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I’d heard no ripples through my connections, though. Nothing that would alert me to Gideon up to his old tricks again. I was just being paranoid. I was tired from the travel and late nights talking to Harrison and the others. He’d needed us and we’d rallied around him. We’d also had our regular meeting during the daytime hours, so business had followed. I just needed to catch up on some sleep. And maybe a quick fuck. That always eased me and my wolf.
Everleigh came to mind then. The pretty blonde I’d dated a few times. Slept together several more. But my heart wasn’t in it. I also hadn’t sensed the mate magic with her. Sometimes it took a while, but I doubted it would come with Everleigh. She came from Kyran’s pack, located not far away from mine, and she sated my needs. Her whines, however, had grown in frequency, asking ‘where are we going?’ every time we slept together. I’d backed off some, hoping she’d get the message. But she didn’t, even when I’d practically spelled it out for her we were fuck buddies and nothing more.
Fuck buddies. I choked on a laugh. The title sounded so goddamn juvenile. But how else could I put it? We fucked. Had fun. We got on and had a few things in common. I’d confessed to her one night that I didn’t believe her to be my mate. It had earned me a few scratches for my trouble, but nothing kept Everleigh down for long. Not where my cock was concerned, anyway.
Down boy,I silently ordered said cock when it rose at the thought of Everleigh’s sweet pussy. But her pussy also had bite like its owner, ready to sink its teeth into my balls if I wasn’t careful.
Goddamn it to fuck.
I needed to move. Nothing from Grace yet. So I paced the floor of my office, ending up at the framed picture on the wall of the alliance. There we stood, together as one force, my friends and brothers, and men who were all alphas of their own pack. And ones I’d bonded with when Max had started the alliance many years ago.
Max had money and made it work in our best interests. Including keeping our packs hidden and off the map. Hidden towns. Hidden homes. All secret because of the people he knew and the money that crossed hands. We focused on investments, putting back into the places we oversaw, into the people, into the security, into our mini-economies. It meant running a couple of human-facing businesses, sitting on the boards to ensure more control. But I didn’t mind it. It irritated some of my brothers though; them preferring the isolation of the woods.
Kyran. His pack was the closest. He’d also been an irritable fucker of late. I had no clue what was up with him. He also needed to wake up and smell the coffee where Grace was concerned. She’d been in love with him since she was a kid, but Kyran never noticed. Not that I’d get involved with that bullshit. Their business, not mine.
Harrison. He wallowed in grief after losing Jasmine, juggling looking after a kid and writing his books under an elusive pen name. He’d chosen a creative line of investment, allowing him to stay holed up in his tower of a house. Then there was Max, a man who tried hard to run from his past, even though he tapped into it often to keep us up with the times and security. And me. A target of a sadistic bastard who saw the pack as his own all these years later, while looking after my town and working with my wood. The tree kind, too.
We were a sorry-looking bunch, looking strong and denying weakness. But all of us were out of whack without a mate by our side. And deep down, we knew it. Even if we tried to deny it.
The phone rang, thank fuck, and I answered, eager for the information. I’d find out who this stranger was who’d wandered into our town, and if she had any affiliation to Gideon Fletcher whatsoever, I’d enjoy making her suffer.
