Page 7 of Alpha Brock
Now my mind is definitely fucking with me, because I swear I feel sparks dance between our palms on contact. Her hand is fucking tiny in mine, and as I shake it, there’s a flash of something in Astrid’s eyes- it’s like they change for a moment, her smile faltering. Before I can make sense of it, though, she quickly regains her composure and the smile’s back in full force.
“Brock, right?” she asks as she pulls her hand back.
This girl is annoyingly perky.
“He’s the one you’ll be staying with,” Theo supplies.
Gray clears his throat to speak. “We thought you’d be more comfortable at one of the packhouses as opposed to the complex,” he adds.
“Sure,” Astrid nods, and it’s then I realize that my eyes haven’t left hers since she stepped in front of me.
I turn away, and she takes that as her cue to move on to Reid, offering him a handshake.
When I agreed to put up Alpha Cole’s sister in my packhouse, I didn’t expect her to look like… well,that. The guys and I all discussed where Astrid should stay, and we decided that it would be best for her to stay at one of the packhouses so she could remain accessible to her pack- after all, we don’t want a bunch of random people coming and going from the complex while we’re trying to train and strategize. We figured that she’d probably prefer to stay with Brooke or Quinn, since she knows them from IT, but they both live at the complex. That left Gray, Reid, and me as options for hosts- and both Reid and Gray’s betas have small children that live at the packhouse with them, making it a little chaotic. So, I became the default option, and I was fine with it… up until about five minutes ago. I didn’t think it’d be a big deal to host her, but too late I’m realizing that I clearly didn’t think this through.
“So what now?” Astrid asks cheerfully, looking to Gray. She must’ve gathered that he’s the ringleader of this circus.
Gray tucks Fallon under his arm, offering Astrid a small smile. “Well, we figured you might want some downtime after your trip here, so Brock will take you up to the packhouse in Riverton and you can get settled in. Then tomorrow morning you can come back here and get the lay of the land, work with IT…” he shrugs. “Whatever you want.”
“Sure, sounds good,” Astrid replies.
She looks to me again, and it takes me a second to realize why she’s staring at me, as well as an elbow to the ribs from Reid.
“Uh, you ready?” I ask, flicking my head toward the gate.
She sinks her teeth into her lower lip and nods, her curls bouncing around her face. “Lead the way!”
CHAPTER FOUR
Astrid
When my brother said he was sending me up here, he conveniently forgot to mention how fucking hot the guys who run the security team are. I’m talking breath stealing, heart stopping, reality defying hotness- when I got dropped off here, I had no idea I was practically stepping into a Chippendale’s calendar. Sure, I might’ve been a little resistant about leaving Denver and missing out on battle preparations there, but now that I know I’m going to be shacking up with a Jason Momoa lookalike for the next few weeks? I’m suddenly okay with it.
I just met Brock, but I can already tell that he’s the strong silent type. I try to make conversation on the ride over to Riverton, but all he gives me in return are grunts and one-word answers. It doesn’t bother me, though- we don’t really know each other yet, and I’m sure he’ll warm up eventually. I’ll just kill him with kindness until he does.
We arrive at the packhouse in Riverton and Brock hauls two of my four large suitcases out of the trunk of his Escalade, leading me up the front walk and inside. As I step over the threshold, I look around, taking it all in- the packhouse in Riverton is a lot smaller than Denver’s, but it’s well maintained and far cozier. There’s an enormous great room straight ahead full of comfortable looking furniture, likely for pack gatherings. The open concept kitchen and dining room sit to the right, and to the left there’s a staircase and a lower hallway- both likely leading to the bedrooms.
“Brent! Jared!” Brock barks out, and I jump a little bit, startled.
A few moments later, two guys appear from a corridor between the kitchen and dining room that I hadn’t noticed before- andseriously, are all of the guys here just drop deadgorgeous? One of them is definitely related to Brock; he’s got the same olive skin tone, emerald eyes, and harsh jawline. There are some distinct differences, though. Brock’s taller and more built, his wavy brown hair is longer, and the most notable difference is the devious smile that this other guy is sporting- I haven’t seen Brock smile yet, but with his prickly demeanor, I’m guessing it isn’t a regular occurrence.
The second guy doesn’t appear to be related to Brock and guy number one, but he’s handsome in his own right- buzzed dark hair, deep brown eyes, and a killer body. His smile is so warm; it’s one of those smiles that has a way of immediately putting you at ease. My eyes slide between the two guys as they come closer, and I suddenly feel like I need to do a drool check.
“This is Brent and Jared,” Brock grumbles, gesturing to the two of them. “My brother and my beta.”
Hold up- these are my new roommates?!
I blush, lifting my hand to give an awkward little wave. “Astrid. Nice to meet you both.”
“Astrid,” Brent repeats, raking his eyes up and down my body slowly. “Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”
My blush deepens when he tosses me a wink.
“Nice to meet you,” Jared says, approaching and sticking out his hand for me to shake. As I do, it strikes me how kind his eyes are, and I get a warm feeling that spreads out through my limbs- my ‘gift’ at work.Good vibes from Jared.
“You guys wanna grab her other bags from the trunk?” Brock asks gruffly, throwing a thumb over his shoulder.
Brent looks to the two huge suitcases that Brock carried in, his eyes widening. “There’s more?”