had almost tripled in size over her four years of being alpha. The pack numbered around twenty now, with cubs that needed medicine and education. They needed to hunt. Brooke had thought that, finally, they’d found a home in Colorado, but here they were again, being driven closer and closer to the borders by a group of shifters with enough money and power to wipe them out completely.
She thought of Connor, swaggering through the door of Cole Couture with that knowing smirk on his face, and she sighed.
Connor Strauss was a good man. She didn’t want to admit it, wanted to focus on hating him, but she couldn’t ignore it. It was her wolves that had provoked the bears, and it was her fault for charging up there without thinking. She knew his brothers were mated, knew that they had cubs. He was protecting his sleuth. It’s exactly what she would have done.
But that didn’t make the situation right. Brooke was hot-headed, she knew that, and yeah, it had driven her to make a few decisions that she regretted, but all this territory warfare bullshit was driving her to desperation. Her top priority was - and always would be - her pack. Connor didn’t realise that he had everything, everything that she wanted, that her pack needed, and he wasn’t willing to share any of it. Bitterness clawed up her throat.
Would she even be able to keep up the banter anymore? She knew who he was, had always known, but he knew nothing about her. She was just the shop girl he liked to flirt with, and now she didn’t know if she could even be that.
The small bottle on her bedside glinted in the light and Brooke lifted her arm to grab at it, dabbing the scent suppressant behind her ears and on the skin at her wrists. She breathed the soothing, neutral scent and closed her eyes.
She dabbed herself again the next morning, a little paranoid. The idea of what would happen if Connor smelled wolf on her made her shudder.
She got into work early and spent the morning watching and waiting for Connor to stop by. Every time the bell above the door dinged Brooke would look up, heart in her throat, and every time she had to school her expression back to a pleasant smile when she met the eyes of a customer instead.
Well whatever, she thought. This is a good thing. It doesn’t matter how attractive he is - he’s a bear and he’s an asshole. And that would be that except for the small voice at the back of her head whispering but he’s not.
Brooke grew more and more restless as the day wore on. By the time lunch rolled around, she was buzzing with adrenaline and anger. Brooke slipped into an empty booth in the dining hall with a bowl of Cody’s famous pasta. She wasn’t all that hungry, but the food was a delicious distraction so she ate it slowly. Her shoulder was still throbbing. She definitely should have treated it before she’d gone to bed.
Then she heard a laugh. She looked up and there he was, talking to one of the servers, that damn cocky grin on his handsome face. He looked fine, better than fine, like nothing had happened the night before. And he was wearing a sharp black suit with a green paisley print tie. Bright colors, bold patterns. He’d taken her advice and she’d been right. The splash of color suited him even better than plain black did.
Brooke grit her teeth. How dare he look so put together when she was haggard and angry and hurting. Her wolf snarled, pissed beyond belief, and Brooke climbed unsteadily to her feet. She needed to get out of here, needed to shift and run. She could make excuses at Cole’s when she got back - Elsie wouldn’t mind if she skipped an hour or two after lunch.
Brooke started for the door but, as she passed Connor’s table - now server free - he reached out and snagged her wrist. Brooke bit her lip to hide a whimper as her shoulder shifted painfully under her sweater.
“Brooke.” He sounded happy to see her and the realization made something in her stomach lurch. He had no idea who she was, or that last night she’d nearly torn him to shreds.
“What do you want, Connor?” she bit out.
“Don’t be like that, I just wanted to check if you’re okay-” His gentle tone grated over her