Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Bracken had noticed. He’d kept his back to her, not wanting to encourage her. The youngest daughter of a powerful, rich, respected—not to mention, criminal—Alpha wolf, Claudia was quite the pampered princess, but she wasn’t a spoiled, selfish brat. In fact, she sponsored the Movement and did a lot of PR work for shifters. Beautiful and charismatic, she’d effectively become the country’s favorite shifter.
She was often in magazines and featured on daytime TV shows, talking about fashion and other topics that applied to both humans and shifters. She was great at presenting the positive side of their kind and coming across as so relatable that it was easy for people to forget that she wasn’t human. In short, she made shifters seem like people.
She also did an excellent job of discrediting the extremists, which was why she was a big target for them and had a security team comprised of strong, dominant wolves. Two months ago, she’d come to the club, offering Bracken the position of her personal bodyguard. He respected her for sponsoring the Movement, but he had no interest in leaving his pack or becoming anyone’s bodyguard, so he had politely turned down her offer.
Many males would think him crazy to do so, considering she’d also made it clear that sex would be on the table. Even when she’d offered him a larger amount of money, he’d again turned her down. But she wasn’t giving up, apparently.
“I get the feeling she’s not accustomed to being denied anything,” said Jesse.
Probably not, thought Bracken, but he really wasn’t interested. “Are we done now?” He just wanted to have a drink in peace.
“Not unless you’re going to promise me that you won’t go drifting.”
“It’s not such a big deal.”
“It damn well is, especially because I’m not sure you’ll come back.”
Bracken flexed his grip on his bottle. “You mean you’re worried I’ll do something stupid to end my own life.”
“You think I don’t know how much you hated Ally those first few months after the attack?”
He had hated her. If the Seer hadn’t had a vision that he would die, she wouldn’t have turned up at the movie theater and healed him. He would have died with his family, just as he’d then wished he’d done. “I don’t hate her.”
“Not now, no, but you still feel guilty for living. You won’t end your own life, but you’d find death a relief. You can’t blame us all for not wanting you to disappear again. If it was me or Zander, you’d want us home. You’d want us to let you be there for us. That’s all I want, Brack. It’s what we all want.”
Bracken guzzled down the rest of his beer and thumped his empty bottle on the bar. “Go to your mate, Jesse. She’s probably waiting for you in the VIP section, and she’s not a patient person.”
“Harley strongly encouraged me to come talk to you.”
“And we did talk. I’m done now.”
Jesse shook his head. “You’re a pain in my ass, Brack.” But it was said with affection. “Look, we need to—” His phone rang, and he fished it out of his pocket. “It’s Nick.” Jesse swiped his thumb over the screen and answered, “Hey . . . What? Ah, shit . . . I got it.”
Bracken frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Jesse pocketed his phone. “It’s Madisyn.”
His wolf’s ears perked up. “Madisyn?”
“She got caught up in an altercation at Enigma.”
Slicing out his claws, his wolf growled. “What kind of altercation?”
Jesse hopped off the stool. “The guy who owns the place recognized her as one of our barmaids and called Nick, who now wants me to go pick her up.”
Bracken pushed his bottle aside and stood. “I’ll get her.”
Jesse hesitated. “It’s fine. I can—”
“I said I’ll get her.”
“You’ve been drinking.”
“I’ve had one beer, and you know it.” His pack mates had been watching him like a hawk since Bracken walked in the club, and it fucking galled him. “After I’ve taken Madisyn home, I’ll call you and fill you in on what happened.”
Bracken headed straight for the exit, cursing her with every breath he took. Did he want to go and pick her up? No, because he did not need the drama. But his wolf would hound him all night if he didn’t see for himself that she was fine. Bracken didn’t doubt she was. If she’d gotten into a fight, the owner of the club would have said so. It was likely that the altercation had been between two males fighting over her or one of her group—that kind of thing happened a lot in shifter nightclubs.
Outside, Bracken crossed to his SUV and slid inside. In a matter of moments, he was driving out of the parking lot. And he was still cursing her in his head.
Madisyn Drake was a typical feline. Graceful. Solitary. Independent. Marched to the beat of her own drum. And his wolf had grown to be very protective of her.