Page 13 of The Pack Next Door (The Wolfverse #4)

Briar

Talking to a pack of alphas about my business wasn’t what I had planned, but neither was waking up next to them, naked.

It was hard, because each time I met their eyes, I saw it.

Big, strong bodies. Muscles on muscles and big, hard…

I swallowed and looked down at my plate, the pizza covered in Italian sausage no longer so appealing.

“Ahh… Betas in the city are low-key obsessed with the alpha and omega dynamic. The idea of building a nest, a spot in your house where everything is soft, comforting, beautiful…” My eyes went out of focus, remembering the marketing meeting we’d had as soon as I could afford to hire a consultant.

“A space just for you, to decompress from the day’s stresses.

” With a blink, the deck, the table, and the people around it snapped back into view.

“Betas love that… as well as what they perceive alphas to be.”

“What do city folks think of us?”

Jace asked that with a little smirk that was identical to the one when he presented the idea of chicken for breakfast.

“You’d be appalled.” And would want to know more.

Everyone stopped eating, staring at me. “Beta men, they’ve started this whole ‘alpha bro’ lifestyle thing.

My clients just want to make their houses pretty, but some unscrupulous personal trainers have started doing this whole ‘alpha transformation.’ They get beta men to pay a lot of money, not just to go to a gym, but to swallow a bunch of supplements that are supposed to reveal their inner alpha. ”

Mads snorted at that.

“Alphas are born, not made in a gym.”

“Yes, well, when betas became aware of latent omegas, some of them grabbed onto the idea. There’s been a whole thing about it in the newspaper. Illegal testosterone supplementation, steroid use?—”

“Quick way to get a real small dick,” Jace muttered, before gesturing for me to continue.

“Some men have started podcasts talking about it,” I said with a wince. “They’re becoming quite popular, and some are tying the increase of sexual assault to it.”

“That’s not what an alpha does.” Gideon had been silent, but his elbows landed on the table as he leaned forward. “You help people, protect the community from those that would hurt them.”

I threw up my hands, waving him back.

“I know. I try to tell people…” My lips pursed. “Some beta men think that dating an omega will help them bring their alpha out.”

What the hell was that growling sound? Oh, it was all three of them. I looked down to see that Mads had raked his claws across the wooden tabletop, leaving curls of timber in their wake.

“Briar,” Mum said with a frown, “you never told me about that.”

“Because there’s nothing to tell.” I sat up straighter.

“I made clear that it was never going to happen, and if anyone persisted, my friends and I sorted them out. There’s a pack of alphas, the Vanguard pack?

” A glance at each alpha made clear they didn’t recognise the name.

“My friend, Candy, works with their omega, and they made clear they’d step in at any point if I needed protection. ”

“No need to ask them for help,” Mads growled, his eyes gleaming silver. “We’ll look after things going forward.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“If you need me to talk you up to Damien…” He looked confused. “Omega Hart, there’s no need.” I dared a sidelong look at Gideon. “You getting me out of the square when I was feeling overwhelmed will get you on the roster for the dominance fights, I’m sure of it.”

“That’s not why I did it.”

Gideon was so quiet, but there was an intensity to him that was somewhat nerve-wracking. Those golden eyes stared into mine, as if waiting for me to accept that statement, and grew more silver by the second.

“So—”

I was going to change the topic, but Mum cut me off.

“We should eat the pizza while it’s still hot.” She smiled at Jace. “When Briar was a little girl, she’d ask for pizza for every birthday. Not handmade, though. It had to be from Pizza Haven.”

“Maybe you can tell us more about Briar after the meal,” Jace said. He wasn’t looking at Mum, but me.

“When Briar was a little girl, she’d climb up into the fork of that tree.

” Dinner was finished, the boxes and plates all taken away, replaced by slices of cake.

My body felt pleasantly heavy and tired as she gestured to the tree that sat on the border of the two houses.

“Not to the top. The Sanderson boys used to tease her about that. They’d climb right out on that branch.

” She pointed to the massive one that spread across the fence line.

“But she’d grab a blanket and nestle down in the hollow at the fork.

” Mum shrugged. “Should’ve clued me in that she would become an omega. ”

“Me and birds both,” I said with a tight smile. There was nothing about me as a kid that indicated I’d transform into an omega, which might’ve been a foreshadowing for what was to come. “They made a nice nest in my blanket, and then I couldn’t bear to bring it down until the babies –hatched.”

“Making a mess of it.” Maggie tutted. “Your grandmother crocheted that by hand.”

“There was bird poop all over it,” I explained to the guys. “Nanna was not impressed.”

“She didn’t talk to me for a week.” Mum waved her hand. “Told me I was raising some sort of wild child.”

“That tracks.” I felt the heat of Mads’ body as he leant in closer. “Briar was pretty wild last night.”

I turned around to see him leaning closer, staring at me.

What in the flirty bullshit was this? Alphas in Moon River stayed well away from me as soon as they worked out I wasn’t the one for them.

Didn’t want anything awkward happening when they brought their mates before the entire town.

The fact Mads wasn’t doing the same meant my respect for him lessened.

“That was the wolf,” I said with a frown. “Speaking of which.” Looking away from him. “Have your beasts responded to any of the omegas in town?”

That guilty look–each one of them glanced at each other–like they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar, told me everything I needed to know.

They had, so why the hell were they having me around for dinner?

Years ago, I’d have done my own head in, wondering why, but now I just pushed my plate away from myself.

“Well, I’m really tired.” I got to my feet, feeling sweat prickle across my brow. “Didn’t get enough sleep last night.” A tiny snort had me looking Jace’s way, but his expression was scrupulously blank. “And it’s very warm.”

“I thought it was quite mild.”

Mum glanced at the sky, then blinked when she looked down to see me staring.

“Dinner was lovely, but I’m going to need to head to bed. Mum, did you want a hand?”

“I’m fine.”

She waved my concern away, and yet she hobbled over to the table, ready to retrieve the cake plates.

“We’ll take care of that.” Gideon moved in smoothly, retrieving her plate and his brothers’, before reaching for mine. “Did you want to take your slice home?”

A glance at the plate revealed I’d barely taken a bite, which was strange. There was nothing better than Mum’s chocolate cake. With a shake of my head, I said, “No, thank you.”

I was moving behind my mother in the next second, hovering as she took tentative steps down the steps.

Not stepping in though, I kept in mind what she said.

She was an adult, and she had the right to operate as one.

Jace appeared before the front door, opening it before she could reach for it and ushering us outside.

“Thanks for dessert. We’ll bring the cake container back tomorrow, Maggie,” he said.

“You can come by for lunch.” I fought the urge to sigh as my mother smiled at each one of them. “After you’ve done some work on the garden.”

“Mum—” I started to say.

Surely the alphas had work to do, winning the town over. I’d replant her garden with every damn black spot resistant rose of her choice and pay someone to maintain it.

“You’re on.” Mads stood in the doorway, leaning on it with a sly smile. “Roses, was it, Maggie? I was doing a bit of reading and the articles I looked at said lavender and salvia are good companion plants.”

“Oh, some Blue Bedder salvia would be glorious!” Mum said.

As she excitedly discussed the garden plans, I stepped closer to Gideon.

“Look, this is all very nice, but focussing entirely on Mum and not the whole town isn’t smart if you want to become the next ruling pack.”

“Really?”

He was so quiet it was a bit of a shock to feel him looming above me as he came forward a step.

“There’s a whole bunch of old ladies you could help, and that would go a long way to building your reputation in the town, but…” I glanced around, irrationally fearing that someone might hear us. “You should be focussing on your omega and her family, not Mum.”

There was a rush of relief as he nodded.

“As you wish, Briar.”

I edged away, finding myself frowning at his tone, but the wolf? She’d been kinda low-key since being allowed out, not having much to say. She rolled around inside me, belly up, like she was lying in the sun. With a frown, I said my goodbyes and then followed Mum home.

“Well, they are nice boys,” she said. “I do hope they win the alpha trials, as the town will be in good hands if they take over.”

“You just like them because they’re volunteering to redo your garden.”

“I like them because they are nice people and they’re going to redo my garden.” She patted my arm. “Sleep well, darling, because we’re going to the nursery nice and early in the morning before it gets too hot.”

The weather was something I knew about. My apartment was climate controlled, as was my office, so I barely registered the summer heat.

Mum’s house? Not so much. As we walked up the stairs, I headed for the shower.

My childhood trick for dealing with hot nights was to have a cold shower and not dry off entirely, the breeze coming in through the windows helping keep me cool enough to sleep.

As I tossed my dress on the floor, I felt a little of that now.

I was all sticky and clammy, so the night air had me feeling cool for just a second before I jumped under the shower. That wasn’t the only change. As I lathered up the soap and smoothed it over my skin, I felt curiously sensitive. Every sweep of the soap went from an everyday thing to sensuous.

Bloody hell.

Just after I’d revealed, it felt like my body came alive. I’d gone from a gawky kid who was uncomfortable with my friends’ whispered discussions about masturbation and making out, to feeling like I was all too ready to try out the things our sex ed teacher discussed so dryly.

With anyone.

When each of the alpha packs at school backed away from me, I’d turned my eyes on some of the beta boys.

But that was when I just revealed, so why the hell were my nipples pulled up so damn tight they almost hurt?

As my hand slid lower, I discovered why.

Slick and soap slipped through my fingers, my clit feeling so good against my palm I was rocking back and forth, halfway towards orgasm when I snatched my hand away.

Bloody hell, I was in pseudoestrus.

Riley had coined the term when I’d come to her office, shivering, overheated, and feeling like I was ready to jump any male who walked past. Apparently, it was incredibly rare.

My hormones cycled, readying itself for mating and a pregnancy that would never come.

At home, that would mean taking some time off and pulling out my very extensive toy box.

Emma joked, calling it masturbation leave, right after asking if she could apply for it.

I wasn’t due for months. It was something I kept clearly marked on my calendar, but my cunt didn’t care about that as it clenched down on nothing.

Wave after wave of pleasure wracked me, one hand stuffed in my mouth as the other worked faster, pushing me right over the edge.

My claws created a screeching trail as they dragged down the bathroom tiles, and that was enough to snap me out of this.

I pushed back from the wall, then rinsed off in a series of brisk movements before walking into my bedroom on shaky legs.

Flopping down on the bed, I stared at the window, watching the thin curtains blow out and then back again in response to the breeze.

I thought I was done. Hoped so, really, but my mind went straight back to this morning.

Instead of stalking off, chicken in hand, I ignored the clucking thing, crooking my finger to lure the three of them closer.

My moan was muffled by my pillow. Right now I really needed Candy’s Mr. Knotty.

Or the knots of the alphas next door.

Only the thought that they had their omega out there stopped me from jumping over the fence and seeing if they could help me out with my little problem.