Shifters of grey ridge b.., p.13
Shifters of Grey Ridge Box Set, page 13
part #1 of Box Set: Books 1 - 3 Series
Oh. Family as in work-family, not the please marry my son kind of family. I need to get a grip.
“Sure, I’ll think about it.” I smile back at him, chuffed at the offer, even if my heart’s still beating a little faster at the thought that it was about more than work. If I wasn’t dating his son, I’d take him up on it immediately, but I need to make sure it won’t make things awkward with Cooper. I excuse myself and step outside the office, leaning against the wall for a second to gather my thoughts. I came here expecting to collapse a deal and ruin someone’s day, not to leave with a job offer.
Pushing myself off the wall to go, I hear the deep voice that fills my heart and my dreams. Cooper. And it sounds like Nathan is with him. I walk towards his office and see that the door is slightly ajar. I’m about to go in and say hi when I hear my name and pause. If they’re having a personal conversation, especially if it’s about me, I don’t want to barge in unannounced. It’ll be awkward.
I know I should leave and come back. But I don’t. I loiter outside and listen.
CHAPTER 27
COOPER
Nathan’s waiting for me when I get back from having breakfast. I leave the door open as I walk in and swing into my chair behind the desk.
“Out. Whatever it is, I’m not in the mood,” I say rudely, pointing at the door. Even though last night was the best night of my life, it made keeping my mate a secret even harder and I’m sick of it. I don’t want to leave her in the morning. I want her here with me, running the pack businesses side by side. It’s fraying my nerves, and I’m already out of patience at 9:00 am. I hate lying to her. I hate not knowing everything about her. It has me completely on edge.
“Charming. What’s up with you?” He perches himself on the edge of my desk, tossing an apple up in the air and catching it, up and down, up, and down. I grit my teeth.
“Nothing,” I grumble, throwing my phone into the desk drawer and slamming it shut. I can feel Dad pushing at me through the mindlink, but I block him. I just want some peace to clear the mountain of paperwork on my desk. Then I need to work out what the hell I’m going to do about Leila’s party on Friday and how to make sure the whole pack doesn’t find out that Hayley is my mate before I get a chance to tell her myself.
“Shouldn’t you be in a good mood this morning?” he enquires with a smirk, and I glare at him.
“What are you talking about, Nathan?” I ask with a sigh. He always talks in riddles instead of getting to the point. It drives me mad.
“Cooper, you reek of Hayley and sex. I would have thought that finally getting some action would have improved your humour.” He chuckles to himself and raises an eyebrow at me.
“Shut the fuck up, Nathan,” I snap, clenching my fists on the table.
“Jeez Cooper. I mean, who is she to you that you’re getting this worked up?” he asks, trying to bait me into confirming that she’s my mate. I hold my breath and try to rein in my temper. Even though I love him, I want nothing more than to wipe that stupid smile off his cheerful face with my fist right now.
“Nobody... but it’s none of your fucking business what I do.” I need to get out of here. I need to let my wolf out to run off his agitation before I shift in the office and tear the place apart.
“Good for you Coop. It’s good for you to have someone keeping your bed warm and your dick wet while you wait for the right one to come along. That is how it is, right? It can’t be anything serious,” he tries again. My vision blurs for a second as my wolf lunges forward to punish him for daring to speak about our mate like that. My canines extend as I struggle to push my wolf back down.
“Something like that,” I growl out, concentrating on just keeping it together. “For fuck’s sake, Nathan, just get out, go do some actual work,” I say, hoping he will drop it and get out of my office.
“Fine. You’re no fun. But FYI, shower again before you meet Mum. She has your date for Leila’s party in her office. The poor girl might not appreciate her future mate coming in smelling like another woman.” He laughs as I groan, looking up at the heavens and praying for some help.
“Who the hell is she trying to pair me up with now?” I demand. “Actually no, I don’t care. This is bullshit.” I might not be able to tell Mum about Hayley, but I have to get her to stop setting me up. It’s another headache that I just don’t need right now.
“You’re right, it is. How come Mum never sets me up with any women?” he complains, rubbing a hand across his jaw.
“Maybe because you’re a cold-hearted man whore who’ll sleep with them and never call them again.” Nathan uses his good looks and charm to win the ladies over, but aside from a few casual friends with benefits arrangements, he loses interest once he’s had some fun. His playboy reputation will come back to bite him when he meets his mate. We’ve told him this a million times, but it just falls on deaf ears. He’s convinced that he’ll either never find her, or that when he does, the bond will magically make her overlook all of his previous bad behaviour. For such a lady’s man, he’s clueless about women.
“Fair point.” He grins before sliding off my desk and taking a big bite of his apple. “You know, you’re a lucky man. Hayley’s a good one. Better than you deserve, anyway.” He thumps me on the shoulder before strolling out of my office without a care in the world. He’s just trying to get under my skin, I know that.
If he took the whole mate’s thing more seriously, I’d tell him about Hayley, but he thinks it’s all just a game and I can’t chance him making some smart comment or joke that lets the cat out of the bag.
Deep breaths. Go for a run. Have another shower. And stay away from Nathan so I don’t kill him.
HAYLEY
I’m nobody.
I’m just keeping his bed warm and his dick wet until the right one comes along.
A crushing weight settles on my chest as those words rip my heart from my chest and shatter it into a million pieces. I think I might throw up. His conversation with Nathan replays over and over in my mind as I stumble out of the packhouse and into my car, with tears spilling down my cheeks.
I feel sick. And stupid. How did I read him so wrong?
I thought that my awful experience with James was the reason I had been waiting for something to go wrong, to prove that he couldn’t be this perfect and I couldn’t be this happy. I was waiting for the other shoe to fall all along, and boy did it. I shouldn’t have ignored my intuition.
He isn’t serious about me. I’m not his, despite all of his sexy ‘You’re mine’ growly nonsense. He was just having a good time, telling me what I wanted to hear. My joy from just a couple of hours ago has been blown to smithereens.
Was it too much to hope that something would go right for me? How am I going to live in this small town, work for his father, stay friends with his sister? One thing is for sure, I’m not letting another man run me out of my home.
I’m done. Done with men. Done with trusting them. And I’m definitely done with Cooper Jones.
CHAPTER 28
REX
Ethan and I are already at Hayley’s house when she drives in at half nine. This is the first morning she hasn’t been here already, having her morning catch up with Cooper, the two of them smiling and flirting like teenagers. We exchange a knowing glance and grin at each other. Given she knows hardly anyone else in town, there is only one place she could be coming from this early in the morning.
“Morning, Hayley! You’re up and about early!” Ethan calls to her as she climbs out of her car. She grimaces, knowing we have caught her red-handed, but where normally Hayley would join in the teasing and the banter, today she keeps her head down and rushes past us. She swipes at her face and averts her eyes as she runs inside.
“Don’t be a dick,” I scold him, wondering what’s wrong. Ten minutes later, she is leaving again, looking as polished as always in her work clothes, but her body language is tense. It’s obvious her outfits cost money, but in a classy, understated way. I know from Cooper that she had some fancy professional job in the city before moving here for a slower pace of life. She looks like a proper Luna already.
Again, she keeps her face angled away, avoiding eye contact, and hops into her car before speeding off towards town. Something doesn’t feel right. I know she looked outwardly fine leaving, but she has a pretty good poker face. That night at the bar, she must have been pissed off when that bitch threw a drink over her, but she never gave a thing away. I mindlink my brother, just to check in.
Rex: Coop. What’s up with Hayley? Cooper: Why? What did she say?
Rex: Nothing, she ran in and out without saying hi. What did you do?
Cooper: Nothing, I swear.
Rex: Well, somebody did something. She looked upset.
Cooper: Shit. Okay, thanks. I’ll talk to you later.
I don’t envy the position he is in. I know what a tough time he is having trying to balance building a relationship with Hayley while keeping this big secret from her. No doubt my being rejected by my mate has him worried that the same thing could happen to him. For a wolf, their mate is everything. He’s under a lot of pressure to get this right.
The last of the work that Cooper had us fast track on the house is now finished, and the place looks great. I walk around the property to make sure we have left the house tidy before we pack up the last of our equipment and leave. I pause as I see a tall man standing out front, looking up at the house. Ethan comes out of Hayley’s front door, pulling it closed behind him, and I see the man’s face tighten as he watches him pocket the key.
“Can I help you?” I ask him, crossing my arms over my chest and staring at him. He’s dressed in an expensive suit, and I notice a dark rental idles on the road at the end of the driveway. Not from around here then. I take in the shiny shoes and flashy watch and immediately decide I don’t like him. His black hair is slicked over to the side, and a forced smile full of unnaturally white teeth breaks out on his tanned face. I am sure that smile fools many people, but I can feel the anger coming off him in waves, and my protective instincts kicked into gear.
“Just wondering whether Hayley is home?” he asks, trying to appear casual and relaxed, but I can see the stiffness in his posture and the tension in his jaw. Something is off. It’s the middle of the morning on a workday, and her car isn’t here. She has a phone. Why is he even here looking for her instead of just calling her? Ethan goes to answer, but I cut him off.
“Hayley? Not sure who you mean, buddy,” I say, pretending to be the clueless labourers he has probably pegged us for. I do not like this dude at all. Whatever he wants, or whoever he is, I am not helping this douche sniff around my brother’s mate. His smile slips for a second, as he doesn’t get the response he wanted. I don’t think he enjoys being called buddy either.
“No problem. I’m just an old friend, thought I would stop in and say hi while I was passing through. I’ll catch her again,” he says with a fake smarmy smile plastered back on his face. Ethan edges over to me, and we both watch as the stranger climbs into the back of the car, and it drives away slowly. So, he’s not alone either.
“What’s up?” Ethan asks me, wondering why I was being so frosty to the guy. I shrug because I can’t explain it.
“Not sure, he just seemed like a bit of a dick,” I say, as if that was a good enough explanation. Ethan laughs and pats me on the shoulder, but my hackles are still up, and my wolf is still telling me that something is off. Maybe he’s just being overly protective of his new sister-in-law.
“Nice... and with those people skills, people wonder why you aren’t suited to being the Alpha.” He laughs and I grin. I can’t argue with that.
CHAPTER 29
COOPER
I’ve been trying to get hold of Hayley all day, but she won’t answer my calls or respond to any of my text messages. When my dad finally catches up with me and tells me what Hayley had uncovered, and that she had been to the packhouse to tell him, personally, I know something is wrong. I can’t imagine her not coming by to see me, or at least sending me a message to say she was here.
By 3 o’clock, my wolf is going crazy, and I have a physical pain in my chest. It finally dawns on me that with the strengthening bond, I could be feeling her pain. After what Rex said this morning about her seeming upset, that’s enough to get me into my car and driving to Hayley’s office to check up on her. The closer I get, the worse I feel and I’m getting worried. I have a mountain of work that I should do, but I won’t be able to concentrate until I see her. She comes first, now and always.
When I finally get to her office and push the door open, I am not prepared for the sight that greets me. Hayley looks beautiful. She’s polished and sophisticated as always, in a navy dress with long sleeves, with her hair up in a high ponytail. I was expecting her to be a mess, considering I can feel the jumble of emotions pushing and pulling across the bond. I can see that her eyes are slightly red, as though she’s been rubbing them, the only telltale sign that something might be wrong. She looks up at me with frighteningly, calm eyes and doesn’t smile.
“Hey Princess,” I say cautiously, coming in and shutting the door quietly behind me. She says nothing, she just stares at me blankly, and frankly, it’s terrifying. She looks composed, but the rage I feel radiating from her through the bond is staggering.
“I couldn’t get hold of you and I was worried. Everything okay?” I stand awkwardly beside her desk because I don’t know where else to go. I don’t want to sit down like I’m her client, but her frosty demeanour gives me the distinct impression that going in for a hug and a kiss would not be welcome.
“I think you should leave,” she murmurs with steely authority in her voice, and my heart sinks.
This is not good.
“I’d like to know what I’ve done to upset you first, Princess,” I say cautiously. Does she know? Did someone tell her about me, and she’s annoyed I wasn’t honest with her? Maybe she wants nothing to do with me.
“I’m not your fucking Princess,” she snaps, her cool mask slipping for just a second. Fire flickers in those golden eyes of hers before she pulls the shutters back down and turns to the papers on her desk again. “And I don’t care what you want. Leave.”
“No,” I reply. “Not until you tell me what is going on. Everything was fine this morning, better than fine. It was amazing, and now you won’t even look at me.” The Alpha in me is furious at being dismissed by his mate and won’t back down till he knows what is wrong. I’ll do anything to make her happy, but I can’t fix it until she tells me what I’ve done.
“Everything was fine when you were ‘wetting your dick till the right one comes along’ was it? Well, that’s not fine with me,” she hisses at me, making air quotes with her fingers before firing her pen across the desk and onto the floor, spinning her chair to face away from me.
Oh God. This is worse than bad. This is a nightmare.
She doesn’t let me see them, but I can smell her tears and my wolf is clawing at my insides to get out and comfort her. She heard.
But she has to know I don’t think that, that I was just agreeing with him, so he’d stop asking questions and leave.
“Princess, no, no, no...” I say, going to grab her chair and spin her back around to face me, sinking to my knees in front of her. I grab her hands and hold them between mine.
“I told you, stop calling me that,” she whispers in a dejected tone. “Please, just leave.”
“No, I’m not leaving, not until you understand. I didn’t mean that. Any of it. Nathan was just saying it to wind me up, and I was just trying to get rid of him.” I plead with her to listen to me, but I can tell she isn’t even hearing what I am saying. She has shut up tight, her body rigid as she stares at a spot behind me.
“You didn’t disagree with him, Cooper though, did you?” She yanks her hands out of my grasp and stands, grabbing her purse from the floor, and tucks it under her arm.
“Fine, if you won’t leave, I will.” She marches past me out the door, taking her delicious scent and my heart with her.
HAYLEY
“Hayley,” he mumbles as he catches up to me on the street, pleading with me to stop. I can hear the sorrow in his voice and see his regret at seeing me upset, but I’m not about to feel bad for him. He tries to reach for me, to pull me to him, but someone walks past us, and he freezes, pulling his hand back and shoving his two hands into his pockets instead.
The last piece of the devastating puzzle slots into place.
“You didn’t tell me about your place at the lodge because you don’t want to bring me there, where we’ll be seen together. You don’t want anyone to know that we’re dating,” I offer my newly formed theory and shake my head at my naivety. I can’t believe I was so blind. He flinches and I know that I’m on the money.
“Same reason you brought me fucking hiking in the mountains and made me dinner at my place, and only kissed me in that dark fucking hallway. You piece of shit!” I shout at him, completely horrified now that I see it all so clearly.
He never brought me out anywhere in public. Even that night at the bar, he didn’t touch me until we were all alone and out of sight. I had thought all those things were romantic and special because he wanted me all to himself, but now they’re all tainted by the knowledge that he only planned them that way so that he could avoid us being seen in public. Oh God.
“Why? Because you have a wife, girlfriend? Or is it just because I’m not good enough for you? No, wait, I don’t care. I don’t want to know. We’re done.” I march into the car park, rifling through my bag for my keys so I can get the hell out of there and as far from Cooper as possible.
“Hayley, I...” he speaks again, but I cut him off with a look. He puts his hand on my arm and I jerk backward away from him.
“Don’t you dare touch me!” I say sharply, and he jerks back as if I’ve slapped him. I hold my up keys up triumphantly, finally finding them buried in the bottom of my bag, but he steps between me and my car, blocking my way.
