Page 28 of The Pack Next Door (The Wolfverse #4)

Mads

My blood was pumping, adrenalin coursing through my veins, but there was nothing to catch or to conquer right now. I wrapped my hand around the wheel and started the car, heading back to our street.

Keep your eyes on the road , I told myself. Give her some space to tell you what’s going on.

“So, wanna tell me why your face fell when I handed you that rabbit?”

Yeah, maybe not like that.

Her sigh was a beautiful and terrible thing. I never wanted her making that noise unless it was due to pleasure, but right now, at least she was giving me something. Because right when I felt like the king of the world, her expression made clear what a mistake that was.

“Straight to the point, huh?” There was a brittle edge to her voice, but she suppressed it quickly. “I’m fine.” Patently, she was not. “There’s just a lot going on at work right now.”

“You get a call during the trial?”

I dared a glance sideways, catching the way her hands worried at the fabric of her dress.

“No, it’s just…” Her eyes were trained on the streets as we passed them by.

“Nothing changes in Moon River, which is all part of its charm.

On the one hand, it's reassuring that all the amazing things I remember about my childhood are still here. Like that place there.” I saw an ice cream parlour with a sign painted in faded pastels.

“The most amazing ice cream. Never tasted anything to compare in the city. If you take over from the Harts, I expect you to find out the recipe and preserve it for posterity.”

With a little smile, she made clear that was a joke. There was something serious underneath it, though. My back pressed hard against the car seat as I forced myself to keep driving at a reasonable pace.

“But not you, right?” I felt her eyes on me, but right now all I saw was the dotted street lines flashing by. “I mean as ruling omega, you could march in there and demand a lifetime’s supply and the recipe to boot.”

“No, I couldn’t.” Her tone was soft, begging for my understanding, but all I could do was spare a quick look.

“I can’t, Mads. If you need my help to win the trials…

” Nope, no, no freaking way, I wanted to snap.

I didn’t give a damn about the town, just her.

“I’m happy to help out, but it needs to be with an understanding that I’m not sticking around.

I have a home.” Not here, not with us, that went unspoken, prompting me to press down on the accelerator, getting us to the front of her place that bit faster.

There was no racing past this, though. “And I need to get back to it.”

“So let's focus on that then.” I’d parked the car so I was free to turn around and stare at her then. “If that’s what you need, then put me to work.”

“Put you to work?” Her surprised smile made something lighten in my chest. I’d gone along with what Gideon wanted, but maybe it was this. “So do you have a background in online sales and fulfilment?”

“Nope, but I’m smart, capable, and most of all here.” I was out of the car, opening her door, then I put a hand out. “Even if it's just making you cups of coffee or tea. I’ll do it.”

“Mads…” When her hand landed in mine, somehow it was far sweeter than catching that damn rabbit. A lot less kicky as well. “You don’t need to do that. Spending your time?—”

“Yes, I do.” Briar was standing before me now, and that line on her forehead had smoothed away. “Gideon’s the smooth one, and Jace will win the crowd over, but me?” I shook my head. “I’ll just open my mouth and say the wrong damn thing anyway. You’re helping my brothers by keeping me here.”

“Oh, well.” Her smile had me following in her footsteps. “If it’s a public service.” Any kind of service she wanted, I thought, watching my mate walk up the front path. Whatever it took to keep her smiling. “I take my coffee white with enough sugar to have the spoon standing up in it.”

“Sweet like you.”

I took a surreptitious sniff of her perfume as we both walked in through the door, then made a beeline for the kitchen. Kettle located, mugs found, I went to work. Briar paused on the bottom step, watching me move and then shook her head.

“My computer is upstairs.”

“I’ll be up with madam’s coffee momentarily,” I replied.

As I waited for the kettle to boil, the calls and texts started.

I let the calls go to the message bank and paused to see Gideon, Mum, and all my dads had messaged me, but I didn’t bother to open them.

What was the point? The dads had been drilling us from the moment we could walk to be the best pack we could be, so as to get us out of Glen Hallow, and for what?

They didn’t realise that their training had worked too well.

My eyes flicked up, trying to stare past the floorboards to where Briar was no doubt bent over her laptop.

Focus on the omega, they’d told us when the idea of having a mate was a far-distant future.

Make him or her happy and everything else would fall into place.

So what was the point of schmoozing Damien and his pack, when taking his place was not what Briar wanted? Coffee was her most immediate need, so I found some very nice looking biscuits, put them on a plate, and then carried the two mugs upstairs.

“Gods, yes, coffee.” She made gimme-gimme hands at me, and I laughed, handing that over and the biscuits. “And Mum’s choc chip cookies?” Briar nodded. “I might make you my PA at this point.”

“I could do that.”

That came out way more earnest than I intended it to.

It was just that our lives had been prescribed since the moment we were born.

Mum complained bitterly about mating with a pack of three alphas.

No matter how strong they were, it was always a losing proposition when going against the six of the ruling pack of Glen Hallow.

In response to that, our dads trained us, prepared us to fight harder, more convincingly and dirtier, if that’s what it took, to get our family out of the town.

But why didn’t we move to another town? I’d asked as a kid.

Or to the city? That was dismissed with a snort, as if the idea was completely ridiculous, but to this day, I didn’t know why.

Glen Hallow packs weren’t exactly well regarded by other alphas, so they weren’t rolling out the red carpet, letting us move into their territory.

We’d been bloody lucky that the Harts let us come here.

But to get the hell away from all of this?—

“You wouldn’t want that.” Briar’s eyes dropped back to her screen as she took a sip of the coffee. “It’s a concrete jungle in the city.” And I’d run through its streets for her. Mutely, I pleaded for her to understand that, but instead that frown was back. “Bloody hell.”

“Well, if that’s not a cry for help, I don’t know what is.” Her attention was back on me as I sat on the foot of her bed. “If I can’t help, people tell me bitching mercilessly about a problem doesn’t help to make it go away, but you do feel better about it.”

She didn’t want to smile and yet that’s what happened. When her hands raked through her hair, I wanted to pluck them free and replace them with my own. Instead, I shut the hell up and waited.

Don’t jump to conclusions , I thought, remembering the advice columns I’d read. Don’t rush to solutions. Just listen.

“This thing with Mum couldn’t happen at a worse time.

” Briar studied me closely and I could almost see her searching for signs of judgement.

“Like it’s not her fault at all, but we have a product launch looming.

A new line of pottery that’s so hot and in demand, we’ve sold every single one.

The launch went from selling pieces, to starting a whole expanded line. ”

Her fingers scratched at her scalp.

“It took me ages to convince Tom, the potter, to take it on.” Lips thinned, then pursed, and I wanted to kiss that tension away so damn badly.

“He doesn’t love mass production and has little trust in freight companies, apparently with good reason.

A pallet was dropped and half the stock is broken.

I’ve asked the warehouse staff to email out all the clients who will miss out, but with the insanity going on, plus our regular business, it doesn’t look like it's happened.” Her shoulders drooped. “Guess I’ll have to get it done.”

“Or you could handball that job to me.” Seeing your mate look at you in complete disbelief was not exactly reassuring, but I didn’t stick around to prop up my own ego.

Take things off your mate’s plate, that’s what the wolf demanded, so I pulled out my phone.

“I know it all seems archaic out here in the sticks, but I do know how to send an email.”

“I couldn’t… You…”

Briar was wavering, and that was my in.

“Rather than composing every damn email, just send me a template,” I replied, remembering this kind of thing from school. “That and a spreadsheet of the clients to be contacted. I reckon I could do that.”

“You’re sure?”

I saw the wary shift of her wolf inside her, almost able to hear the beast sniff suspiciously. Mine was chill, panting with his tongue lolling out because he was exactly where he needed to be.

“I wouldn’t say so if I wasn’t. You can check my work, make sure I don’t accidentally send your clients a link to my OnlyFans or something.”

Her eyebrows shot up.

“You have an OnlyFans?”

“Something you’re interested in subscribing to, omega?”

Her eyes narrowed as she shot me a dark look before typing a message out rapidly.

“Give me your email and I’ll send you the script and the client list, but yeah, if you could keep your knot out of it, that would be appreciated.”

Her prim little tone had me grinning.

“No one’s going to see what belongs to you, Briar.” She didn’t want to look at me, but the fact she did had me grinning. “No one has thus far, and I can’t see a reason why that would change.”

Unless she gave me that reason. Plucking the pen from where she’d used it to tie up her hair in a bun and letting it tumble over her shoulders, before easing the thin strap of her dress down.

I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell Briar and Jace got up to last night.

Something I’d be happy to repeat, when her heat hit her again.

Right as the room filled with the scent of roses, I thought she might be feeling the same way, but instead her fingers stabbed her keyboard as she copied down my email.

“All the instructions have been sent,” she told me. “If you can work out what to do, that would be amazing, but if you want to return to the park, I’ll understand.”

“Send emails, not dick pics.” I glanced down at my phone, reading through the instructions. “You got it, boss.”