THE NANNY THEY NEVER WANTED

CHAPTER 1

Aurora pov

"Your shift ends in the next thirty minutes, Aurora." Evans announced as he urgently walked past my desk without looking at me.

"I know, I just wAant to round up the sales book for today and hand it over to the next person in line."

Working two shifts at a bar is hard enough. Supporting my alcoholic mother while she blames my late father for ruining her life? That's even harder. No help at all, and the house rent is waiting on me regardless. Today marks two years of working two shifts without ever getting financially stable, even though I take my work seriously.

I glanced at the wall clock at the entrance of the bar one last time. A few minutes to go. My hand moved gently across the surface of my desk as I wiped a small stain of white substance from a bottle.

My phone vibrated inside my handbag, it drifted my attention. The first ring ended; I sluggishly opened the bag, then the device rang again. I grabbed it and let out a soft breath seeing the caller. It's my mom, only heaven knows what she wants this time around. I swiped the screen and pressed the phone against my ear, rolling my eyes in exhaustion and irritation.

"Aurora! Did you restrict me from using your payment card?!" she screamed from her end, almost bursting my eardrum. I couldn't hold my anger; I felt like blasting her at the moment. She had always been ungrateful, expecting me to give her access to my pay card so she could waste everything at the bar.

"Mom, please stop screaming, that card has our house rent, and very soon the landlord will be on our necks." I breathed in heavily. "Mom, just try to understand me, right…."

"Shut the hell up, young lady."

I gritted my teeth, wanting to snap back, but thought of how she felt at the moment without a shot of alcohol. If I said anything disrespectful, I bet she would take the next available taxi to ruin my job.

"Aurora baby," her voice sounded calm, as if she had no other option. I swallowed hard; my throat didn't feel any better. I can't give her access. For the first time in my life, I will be depriving her of access to my card.

"Mom, seriously, I won't and will never give you access to a card that has our house rent. If you want more beers, work for it. Don't you feel any pity for me?"

"You know what? I owe the bar a lot of money, Aurora. I can't leave until I pay it off — and they don't go easy on people who don't. If you lost your mom because she couldn't cover a few beers, would that make you happy?"

My heart stuttered in my chest as my exhausted mind tried to keep up. The adrenaline of it thrummed through my veins now, sharp enough to dull the ache building behind my eyes.

I jerked away from the desk to relax on my chair properly. My mind was made up. I wouldn't give my debit card to her, even though she wanted to emotionally blackmail me.

The door to our bar swung open. It was Alexa. I looked at the wall clock this time, because seeing Alexa meant my shift here was over. She rushed in smiling, wearing black jean trousers with a white tank top. Her red, curling hair covered half of her face. She looked exceptionally beautiful. When our gazes locked, I frowned, but again, I was still on the call with my mom. The only thing I could hear from her was a masculine voice.

"What's with the frowning?"

Her smooth, soprano voice tugged a smile onto my face immediately. I removed my phone from my ear and tapped the end of the screen. I slowly swiveled my seat, turning my back to her, as tears dropped down my cheek. The pain stirred up in my chest, and I gently rubbed the side of my neck.

"Come on, Aurora," she said, walking to the desk and tapping my shoulder to draw my attention, but I wasn't even interested. "Is it your mom again?"

I ignored her question, freely allowing my tears to stain my cheeks as my intense blue eyes narrowed across the room with bitterness.

"She called," I said, staring down at my feet.

"Did you give her the card?"

"She has the card, but on my way to work, I blocked it. Now she doesn't have any access to it."

"Great, that makes you a better adult. Don't let her blackmail you with her silly emotions, Aurora," she said, walking to stand in front of me, her heels clicking against the marble floor. She stood tall before me, not seeming to need any assurance about my feelings. She was the one who had given me the courage to restrict my mom from accessing my card, after constantly seeing how frustrated I had always been working two shifts.

"Will she be fine?" I asked her, looking at her with reddish eyes filled with pain.

"Absolutely!"

She leaned on my desk, crossing her legs, her fingers fiddling with the hem of my dress. I call her my angel — always ready to pull me back from the edge. I was trying my best to keep my walls up. She smiled up at me.

"Well, I applied for an offer for you at the Moretti's last night."

"What offer could the Moretti empire be looking for at the moment?" I lunged toward her and pulled her closer for a hug, resting my head tiredly on her chest.

"I saw on a website that the Moretti empire needs a nanny. You know you've been babysitting your mom all these years whenever she gets drunk, so…" She breathed in softly, caressing my hair back.

"So, I applied for the position on your behalf."

"Did you just say NANNY?" My nose flared as I quickly jerked away from her body, then the name Moretti resonated.

"MORETTI!" I said it again, louder this time, like the name itself needed repeating to be believed.

The Morettis? The family every wolf in Hell Valley feared? One of them was both the Alpha King and the Mafia King of Hell Valley. And Alexa wanted me to walk into their mansion?

My eyes widened in shock. I let out a disbelieving laugh and folded my arms.

"Who am I babysitting among the three alphas?"

"Natalia," she replied softly.

"Who the hell is Natalia?"

Alexa smiled.

"The little sister of the three alphas." I huffed out a breath and brushed my hair behind my ear.

"Cancel the application, Alexa."

"What?! No! I won't!!"