Neve jerked her head in annoyance at herself. How can I be so strong when it comes to school, and so weak when it comes to him? she thought. It was a question she’d asked herself many times, and had never come up with a convincing answer. With a sigh, she put her plate aside, drew a blanket over her lap and drowsed for an hour, half watching Chicago Law, and half thinking about a certain, very sexy bear shifter.
The following morning, Neve was awoken by a text message alert:
Thanks for you help this week. We don’t need you anymore. Your check’s in the mail.
“Fuck!” she muttered, staring up at the ceiling of her trailer. Fired! Fired from the dumbest job ever. And all because she’d said something that had actually made sense. What a bunch of fucktards. She couldn’t believe they’d acted so lame and spineless in front of the bears, and then dismissed someone who actually had the guts to say something. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She let out a long breath. Crying wasn’t an option. She’d worked too hard, come too far to let something like this get to her. And after the way she felt when she got home last night, it was probably a blessing in disguise. But it left the little problem of her not having any money, again.
Muttering to herself, she rolled out of bed and went to make breakfast. As she entered the kitchen she jumped at the sight of a large figure leaning on the counter and pouring a box of cereal into a bowl.
“Hey, babe,” Kevin said, flashing the little-boy smile that used to make her go weak at the knees not so many years ago, but filled her with nothing more than irritation these days, now that she understood how calculated it was.
“I didn’t hear you come in,” she said. He was wearing a grubby set of off-white sweats and he hadn’t shaved for several days. His light brown hair was a little greasy and there were deep purple shadows under his eyes.
“Oh, it was a little late. One of my boys is setting up a new security company, and wants me to be a part of it. I had to go speak to someone who owns a club, and he wasn’t around till midnight. She raised an eyebrow as she cast her eyes over his clothes.
“You’re saying you went to a job interview in sweats?” Kevin looked down at his clothes too, as if he was seeing them for the first time.
“Uh, yeah. They provide you with a uniform and everything.” Neve pursed her lips. It was better for her sanity if she didn’t interrogate him about his pathetic excuses for staying out all night. He bent down and kissed her on her forehead. He stank of weed. Suddenly, Braxton’s face flashed into her mind. That quick, but sincere smile he’d given her as he left the room. He might be half bear, but he was a real man – he fought and worked hard. He didn’t suck money out of a woman who barely had enough for herself.
“You know I’d much rather have stayed home with you, baby,” Kevin muttered. She pulled away from him, grabbing the box of cereal.
“Aren’t you going to ask me what I did last night?” she demanded. He tipped his head to the side, in a way that she used to find adorable.
“Yeah, sure. How was work?” he said in his slow, exaggeratedly deep voice. She spun so she was fully facing him.
“I got fired. So even that miserable trickle of money has now dried up,” she said. “So you’d better hope that security gig works out, and they didn’t laugh your ass out of their office for turning up dressed like a hobo.” Kevin’s eyes widened and his face lost its customary smart-ass expression.
“Shit! What happened?”
“I gave them some legal advice and they didn’t like it.” She didn’t mention that she’d been to one of the bear fights and met the bears themselves. It had been exciting, and fun, and she didn’t want to share it with him.
“Those assholes,” he drawled. He had no respect for the fact that she’d graduated law school; she was under no illusion about that. He saw the time she’d spent studying as a waste, when she could’ve been working to support them both instead. “Don’t worry, babe. You’ll find another job soon. You’re real good at doing that.”
She didn’t reply, just poured milk over her cereal, snatched up the bowl and carried it outside. She ate her breakfast sitting on the steps of the trailer. It was a beautiful morning at least. The sky was pale blue and the sun was coming up behind a patch of parkland that was just visible in the distance. No arguing with Kevin, she reminded herself. She’d quit yelling at him six months ago, realizing that it didn’t change anything; all it did was make her feel like her head was going to burst. She was stuck; she was well aware of that. She’d hoped for so long that he’d change. It was what had kept their relationship going. And there was still a small part of her that thought he might. But that part was getting smaller every day. Until it disappeared entirely, she didn’t have the energy to deal with it.
She went back inside to retrieve her laptop from the bedroom. Kevin was lying diagonally on the bed, fully dressed and snoring. Back outside, she opened the law jobs site she always used and began to trawl through the ads.
Ten minutes later, she snapped her laptop shut. There was nothing. All the open positions were at companies that had already rejected her. How was she ever going to be a lawyer if she couldn’t even get a foot in the door? She leaned her head back against the door of the trailer and stared up at the sky. She knew she’d be a great lawyer if someone would only give her a break. Like everything in life, getting started was the hardest part. Like last night, with the Broken Hill Bears. If she could make them listen to her, really listen, then she had no doubt that they’d take her advice. But just as her resume was her one shot at getting an employee interested in her, last night had been her only shot at speaking to Braxton. Or was it? As she stared at the flawless blue sky, thinking about the expression in Braxton’s eyes when she was speaking to him, the answer suddenly hit her like a thunderbolt.
If no-one will give you a break, you have to make your own break, and not give up at the first hurdle, she thought. Opening her laptop again, she typed the name of another site into the search engine and as the page opened and a plan began to take shape, her heart beat fast and a shiver of excitement ran all the way through her. “I’m going to speak to that handsome bear again if it’s the last thing I do,” she said out loud.
3
“We need to be able to work with humans,” Xander said. He and Braxton were sitting out the back of Braxton’s cabin, trying out Braxton’s latest home-brewed beer. Braxton frowned, turning over his Alpha’s words.
“I hear what you’re saying,” he replied at last. “But I don’t understand why we need more from them than we have already. Wrestling has given us all this.” He gestured toward the clan territory, the well-made cabins, built in all kinds of designs – some elegant, some flashy, other plain eccentric – according to the whim of each owner. They were filled with every possible gadget and convenience, from swimming pools, to Turkish baths, to home movie theaters. Thanks to the money the bears made from wrestling, they could afford pretty much anything that caught their fancy, and some of their tastes ran to the extravagant.
Xander flashed him a sympathetic look. He understood well why Braxton didn’t want anything to do with the human race, that his aversion came from a deep wound that never fully healed, despite being such a popular and well-loved member of the clan.
“Because we co-exist with them,” he said. “And as much as it seems like avoiding them is the best way to make sure they don’t impinge on our territory, living in harmony with them stops them from being so curious about us.” He leaned forward, his face assuming the serious expression that he was well known for. “And I’m saying this as an ex-soldier, who’s lived alongside many potentially hostile communities. Making friends with the local people made it much less likely that any one of them would betray our positions to the enemy.” Braxton’s frown deepened.
“Are you saying we should be cool about humans knowing where we live?”
“Of course not. Our privacy remains paramount. But when it comes to things that humans can do better than us, then
why not use them?”
“Like use their laws?” Xander nodded slowly.
“Maybe. When it benefits us to do so.” Braxton chugged the rest of his beer.
“I just feel like it’s a trap. We use one of their laws, and then we find ourselves being subject to all of their laws.”
“Braxton, that’s never going to happen. Look how scared they are of us. We’re top of the food chain and they know it. Please trust me on this one. I do know what I’m talking about.”
“Okay, boss. I’ll work on my attitude toward things like this. I can’t promise it’ll happen overnight though.”
“I don’t expect it to.” Xander laid his giant hand on Braxton’s knee. “Just remember that sometimes it’s only business. Like the whole wrestling thing. I mean, I’m not saying I don’t relish the opportunity to pound the hell out of the Black Paws now and then, but strutting around the ring afterwards, having girls offer to marry me, the police chasing us out of town. That I could do without. But, ultimately, that’s what keeps the crowds coming back, and earns us the money.” Braxton scrubbed at the short hair on the back of his neck with his fingernails.
“You’re right, Xander, as usual. I’ll bear this in mind in future.” Xander’s eyes blanked out – a sign that he wanted to discuss something serious. It was something that Braxton and the other guys joked about sometimes. It wasn’t that Xander was robotic. He was just very serious and focused when it came to his duties as Alpha, and discussing business matters.
“Anyway, the reason why I wanted to speak to you is that I’ve decided to put you in charge of dealing with the damage that’s being done to our reputation, and making sure that it stops right here. I have a lot of faith in you, Braxton. I’m sure you know that, and I trust you to manage it however you see fit. And if that means taking out whichever spineless half-breed from the Black Paws dreamed the idea up, then I’m all for it. The truth is, I’ve got a lot on at the moment, and I’d really like to offload some of my responsibilities, and not have to check in to make sure that they’re being handled. I know I can rely on you to do an excellent job.” Braxton nodded.
“I am, Xander. I won’t let you down. I’ll deal with it, and the next thing you’ll hear is that it’s been done,” he said, his solemn tone belying the twinge of pride he felt at his Alpha putting so much trust in him. Xander looked at him with the intensity that he was so well known for, and slapped him on the back.
“Thank you, Braxton,” he said.
Braxton refilled their beers from the tap and the conversation turned to lighter topics. Xander shared his passion for beer, and they discussed it animatedly for a while.
“I think you’ve nailed it with this one,” Xander said, holding the glass of rich amber-colored liquid up to the light.
“It’s getting there,” Braxton agreed. “But it’s not perfect yet – I just need to make one small alteration to the brewing process to make it like a real Belgian,” he said, referring to the rich, dark Belgian beer that he got imported from Europe sometimes. The creation of beer was like magic to him. The way that you could take four simple ingredients and put them though a brewing process, and the result could be something that tasted incredible – to his taste buds anyway. Beer was one thing that humans did well, he conceded. He’d tried beer from over 100 different countries of the world and he was stunned that there were still new varieties being made. Until recently, his home brew had been good – pleasant and drinkable, but not on the same level as the international medal winners. But then he’d beaten the Alpha of the Black Paws in a wrestling match, which had landed him a big bonus from the fight organizers, and he’d rewarded himself by buying a professional brewing system. The copper vessels allowed him to create much richer, deeper flavors than before, and finally, his dream of producing beer made by shifters for shifters was becoming a reality. His ultimate plan was to ramp up his beer production so he could take over supplying beer to Rudy’s bar, the place where everyone drank in Broken Hill. As far as he was concerned, shifter territory should be self-sufficient and free from all human interference. It was okay to buy one-off gadgets and boy toys, like the Ducati racing bike and the classic sports cars that sat in his garage, but to have an ongoing reliance on human suppliers was another thing entirely.
“Try this one,” Braxton said, going over to his kegs and coming back with an inch of pale yellow beer in a tasting glass.
“Okay, last one, then I’d better go,” Xander said. “Freya’s coming to pick me up and she won’t be impressed if I’m rolling drunk.” Braxton grinned. Xander was as strong and fearless as an Alpha could be, but it amused him to see how deferential he could be to his feisty, human mate. The two of them really were a perfect match.
“How is she?” he asked. A broad grin lit Xander’s features, making him look almost boyish.
“She’s great. I think I fall in love with her more every single day,” he said, his tone becoming soft.
“That’s great, Xan. I’m happy for you,” Braxton said, and meant it.
“How about you, Braxton?” Xander asked. “Aren’t you ready to find your mate?” Braxton almost choked on his beer.
“Not a human!” he exclaimed. Xander laughed, but not unkindly.
“I didn’t mean a human. I certainly wouldn’t suggest you find yourself a human mate. I just meant a mate in general. Like a lady bear. Or a lady tiger or panther.” Braxton laughed, self-deprecatingly.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to overreact.”
“It’s okay, I understand. I know what you’ve been through,” Xander said. Braxton nodded. Xander was one of the few who did know; who he’d trusted with his past.
“I’m happy by myself at the moment. I’d like to have cubs in a few years, but my main concern for now is with the clan.”
“You’ll know when the time is right,” Xander said.
At that moment, Freya arrived, dark eyes flashing with vitality, and she greeted Braxton with a hug.
“Whew, you two smell like a brewery!” she said cheerfully. Braxton indicated over his shoulder.
“Umm, I think that would be the metal monstrosity you’re referring to,” he said, mirroring her grin. She gasped.
“Wow. It arrived! It looks amazing. Are you going to show me how it works?”
“Of course, right this way.” He said, getting up eagerly. He explained the whole brewing process to her, while she listened attentively, asking questions. Then he gave her several samples to try.
He liked Freya a lot, he thought as she and Xander left, she pretending to haul him off like a pussy-whipped husband, then Xander picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her off like a caveman. Despite being a human, she was as tough as a female shifter. Xander had first seen her at one of his shows. He’d felt an intense connection to her, but had never expected to see her again. And then she and two of her friends had been kidnapped by Mikal Havonson and two other ex-clan members and brought to Broken Hill. At first she’d hated Xander for keeping her captive, but then they’d fallen in love, and she’d chosen to stay of her own accord.
Braxton didn’t even see her as a human anymore. She was an honorary shifter; one of them. But she was a one-off. He never wanted Xander to find out, but he’d been strongly opposed to her and her two friends being in Broken Hill. He’d been friendly to them when they’d met, because that was the kind of bear he was, and he could tell that they had good hearts, but when he discovered that Freya was going to stay and become Xander’s mate, he’d found it very difficult to accept. In time, he’d mellowed out, but for the first month she’d lived there, he’d avoided speaking to her.
Other shifters always thought that Braxton was the calm one. They thought of him as being like a calm lake – pleasant and unruffled by anything. But it was all a front. Hardly anyone knew that a fire burned inside him. He was more like a volcano that had been dormant for years and had filled up with water, but the boiling hot magma, the result of his traumatic past, still lay deep inside
, always with the potential to blow. Xander’s father knew the truth, and so did his immediate family, but Braxton’s pain was so great that he couldn’t bear for anybody else to find out about it.
So, to other clan members, he was known as Chill Braxton, and in time, he’d kind of grown into the role, keeping his anger buried deep inside him. Most of the time he succeeded, even fooling himself into believing that he had recovered from the suffering in his past. Until he came into close contact with humans.
As he worked at the beer kegs, he turned over Xander’s words. He was very relieved that he hadn’t insisted on a human solution to the t-shirt issue. It would’ve made him sick to have to enact it. But he would’ve done it. More than anything, he wanted to become Xander’s Second. He had the utmost respect for his Alpha, and he wanted to give back to the clan that had taken him in and given him a life when no kind of life had seemed possible. He would always be grateful to Xander’s father, and it had been his dream to become second in command of the best clan in the world.
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