Page 92 of Alpha Brock
I turn to Brock, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “It’s fine,” I whisper. His eyes collide with mine, and I give him a little nod. “Really.”
I knew this was coming; that I’d have to relive my days in captivity in the name of disseminating information to use against the enemy. Brock keeps a protective hold on me, shaking his head with a sigh. I love that he wants to shield me from pain and keep me safe, but Cole’s right. I’ve got the information they need, and it’s time I hand it over.
“I listened a lot while I was there, and I overheard quite a bit,” I begin, my eyes sweeping around the room. “As soon as Xavier heard about the six pack, he stopped caring about Denver. He only came here to get me. He thinks that if more packs hear about what you guys did, forming an alliance to defend against his takeover, they’ll follow suit.” I draw a breath, thinking back to the conversation that I overheard between Jake and Kara while I was shivering on the concrete floor. “So he’s planning to come at you guys full force, to take you out and make an example out of you. He thinks it’ll be his biggest victory yet, six packs at once. That when other packs hear about it, they’ll know he can’t be beat and just surrender to him.”
“Fuck that,” Theo spits, hopping up and pacing again. “If he thinks we’ll go down easy, he’s got another thing coming.”
“Wish you would’ve finished that asshole off,” Jax grumbles, side-eyeing Brock.
“You and me both,” Brock growls, his chest rumbling against my back.
“When?” Cole asks, his mouth set in a frown.
I give a little shake of my head. “Not sure. But…” I draw a breath, slipping my hand beneath Brock’s. He gives it a little squeeze of encouragement. “He made a big mistake by taking me,” I say, glancing around at the others. “Now that I’ve been near him, I’ve been having visions of him and the shadow pack. I had one yesterday, that they were gathering resources to plan their attack. Then another this morning, of when they carry it out. I couldn’t see when, only that it’s snowing.”
An uneasy silence settles over the room as everyone digests the information.
“So we’ve got time,” Gray says slowly, wringing his hands in his lap.
Cole looks to Gray, giving him a slight nod. “We’re behind you, just as you were for us.” His eyes flicker to me and Brock. “Even more so, now that we’re linked by blood.”
“Seven-pack just doesn’t have the same ring to it,” Jax jokes, and it elicits a few chuckles from around the room, breaking up the tension a little bit.
“We’ll work on it,” Gray smirks, rising to his feet and turning to pull Fallon up with him. “Guess we’re done for now, then?”
Cole sighs. “Yeah, let’s call it for the night. Grab some dinner and we can reconvene in the morning.”
I peel Brock’s arms from around my abdomen, sliding off of his lap. I spin around in front of him, and when he makes no move to get up, I lean over his body so we’re at eye level and rest my hands on his thighs. “C’mon… aren’t you hungry?”
Brock’s eyes flicker over my form before returning to lock with my own, his gaze sending a flood of heat straight to my core. A wicked smirk tugs at his lips as he leans closer and they brush mine. “Oh yeah, babe.Starving.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Brock
“You glad to be back?” Astrid asks from the passenger seat as we roll back into the six-pack territory a few days later.
“Yeah,” I admit, blowing out a breath. ‘Glad’ is an understatement- I’m fucking ecstatic. Relieved. Eager to return to some semblance of normalcy after the roller coaster ride I’ve been strapped into since leaving this place over a week ago. After experiencing the highest highs and the lowest lows, I’ll happily settle into something more mundane.
“How about you?” I ask, flicking her a sideways glance. She’s wearing black leggings and her white Estes Park sweatshirt, her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. As much as I love when she’s all dressed up, I swear she’s prettiest when she’s casual like this. Her natural beauty is beyond compare.
Astrid turns to look at me, her face lighting up with her smile. “I am, actually. I’ve missed the packhouse and the guys. Even Jared’s coffee.”
“Hey, you never complained about the coffee,” I tease, the corner of my mouth pulling into a smirk.
She holds up her hands, giggling. “I wasn’t complaining!” She points a finger at me, narrowing her eyes. “And don’t you dare tell him I was!”
“Hey, I get it,” I drawl, still ribbing her because I fucking love the sound of her little giggle. “You’re just used to that fancy Denver coffee, right Princess?”
“Oh whatever!” she laughs, throwing her head back against the headrest exaggeratedly. Her laughter quiets, and when I look over at her, I catch her reflection in the passenger side window, a wistful expression on her face.
I reach across the center console for her hand, sliding mine underneath and lacing our fingers. “We can go back to visit anytime, you know.” I give her hand a little squeeze.
“I know,” she whispers, squeezing mine back.
I’m sure it’ll be a difficult transition for Astrid to relocate to Riverton permanently, especially given how involved she was with her pack in Denver. That’s why when the other alphas and the squad left to head back to the six-pack territory, the two of us stayed in Denver for a few more days. Astrid would’ve happily gone back with everyone else, but I just felt like she needed it. Especially after everything she went through while being held captive.
I understand why the guys were eager to head back home. Gray and Reid have packs to run that they’d been away from for far too long. Jax and Theo were anxious to get back and work up a plan for training the current squad and recruiting even more ranks. If the battle is coming to our doorstep, we’re going to be sure to have a solid strategy, and now that we have a better idea of what we’re up against, we can train accordingly.