CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Having read the text message on the screen, Bree let out a quiet groan and then tossed the cell on the kitchen table.

“Problem?” asked Alex, eating a second stack of Pop Tarts—food she hadn’t even known he stocked until now, despite rummaging through the “breakfast cupboard” many times. James was right; wolverines could pluck stuff out of the kitchen like magic.

“I’ve got a meeting with the other omegas after work.” Sighing, she picked up her half-full cup of coffee. “Such fun.”

“I’ll walk you to the daycare center and hang outside until you’re done.”

Bree’s insides rolled at the thought of him standing out in the open like that, exposed and vulnerable to attack. Her stomach had been in knots since she heard Paxton’s voice two days ago, and it didn’t show any signs of unknotting. The entire pride was on the lookout for him, conscious that he could be disguising his looks somehow. But knowing everyone was on the ball didn’t ease her anxiety. Each time she and Alex left the apartment building, her heartbeat kicked up and her breathing accelerated.

She couldn’t relax, especially when outdoors, despite being surrounded by pride mates—many of whom were enforcers on patrol, masquerading as either pedestrians, window cleaners, painters, or homeless people. A shifter would have no problem seeing through the enforcers’ acts, but that was the point. They wanted Paxton to see that security was super tight.

Mateo, Drina, and the Cages were still in the wind, and Bree couldn’t help but wonder if they were dead. If they were, they wouldn’t have died easy. No one died easy at the hands of Paxton Cage, and that just made her anxiety that much more acute.

Her cat was no less tense. She wanted to hunt Paxton down and kill him before he had the chance to kill her mate. If Bree had a starting point, she just might have tried it, but she had absolutely no idea where to begin looking for the piece of shit.

“You’ll be bored out of your mind just standing in the street.” And she’d be worried out of her mind.

He shrugged and bit into his last Pop Tart. “I’ll take some beef jerky with me.”

“You say that like eating is a form of entertainment for you.”

“Well, it keeps me entertained.”

So it would seem. “Why not just sit in the daycare’s reception area?”

“Because listening to kids squealing and crying will ruin my snack-on-beef-jerky quality time.”

Awkward fucker. There was no sense in asking him to wait indoors for his safety—it would only prick at his pride and make him all surly and frowny.

This whole thing sucked large. Alex was an absolute badass, yes, but that didn’t alleviate her fears. Because Paxton also knew that the wolverine was a badass, so he’d be sneaky and cunning about his attack.

She was jumpy. Edgy. Her gaze was often restless when they were out, constantly flitting from person to person. Her gut rolled each time her phone beeped or chimed, even though it didn’t seem likely that Paxton would make contact again. He’d delivered his message, and now he’d expect her to do as he’d told her. And since she had no intention of doing so, well, Alex was in a fuck load of danger and—

“Stop.”

She blinked. “What?”

“Stop doing this to yourself.” Alex pushed his empty plate aside. “You’re always fidgeting, biting your lip, and can’t seem to keep your phenomenal ass in a chair for long. Your appetite has gone to shit, and you’re not sleeping well. Stop obsessing over what Paxton said. You’re going to give yourself a damn ulcer.”

It was easy for him to say. Rising, she dumped her mug in the sink. “And if it was me who he’d threatened to kill, would you be relaxed?”

“I don’t expect you to be relaxed, baby girl.” Standing, he crossed to her. “I just don’t want you to be constantly on the verge of having an anxiety attack.”

She raked a hand through her hair. “The two most important people in my world were taken from me. Losing my mom was hard. Losing my dad was harder—probably because I was then officially alone. Losing you … I don’t know if I could come back from that, okay?” Her voice broke. The admission cost her, because she didn’t like making herself vulnerable.

Sighing, he caught her face with his strong hands. “Look at me. You’re not going to lose me. We’ve been over this already—he’ll try to kill me, sure, but he’ll fail.”

“He’s a damn assassin, Alex. He killed people for a living, and he did it because he enjoyed it.”

“And what am I, a cuddly bear? You’ve seen me and my beast play with our prey. You’ve never seen us full-on attack someone. You’ve never seen us fight to kill. Believe me when I say Paxton won’t find me an easy target. Why do you think my mom isn’t whatsoever fretting about him? There’s a reason that wolverines are so strongly feared.

“He’s not going to come at me in the middle of the street, especially not when our pride mates are scattered all over the place. If I don’t take him down in an instant, the others will. He’s not going to risk that.”

Okay, that was a good point. “Fine. Just … just don’t get hurt again,” she said, her voice a little wobbly. “You took six bullets—”

“And yet, I’m here. My kind aren’t so easy to kill.” He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t do something girly like cry,” he ordered. “I mean it.”

Her lips twitched. He’d said it like the force of his formidable will alone could stop tears from falling. She buried her face in the crook of his neck. “You mean it, huh?”

“Yes. I don’t want snot on my tee.”

God, he was just about the only person who could make her want to smile when she was down in the dumps. “And here I was thinking you were worrying about my itty, bitty feelings.”

“The potential of snot stains worries me more. But your feelings come a close second to my tee.”

“Wow.” She lifted her head and met his gaze. “You know something? I think you like me just a little.”

“I like you almost as much as I like beef jerky. So close …”

Yeah, her smile broke free. Another woman might have been annoyed that he wasn’t showering her with reassurances and comforting words, but Bree didn’t need soppy sentiments. She preferred the raw, sweet, honest declarations he occasionally spouted—even if they were often accompanied by him accusing her of being stupid or something.

She gently poked his chest. “You’re almost as great as snow cones. And they’re awesome.”

“They are.” His eyes drifted over her face, intense and broody. He gave a satisfied nod. “You’re good,” he decided.

“I’m good.” But her stomach was still in knots. It would probably stay that way until the moment Paxton had been apprehended—something that needed to happen soon, or both she and her cat were liable to lose their shit.

“Okay, ladies, I’d say we’re done here,” said Dani, closing her notebook. “Thank you all for coming, and I’ll see you at the next meeting if not before.”

Like the other omegas, Bree pushed away from the table and headed for the break room door. She was super eager to get out of there and get back to Alex.

“Bree,” Dani called out, standing. “Could we talk a moment?”

Oh, wonderful. “Sure.” Holding the strap of her purse, Bree held back as the others filed out of the room. Dani hadn’t made a single snarky comment toward her during the meeting. Which had felt weird, to be honest. But there was something a little different about the primary today. She seemed more at ease with herself. Still, Bree’s cat watched her warily, flexing her claws.

Once they were finally alone, Dani rounded the table and raised a placatory hand. “I’m not going to pick a fight. I just … I have some news that I’d like to share with you.” She swiped her tongue over her lower lip. “I thought you should know that I’ve asked Vinnie to transfer me to another pride.”

Almost rocking back on her heels, Bree blinked. “Transfer you?”

“As much as I hate to admit it, I can’t keep the position of primary here. And I’m too young to retire, so he’s going to find me a pride that’s in need of a primary omega like me. I’ll be briefing everyone else on my decision soon. I wanted you to be one of the first to know because, well, it’s going to substantially affect you. You’ll need to take over as primary—it wouldn’t have been fair to spring that on you.”

Since when had Dani cared about what would be “fair” to Bree? “What brought all this on?”

“I had a talk with Rose. She made me take a good, long look at the way I’ve been acting lately. I was a little dismissive of her at first. I guess I didn’t want to hear it; didn’t want to face that you were right—I had changed. Worse, I’d changed into someone I didn’t like. Rose kept on at me until I listened. And she made me realize that I’ve been selfish and petty and a bunch of other things lately.” Dani looked at the floor. “It’s hard to let go of something when you spent years of your life imagining it would be yours.”

Bree had a vague idea of how that hard it must have been. She’d spent a long, long time wishing Alex would be hers. It had hurt when she’d forced herself to face that it wouldn’t happen. If she’d spent her life feeling sure that Alex would be hers, just as Dani was sure she’d hold the position of primary, the pain would have been crippling. If someone had then come along and tried to take Alex from her in the same way that Dani felt Bree was trying to take the primary role from her, Bree wouldn’t have reacted too well either.

“Rose made me see that I could still have the position,” Dani went on, meeting her eyes again. “I just can’t have it here. It belongs to you now; I was fighting a losing battle by opposing that. I wasn’t as angry at you as I must have seemed. I was angry at fate. It just didn’t seem fair that someone who didn’t even want the position was going to take it from me, especially when I’d only had it for a decade. I took that out on you; made you into the bad guy in my head. It was a real shitty thing to do, and I’m sorry.”

Damn if that apology didn’t sound totally genuine.

“I’d convinced myself I was doing the best thing for the pride. But the truth? I just didn’t want to lose my position. It’s not an excuse, I know, but I grew up thinking I had an inborn purpose to be primary. I trained hard for it, I poured everything I was into it. It just …” Her brow creased, and tears filled her eyes. “I don’t know who I am without it.”

Bree’s chest squeezed. Knowing the other female wouldn’t react well to sympathy, she said, “Well, I know who you are: a bit of a bitch, to tell you the truth. And not even in a good way—I could have respected that.”

Dani laughed and blinked hard, as if to fight back tears. “I’ll try to be a good bitch from now on.”

“You’ll get the hang of it eventually.” Not sure what else to say, Bree added, “I wish you luck with whatever comes next for you.”

“Thank you. I’m feeling good about the transfer. I mean, my parents said they’ll come with me, so I won’t be alone. And who knows? Maybe I’ll find my mate wherever I end up. Maybe fate is pushing me toward him. Over the next few weeks, you and I should meet up a few times so I can show you the ropes, so to speak. Being primary can be scary at first, but it’s a special thing. Don’t take it for granted.” Standing upright, Dani went on, “I was wrong, Bree. You’ll make a good primary. Just not a better one than me,” she added playfully.

Bree grinned. “I can’t even deny that.”

Chuckling again, Dani waved at the door. “Go on now, scoot. I’m a busy woman.”

Bree gave her a quick nod and then left the room. She walked through the daycare floor, carefully evading the many pallas kits and weaving her way through the child-size tables and chairs. Kids were scattered all around the room. Some were in the playhouse, others sat on the colorful mats with toys, some pottered around the play kitchen, others were napping in the cribs.

Outside, Bree found Alex talking on his cell phone.

Catching sight of her, he said, “Gotta go, Mila,” and then rang off.

“So abrupt, Alex,” Bree reprimanded with a sigh.

He just shrugged. “Everything go okay in there?”

“Yes, it did. I have some news I think you’re going to like, but let’s wait until we’re inside your apartment before I tell you.” She didn’t want anyone to overhear their conversation, since it was Dani’s news to share with the pride.

“All right,” he agreed, though she could see he wanted to push. “Let’s go.”

When they were finally inside his apartment, she brought him up to speed while he made them both coffee.

“I was hoping Rose would talk with Dani,” said Alex as they settled on the sofa with their mugs in hand. He’d known the old woman loved interfering in people’s business, and he’d counted on her doing it this time, too. “She’s good at getting through to people. How do you feel about it?”

Bree huffed out a breath. “On the one hand, it’s a relief that I won’t end up battling Dani for the role of primary. On the other hand, it leaves me no choice but to take the role.”

“You’ll handle it.” He had complete confidence in her. She might not necessarily enjoy having the position, but she’d give it her all—that was just Bree’s way.

“Others might not be so happy to hear I’ll be the new primary.”

“One or two might be weird about it.” And he’d give them a ration of shit if they voiced their idiotic opinions. “The rest of the pride? They’ll accept it just fine.”

She gave him a sideways “sure” glance that was all skepticism.

“You don’t see how well people respond to you. I do. They like your no-nonsense way. Those that do want someone to faff over them can seek advice from one of the other omegas. Trust me, you’ll make a great primary.”

“I can’t say I fully believe that, but I appreciate your faith in me, so thank you.”

He grunted and then set his mug on a coaster on the coffee table. “Forgot to grab a snack.” Standing, he asked, “You want anything?”

“You just ate a bag of beef jerky.”

“Why are you telling me something I already know?”

She sighed. “Have you ever gone an entire day without snacking?”

A wolverine not have snacks throughout the day? Was she serious? Feeling his brow crease, Alex tilted his head. “What do you get out of asking stupid questions all the time? I mean, what exactly does that do for you?” He’d honestly love to get to the bottom of that.

She shook her head. “Forget I said anything.”

Just then something hit the window hard, making the thick glass crack but not break.

She froze. “The fuck?”

Alex didn’t speak. He was too busy staring at the window. No, staring at the object embedded in the center of the spiderweb cracks. He flicked his gaze to the view beyond and noticed a glimmer of metal near an open window of the adjacent apartment building.

“Get down.” Alex took her to the floor, laying her flat on her back as he draped himself over her mere milliseconds before another impact thudded into the glass, causing yet another crack. Every window in the building was bulletproof—he knew that, but it didn’t matter; it was pure instinct to throw his body over hers.

While his beast roared and raged, Alex pulled out his phone and called Tate. “Someone is shooting at my living room window. They’re in our other pride’s building, the floor below mine.” He swore as another bullet hit the glass. “Find them.”

Pocketing his phone, Alex looked down at Bree. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”

She fisted his shirt tight, her eyes wide. “No.”

“Bree—”

“No. We both know Paxton fired those bullets. He used to live in this building, he’s well-aware that the windows are bulletproof. He’s trying to lure you outside. You’re just going to play into his hands?”

“I’ll be safe.”

“Great. Then I can come with you.”

“No.”

“If it’s not safe for me, it isn’t safe for you.”

“He won’t get near me.”

“A bullet might.”

“Think, Bree. If I go out there, he’ll linger long enough to keep shooting, and then maybe one of our pride will catch him. If I don’t go out there, he’ll cut his losses and run.”

“I can’t watch you get shot again, I can’t.” She swallowed. “Stay with me.”

He felt a faint echo of a bone-chilling fear race up their partial bond and knew the emotion was hers. It just about broke him. “Shh, calm down. I’ll st—” His cell began to ring. Relieved to see Vinnie’s name flashing on the screen, he answered, “You got him?”

“We arrived at the building in time to see him running down the fire escape,” replied Vinnie. “My enforcers gave chase. He took off on a motorcycle. They pursued him in a car.”

“Was it Paxton?”

“Don’t know for sure. He was wearing a full-face motorcycle helmet.”

Alex felt his nostrils flare. “I’ll be right out.”

“No,” said Vinnie, “I want you to stay inside.”

A growl built in Alex’s chest, and his beast raked his claws at the air. “Vin—”

“He meant to lure you out here. He either did it to shoot you or to separate you from Bree. Maybe even both.”

“He doesn’t want her dead.”

“She was supposed to get rid of you. She didn’t. He might be pissed enough to hurt her. Or he might have just decided to take her away from you—especially if he thinks it’s the only way to get you out of her life. He took Mateo, Drina, and possibly Calvin. You think he’d hesitate to take the one person he believes he has rights to?”

Alex inwardly cursed. “You said he left the scene—”

“And he did. But Paxton was always a sneaky fucker. I wouldn’t put it past him to circle back here to either shoot you or slip into your building and take Bree.”

Just the possibility of the latter made his gut clench. “She can wait in my parents’ apartment.”

“But she won’t, just as you wouldn’t sit somewhere safe while she put herself in harm’s way. I want you both to go to your parents’ apartment. Consider that a direct order. I’ll be there soon to tell you what we find.” He rang off.

Cursing a blue streak in Russian, Alex sat back on his haunches. “Waiting around” wasn’t his thing, especially when the situation concerned his mate. But he couldn’t ignore that Vinnie made a good point—Paxton might well intend to come for Bree. It didn’t seem likely, but it was possible. More intent on protecting his mate than exacting vengeance, his beast ushered him to get her out of there.

“What did Vinnie say?” asked Bree, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

Too pissed to watch his tone, Alex curtly gave her a quick rundown of the conversation. Fuck, someone had shot at his window. Shot at him, right in front of his mate.

It didn’t matter that the bullets would never have penetrated the glass—that wasn’t the point. She was supposed to feel safe here. Happy. At ease. It was the only place she ever seemed so much as remotely relaxed these days. Paxton had just ruined that.

He took her hand. “Come on, we have to wait with my parents.”

So that was what they did. It was at least half an hour later that Vinnie and Luke finally joined them. It felt like fucking hours.

“Did enforcers capture Paxton?” Valentina asked before even closing the front door.

A muscle in Vinnie’s cheek flexed. “No. He went off-road; they lost him.” The Alpha turned to Bree who was sitting in an armchair with a cup of black tea she’d barely touched. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

“Tired of this shit,” she replied.

“Whose apartment did he shoot from?” Alex asked, standing in front of the fireplace. He was too damn restless to sit.

“Mateo’s,” replied Vinnie. “It doesn’t look like Paxton’s been staying there; it seems more like he just used it tonight while waiting for the right time to shoot. No one spotted a stranger hanging around, let alone inside the building itself.”

“I heard rumors from my uncle that Paxton can slip in and out of buildings undetected,” said Alex, feeling his jaw harden. “Those rumors clearly aren’t exaggerated.”

“If we didn’t have people constantly patrolling the rooftops of the stores, he’d probably have perched himself on one of them and shot you while you were walking along the street,” mused Luke.

“He left his rifle behind, but nothing else.” Vinnie’s gaze slid to Bree. “A picture was removed from one of Mateo’s frames. A photo of the two of you at a party. Paxton tore off the half that featured Mateo and pressed the other half up against the window near his ‘sniper nest. The photo of you was facing this building. Like he wanted you to watch the bullets fly.”

“I wouldn’t bother trying to make sense of that,” James advised. “Paxton’s actions only ever really make sense to him.”

Vinnie’s cell began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered, “Yeah?” His jaw hardened. “I see … Will do.” He hung up and then looked at Alex. “That was Tate. I gave him my master key and asked him to go check your apartment while I came here to speak with you. Seems like someone tried to bust your lock. Either Paxton couldn’t get inside or fled because he heard someone coming.”

His beast froze. The bottom fell out of Alex’s stomach. He looked at Bree. “He came back for you.” Son of a bitch. Alex hadn’t thought the other male truly would do it.

She swallowed. “He’ll have hoped that, if nothing else, the shooting would make me feel unsafe here. He told me on the phone to go home.”

“Because he can keep an eye on you there,” Alex pointed out. “You’re not leaving.”

“No, I’m not,” she agreed easily.

After Vinnie and Luke left, Alex crossed to her and said, “We’ll stay here in my old bedroom tonight while the window’s replaced. Tomorrow …”

“Tomorrow, we’ll go back to your apartment,” she finished. “I’m good with that, Alex. He’s not going to make me feel unsafe with you. Maybe it would have worked if you had left me earlier, but you didn’t. I know Vinnie ordered you to stay inside, but that wouldn’t have been enough to keep you there. You stayed for me, and that meant a lot.”

Alex wasn’t so sure it would be so easy for her to go back to his apartment. She might feel differently after the shock had worn off. But he wouldn’t force her to stay there. They could use his old bedroom here until all this had blown over, if need be.

That night, she fell asleep pretty quickly—probably due to the adrenaline bleeding from her system. He kept her burrowed into his side. He needed to have her so close. Needed to have that reminder that she was there with him, not with Paxton.

Just the thought of her in that bastard’s hands threatened to make Alex break out into a cold sweat. His beast pressed up against her, protective and alert. No one would take their mate from them. No one. And God help anyone who even had the gall to try.