An Alpha's Choice (Talon Pack #2)(25)

Finn met his cousin’s gaze. “Same goes with Bram.”

She nodded then made her way to her part of the house. Finn relaxed as soon as she was gone, knowing he wouldn’t be able to hide for too much longer. He’d f*cked things up with Brynn by kissing her. Now he couldn’t get enough of her, and he didn’t know what that meant. He’d have to figure it out though because he had to see her again. There was no getting out of it—no choosing other partners. He and Brynn were too visible, too connected.

He just hoped he hadn’t lost everything with one moment of passion. Because he wasn’t sure what he’d do if that were the case. He’d had a taste of Brynn and wanted more.

He only hoped she’d be able to give it.

****

The scream woke her.

Brynn shot up from bed, clutching the sheet to her chest as she tried to calm her racing heart. Her throat ached, and she knew the scream had come from her.

The screams always came from her.

She wiped her palm on the bed, her skin clammy, then let the sheet fall to her waist so she could wipe her other palm. The coolness of the room brushed along her skin and bare breasts but didn’t help the beat of her heart.

She’d dreamt about her father. About the torture he’d put her through. He’d always liked to watch her bleed, to hear her scream. She might have stopped crying at a young age because she couldn’t give him the satisfaction, but sometimes, she couldn’t hold back the screams.

She swallowed the bile that had risen to her throat and pulled the sheet fully off her body. She always slept naked. She loved the feel of silk or cotton on her skin as she slept. Her past lovers had enjoyed it, as well. Though now she could only think of Finn sleeping next to her, naked, and even appreciating her form.

She shook, this time for a different reason than the dream. She could still remember the feel of his body pressed close to hers, the feel of the hard line of his cock against her belly.

And…enough of that.

The sun had just started to rise over the ridge so it wasn’t too early for her to be up and about. Finn would be showing up later that day for a debriefing. As it was also a new moon, he’d discussed going on a run with Gideon and Brie with the rest of Brynn’s brothers going along just because they could. Shifters didn’t need to shift with the phases of the moon, but they liked to. During a full moon, she could feel the pull on her wolf and her skin always felt more sensitive. Back before she’d caught sight of Finn for the first time, she’d pair off with a single male wolf to ride out the rest of the moon and relieve some tension. Now she rode the tension on her own, never able to fully relax.

It didn’t matter, though. Not now. Instead of dwelling like she’d been prone to do lately, she took a quick shower and dressed for the day in tight cargo pants and a couple of tanks. She had to do a few runs as a human, and wasn’t in the mood to dress up for Finn—not that she ever truly dressed up for him to begin with.

Her bones tired from her lack of deep sleep, she stretched as she made her way out of her home and to the center of the den. She wanted to talk to Ryder and steal some of his coffee. Like the Redwoods, the Talons had a community area with shops, schools, and everything a wolf might need in case they never wanted to leave the den wards. The Talons were a little more localized in terms of their homes, however. Some still lived in barracks, and others lived in duplexes rather than single-family homes. All of her family lived interspersed within the den population rather than set apart. The Jamensons had their own section since their family was so large and was growing by the generation. It made sense with them since they could feel safe and have privacy. The Brentwoods were a different matter. When Gideon became Alpha, they were essentially starting from scratch with dark scars jaggedly cut across the population. So the Brentwoods lived all over the den. They weren’t as close as the Jamensons—their past, paved with blood, not allowing that—but they were getting close.

Finally.

“Brynn.”

She stopped where she was, closing her eyes at the voice behind her. She didn’t slump or let out a breath. Katherine would take that as a sign of weakness—not an indicator that Brynn with this close to kicking the other woman’s ass.

Brynn slowly turned on her heel. “Yes? Is there something I can do for you?”

Katherine met her gaze and didn’t back down.

A clear challenge.

Fuck. And Brynn hadn’t even had coffee yet. She was so not in the mood for this.

The other woman kept staring, though the strain around her eyes told Brynn the other woman would back down eventually. Or do something stupid like try to claw at her. Though Katherine desperately wanted to be Alpha female, she just wasn’t dominant enough.

It wasn’t Brynn’s fault that she’d been born with that type of strength. It also wasn’t her fault that she didn’t have a clear place in the Pack hierarchy. But she could only blame the moon goddess for so long before she became as worthless as the wolf in front of her.

“I’m not in the mood to deal with this right now, Katherine,” Brynn said slowly, her tone deceptively dull. “You tried this recently and you ended up in the dirt. What do you hope to gain by this?”

“You’re where you are because of your brother and yet you don’t deserve it,” Katherine spat out. “You do nothing for this Pack. You just prance around with that Redwood prince like you’re something special to him. I don’t scent him on you so you can’t even get a wolf from another Pack to rut with you. You’re nothing.”