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The Denver Alpha 15
COLEHeat lightning cracks across the sky in the distance, illuminating the canopy of leaves in the forest for a brief moment as I throw my head back and drag in a deep inhale. All I can scent is the rain. The earth beneath my paws is soft and wet from the downpour when the storm came through here, fast and furious, and I can feel mud squidging between the pads of my toes as I stalk through the dark woods, searching.The rain has slowed to a drizzle, my wolf’s thick coat wicking away the moisture as I creep through the foliage. I won’t be able to rely on my sense of smell, so I’m channeling my other senses, relying on my animal instincts and going with my gut to point me in the right direction. Despite my massive size in my shifted form, I’m quiet as I travel through the familiar woods on four paws. My wolf is adept at the hunt; silent but deadly.Small animals realize too late that I’m nearby, skittering away to conceal themselves in the thick brush as I pass. They have nothing to fe
The Denver Alpha 16
JULIETIt’s not like me to be nervous, but here I am, heart pounding, palms sweating as I approach Cole’s office in the packhouse. I can’t remember the last time I was ever this jittery. Maybe I shouldn’t have had that third cup of coffee this morning.Things weren’t weird between us after what happened in the office at Jokers, so why should they be now? I mean, that kiss last night was far more chaste than what we did in the office. Except for the fact that we were naked. And the kiss was crazy intense. And things were escalating so quickly that I’m pretty sure he was about to bang me right there before we were interrupted.Yeah, that’s totally grounds for things to be weird between us today.Damnit.Breathe, Jules.I pause just outside of Cole’s office door, drawing in a deep breath and steadying my composure. This is fine. People do this all the time. I can’t go in there like the blushing virgin that I am or he’ll pick up on it right away and I’m betting it’ll spook him. He already
The Denver Alpha 17
COLE “Stay here,” I say sternly, staring intently into those big baby blues. “I mean it, Juliet.” She flops back against the passenger seat with an exaggerated eyeroll. “Whatever, Sarge,” she snarks, dismissing me with the flippant wave of a hand. Such a fucking brat. I’ll address that later, because right now, I have business to attend to. Heaving an exasperated sigh, I climb out of the Camaro and start toward the dilapidated redbrick building where I’m to meet Gavin Holley to drop off the signed contracts. I still can’t shake the feeling that there’s something off about the guy, but I had our IT team run another background check and again, he came up squeaky clean. So without a good reason to pull out of this deal, I’m moving forward with it in spite of my own reservations. I throw one more glance in Juliet’s direction before pulling the door open and stepping into the dimly lit back entryway of the building. It’s not ideal to have her along with me on this errand, both becaus
The Denver Alpha 18
JULIET“Jules, you have to try this one!” Shay gushes, holding up a hanger with a white crochet bikini dangling from it.Ashlyn peeks her head around from the other side of the clothing rack. “Ooh, totally,” she agrees. “I’ll bet a white swimsuit looks amazing against your skintone.”I don’t need to be convinced- the bikini is totally my style. I eagerly grab the hanger from Shay and add it to the growing collection of swimwear already clutched in my hands. I still need to try them all on, but I have a feeling I’m going to be leaving with quite a few of these. The best part about shopping for swimsuits at the end of the season is that they’re all on sale- the boutique we’re at has three full racks of suits that are marked down to bargain prices.I pluck another swimsuit off the rack, holding it out in front of me and tilting my head in consideration as I examine it closer. It’s a classic triangle top in black shimmery fabric with bottoms that tie at the hips to match.“I’m not sure if
The Denver Alpha 19
COLEThe police chief greets me as soon as I step into the station as if he’s been waiting on pins and needles for me to arrive. His loafers squeak against the linoleum floor as he rushes over, looking a bit frazzled and panting for breath. The man is in his mid-fifties, a little thick around the beltline and sporting a combover that gets sparser each time I see him, a telltale sign that he’s struggling to come to terms with the fact that he’s balding. He’s a little squirrely and high-strung, but the two of us have developed a good rapport over the years.“Cole, nice to see you,” he breathes, sticking out a hand for me to shake. His palm is sweaty when I do. It’s probably my fault- the chief is anxious by nature, and I’m sure it didn’t help that I was a little harsher than normal when I got him on the phone. He also knows I don’t typically call in favors, which I assume is why he’s seeing to this one personally.I knew something was wrong by the tone of Sam’s voice when he picked up S
The Denver Alpha 20
JULIET True to his word, Cole somehow made the whole getting arrested thing just go away, like it never happened. He must be really well connected- none of the alphas from the six-pack have that kind of pull with local law enforcement. Then again, we’re so far off the beaten path that the only police activity we get on the fringes of our territory is a random visit from a sheriff at the alliance-owned ski resort or brewery from time to time. I thought for sure that word of my little shoplifting incident would’ve made it back to my brother by now, but it has been nearly forty-eight hours and so far, crickets. He's not the only one I haven’t heard a peep from. Since fooling around with Cole on the ride home, I haven’t seen or heard from him, either. It’s not unusual for the man to be busy- he’s Alpha of the largest pack in the state, after all- but considering how things have been escalating between us lately, the last thing I expected was radio silence. Especially after he had his dic
The Denver Alpha 21
COLE “Wow, this is off the beaten path,” Juliet remarks as I pull into the parking lot of the small Italian restaurant on the outskirts of the city. Admittedly, that’s part of the reason why I chose this place. More importantly, though, I picked it because it’s a hidden gem- the atmosphere is intimate, the food is amazing, and it’s not obnoxiously stuffy or fancy. It seemed like a decent spot for a date. Though technically this is my first one, so I’m totally winging this whole thing. I shrug a shoulder in response, parking the Camaro and cutting the engine. “Can’t risk being seen out with me, huh?” she laughs as she unbuckles her seatbelt, cutting me a sideways glance. Although she says it in jest, I detect a bite of hurt in her tone. This isn’t how I wanted to start the night. I blow out a breath, reaching over to grab Juliet by the chin and turn her face toward mine. “I’m a very private person,” I say, staring into her pale blue eyes earnestly. “Make no mistake that I want to b
The Denver Alpha 22
COLE I stop short as I turn down the hallway toward my bedroom, my mood shifting from bad to worse when I see someone loitering outside my door. I guess it’s a good thing that Gavin Holley pissed me off so much that I didn’t invite Juliet to spend the night with me, because if she were here right now, she’d probably react poorly to seeing Tayla Bancroft waiting outside my bedroom. Fucking great. Tayla has never been one for subtlety, and her intentions tonight are apparent from the way she’s dressed. She’s flaunting her best assets, scantily clad in a black mini skirt and a tiny crop top that ends right below her nipples, displaying an indecent amount of underboob. There was a time when her body drove me wild, but it just doesn’t do it for me anymore. Nothing about the girl does. If she’s here to try to seduce me, she’s got another thing coming. “What are you doing here?” I growl in annoyance, refusing to advance another step closer until she explains her unwelcome presence. Tay
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