Page 28 of Alpha Brock

“So?” Brent challenges, dropping his arm from her shoulders and pulling open the fridge. “Let’s keep the party going, babe! Kick those heels off.”

I can’t watch this for another fucking second- my wolf just keeps rising closer and closer to the surface, threatening to tear through and tear my annoying-as-fuck brother to shreds.

I shrug my jacket off and toss it on a hook near the door, striding toward the stairs.

“Are you not having another?” Astrid asks, and I pause to turn to her, finding her gazing in my direction.

I shake my head, dragging a hand through my hair. “No.”

She leans one hip against the island, resting her hand on the other and giving me major fuck-me eyes. “You sure?”

This girl is definitely testing me. My eyes wander down her small frame, drinking her in. She may be tiny, but she’s got curves in all the right places. Her body is sexy as fuck, and the way she’s looking at me right now is difficult to walk away from.

But I’m going to. Because it’s who I am.

“Gotta get some sleep,” I grumble, looking past Astrid to my brother as he cracks open a couple of beers. “You two should do the same.”

I turn back for the stairs, stalking toward them and ascending them quickly. Heading for my room, for the comfort of my bed. Though I doubt I’ll get much sleep tonight.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Astrid

I’m groggy when I wake up the next morning, and the first thing I notice is the throbbing pain in my left temple. This is exactly why I try to pace myself when I drink- because even shifters can get hangovers, and they fucking suck.

The second thing I notice is the snoring coming from the other side of the bed. It catches me off guard and I sit up abruptly, peering down beside me at a still sleeping Brent.What the hell did I do last night?

I pull the sheet tight to my chest, pressing my eyes closed and rubbing my temple with my fingertips. My memory is a little hazy, but it slowly starts to come back to me. Brent kept me up drinking with him, and even when I insisted on going to bed, he followed me to my room, still chatting away. I went in the bathroom to change into pajamas, and when I came back out, Brent was sprawled out on my bed. He propositioned me, I politely declined, and then I guess we just kept talking until we both passed out?

I squint my eyes open and look down to see that I’m under the covers, while Brent is on top of them beside me. We’re both fully clothed- except he’s wearing the jeans and t-shirt that he was in last night, while I’m dressed in the pajamas I changed into. That at least provides confirmation that, while hazy, my memory of last night is intact. Brent may have had other ideas when he first came into my room, but in truth, we both just fell asleep.

Something else comes to mind about last night, too-I had another vision!Right after Brock went upstairs, his brother grabbed my arm to get my attention, and BAM! It hit me like a semi-truck, another full-blown vision. This one was definitely of the past- of Brock and Brent as kids. Again, it felt like I was there; for a moment I was transported to the well-manicured backyard of a packhouse in the springtime. It wasn’t this packhouse, though- it must’ve been the one that the brothers grew up in, before they moved to the six-pack territory.

When the vision started, I was hit with an intense feeling of fear and sadness, which I must’ve been picking up from Brent’s side of the memory because the child version of himself was sitting on the ground crying with his face buried in his knees. A young Brock was crouched down next to him, trying to console him.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell Mom and Dad,” young Brock said, stroking his brother’s back.

Brent looked up at him, sniffling. “You promise?” he asked.

“Of course,” Brock nodded. “I’m your big brother, I’ll always have your back.”

Brent wiped a tear from his cheek. “Even when you’re Alpha?”

Brock smiled. “Especially when I’m Alpha.”

Then, just as quickly as it started, the vision faded away. I was back in the kitchen, blinking at Brent, trying to decipher what I’d just seen. Given the trainwreck that my first experience of having a vision was, I decided to keep it to myself rather than letting Brent in on what had just happened, and he was so drunk that he didn’t even pick up on the fact that my mind had slipped away for a moment.

I guess last night’s vision proves that the first one wasn’t just a fluke, though I still don’t know what they mean. I’m not sure if the peeks I got into Brock and Brent’s past are formative moments in their lives or just random memories. It seemed like the vision I picked up from Brock struck a nerve, but then again, maybe he was just freaked out that I peeked into his head. I’ll have to ask both brothers more about the visions I had to determine their significance, but I suppose I should probably try to get a handle on this newfound gift of mine before delving deeper into what it could all mean.

I throw back the covers and climb out of bed, my head still throbbing.Coffee. I need coffee, stat. And maybe some water. And Tylenol. With any luck, my shifter healing will catch up within the next few hours and I’ll be as good as new, but this morning is going to be rough.

I glance at the bedside clock, thankful that I at least didn’t oversleep. I’ve still got about thirty minutes before it’s time for me to head out - plenty of time for coffee. I leave Brent snoozing in my bed and head for the kitchen to get my caffeine fix.

As I turn from the hallway into the kitchen, I’m surprised to see Brock already posted up next to the coffee pot, sipping a cup. While I’m sure I look like a disheveled mess right now, still in my pajamas, he’s looking nicely put together in a pair of athletic shorts and a hoodie, his long hair tied back neatly in a man-bun. I smile when I see him, even though he’s wearing his trademark frown.

“Good morning, sunshine,” I chirp, pulling open a cabinet and grabbing a mug. I move over to where Brock’s leaning against the counter, reaching beside him for the coffee pot and peering up at him as I fill my cup. He’s looking more surly than usual this morning, his nostrils flaring as his eyes meet mine.

“Did Brent fuck you good last night?”