Despite seeing a sweaty Carter as soon as we walked into the gym, everything was going fine as I negotiated with Kaiser for a group rate. I'd send every one of my pack to him for training. We needed better fighters, more methodical and tactically proficient fighters. As it was, BloodMoon tended to brawl, or at least go for the melee. And that wasn't how you expanded to become the only pack in the city. And the state.
Evershaw thought he was the only wolf with ambitions, but I'd had my eyes on a bigger prize far longer than he had.
And as if my thoughts summoned him, Evershaw and a handful of his misfit toys showed up at the gym to challenge Kaiser, and me, and Carter. It wasn't an accident. Nothing happened to Miles Evershaw accidentally. I braced for a hell of a confrontation as Carter marched Natalia across the room and put her some place safe, and waited for the SilverLine alpha to make his move. Instead, he just watched me. Said something about me telling him something in the tone he always used: condescending asshole.
But Carter surprised me. The moment Evershaw eyed me, surveying me like he owned me, the lion reacted. He bristled, and something close to a roar rumbled through his chest. My cheeks heated as Kaiser raised his eyebrows and studied Carter, trying to figure out what pissed off the lion. I really didn't want him to find out. I folded my arms over my chest and stood my ground. I couldn't give an inch, otherwise I'd never gain it back. "I've got nothing to say to you, Evershaw."
Before he could respond, Kaiser elbowed between us and planted a hand on the other alpha's chest, while pointing his other massive mitt in my direction. "Until we have the agreement ratified by the Council, BloodMoon and SilverLine will have to schedule their time separately. I will not tolerate this stupidity in my gym. You can growl all you want about it, but I've never heard of a wolf taking on a grizzly or a polar bear, and you've got both of them right here. So which one of you wants to test me?"
I felt, suddenly, like my mother had scolded me for fighting with Rafe. At least Kaiser didn't use my middle name. I refused to speak first, staring Evershaw down. His teeth flashed white as he made an angry noise, then fixed Kaiser with a dark look. "We'll be back at two."
"Fine." Kaiser folded his arms over his chest and nodded at the door. "See yourselves out. And next time, leave your backup dancers outside, Evershaw."
Evershaw looked on the verge of speaking once more, particularly as he looked at me, then turned on his heel and strode out. His pack followed, though more than one turned back to look at me. Or maybe at Kaiser, who was still damn impressive, and still wearing only a towel. Once the door shut behind them and they disappeared around the corner, I exhaled.
The bear studied me for a long moment, then canted his head at the office. "We'll finish up with our agreement. And Carter?" He waited until the lion looked at him to point at the corner. "Please retrieve your human before she damages Owen."
I looked back in time to see Natalia pinching Owen's side and lecturing him about something, no doubt that he'd been eating too much jam and cake. Or that he hadn't been eating enough jam and cake. Carter sighed and shook his head as he moved in that direction, rubbing his shoulder. "I swear, I can't take her anywhere."
As much as I wanted to see what Nat did when Carter tried to redirect her, I followed Kaiser to the office and took my seat in front of the desk. Kaiser sat behind the battered wooden contraption, held together with rubber bands and duct tape, and leaned his elbows on a few stacks of paper as he watched me. "What was all that about?"
"Evershaw is a —"
"I meant Carter." The bear remained remarkably expressionless. "Is there going to be an issue if you're here fighting and he sees someone take a swing at you?"
"No idea what you're talking about." I prayed the warmth in my cheeks wasn't visible.
Kaiser fixed me with a look. "Don't bullshit me, O'Shea. I know what I heard."
"There's nothing going on."
He didn't believe me. His nose wrinkled and he rubbed his jaw. "Then why does Evershaw have his knickers in a twist?"
"Because he's an asshole?" When the bear opened his mouth again, I leaned forward and tapped the contract we'd been negotiating. "Do you want to gossip about our mutual acquaintances, or do you want to finish this up?"
His head tilted, and Kaiser's dark eyes narrowed. I refused to speak or look away, even though my pulse pounded in my throat. I didn't want to challenge the bear; Kaiser had always been nice to me, to my pack, and I didn't want to burn that bridge. Plus a wolf pack would be hard-pressed to subdue a bear his size, and my pack would take at least thirty minutes to get there. So a lone wolf had to be a smart wolf.
Kaiser exhaled loudly. He leaned forward as well, until we were nearly nose-to-nose, and his voice huffed into the silence. "We'll finish this up, O'Shea, but take some advice, free of charge. Keep an eye on both those men. I don't know who's more dangerous for you."
"Carter would never hurt me," I said under my breath, wanting to scoot my chair back so I could breathe. "And Evershaw isn't that stupid."
"You're wrong on both counts," he said, impassive. He picked up the agreement and tossed it across the desk. "Regardless, you'll pay this amount monthly for unlimited access. There will be a unique code on the door for your pack to use. If I find out they've given the code to anyone, the contract is terminated and you're not welcome back. Understood?"
"That won't be a problem." I pushed aside unease from what he'd said. Kaiser couldn't really think that Carter would hurt me. Or that Evershaw would try something really underhanded. Evershaw generally kept his asshole-ness upfront and in your face. I studied the sheet and tried not to flinch. That amount of money...the bar would definitely have to stay open every night to try to pay the tab. But I had to invest in the pack if we wanted to take over the city. So I took a deep breath and held out my hand. "It's a deal."
He shook my hand with his enormous grip and I could have sworn my bones creaked. He nodded, said, "Deal," and rose from behind the desk. His towel started to slip and I turned on my heel, cheeks red. I could maintain my composure facing his well-furred chest and eight-pack abs, but I wasn't stone.
Out in the gym, Carter argued quietly with Natalia. She scowled when she saw me, giving me a half-hug before heading for the door. "Carter tattled on me to Logan, so I've gotta get home before the ole boy loses his head. You'll be okay?" She shot a dark look at the lion.
"We've got it sorted." I waved her off. "I'll call you later."
She strode off, muttering into her phone, and I faced Carter. He shook his head, watching as she left, and took a deep breath. "For a second there, I thought Logan might kill me."
I snorted, fighting a smile. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Working out." He gestured at his gym clothes and the rapidly drying t-shirt. "I keep the books for Kaiser, so he lets me work out here for free."
"You keep the books? Like, the finances?"
"Yeah." Carter's smile grew, a little amused as he studied me. "I've got an MBA, I'm qualified."
"Shut up." I put my hands on my hips as I stared at him. "You have an MBA?"
Carter laughed, shaking his head as he looked at the ground, then ran a hand through his hair. "Apparently there's a lot you don't know about me."
"Well…"
"So let's change that." Carter glanced over his shoulder at where Kaiser spoke with Owen near the office, his towel once more secure, then smiled at me. "Have dinner with me."
"I can't." A surge of adrenaline made my hands shake. I couldn't. If anyone saw us out together, they would assume we were dating and then everything would get way too complicated.
"That was fast." He laughed and started unwrapping his hands. "Call it a business meeting. Bring the records for the bar and I'll take a look at them."
"A business meeting." My stomach wobbled, and I clenched my hands together behind my back. It was tempting, especially when he smiled at me and got that mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "I don't know if…"
"Tonight." He glanced at his phone, then frowned. "Seven o'clock. You want me to pick you up, or will you meet me there?"
"I…" My thoughts couldn't keep up with his plans, and I struggled to form a coherent response. "I'll meet you. Where?"
"Haven't decided yet." He glanced at me, eyebrow raised, and the smile grew. "I'll call you in a bit."
He headed for what I assumed was the locker room and I stared after him, still a little uncertain about how I agreed to go on a date with him. Shaking my head, I caught Kaiser watching me from the doorway of his office, arms crossed. I started to tell him it wasn't what it looked like, but the words died in my throat. It was exactly what it looked like.
So instead, I held up a hand to cut off whatever he hadn't said, and headed for the door. "I'll cut you the check tomorrow, Kaiser."
At least the air outside cooled the burn from my cheeks, and my helmet hid the rest as I stalked to the motorcycle at the curb. Every time my phone pinged with a new message, a frisson of excitement ran through me and I both hoped for and dreaded the arrival of Carter's text.
By the time I got back to the bar, I could hardly concentrate enough not to lay the bike down in a heap, and I strode through the back without acknowledging anyone. Rafe sat in the office, frowning at spreadsheets full of information. I paused in the doorway. "Hey. You busy?"
"Nah." He rubbed his forehead as he tossed the paper aside and leaned back in his chair. "You were up early."
He always knew when something bothered me, part of the price and gift of being twins. I eased into the office and kicked the door closed behind me. "Met Nat for brunch. We went to Kaiser's gym and I got the price for a monthly pack membership. We'll need to sell a shitload of beer."
He snorted and put his feet up on the desk, staring up at the ceiling with a sigh. "Shit, Bee. I don't know if the bar is the way to do that. We might need to branch out."
"I've got a plan for that." Lying to Rafe was always difficult, if not impossible. He could read me like a book. "I'm meeting Carter tonight to go over the books, see where we might be able to improve things. Maybe branch out."
"Carter?" Rafe frowned, his dark eyebrows more like fuzzy caterpillars. "He handles Nat's restaurant, so maybe he'll have something useful to say. You want me to come?"
"If you want." I shrugged, even though my heart sped up to think of bringing Rafe on my date with Carter. That wouldn't go over well. "But who'd cover the bar?"
My brother's head tilted as he studied me. "You go. Just let me know what he says. And tell me what's really bothering you, because I know something's up."
My fingers drummed on the arm of my chair, and I put my boots up next to Rafe's on the corner of the desk. I studied the boots, not him, as I went on. "Met with Evershaw last night."
Rafe's eyes narrowed. "You didn't say anything."
"He wanted to talk to me alone." I held up my hands. "I just wanted to hear what he had to say. And it's a good thing you weren't there, because you might have killed him. He wants to combine our packs, align against the rest of the shifters, and take me as his mate."
I knew him well enough to see the rage in his eyes and the bulging vein in his temple, despite that Rafe looked only moderately interested in what I said. He read between the lines well enough to know there wouldn't be room for him in Evershaw's pack. He swallowed before he spoke. "I see."
"I told him no way." I shoved to my feet and tried to pace in the cramped office, but only made it three steps before I had to about-face. "Obviously. But he's pushing for only one wolf pack in the city. Which is why we have to get our shit together. We can't count on the lions, or the bears, or anyone else. Just us. Just pack."
Rafe stared at something only he could see, and after a long silence, he looked at me. "Were you tempted?"
"By Evershaw?" I snorted, giving up on the pacing to just stand there. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course not."
"Bee," he said, and leaned his elbows on the desk. "Look. We might have to consider breaking up the pack, or one of us splitting off. There aren't a whole lot of wolves that would mate with you but let me stick around as alpha. And there aren't a whole lot of wolves that would mate with me but let you stick around as alpha. We've got a unique set-up, and it's worked for us, but I don't know if it's sustainable long-term. You know?"
Swallowing grew difficult. "You're fucking kidding me. You want me to go with Evershaw?"
"That's not what I said." Rafe sighed, and rubbed his face. "But come on, Bee. I know you want kids. I want kids. That's not going to be easy the way things are now. How long do we wait?"
We looked at each other in silence for way too long. My heartbeat echoed in my ears and I felt like I was drowning. "We worked too hard for this, Rafe. Gave up too much to just walk away."
He eased to his feet. "I'm not walking away. Just… — think about how this can work for us, with families, going forward."
I wanted to hit him. Instead, I walked out of the office and headed for the basement to start hauling kegs and crates up for the night.