Alpha Theo by C.J. Primer

CHAPTER      FORTY-THREE

Brooke

I look into Theo’s eyes as he unbuckles the helmet strap under my chin, a smile creeping across my face.

This.

This must be what true happiness feels like.

To be adored and cared for by this gorgeous man. This man who, despite his sharp edges, tends to me with such a gentle hand. The soft side he reserves only for me.

He pulls the helmet off of my head, turning to set it on the back of his bike as I reach up to run my fingers through my disheveled hair. My long blonde tresses are all knotty from the ride over to Summervale on the back on Theo’s motorcycle- I should’ve thought of that and braided it or something.

Theo swivels back to me as I’m still raking through the ends of my hair, smoothing it over my shoulders. His lips tip up into a grin.

“I love when your hair’s all windblown like that,” he says, reaching out to cup my cheek. “It’s sexy as hell.”

He leans in to claim my mouth and my knees go rubbery. I’ll never tire of kissing this guy- every time, it’s frickin’ fireworks.

Something shifted between us when we were on top of Pine Mountain yesterday morning. We were both so honest, so real- we didn’t hold anything back. And as I was gazing into those hazel eyes that have captivated me from the beginning, I was hit with an enormous realization- that all this time, while I’d been afraid Theo would hurt me, I hadn’t even noticed the tide had changed at some point. That I could hurt him.

He’d jumped in with both feet, even though there was a chance that I’d walk away. Even though he’d get hurt if I did. And it wasn’t fair to him for me to keep holding back for self-preservation’s sake.

So I’m not anymore. We’re mates, partners, a team. We share the risk. If we go down, we go down together. And in knowing that, in letting go, things feel different now. Better. Like I could do this with him forever.

Theo breaks the kiss, still cupping my cheek as he pulls back to gaze down at me. “Should we head in?”

“Yeah,” I breathe, spinning around and looking to the packhouse. Theo moves beside me, guiding me forward with a hand on the small of my back. For some reason I really love it when he does that.

We head up the front walk and step inside, met with the same eerie quiet that we were the last time I was here with Theo. It was only about a month ago, but somehow it feels like forever.

“So how do you wanna play this?” Theo asks, pressing the door closed behind him. “Should we both go talk to her, or what?”

I give a little shake of my head, looking to the stairs. “Let me talk to her first, on my own. See if I can sway her.”

“Alright, kid,” he sighs, raking a hand through his hair. “But like I said before, I don’t think this is gonna work…”

“You just leave this up to me,” I say with a wave of my hand, turning on a heel and heading for the stairs.

“Good luck,” Theo calls after me, chuckling softly. “I’m gonna head to my dad’s office, check in with him.”

“Sounds good!” I chirp as I hit the bottom of the stairs, bounding up them to head for Quinn’s room.

Her door is cracked open, but I give it a little knock anyways before poking my head inside. “Quinn?”

She’s sitting on her bed with her legs folded beneath her, laptop resting upon them.

“Brooke!” Her face lights up when she sees me, lips stretching into a beautiful smile. “What are you doing here?”

She picks up her laptop, setting it on the bed beside her and scooting to the edge as she gestures for me to come in.

I push the door open further and step inside, and seconds later Quinn is crossing the room to greet me, arms outstretched. She pulls me in for a hug, squeezing tightly.

“So how’s it going?” Quinn asks as she releases the hug and steps back.

“Good!” I grin. “Things are really busy with the IT unit, it’s all hands on deck.”

Quinn arches a brow. “You’re not here to recruit me, are you?”

Busted.

“Is it that obvious?” I chuckle.

She rolls her eyes, cocking out a hip and setting her hand upon it. “I’ve heard my dad talking about how all the packs are making recommendations for IT recruits.”

My heart sinks. “So he already asked you?”

Quinn shakes her head. “No. I don’t think he’s too keen on the idea of me moving to the complex.”

“Yeah, I get that,” I sigh. I glance over at her computer, then back to her. “You’re so talented, though, and I think you’d really love it. Won’t you consider just giving it a trial run, seeing if it’s something you wanna do? I’m sure your dad would come around if you found it was something you really wanted.”

Quinn purses her lips, considering. “Maybe. I don’t know.” She blows out a breath, turns away, and walks over to her window, folding her arms and staring outside.

It wasn’t a ‘no’, so I press further. “Why don’t you come stay for a week and see how you like it?” I suggest. “We could really use your help at the unit, especially now that we’re putting new security systems in place and we’ve got my program integrated in Denver.”

“Really?” Quinn snaps her head sideways to look over at me, her interest piqued.

I nod quickly. “Yeah, we’ve got over a hundred known shadow pack affiliates that we’re tracking with it.”

She brings her hand to her chin, pinching it between her knuckle and her thumb. “I would like to see that thing in action…”

“So you’ll do it?” I ask, a little too enthusiastically.

Quinn heaves a sigh, turning back to face me. “I don’t know, Brooke…” She scrubs a hand over her face, and it strikes me how similar her mannerisms are to Theo’s.

“Clay can always come visit,” I offer. “If that’s why you’re unsure.”

Clay and Quinn have been dating for nearly a year now- he’s part of the reason she didn’t sign up for summer training camp at the squad after graduation, even though she was initially interested. Clay had to stay in Summervale to help his dad with the family business and basically told Quinn that he wouldn’t do a long-distance relationship. As if the distance between Summervale and the complex could be considered ‘long’.

She gives a little shake of her head. “That’s over.”

My eyes fly wide. “Really? I’m so sorry, I didn’t know…”

Quinn waves a hand dismissively. “He’s an ass. You know I caught him hooking up with Camilla?”

My jaw goes slack and Quinn snorts, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah. I walked in on them. That guy’s a tool.”

I can’t really argue with her there- I’ve never been a huge fan of Clay. Although she sounds pretty cavalier for someone who got cheated on.

“Jeez,” I wince. “That must’ve been rough…”

She shakes her head. “I don’t wanna dwell on it. That guy’s already had enough of my tears.”

If I know Quinn, I know she’s just playing tough right now. She’s got a sensitive side that most people don’t get to see- kinda like her brother. She clearly doesn’t want to talk about it, though, so I just nod in understanding, allowing the subject to drop.

“But yeah, I’ll think about it. Maybe come up there for a week.” Quinn says.

“Really?” I ask, my eyes lighting up.

She chuckles, brushing her chocolate brown hair over a shoulder. “Don’t get all excited, I said I’d think about it.”

“Hey, that’s all I ask!” I chirp, holding up my hands. My lips spread into a grin. “But really, I think you’d love it. I hope you’ll try it out.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she laughs, turning around and striding back over to her bed. She sinks down on the edge, reaching for her laptop.

“Guess my work here is done,” I smile, turning for the door.

“You’re leaving already?”

I glance back at Quinn over my shoulder- she’s got her bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

“Yeah,” I sigh. “Gotta head back. We’re short handed over there in the unit.” I wink.

Quinn giggles, rolling her eyes. “Okay, okay. I’ll talk to my dad about it and give you a call.”

“Perfect,” I grin, heading for the door again. “Can’t wait for your call!”

She just laughs again as I step out into the hallway, and I make my way to the stairs and down to the first floor of the packhouse. There’s nobody in sight, so Theo must still be in his dad’s office. My own father spends a lot of time over here- he’s close friends with Alpha Anders and helps out with pack business often- so I’m familiar with where the office is and head that way, down the south corridor, picking up on raised voices coming from that direction.

Crap. Theo and his dad are arguing.

As I draw closer, I start to make out the words they’re shouting at one another.

“So what, you think you could do a better job than I’m doing?” Anders booms.

“Dad, that’s not what I’m saying!” Theo’s voice sounds pinched; strained. My chest tightens.

I hear the sound of something slamming- probably Anders’ fist against his desk. “You don’t know the first thing about running a pack, son. All you care about is chasing tail and having a good time with your friends.”

“You don’t know what I care about!” I hear Theo say defensively as I hurry down the corridor, approaching the open door of Alpha Anders’ office.

“Please. You can’t just show up after all these years and act like you give a shit,” Anders growls. “If you cared about this pack, you wouldn’t have left in the first place.”

“You know why I left,” Theo barks in retort as I reach Anders’ office, stepping into the doorframe. I almost run right into Theo- he’s on his way out. His eyes meet mine and they’re so defeated- the look in them frickin’ kills me.

“Just go back to having your fun and I’ll keep our pack safe, like I always have,” Anders snarls from behind him. Either he can’t see me because Theo’s huge frame is taking up so much of the doorway, or he just doesn’t care who he disparages his son in front of. Either way, hearing Theo’s dad talk to him like that breaks my heart.

Theo presses his lips into a tight line, staring at me as I blink up at him. He moves forward, reaching out for my arm. “C’mon, let’s go,” he murmurs quietly.

I take a step back so he can walk through the doorway. My throat feels raw, like Theo’s pain is my own.

What kind of mate would I be if I just stood by?

I’m not sure if it’s the protective instinct of the mate bond, but I get a surge of confidence. I wriggle my arm away from Theo, stepping around him and back into the doorway. “With all due respect, Alpha Anders,” I begin, my voice shaky.

Anders’ eyes fly up to meet mine, a startled expression on his face. So I guess he didn’t know I was standing there.

I clear my throat, drawing a deep breath. Shoring up every bit of confidence I have to stand across from my alpha and say what I’m about to.

“Theo has been ensuring all of our safety with the new border security system he put into place,” I say, my voice calm, even though I’m wringing my hands in front of me as I speak. “The whole system is his design, and the entire six-pack will benefit from it. If there’s an attack, we’ll know a lot sooner and we’ll be able to coordinate a defense faster.”

Anders just stares at me, folding his hands on the desk in front of him.

“He deserves a lot more credit than what you give him,” I continue, my voice wavering a little bit. “He’s smart, he’s dedicated, he’s determined… he’s going to make a hell of an alpha one day.”

“Brooke,” Anders says curtly, holding up a hand.

I shake my head. “Please, Alpha, I’m not finished.”

His eyes narrow, like he’s surprised that I’m still pushing, and it takes every ounce of courage I have to continue challenging him.

“All of us at the complex can see how hard Theo’s working for the six-pack. And I know it isn’t my place, but I think that if you really took a look at your son and stopped blaming him for the past, then maybe you could see it, too.”

“That’s enough,” Anders barks, and I flinch at his tone.

I feel Theo’s hand gripping my arm, tugging me back.

“Come on, Brooke,” he mumbles quietly. “Let’s just go.”

I’m finished anyways, so I allow him to pull me backwards, into the hallway. I’m shaky on my feet as I follow him down it toward the foyer.

“I’m sorry,” I croak, my adrenaline still pumping.

Holy crap. I can’t believe I just did that. Anders is my alpha- what the hell was I thinking?!

“Don’t be,” Theo breathes. He takes my hand, traveling down the corridor in long strides. I struggle to keep up with him.

We reach the foyer and exit the packhouse through the front door, and as soon as we’re outside, it feels like some of the tension eases.

I’m standing on the front stoop trying to steady my breaths when Theo pulls me in by the waist, crushing his lips against mine, taking it away again. His hands roam- one to my nape, the other to my butt- as he kisses me hard, like he means it, like it’s the last thing he’ll ever do. My body melts into his, arms looping around his neck.

He kisses away my anxiety- all my nervous, jittery energy after that confrontation with his father. Then he pulls back, staring down at me with those beautiful hazel eyes, so much adoration in them that I feel like my heart could burst.

“Thank you,” he breathes, stroking my hair behind my ear.

I swallow hard, wrapping my arms around his body, pulling tightly into him. I press the side of my face against his hard chest, feeling the thump of his heartbeat against my cheek as he drops a kiss on the top of my head.

I know it isn’t my place to fight his battles for him, but damnit if I don’t feel good about what I just did in there. I doubt it’ll make a difference with his dad, but at least Theo knows that I’m squarely in his corner; that we’re a united front.

It wouldn’t matter to me if he never became alpha- I want to be with Theo for the man he is, not his position. It’s something he wants, though, so I’ll do anything I can to help him get it. That’s what mates are supposed to do, right? Support one another, lift each other up?

Hopefully I didn’t just make things worse for him. I don’t regret standing up for my man, but I wish I’d done it more thoughtfully rather than acting on emotion.

“Let’s go home,” I whisper, pulling back and gazing up at Theo.

He nods, taking my hand again, leading me to his bike. And even though things went to hell inside that packhouse, I know it’s going to be okay somehow. Because now, no matter what happens, we’re in this together.