Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 42

Carter

We had been watching a zombie marathon when Briar dozed off against my shoulder. I gently pulled her to me as I shifted my body to stretch out with hers on top of mine. It was no use being uncomfortable. I brushed some hair out of her face and contemplated the day's events as I unconsciously played with the ends of her hair.

Miranda had been the worst choice I had ever made. I’d never seen her like that before. I walked into the bar, asking for a round of shots, which I had no business drinking. I had been mourning Jake and was already deep into my drinks before I arrived. When she approached me, I was so deep in my grief that I was numb and just wanted to feel something. It wasn’t something I was proud of; lying her over the bathroom sink of the grimiest bar in town and sticking it to her. It had been her idea to begin with, the alcohol had gone so far to my head I beraly remember a damn thing. 

Miranda had taken the brief encounter as a go-ahead for a relationship, which turned out to be a surprise to me. I went with it because it felt good for a hot minute, that was until her true colors began to emerge. I had asked for some space, and she showed up at my door. I’d never invited her to my place. She had pushed her way in and tried to, I guess, get me to change my mind by pushing sex on me. We argued, and when I ended it, she came at me, and that's when Tucker came flying off the back of the couch. Who would've thought a cat would be my most prominent defender? When I sent her packing, Rosie had been out back running the woods but had found her way out front, hackles raised and growling. I’d gotten a lot of grief from her crew since then, but in the end, I was the Beta, and they were my subordinates. 

No doubt they would have their sights on Briar now. I sighed; she didn’t need that shit right now. Being close to Briar would put a target on her back from that lot. However, they had another thing coming if they thought they could touch one hair on her beautiful, honey blonde head. I was the stand-in Beta, was I not? So if they didn’t take the hint, there would be hell to pay.

Briar snored softly, and I grinned, before pulling the Afghan off the back of the couch to cover us. She was so peaceful, I should just push the problems off to another day and let myself enjoy her like this, not looking over her shoulder, everywhere she went, like I did in town today. She may not have realized, but I noticed. She’d done well with the more accepting folks I’d tried to steer her to. She was kind and respectful, which would give her some brownie points with the pack; she needed all she could get right now. Martha and Henry’s confirmation would buy me time with him, but right now, that was the best I could hope for. I shifted carefully not to disturb her as I slipped my phone from my pocket.

I texted Mazzie.

Carter: I need you to watch the house tomorrow. I’ll take care of the routes. I have some info coming in that I need to handle.

Mazzie: Figured you were pissed at me after last time.

Carter: Just stay out of sight this time, she doesn’t know about the wolves of Divide yet.

Mazzie: ‘Yet?

Carter: ‘It’s complicated.

Mazzie: Bullshit.

Carter: When I have the answers myself, I’ll clue you in. I don’t want to say what I’m thinking unless I’m sure.

Mazzie: Well, you should know Miranda is already on a tirade. Amber told me to tell you to watch out cuz the bitch means trouble.

Carter: Figured as much.

Mazzie: Why did you let a sweet thing like that wander into that bitch’s web anyway? Melissa said she was so sweet when she came into the bakery.

Carter: I didn’t mean to. She likes bikes. I guess Miranda’s shop caught her attention before I realized. 

Mazzie: You're getting messy, Carter. It’s not like you.

Carter: I’ll get my head on straight once I have some answers.

Mazzie: Best do it quick, before someone else comes knocking.

Carter: I know.

Mazzie: I’ll be on babysitting duty bright and early. Get some shut eye.

Carter:‘You too. Night.’

Mazzie: ‘Oh, and keep your dick in your pants. She's hot, I get it, but use your other head.’

Carter: I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole right now, not after what she's been through. Rest assured, I’m maintaining my gentlemanly status. Not that I’m not struggling.

Mazzie: That bad?

Carter: Yeah, that's why it’s important you keep an eye out for her when I can’t be here.

Mazzie: I see she has hit your protective instincts hard?

Carter: You have no idea.

Mazzie: Alright, for you, I’m invested. I’ll try to keep a lower profile this time.

Carter: ‘erfect, Night, Mazz.

Mazzie: Night, Carter.

My mind swam with all the possibilities that it could come up with when the reports came in. My brain was trying to jump ahead of them and figure out how to protect the woman sleeping in my arms. She needed this place, this pack, and her family. Sleep didn’t claim me until late into the night. I woke to the sounds of my alarm, only a few hours later.

Briar stirred in my arms, her sleepy green eyes popping open. They went wide suddenly as she pushed off my chest to get up. 

“Holy shit! I’m sorry,” she said, stumbling to her feet. I sat up with a shrug as she looked at me, stunned.

“You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you,” I tried to put to rest her embarrassment.

“You should have woken me up. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you like that,” she stammered.

“It’s fine, Brair, we fell asleep on the couch, nothing more. It’s not a big deal. I gotta head into work.” I said, as I stood. Rosie yawned, getting up from her place on the rug, and Tucker stretched lazily on the back of the couch. “You can go back to bed. No use both of us having to get up early,” I suggested, and she shook her head no. “Alright then, I’m hitting the shower,” I let her know, heading up the stairs.

When I made my way back down, dressed in my uniform, damp hair slicked back, I was greeted with the aroma of coffee and bacon cooking. When I rounded the corner, she had been sipping from a mug as she tended the bacon. A pile of scrambled eggs sat covered under a glass pot lid on the island. When the toaster went off she jumped. Her features contorted into something wild and fearful. She took a deep breath and composed herself before grabbing the toast and digging into a pad of butter.

“What’s all this,” I asked, pretending I hadn’t just seen her jump. 

She spun to look at me and shrugged with a soft smile. “I’m hungry. Figured I’d try to make breakfast real quick before you took off,” she let me know.

In the light of the kitchen, I noticed the bruising had faded down to a yellow, the deep purple now gone with just a few traces. The worst of it settled into parts of her face, a bright, angry red. She was healing fast, faster than I expected a human to. If that was all she was. I doubted it. If Martha and Henry claimed her, and I bet if she had a wolf, it was suppressed by years spent in the human world without a pack.

I sat, the building anxiety of all the possibilities I could find today, brewing in my head. She placed the bacon and toast on the counter before me and sat next to me on a stool. She began filling her plate. I did the same. 

When she took a bite, she braced herself. I grabbed her free hand resting on the counter. “Can you pass the ketchup? I asked, my thumb rubbing along her forefinger, she swallowed before she reached across the counter, and I covertly leaned my knee into hers before letting go of her hand. She went back to her breakfast, squirting an ungodly amount of hot sauce on her eggs. I chuckled to myself, and we both dug in. She seemed to eat more easily like this, and that was just another confirmation that made today's job that much harder.