“You don’t need to fucking tell me how amazing my mate is,” I snap at him.

  “Obviously, I do.” He leans back in his chair and starts ticking off his fingers.

  “She’s gorgeous. Funny. Smart, and not just book smart, like a lot of these Alpha’s daughters that go to college but then just came home to spend Daddy’s money.” He tips his head, pointing to the very glamorous ladies around the room. They’re highly educated but seem to be more interested in snagging a powerful husband than putting their brains to use.

  “She has practical experience in a cutthroat business that is rare in an Alpha’s mate, which means she’s hard-working,... and maybe most importantly, she doesn’t bow to an Alpha’s command. It’s like she doesn’t even feel it. Toby told her to shut up, and she kept right on talking. That means that any Alpha who has her as a mate would have a truly equal partner. In short, your mate is a catch and a half.”

  He finishes his little speech and inclines his head towards where Hayley is standing, talking to two tall wolves, one of whom has just handed over his business card and suggested she call him. “And it looks like you’re the only one who sees a problem with claiming her.”

  “Jesus, he really is a diabolical bastard,” I whisper as the reality of what Dad has done hits home.

  He could have dealt with it all quietly. He could have had it all handled before we even got here and left Hayley out of it, but he wanted to show me what she was capable of so that I would stop thinking of her only as someone to be protected. He just took the opportunity to show every other male in the place at the same time to make my life a little harder.

  Thinking I was going to be down at breakfast before anyone else and hoping to get some time with Hayley to myself, my heart sinks when I see she’s here alright, but she’s not alone.

  Blake Steel joins Hayley in the line for the buffet and immediately takes the plate that she was struggling with because of her awkward splint. She smile up at him as he teases her about the mountain of food that she is asking him to pile up for her, and I feel like shit for not thinking about helping her myself.

  What kind of mate am I when another male is looking after her better than I am?

  I glance around the restaurant and, much like at the welcome drinks last night, plenty of people are watching my little mate. No doubt wondering whether this is some kind of public declaration from Steel about his intentions towards her. I’m wondering the same thing myself. He’s always said he won’t take anyone but his true mate, but ruling with no partner or family can’t be easy. And like me, he’s getting to an age where moon madness will start to become a danger.

  Maybe he’s changed his mind. Hayley would tempt any man to rethink his plans. I was watching closely though last night. She was friendly and enjoying his company, but she didn’t encourage him, and I sensed no desire from her towards him. It was the only thing that kept me somewhat sane.

  I’m shocked when, after spotting me arrive, he leads Hayley over to where I am sitting and holds out a chair for her to sit on. She meets my gaze, smiling awkwardly as she takes her seat, and he pushes into her chair before easing his gigantic frame into the one beside her.

  “Morning, Hayley,” I say softly. “Steel.” I acknowledge him, but I can’t help that the tone of my voice is less than welcoming. It earns me a scowl from Hayley. I know full well I’m behaving like a child. Steel, to his credit, doesn’t bite and just grins, seeming slightly amused, and holds out his hand for me to shake.

  “Cooper, always good to see you. Sorry I didn’t get the chance to catch up with you last night.” He’s completely relaxed, friendly even, while normally he is pleasant but reserved. Even with me, who he has known for years as we’re neighbouring packs.

  “You didn’t look like you got talking to that many people,” I respond pointedly, referring to the fact that he only spoke with Hayley and Leila.

  “That is true,” he laughs. “But I was having such a good time with the Jones girls, and I make enough small talk with people I can’t stand. Who could blame me for wanting to enjoy myself a little?” He pours some milk into Hayley’s tea to save her from trying to pick it up with her injured hand, and the gesture makes my blood pressure spike. Not only is he treating her like she is his mate, but he’s doing a better job than me.

  “So, what is your plan for the day?” Hayley asks, trying to steer the conversation into safer territory.

  “I have to give a talk this afternoon, which hopefully Cooper will have time to attend,” Blake says, leaning back casually in his chair while drinking his coffee. “And then a couple of mediation meetings with packs having succession issues. It can be tricky trying to work out who’s best suited to take over. Many find it easier to let a third party decide, i.e., me.” He shakes his head, making it clear he wishes they could sort these things out for themselves.

  “I’ll be there,” I confirm, “Hayley, I was hoping I could nab you quickly this morning before my first meeting?” I ask. She looks slightly confused, no doubt wondering whether it’s business-related or not, but nods her agreement anyway.

  “Well, on that note, I shall leave you to it. Hayley, I’m sure I’ll catch up with you later.” Steel leans over and gives her a quick peck on the cheek before striding out of the room, avoiding any attempts by other attendees to make eye contact and draw him into a conversation. Hayley sits up straighter in her chair, less relaxed now that it’s just the two of us, and clasps her hands together in her lap.

  “I just wanted to check in with you and make sure that you are alright?” I say honestly, and her gaze flicks up to mine.

  “I’m fine. Thank you, Cooper.” She smiles a proper smile at me, and I can’t resist grinning back. “I had a great time last night.”

  Well, that’s taken my mood back down a notch. She had a great time without me.

  “I saw that,” I grumble. “You were in your element. You know how to work a crowd, Princess,” I admit, and she grins again when I use my nickname for her.

  “Did you doubt I would?” Hayley asks in a teasing tone. “You wolves think you’re all scary, but you’re just a bunch of pussycats,” she jokes.

  “Hey!” I pretend to be horrified but laugh, relieved to be joking light-heartedly with her again after all the seriousness and drama of the last week or so. “I miss you, Hayley,” I whisper, and her face instantly falls.

  “Cooper, you can’t do this. This was your idea,” she says with obvious annoyance.

  “What if I changed my mind? What if I’ve realised that I’m an idiot?” I venture.

  “Have you? Or are you just jealous?” she asks, eyebrows raised.

  “I am fucking jealous,” I growl.

  “I’m not a toy Cooper. You don’t want to play with me, but you don’t want anyone else to either?” She stands and smoothes out her dress.

  “Goddess, Hayley.” I grumble. Her analogy about Blake playing with her putting images in my jealous brain that make me want to claw my own eyes out. She drops her napkin onto the table with a shake of her head and leaves me alone, walking away with her head held high, and without looking back.

  CHAPTER 54

  HAYLEY

  My annoyance with Cooper has reached an all-time high. He’s just fishing, looking for the reassurance that I’m still his, but doing nothing about it. I’m relieved that I have the day off today to clear my head, and Leila has a nice pamper day set up for us before the ball this evening.

  “Good morning, hot stuff!” Leila squeals as she bursts into my room.

  “Guess who had all the coffee this morning?” I tease, her bright mood a welcome distraction.

  “Oh, I just can’t wait to have all the chats with the most eligible lady in town!” She throws herself onto my bed, next to the bag I’m packing to take to the spa.

  “That’s a bit of an exaggeration.” I cast a suspicious glance at her. She seems a little too cheerful. Fake cheerful, like she’s trying too hard.

  “Yesterday was a bit dramatic, Hayley! Kicking some Alpha butt, saving the pack, and having the always stoic, always sensible, always smoking hot Alpha Steel eating out of your hand.”

  “Hardly.” I ignore her comments about Blake and keep tidying up. “What about you? You and Max seemed to hit it off. What do you think?”

  “He’s great, but I don’t think I was getting those vibes,” she sighs and rolls onto her back to stare at the ceiling.

  “Maybe he’s just a decent guy and wasn’t laying it on thick. Some of these shifter guys are full-on,” I suggest, trying to convince her to not shut it down immediately, but I have a feeling a certain grumpy lawman is in the forefront of her mind.

  “Hmm. He’s invited me to come up to stay with the pack for a few weeks, to help set up their new clinic,” she trails off, looking at me to see what I think of the idea.

  “Leila, maybe a change of scenery would be good for you? I think you could do with a break, and it’s not a million miles away,” I hedge. I don’t want to be rude, but I know she’s been putting on this act of being fine when she’s not.

  “Yeah, you know what? I think you’re right. But enough about me. Tell me what happened with you and Alpha Steel, or should I say Blake?” she says, again seeming to find great amusement in the fact that I was calling him by his first name.

  “Leila, you do remember I’m your brother’s mate, don’t you? Why do you seem to be so excited about me talking to someone else?” I remind her.

  “I love my brother, but Cooper is being an ass. You snooze, you lose. So did Alpha Steel ask you out?” she enquires. I know she’s joking, and that she’s just enjoying seeing her brother suffer.

  “No! Jesus, Leila. These she-wolves were talking about scaring me off Cooper, and Blake politely put them in their place. And then he brought me for a drink to steady my nerves. That’s all.”

  “Okay, okay. Look, obviously you and Cooper will end up together, but there’s nothing to say you can’t enjoy the attention of a handsome man in the meantime.”

  I sigh, but she’s undeterred.

  “So, there was no mention at all of you being gorgeous and him looking like a freaking model, or the sizzling hot connection between you?” She presses as she flips over onto her stomach on my bed and fishes my bikini out of my bag, holding up the top and wiggling her eyebrows at me.

  “No.” I deny it, but I feel my cheeks flame at the lie coming out of my mouth, and she tips her head back and laughs.

  “I love it! Oh, this ball is going to be priceless.” She takes pity on me finally and drops the subject. “Come on, you and I are going for a massage, then we’re hitting the hot springs before hair and makeup for the ball.” She tosses the bikini back in and rolls off the bed and onto her feet.

  “Hot springs sound amazing. I’m looking forward to this after last week.” And it’s true, a bit of rest and relaxation is exactly what I need.

  “You deserve it, babe. A bit of girl time.” She pulls me into a big hug. “I love you. You know that, don’t you? And that big dope of a brother of mine does, too. But if he doesn’t get his act together, I still like you no matter what, okay?” she says, hugging me again, and I take a deep breath, blinking away the tears that well up in my eyes.

  I can’t even think that it won’t work out. He’ll come to his senses eventually... right?

  CHAPTER 55

  COOPER

  The guy sitting beside me at Alpha Steel’s talk pulls out his phone and glances at the text message he just received. He slips it into his back pocket with a slight smirk and, only ten seconds later, slides out of his chair and makes a beeline for the exit. Alpha Steel frowns at his departing back before turning to the remaining attendees.

  “I think we’ll take a break here to allow anyone else who needs to leave to do so without disturbing the rest of us.” He looks out at the room but instead of looking angry, as I would have expected him to be at the departure of the sixth person in the last ten minutes, he appears to be holding back a smile. As everyone gets up to stretch their legs, I approach the front, wondering about his strange reaction.

  “Not offended that you aren’t holding their attention, Steel?” I can’t help but have a dig at him even though he’s done nothing to deserve it, and really, he doesn’t have to take that kind of attitude from me. He quirks up one side of his mouth and I have the awful feeling I’m missing something.

  “Even I know I can’t compete with the Jones ladies. I believe they might have something to do with the sudden interest all these big bad alphas have in visiting the hot springs.” He shakes his head, chuckling to himself, watching for my reaction.

  “Fuck,” I mutter and spin on my heel and head for the door. I hear his laughter deepen behind me. I mind-link Rex on my way to my room and tell him where to meet me. He seems upset when we get to the changing rooms while I throw on a pair of swim shorts, barely contained rage pouring off me. He rolls his eyes as we push outside to the network of hot pools connected by little waterfalls and lazy rivers that make up the outdoor springs area of the hotel.

  “What is the problem, Rex? Just spit it out,” I growl, grinding my teeth to stop myself from raising my voice.

  “Cooper, I’m rapidly losing my patience with this bullshit. If you can’t deal with her being in a stupid pool without you, then claim her already and put the rest of us out of our misery. It’s getting really old,” he says quietly, before sighing deeply, and turning to look me dead in the eye.

  “Have you any idea how sickening it is for me to see you get blessed with an amazing mate, one who wants you to claim her and to watch you throwing it all away?” he seethes. That hits home and immediately puts me in my place and brings me back to Earth with a jolt. I’m such an ass. I’ve been so wrapped up in my drama that I’ve forgotten what it must look like to Rex. How hard it must be for him to watch.

  “Rex, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think... but this is different. I’m not rejecting her,” I try to explain.

  “You’re not claiming her either, and you’re taking her for granted. You think she’s going to wait around forever?” he asks.

  I shake my head, ready to argue with him, but then I get distracted by my mate’s delicious scent. Soft footsteps pad across the stone floor behind me and I already know it’s her by the grimace that flashes across Rex’s face. I turn slowly and nearly drop to my knees at the vision in front of me. Hayley saunters across the pool deck in a hot pink bikini that shows off her tan, all long, toned limbs, glowing skin, flat stomach, and perky breasts.

  Droplets of water run down her body, between her breasts, and down her perfect legs. She looks like a wet dream. Her hair is pulled up loosely into a high pony, with a few wavy tendrils hanging down. The ends are damp from the water and begging to be touched. Her face is slightly flushed from the combination of the cool fresh air and hot water.

  She is a goddess, and just the sight of her makes me hard. I’m going to need to get into the water before my appreciation of her becomes too obvious. I can’t stop the growl that passes my lips as I see the other males blatantly checking her out. Steel was right. This is exactly where they were all sneaking off to.

  Perverts.

  “Cooper, what are you doing here?” Leila asks innocently as she approaches us, even though I’m certain she knows exactly why I’m here. I ignore my sister completely as I walk straight up to Hayley, grip her firmly by the elbow, and steer her towards one of the grottos dotted around the spa. She yanks her arm back but walks with me willingly, seeming to know there is little point in protesting unless she wants to make a scene.

  “What the hell Cooper? Don’t manhandle me,” she complains as soon as we are in private, whirling around to glare at me with her hands propped on her hips. I know I should focus on how angry she is with me, but I can’t stop thinking about how amazing she looks.

  My wolf is driving me to claim her now before any of these other circling males even get to look at her again. No one should see my mate in a bikini, especially when she’s not even marked yet, and he is not one bit happy. I suck in a deep breath and clench my fists to keep control. I know that she’s not actively trying to make me jealous, but just seeing her near other men is enough to bring out the green-eyed monster in me.

  “Jesus, Hayley, that fucking bikini,” I press forward until her back is to the far wall of the shower, and I cage her in with a hand on either side of her head, leaning my forearms against the wall. “I can’t stand all these guys being able to see what’s mine, getting turned on by that hot little body of yours.” I lower my nose to her neck and rub it from her shoulder up to just below her ear, inhaling her tantalising scent.

  “You like the bikini, do you?” she asks, teasing me, choosing to ignore the other part of what I said.

  “I love it. I love it so much I want to rip it right off you,” I grind out. My voice is so deep and gravelly that I barely recognise it. Running my fingers along the straps, I grip her hips tight and pull her against me, crushing her breasts against my chest. She adjusts her stance so I can move my leg between hers and put pressure against her clit, grinding slowly, causing her to moan softly. She buries her face into my chest and gasps as I grab her ass roughly and drag her core against my hard length to show her just how much I like it.

  “Mine,” I growl as she moans against my shoulder. Hayley wriggles to get free, and I reluctantly set her toes back down to the ground gently.

  She smiles shyly at me as she turns us around and takes control, placing her hands on my chest and pushing me back so that I’m leaning against the wall. She runs her fingers down my chest and my breath catches as she uses her nails to trace the outline of my abs as she kisses along my jaw and nibbles on my earlobe. My head is spinning and I’m in heaven. I’ve missed this so much, missed her so much.

  “I’m not yours, Cooper Jones... or did you forget?” she whispers, straightening suddenly and breaking contact.

  What the fuck?

 

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