Boarlander Boss Bear (Boarlander Bears #1)(10)

“Is Matt wearing a pregnancy belly?”

“That he is. And my totally normal crew is currently eating all of the insane pregnancy cravings Willa has imagined she will have. The cake is made of capers and beans.”

“Barely Alpha!” Willa called out to Creed. “Come try this banana dipped in pickle juice.”

But when her eyes landed on Harrison, she said, “Eeee,” stood slowly, then began tiptoeing toward her trailer.

“Bangaboarlander-dot-com,” Harrison called out. “Willa, we need to talk.”

“I think I’m having Braxton Hicks contractions,” she called, clutching her tiny stomach.

Creed sighed an irritated sound and said, “Good God, Willa, come here.”

She hunched her shoulders under his command. “Fine.” She kicked gravel and pouted the entire way to Harrison. “You’re going to ruin my party.”

“You ruined some lady’s life, Willa, so I don’t have sympathy for you right now.”

“What lady?” she asked too innocently as she shoved her thick glasses farther up her nose.

Harrison handed her the printed stacks of conversations Willa had with Audrey under the guise that she was actually Harrison. “Audrey showed up to Shifter Night the other day, thinking I asked her to come.”

Creed yanked the papers out of Willa’s hand and began to read them.

Willa’s little pixie face morphed into a dastardly smile. “She showed up then?”

“Yeah, but why the hell are you running a website with fake accounts for me, Bash, and Clinton? Bash hacked your site, and it has hundreds of hits on each of our made-up profiles.”

“Okay, okay, okay, I can explain. I started Bangaboarlander as a way to prank Clinton because he’s a whiney B-hole. Please tell me you saw his profile.”

“Yeah. Clinton Fuller, age twenty-eight, nymphomaniac, giant penis, no STDs, wants tons of kids, loves to give flowers and cuddle, immediately ready for a mate, net worth: a billion dollars. And then you listed his actual phone number.”

Willa laughed, holding her belly as she doubled over. “I love that part. Have any of his admirers called him?”

“All the damned time. He threw his phone into Bear Trap Falls the other day and then lost all control. He changed for an entire day and has been on a tear ever since.”

Willa pursed her lips and stifled another round of giggles.

“This isn’t funny.”

But when Harrison looked over at Creed for some backup, the alpha of the Gray Backs wasn’t even trying to hide his smile. “It’s kind of funny.”

“Yeah, except Audrey got hurt in this! She spent most of her savings getting here, and I didn’t even know we were in a relationship!”

“She’s pretty, isn’t she?” Willa asked as she pulled her dyed red hair into a spiky pony-tail on top of her head.

“Doesn’t matter what she looks like. I’m not ready for a mate, and I’m especially not ready to commit to a complete stranger.”

“Oh, come on, Harrison. I screened her for you. I sifted through all the desperate humans looking to bang a Boarlander. You should be thanking me.”

“Thanking you? Are you serious right now? You sent me a human. Me. The alpha of the most f*cked-up crew of shifters, and you think a meek human woman is a good fit?”

“Ooooh, you silly, na?ve, simple, little newborn baby. Go type her name into the shifter registration site. Your mate is no human.”

Harrison stared at Willa, waiting for the punchline. When Willa got bored and sniffed her armpit, he took the bait. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I went and found you a mate who can deal with Clinton, Bash, and your scary-ass bear, too. Have you read these?” she asked, yanking the papers from Creed’s hand and holding them up. “You should. She’s one of the good ones, Harrison.”

“Why did you lure her up here, Willa?”

Willa grinned and walked away. Over her shoulder, she called out, “To get you living again. You’re welcome. Almost Alpha, out.” Remorselessly, she flicked her wrist in a tiny wave over her shoulder and made her way back to her mate, Matt, where she sank into his lap and rubbed his fake baby belly affectionately.

Creed grinned after her, then looked at Harrison. “Congratulations, man.”

“Shut up,” he grumbled as he made his way back to his truck.

Beaston stood leaned against the driver’s side door, head cocked, green eyes blazing. “I heard what Willa did. She’s good. You should go see your mate before she leaves you.” Beaston pushed off Harrison’s truck and crossed his arms over his chest. “Audrey makes sense now.”

Harrison had never liked giving Beaston his back, so he side-stepped to his truck and settled behind the wheel. As Harrison drove away, he looked to his rearview mirror once to see Beaston watching him leave with a strange smile crooking his lips.

Gripping the wheel, Harrison blasted away from Grayland Mobile Park, feeling even more unsettled than when he’d arrived.





Chapter Five




Audrey pulled her neatly folded shirts from the middle drawer of the dresser in her hotel room, then packed it in the corner of her suitcase. She regretted everything. Sure, she’d heard about people being tricked in online relationships, but she’d been careful and thought she’d asked all the right questions. She’d even called Clinton’s phone once just to make sure the profiles were legit. It had gone to his voicemail, but it was definitely his number.