Echoes of Fire (The Mercury Pack #4)(22)
If he hadn’t felt the pull of the bond last night, he still would have made the decision to pursue her. Especially since the sort-of-friends lens he’d seen her through had fallen away the moment he thrust his tongue into her mouth. He hadn’t meant for things to go that far last night. He hadn’t meant to do anything other than pet the pain out of her. Somehow, he’d ended up with his fingers buried in her pussy and his teeth gripping her flesh so hard he tasted blood. If his phone hadn’t rung, snapping them out of the moment, he’d have fucked her right up against that wall.
Bracken suspected she’d find it hard to believe that he would have pursued her regardless of the mating bond. She hadn’t been wrong in the things she’d said. She wasn’t his type. She hadn’t been on his radar. And if it weren’t for the touch-hunger, their encounter wouldn’t have happened. At least not then.
However, she was missing something. Missing that he could have eased her pain and discomfort just by petting her. Things hadn’t gone so far because of the touch-hunger; they’d gone so far because a sexual chemistry he hadn’t previously acknowledged had sent them both nuclear. And maybe that would have happened sooner or later. He’d like to think so, because it was far too sad to think that he could have lived so close to his mate yet remained so utterly clueless about who she was to him.
Bracken flexed his back muscles, and the sting of the movement pulled at the rake marks on his back. His mouth curved. He suspected that if she hadn’t left such deep marks on him, she’d have chewed a huge chunk out of his ass for branding her. Yeah, okay, it had been a lapse of control on his part, just like she’d said. But he’d sure as shit never had such a lapse before. Never marked another female purposely or accidentally. It should have occurred to him straightaway that his urge to bite her meant something.
God, he was such a stupid prick.
Bracken drained the last of his bottle and plonked it on the step beside him. Despite the beer, despite brushing his teeth that morning, despite eating several times during the day, he could still taste her. It wasn’t real. He knew that. Just a sensory memory. But his wolf was pushing that memory at him, trying to chip away at his control so he’d go take what they both wanted. Pitting his strength against Bracken’s and—
His cell began to ring. He fished it out of his pocket and saw Nick’s name flashing on the screen. Bracken answered, “Yeah?”
“There’s something you should see,” said Nick. “Meet me at my office in the lodge.” The line went dead.
Bracken frowned at his phone. What was that about?
Standing, he pocketed his cell and then jogged to the main lodge, winding his way through a seemingly endless number of trees and sending small animals scurrying out of the way.
Bracken slowed his pace as he neared the rustic, timber-framed, three-story lodge. The lower level was made of large stones, and the building featured stunning glass dove windows. It had once been a private hunting lodge that Shaya and her human ex-Navy SEAL father frequented when she was younger. After buying the land as a surprise for her, Nick had had all the lodges restored and modernized.
Bracken climbed up the porch steps and headed inside. Warm and spacious with comfy furnishings, hardwood floors, and a rustic tone, the place had a very welcoming feeling. In the daytime, it was often a hub of activity—especially in the open layout of the living, dining, and kitchen areas. But people tended to return to their own homes a little after the main meal, so there was no one hanging around.
Passing the curved staircase on his way to Nick’s office, Bracken heard children’s laughter and the splash of water coming from upstairs. He suspected the pups were being bathed by either Nick’s mother, Kathy, or Shaya.
Reaching the Alpha’s office, Bracken found the door open. Nick wasn’t alone. Shaya, the Betas, Jesse, Zander, and the Head Enforcer, Eli, were all present. It was a surprise to see Derren, the Beta male, sitting in Nick’s leather chair behind the executive-style desk and working on the Alpha’s computer.
Nick tipped his chin in greeting. “Shut the door.”
Bracken did so. “Problem?”
“No. But our first step in working out which clan those sows came from is finding out who exactly they are. We have their first names, but that’s not enough. So we had Donovan hack into Mason Grant’s computer and download last night’s CCTV footage of the women’s restroom. I figured you’d want to see it.”
Bracken’s brows lifted. Striding farther into the room, he asked, “Have you watched it yet?”
Nick shook his head. “Derren’s scanning it. He hasn’t yet reached the part where Madisyn entered the restroom.”
“Nick said one of the bears clawed her face,” began Zander. “How bad?”
“They were barely grazes,” replied Bracken. “According to Grant, she was the only one standing when his security guy went to the restroom to check out the noise that someone reported.” He hadn’t yet shared with the pack that she was his mate.
“I heard that Madisyn’s a fierce fighter,” said Jesse. “Even so, I was kind of surprised to hear she overpowered three dominant female sows.”
“Maybe they were hammered,” suggested Eli.
Shaya arched a brow at the Head Enforcer, who was also Nick’s younger brother. “So if a female wins in an attack against three, her opponents must have been impaired in some way?”