ZACK
With a scowl on my face and my foot tapping on the hard tile floor, I glance at my watch and sigh. Where is he? I told him to be here at 8am sharp and it is now 8:30.
He is nowhere to be found. Don’t tell me he is stilling sleeping like a baby up in his room.
Ugh… I hate working with irresponsible people.
The echo of footsteps stumbling down the stairs bounces around the lobby area.
Yes. It is about time.
I whip my head up and glare up the stairs.
I take a deep breath and get ready to blast Brayden with my anger. How could he be this irresponsible? He is the alpha of his pack. People rely on him to do a lot for the pack.
However, as soon as my eyes land on him, all the harsh words running through my head along my anger instantly disappears.
His perfectly combed blonde hair from yesterday is gone. If I didn’t know better, I would think he hasn’t combed his hair in weeks with all the knots and strands sticking up all over.
The dark bags under his eyes also are new. Did he sleep at all last night? I don’t have to ask, though, as he yawns and quickly tries to cover it with his hand. His eyes continue to look down at the last few steps as if he is afraid to look away, fearing he will fall.
What the heck has happened to him? It is almost like a totally different person is here today. Yesterday, he was confident and freaking cocky. All the things that rub me the wrong way when I first meet someone.
I dash over to him just as he looks up at me. My steps falter a bit, and his eyes are blank, but there is something hidden within them. Something I can’t put my finger on, but something that is causing him great pain.
My heart twists, and a sudden desire surfaces to take his pain go away.
My concern seeps through to my words as I ask, “Brayden, are you alright? You don’t look so good.”
He shakes his head and waves his hand in the air. “I’m fine. I just didn’t get much sleep. It is probably because it is a new place. Sorry for being late. I finally fell asleep and then slept through my alarm.”
His voice wavers a bit while he refuses to look me in the eye. As he looks at anything but me, he mumbles, “Have you eaten breakfast yet? I haven’t and I’m…” However, he doesn’t have to finish his sentence because his stomach does it for him as it lets out a loud growl.
Normally, I wouldn’t allow for such behavior, but for some reason, I don’t even protest as I shake my head. “No, I haven’t. I was waiting for you. We can go to the dining hall and ask the kitchen staff to fix us something, since we have missed the normal breakfast time.”
A lie. I have already eaten earlier with the pack, but for some reason, I don’t want him to eat alone.
I motion towards the dining hall. “Let’s go sit down. I’ll tell the staff to fix something quick. Is there anything in particular you would like?”
He shakes his head. “No. But I’m fine with some toast and a glass of orange juice. I don’t need a big meal.”
I snort. “Nonsense. You need to eat something decent for breakfast.”
As we walk into the dining hall, I point to the empty long table at the front. Only a few pack members are here, along with some kitchen staff cleaning up. “Go sit down. I’ll be right back.”
I don’t wait for a response before I turn and scurry off to the kitchen. After telling them what we will have, I grab a glass of juice for him and a cup of coffee for myself.
As I walk towards the table, my heart twists again. Brayden is laying his head down on his arm on top of the table. He looks like he is lost in thought, but from the small tear that runs down his cheek, my earlier assumption is correct. Something is causing him pain.
The need to take his pain away washes over me as I sit his glass of juice on the table. “Here is the juice you asked for. If you need more, let me know and I’ll ask the staff to bring some more out. Also, the food should be done soon. Do you feel up to talking about what I planned to cover today?”
I sit down beside him as he lifts his head and sits upright in the chair. “Give me a little time. My mind is still not quite working. Once I get some food in me, I’m sure I’ll be back to normal.”
A crease forms along my forehead. I know he is lying. However, I’ll leave it alone for now. If this continues on, though, I’ll ask him about it.
A silence falls over the table while he sips his juice. I have so many questions circling around in my mind, but I don’t dare ask any of them. They are all too personal, and we aren’t close enough to be asking them.
I finally settle on something neutral.
I lift my cup of coffee and casually ask, “So, what do you think of our pack and the grounds? Are you impressed by them?”
A snort slips out of him as he raises an eyebrow. “Are you seriously asking me that question?”
Well, there he is again. The cocky, arrogant cute brat is back.
Wait. Did I just think cute? He is not cute at all, but he is very irritating.
I match his snort with one of my own. “Yeah, I just asked that. Do you have a problem with my question?”
A faint chuckle fills the air between us as he shakes his head. “You have a lot of problems. I said I wasn’t going to discuss it until my brain is working again and I have food in my stomach.”
As if his stomach heard him, it lets out another loud growl. He quickly covers it while his cheeks turn a cute shade of pink as he whines, “It needs to stop doing that.”
Again, my anger slowly disappears.
I give him a small grin. “Don’t worry. I told them to hurry. I’m sure the food will be here any minute. Just wait a little longer.”
My hand itches to reach out and pat his shoulder, but I quickly put my hand under the table. No. I won’t comfort him. For all I know, he is lying to me and is tired from being up all night talking to his boyfriends.
With that thought rolling through my head, a wave of anger pulses through me. I quickly push back any idea of being nice to the jerk.
However, as I look at him, I still question whether he is an actual alpha. He is so small for being a true alpha. Granted, I’ve seen other alphas about his height, but my first thought when I saw him was that he is a beta. It wouldn’t be the first time a beta has tried to pull off hiding behind an alpha mask.
I stop and take a closer look at him.
His skin is smooth and flawless while his green eyes had held a warmth which is missing this morning. However, I remember yesterday how inviting they were. Even now, without the spark, I could stare into them all day and never get tired.
Wait. No.
My eyes drop to his moist plump lips as I lick mine. They are calling to me and begging for me to devour them and then him.
WOW!! HOLD ON!!!!
I AM NOT GAY!!! I LIKE WOMEN!!! ONLY WOMEN!!!
I shake my head as a warm shiver runs through my body.
Brayden’s alluring voice calls out to me. “Zack, is something wrong? You are staring at me like you want to say something.”
Gulp.
ZACKI shake my head.Something I’ve been doing a lot of today, as I look across the table at Brayden. I didn’t think it would be safe for him to eat supper with everyone since he can barely keep his eyes open today.His eyelids slowly slide down as his long eyelashes flutter slightly before his eyes finally close. His head bobs slightly and his blonde bangs fall down over his forehead.Before his head can fall forward and into the last few bites of his food on his plate, I quickly reach across the table and gently grab his cute face. My heart skips a beat as I get up and, while still holding Brayden’s gorgeous face, I carefully walk around the table.He had been hesitant to finish our conversation over a meal in his room, but I figured this would happen. It is better for him to be here than in the dining hall. At least he ate most of his food before he fell asleep.I sc
BRAYDEN Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. No. Not yet. I groan as I roll over and turn off my phone’s alarm on the nightstand. However, my hand stops in midair right afterwards and my eyes pop wide open. I slowly scan my outstretched arm. What happened last night? How did I get into bed? Wasn’t I sitting and eating a meal? I quickly rake through my memories, but nothing comes to mind. Towards the end of the meal, everything goes blank. Wait. Did I fall asleep while eating? No. This can’t be happening to me. I throw myself backwards onto the bed and kick my feet. Again, I halt everything in mid-kick. Please tell me I’m wrong. This can’t be happening. As I whisper a silent prayer to myself, I slowly lift up the sheets. Shit. I’m not wrong. I’m only in my boxers. I brea
ZACKI look up from my tablet and glance across the table at Brayden, who has his eyes locked on the various documents and the files on his laptop, completely ignoring me. My focus instantly goes to his luscious lips and the burning question which I still don’t have an answer to. Do his lips taste good?No. I have to stop thinking about it.I press my lips together and shake my head before I turn my focus back to my tablet.This is crazy.Suddenly, my dream from last night pops into my head as my throat suddenly goes dry.Heat rushes through me as the image of his soft plump lips pressing against mine has my body coming alive.Gulp.My pants tighten as my manhood springs to life.Shit. I can’t be sitting across from him and thinking about that.I move around on the chair, trying to find a comfortable spot while I discreetly pull my
BRAYDEN I stare at Zack’s back as he storms out of the conference room. What in the heck has got him all worked up? However, his subtle jab with his words earlier still irritates me. My eye twitches as I turn my attention back towards Blake. “I was going to say he has been very professional and helpful, but after seeing his little tantrum, I may change my mind.” Blake glances over his shoulder at the empty doorway and sighs. “He has his moments. I’m hoping he can find his omega soon. He needs to get in his alpha position before his frustrations and waiting eat him alive.” My heart twists while I fight to keep a blank face. However, I quickly push this strange feeling out of my mind. “Well, he is old enough. I have to admit that I’m surprised he hasn’t found his mate yet. Maybe his mate is a lot younger than him, which is why he hasn’t found her. I’m sure it will only be a matter o
ZACKI grumble under my breath as I march towards Brayden’s room. My brother’s stern voice still echoes in my head. “Go check in on Brayden. He didn’t come down for supper tonight.”Why do I have to be the one to always check in on him? Why can’t Blake have someone else be the babysitter?Ugh…I stop in front of Brayden’s door and again grumble under my breath about me always being the one to take care of the cute alpha.I take a deep breath and push away all my frustrations. This will only be a short delay before I head off to the nightclub. Even though I couldn’t find anyone available, I’m sure I’ll get lucky at the club. There are always women there who are willing and ready to have a night of fun with a tall, handsome man.Knock. Knock.My foot taps lightly on the floor as silence falls a
BRAYDENRing…ring…ring…Ugh… I roll over on the bed and grab my phone off the nightstand. A groan slips out of my mouth when I see what time it is. It isn’t even time to wake up yet. I should have another hour. Why?Grumbling under my breath, I put the phone on speaker and practically slam it back down on the nightstand as I grunt, “I still have another hour to sleep. You should have waited.”Hunter’s cheery voice replies, “I didn’t want to wait. I miss you. Plus, you didn’t call last night.”Last night. Jacob’s words bubble up in my mind while they also slice right through my heart.Luckily, Zack was here to take my mind off of it. I have to admit, I didn’t think talking to anyone would help, but it did. I still don’t know why I feel comfortable around him. Usually, the o
ZACKI lean against the bathroom door and take a deep breath. How did I get myself into this situation? Well, I know how, but I don’t want to admit that I couldn’t say no to his cute pouty face when he practically begged me to stay with him. Something within me couldn’t sit back and let him suffer. Anger still pulses through me when I think about the jerk, his so-called boyfriend. How could you be in a relationship, but still go hunting for his true mate? That makes little sense. If Lindsey somehow ended up in a situation like this, I would go and pound the idiot’s face in. I probably would also throw in several extra blows if he made my sister cry as much as Brayden did last night.The images of Brayden’s red swollen eyes flash through my mind, while his soft sobs still echo in my ears.My heart aches just remembering it.When I finally mee
HUNTER The phone call abruptly ends, and I whip my head towards Jacob. Fire shoots from my eyes as I clinch my jaw. “What did you do?! You know how sensitive she is about our mates. She also knows that she isn’t our true mate, and she always puts on a straight face when it is ever mentioned. But you know it is one thing which can hurt her the most.” I take a deep breath while my heart pounds against my chest. “Her biggest fear right now is that we find our mates, and we will toss her to the side and abandoned her, just like her father has done. How could you?! Now, I understand why that jerk Zack was there again. His heart probably couldn’t stand to see her hurt like that, either. I don’t think anyone can.” Jacob shakes his head. “I wasn’t thinking. I was just so pissed about what my father had done. He didn’t even tell me the real reason for the trip. When I found out, I was pissed and came home right away. I don’t keep secrets from Bry. You know that.” My blood b