by T. S. Ryder
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Werebear's Nanny
A Paranormal Romance
By: T.S. Ryder
Table of Contents
Prologue – Tyrell
Chapter One – Cynthia
Chapter Two – Tyrell
Chapter Three – Cynthia
Chapter Four – Tyrell
Chapter Five – Cynthia
Chapter Six – Tyrell
Chapter Seven – Cynthia
Chapter Eight – Tyrell
Chapter Nine – Cynthia
Chapter Ten – Tyrell
Chapter Eleven – Cynthia
Chapter Twelve – Tyrell
Chapter Thirteen – Cynthia
Chapter Fourteen – Tyrell
Chapter Fifteen – Cynthia
Chapter Sixteen – Tyrell
Chapter Seventeen – Cynthia
Chapter Eighteen – Tyrell
Chapter Nineteen – Cynthia
Specially Selected Bonus Content
My Shifting Billionaire Boss
The Billionaire Lion's Prey
Claimed by the Gorilla Shifter
The Shifter's Prisoner
The Vampire Prince's Baby
The Gorilla Shifter's Captive
Guarded by the Hockey Beasts
The Shifter's Secret Twins
Shades of Werewolf
Heat, Hockey and Two Werewolves
About T.S. Ryder
Selected Other Books by T.S. Ryder
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Prologue – Tyrell
Five Years Ago
Numb shock. That was the only thing he could think of to describe the feelings on the island. As if it wasn’t enough that so many of their parents, including the previous alphas, had been killed in a storm several years ago. Now, as he stared at the boat limping back after a massive earthquake, tsunami and huge storm, he knew that their worst fears had come true yet again.
His stomach clenched as the boat arrived. Half a dozen people, soaked to the bone and with various injuries, hopped out of the boat and tied it to the dock. He, along with everybody who had to send someone out into the ocean two days ago, waited. From the corner of his eye, he saw Rex Tesla. Normally his bear would have snarled at the sight of his rival, but today it remained subdued.
He searched the half-dozen people who came up the dock now, rooted to the spot. Rex let out a bellow of pain and charged forward. One of the fishers grabbed his arm, but he tore himself away and rushed to the boat. He leaped on it, screaming for his parents and sister. Even though there was nowhere for them to be hidden. Even though if they had been there, they would have been brought out. Still, Tyrell watched, hoping despite himself that suddenly they would jump up and shout ‘surprise’. But nobody came.
A hand touched his elbow and he jumped. He whirled to find his sister staring at him with soft, tear-filled eyes. She held out her arms to him, but he stepped away from her. He didn’t deserve comfort, not now.
“Angela,” he choked out. “Angela… didn’t come back.”
“I know,” Ruby whispered. “I’m sorry, Tyrell. I’m sorry. But there is nothing you can do here. Let me take you back home. Please.”
Tyrell closed his eyes but nodded. He wasn’t even certain if his body was actually moving as Ruby took his hand and started to pull him away from the docks. All around him he heard people cursing and screaming and sobbing. He couldn’t work up a single tear. All he felt was disgust, anger, and fear. He hadn’t loved Angela, but at that moment he wondered if he could have. If he had, actually, and simply refused to see it.
If he had only lied to her…
“Jarvis!” Rex’s voice rang out behind him.
Tyrell turned to find Rex charging toward him. He didn’t move, not even when Rex’s eyes turned black and fur began to sprout over his body. He didn’t want to defend himself, not after what he had done. His bear didn’t even stir. He held his ground, waiting. But before Rex could get to him, a large shape came out of nowhere and rammed into him, knocking him off course. Rex snarled and twisted, but the man, hardly older than either Rex or Tyrell, held him down.
“Stop it,” Noel Davis rumbled, the authority of the alpha clear in his voice.
Rex’s anger was so great that he struggled against his alpha until Noel snarled again. Then he went limp and started to sob. Tyrell still stood there, as though frozen to the spot. Ruby grasped his arm again and tugged him away.
He let her take him to the truck. When he took the keys from his pocket, she snatched them from him.
“You can’t drive,” he protested. “You don’t have a license.”
“I’ve been driving almost as long as you. You’re in no state to drive anyway.”
He had to agree with her. His heart was heavy as he climbed into the passenger's side. A glance outside the window showed him that Rex was still sobbing, collapsed into a heap. And Tyrell’s eyes finally burned. By the time they got home, he was a sobbing mess. Ruby sat with him in the truck, not saying anything.
“It’s my fault,” he finally rasped. “My fault. And there is nothing I can do to make it better.”
***
It was the next day that the alpha of the Flatlands, and his good friend Ricky, stopped by the house. He carried with him an infant’s car seat. Snuggled inside was the tiniest creature Tyrell had ever seen. And he lived on a farm, he had seen plenty of baby animals. Nothing had ever seemed too small and fragile as the little baby that Ricky passed to him.
“You are her father,” Ricky said softly. “With Angela passed… if you want to have her adopted, I will have the paperwork drawn up.”
A fit of panic seized Tyrell’s throat. The baby was wrapped snug in a pink blanket, eyes closed, a light fluff of hair showing hints of his red. He, of course, knew he had a daughter. But he and Angela had already decided that she would raise their baby. He’d been with her in the hospital, helped to pick out the baby’s name, but be a father?
At that moment, he felt more like a child than he had since he was ten years old. “I… I’ll have to give her up. I can’t take care of a baby.”
Ricky nodded. Sorrow lined his face as he gripped Tyrell’s arm. “I will have the necessary paperwork drawn up, then.”
Tyrell nodded, feeling like he was under a thousand pounds of water. He continued to stare at the sleeping baby. It wasn’t until Ricky was gone that he realized that this meant he’d have to take care of her for the night. His chest tightened and he looked around wildly as if he’d find an instruction manual. What if he hurt her? What if…
There was a diaper bag on the counter. Tyrell breathed out a sigh of relief as he gently set the car seat down and went to it. Diapers, bottles, formula. And instructions on the formula how to make it. Good. There were also other little outfits. Tiny clothes that wouldn't even fit on his forearm.
The baby started to fuss and he rushed over, heart hammering. He struggled to free her from the seat, wincing when he caught her arm. As soon as she was snuggled into his arms, though, she relaxed. Big, beautiful eyes gazed up at him. The same shape and color as his own. His breath caught in his throat. He could see so much of himself in the tiny f
ace.
A rush of warmth ran through him, a feeling of overwhelming protectiveness. And he knew at that moment that he would never be able to give her up.
“Welcome home, Tamara,” he whispered. “I promise… I promise I will always be here for you. Daddy’s got you. And he always will.”
Chapter One – Cynthia
The ferry bobbed in the ocean, small enough that the waves made it rock back and forth. Cynthia’s stomach churned, the nerves making her seasickness even worse. The fresh air ought to have helped a bit, but she didn’t know if it did. With one hand she clutched the railing beside her, and with the other, she held her suitcase tightly. Closing her eyes only made it worse.
Up until she stepped foot on the ferry, she had only been excited about the start of her new life. Now, she had to wonder just how much of a bad impression she would make if she vomited all over her prospective employer the moment she met him.
The ferry captain knelt beside her. He was a big man, taller than she was with muscles on muscles. Insanely gorgeous, too, with windswept black hair and the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen. He handed her a water bottle and she sipped cautiously. The captain sat next to her and gave her a wide grin as he put a hand on her back.
“Not used to the sea, are you?”
Cynthia shook her head. “Not at all.”
There were only a half-dozen others on the ferry, all of them tall and broad like the captain. A few of them gave her distrustful gazes, though they never met her eye. One of them scowled with such fierceness she thought he might march over and toss her into the ocean, but he stayed where he was.
The captain glanced at the others and gave her a smile that had her heart doing flips despite her churning stomach. “Don’t mind them. It’s not often that we have newcomers headed to the island, and you did throw yourself on our boat.”
Cynthia felt her cheeks start to color as her eyes widened. “Your… boat? Isn’t this a ferry?”
“No.”
Heat rushed to her face and she dropped the water bottle. Before she could retrieve it, the man swept down and grabbed it. Cynthia peered at him nervously as she chewed her lip. “So… are you the captain?”
“Yes, in a way. It’s my boat. There isn’t a ferry between the mainland and our island, so I shuttle people across when I’ve got time. You’re lucky you arrived when you did.”
His grin widened and became clearly flirtatious. Cynthia started to chew her lip again, then forced herself to stop. Still, her mind drifted over what she had just learned. It was only coincidence that she managed to hop onto this boat and that it was going where she wanted to go… maybe this would be the place where she could heal her broken heart after all. The captain was very, very attractive…
Don’t go there, she told herself firmly and forced a smile to her face. I’m not looking for a relationship. “I’m sorry. I guess I made an ass out of myself.”
“No, not really. My name is Rex, by the way. Rex Tesla.”
“Cynthia Jones.” She offered him her hand, and he surprised her by kissing her knuckles.
“Pleased to meet you, Cynthia Jones.”
Oh, he was smooth. She had to stop herself from giggling. If he was trying to distract her from her seasickness, it was working. He lowered her hand but kept hold of it. “So, Cynthia. What brings you out this way? Not many people have heard of our little island, let alone want to visit it.”
“Oh! Well… Um…”
Cynthia glanced away. There were a lot of things that brought her to California. Most of which Rex probably couldn’t care less about. He wasn’t her therapist, after all. The easy answer was just to say that she had a job offer. She found herself wanting to share more. To tell him about her failed marriage, her years of struggling to pay rent while dealing with five party-happy roommates, and the final straw when she just couldn’t take it anymore.
Her ex-husband always used to say she had a tendency to overshare. It was something she was trying to work on. Random people didn’t need to know her life story.
She looked up at him with a bright smile. “I applied to an ad in a newspaper looking for a nanny. I wanted a new job, and coming out here from New York seemed like an adventure. I was ready for that. Life has gotten into a predictable routine, and I wanted to jump into the deep end of the pool, so to say.”
Wait, was that too much to say to someone she had just met?
Rex’s grin widened, assuaging her fears. “An adventure, huh? Well, I’m not sure you’re going to find it around us. The most adventure we get out on the island is the occasional storm. Although having a new face around will cause quite a stir.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
He chuckled, rich and deep in his throat. “Have you ever read those books where the heroine moves to a small town and everybody seems to know everything about her instantly?”
“Yes…” Cynthia gave him a nervous smile. “It’s not going to be like that, is it?”
“Worse. It’ll be a miracle if the whole island isn’t lined up to gawk at you as we come in.” He laughed and kissed her hand again. “Don’t let the island’s strangeness scare you off, though. I hope you stick around.”
Her blush returned to her cheeks and Cynthia ducked her head, smiling to herself. Rex took his leave, but she was suitably distracted that her seasickness wasn’t terrible anymore. It was only a little while later that she saw the island in the distance, and shortly after that, they were pulled to a large dock. As everybody climbed out, Rex lifted her out of the boat and onto the dock. She suppressed a gasp at how easily he was able to lift her; she was no string bean, but she could have been a feather seeing how easily he picked her up.
“Thank you,” she mumbled, then took the suitcase he handed to her.
She noticed the man from before, who had glared at her on the boat, still looking at her as though she had personally burnt down his house. He met her gaze briefly and there was such hatred in that gaze that she reeled from it. He stomped away, leaving her shaken. Cynthia tried to shove her uneasiness aside. Surely it wasn’t her he had been glaring at. She had just gotten here.
Holding her breath, she looked at the docks, searching for the face of her new employer. Tyrell Jarvis. They had been chatting online for almost a week now. Her heart leaped when she caught sight of red hair, but it wasn’t him. It was a woman.
The redhead made her way over to them and gave Cynthia a big smile. “Cynthia? Hi. I’m Ruby. Tyrell sent me to pick you up.”
Cynthia started to put out her hand to shake Ruby’s, but before they could Rex jumped out of the boat. A scowl twisted his handsome face and he narrowed his eyes at Ruby.
“What’s this about? You’re not working for Jarvis, are you?”
Cynthia flinched at the anger in his voice. She backed away from him a little, eyeing him warily. He had seemed all too charming on the boat, but now he radiated danger. “Um… well, yes I am—”
Rex let out a swear word that had Cynthia’s jaw drop. Her hands flew to cover her mouth.
“No.”
Rex shook his head. He grabbed her suitcase and tried to pull it away from her. Cynthia held on tightly, letting out a squeal of protest. He grunted, stopped pulling, and glared at Ruby, who stood nearby looking unimpressed with the whole thing.
“You don’t want anything to do with the likes of Tyrell Jarvis, believe me. I’ll take you back to the mainland and—”
Ruby pushed between them. With a jerk, she yanked the suitcase from Rex’s hands and put her hands on her hips. She tossed her head, ending with Cynthia getting a face full of red hair, and narrowed her eyes. “Mind your own business, Rex. And stop trying to tell women what to do.”
Rex gave out an honest-to-God growl, but when he glanced at Cynthia he must have seen the shock on her face because he shrugged and turned away. Ruby gently took the suitcase from her and lead her down the docks, to where an old, battered truck was waiting.
“Sorry about that,” Ruby said smooth
ly. “Rex and my brother have a history. Rex isn’t completely in the wrong, mind you, but he’s remained very stubbornly childish about the whole thing when Tyrell just wants to move past it.”
“I understand.” Cynthia nodded, though she longed to ask what exactly that history was. Secret lovers? A falling out between best friends because they fell in love with the same woman? There were so many juicy possibilities.
I’m not here to fantasize about people’s private lives, she told herself firmly, but still couldn’t help it. For Rex to react so strongly … maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all. What if Tyrell wasn’t as good a guy as she thought he was?
Cynthia chewed on her lip but shook off those thoughts. She had already thrown herself in headfirst. If Tyrell Jarvis turned out to be a real creep, she would just have to leave. He seemed nice enough from their chats online, though, and she had deliberately said things to provoke him just to see what kind of guy he was. He never got angry, not once.
Besides, her parents had his address and picture, and a promise she’d call them at least once a week. Nothing would happen, but if it did they’d make sure to send in help. Her folks were extremely overprotective, after all.
Ruby drove her through a rather shabby-looking town and soon they were surrounded by large fields. Cynthia rolled down her window, eager to drink in the scent of tilled earth and hay fields. When they passed a few herds of cows, she barely repressed a squeal as she clapped her hands.
“I’ve missed this,” she said over her shoulder to Ruby. “I grew up on a farm, you know. My parents had to sell it when I was at veterinarian school.”
Ruby hummed. “I saw on your resume that you had some vet training. It’ll be useful out on the ranch. We only have the one vet on the island, and so we end up having to do a lot of things on our own. How far did you get?”
“I was in my final year before… before I switched jobs.”
“Sounds like a story there.”
