here.
I furrowed my brow as I watched her smile andugh with the other women. Sophia certainly didn’t need a job, seeing as how wealthy her family was; was she really just applying because she loved Lucien?
I wondered, briefly, if she had been telling the truth that day after all. Maybe she was trying to stay close
to Lucien because she didn’t trust Alexander. The thought softened me somewhat, but I still couldn’t be
sure. I decided to keep one eye on her from now on just in case.
Sophia must have felt me watching, because she lifted her head before I could slip away and locked
gazes with me from across the room. Her eyes swept over me, taking me in from head to toe before her
lips curved into that familiar sharine smile.
“It’s not polite to stare, rogue,<i>” </i>she said. “And don’t even think about stealing my jewelry.”
Well then. I supposed Sophia was still her same old self at her core, whether she was telling the truth about Alexander or not. A little bit of the softness I’d briefly felt quickly melted away.
+15 <b>BONUS </b>
The other women in the room snickered and whispered at each other behind their hands. I lifted my chin, opening my mouth to tell her off, but a sharp voice cut through the noise before <b>I </b>could speak.
“Thank <b>you </b>all <b>for </bing<b>.</b>”
All heads turned at the sound of Alexander’s voice. Even Sophia leapt to her <b>feet</b><b>, </b>primping her carefully styled curls and training her expression into a sweet, doe–eyed smile. I turned, too<b>, </b>finding Alexander standing in the doorway with the baby still held in his arms.
The sight of Alexander holding a wriggling Lucien made my heart ache. I wanted to go to my son more than anything and hold him close, but I couldn’t. Not yet, at least. Maybe not ever if I didn’t y my cards right, which was why it was probably for the best that Alexander interrupted before I could tell Sophia where to shove her precious jewels.
“We’re going to begin the first round of interviews now,” Alexander went on, green eyes scanning the room. I straightened, feeling a glimmer of hope light in my chest when his gaze fell on me and held. I hoped he would call me first.
But he looked away and gestured to another beautiful woman in a sleek ck dress. “You’re up first. Follow me.”