Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,193

fixed every face in the room with a hard stare. “Unfortunately for whoever spilled that bear’s blood, I will be far less forgiving.” More than a few faces in the crowd shrank back and Brooke smiled menacingly. Good to know I haven’t completely lost my touch, she thought.

They must have made quite the sight; a group of twenty wolf shifters approaching the entrance to the lodge like a parade of street urchins. Brooke brought up the rear, walking with the injured and the meandering pups, watching as Eric directed her pack into one of the side rooms that had been reserved for the meeting. They made eye contact and he nodded politely to her. She nodded awkwardly back, eyes wide, and Eric’s face relaxed into a smile that made him look years younger.

Vince was just in front of her, and he shot her a dark look over his shoulder as he passed the lodge’s threshold. She made a note to warn the Strauss' to keep an extra careful eye on him. Connor fell into step with her as she crossed the glinting dark hardwood floor of the foyer. He walked with her quietly to the room. He caught her eye and flashed a grin, scrunching his nose reassuringly before smoothing his expression out into something cool and professional.

The meeting was awkward and stilted, which didn’t surprise Brooke in the slightest. The entire pack was on edge as they sat in what looked like a large ornate ballroom with gilded furnishings and floors polished enough to be mistaken for mirrors. Connor’s brothers looked just as uncomfortable - leaning against the wall in a rigid line like war generals waiting for a briefing.

It was easier than she’d thought it would be to act like things between her and Connor were strictly professional. They’d agreed not to tell anyone about their relationship yet, certain it would only make things more complicated. Brooke was glad they’d made that call. She felt like she was back in the high school debate club, waiting her turn at the front of the room while Connor told the room that he realized her pack had been treated unfairly and vowed to make things right. Brooke’s threat back at the apartment must have stayed with the pack because no one mentioned William’s death.

“I’m sorry for how we’ve treated you all,” Connor said quietly. “I know we have a lot to make up for, but I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make things right between us. There’s no reason why we can’t occupy this territory together as a cohesive group.”

Brooke watched Connor’s brothers out of the corner of her eye and while one of them, Cody, she guessed from the scruff decorating his jaw, let shock tighten the corners of his mouth, they were - for the most part - emotionless. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

The pack remained quiet. They don’t trust him, Brooke thought, chest tight. She’d warned Connor that they wouldn’t, but seeing him standing there so hopefully in front of a sea of disbelieving faces with her own eyes dimmed her little bit of remaining hope.

In the end, they agreed to draw up an official treaty that called a truce and stated specifically the borders between wolf and bear lands, each getting a fair share with a portion of No Man’s Land between them. The elders of both families would be called down in the following weeks in order to sign off and that seemed to signal the end of things.

Brooke shared a look with Carlo, silently asking him to make sure everyone got back okay, before joining Connor at the front of the room but Carlo followed her and shook Connor’s hand, much to Brooke’s amazement.

“Thank you for helping us out,” Carlo said stiffly. He turned his head to watch the last of the pack skulk out of the room. “We may not seem like it just yet, but we are grateful.”

Connor nodded, looking just as shocked as she felt, and then Carlo turned to Brooke with a small smile, “See you at home, cuz.”

“See you at home.” Brooke tried to pack everything she was feeling into that short sentence, and the warmth that filled Carlo’s eyes and the way his shoulders relaxed, just a little, made her think she’d succeeded. They clasped each other, resting their foreheads together, before Carlo turned and left the room. Shortly after, Nathan, Cody, and Eric slipped out another