The pack ran together almost every morning, but it wasn’t as important to him as his run with Britta was. He didn’t know if it was because the moon was out, or if it was because of Britta, but his runs with her were the highlight of his day. And he couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t like they really talked or anything. In fact, they didn’t talk at all. They just ran together throughout the forest for almost an hour, loving how they usually got a lot of the woods to themselves until they ran into another of their pack members. They dodged low-hanging branches and vaulted themselves off of stumps, racing and laughing in their heads as they reveled in the moonlight and their youth.
Did Grant find himself relying on these nightly runs more than he wanted to admit? Yes. It was the only time of the day that he could be alone with Britta. And . . . well, he wanted that more than he would ever truly admit. Even to himself.
Chapter 5
Britta was teaching a younger shifter, Liza, how best to defend herself in her human form when she saw them walk in. She felt the whole gym seem to stop and watch as four shifters walked in together. From where Britta and Liza were on the mats, she had a clear view of them. They weren’t from her pack. They were strangers.
Britta straightened up slightly as she took in what seemed to be the leader of the group, though it was obvious he wasn’t an alpha. Alphas had a sense about them, and every shifter, no matter what pack they were from, would be able to sense when they were with an alpha. This man was no alpha. But he was gorgeous.
He had dark-blond hair, blue eyes that seem to pierce everyone’s soul as he looked at them, and a smug look on his face that proved he knew that he was hot. Britta felt herself instantly hate him. She hated smug guys that just liked looks. Didn’t they realize there was more to life than whether or not someone was hot?
Even though she immediately had a negative effect as she watched him stroll through with his other shifters, all of them full of tattoos, she couldn’t help herself as she admired his body. This was a sculpted, muscled body. She hated that she admired it, and she cursed at herself for even thinking he was worth her time.
“These are some of the new shifters that have come to train,” Kato told her quietly as he sidled up behind her, walking quietly from where he’d been running in his human form on a treadmill. “Let’s go say hi and try to be friendly so that our shifters stop acting like they’re going to be attacked.”
Britta nodded and immediately followed him as he started walking to the group who was now by a water fountain. Britta nodded and slightly smiled at Liza, letting her know that she’d be right back before she left. The rest of the gym was still silent, still watching all of the new shifters. Wolves and humans alike were staring at the four, staying quiet and defensive. As Britta walked with Kato to introduce herself, she couldn’t help but notice that some of her pack members were standing with their arms crossed, watching every little thing these new shifters did. She shook her head in disbelief.
When did her pack become so nervous and defensive when other shifters came to town?
Oh, probably when Kaiser first came to town. And then the Elders. Thinking back on all the situations, a lot had happened to her pack. And they had every reason to be standoffish. They didn’t know any of these shifters or what they stood for. A nervous feeling began to grow in Britta’s stomach as she remembered the amount of shifters from around the nation–no, around the world–that said they wanted to come to Maine and train with the Moonlight Pack.
“Hey there,” Kato said as they finally came face to face with the four strange shifters. Britta caught the eye of the blond, making sure to straighten her spine and put some fierceness in her emotions. She would stand up for her pack and not apologize for the somewhat icy first impression. They had been through a lot, dammit. “You guys must be from the Hollow Lake Pack. I’m Kato, and this is Britta. I’m the second to the current alpha.”
“Finn,” the blond said, reaching out his hand to shake Kato’s, a somewhat smug, somewhat friendly smile on his face. When he reached out his hand to shake Britta’s, she gave him no smile. She stared at him and the others, hoping they could see that they were to be on their best behavior in Maine.
As she looked at the others, two females and another male, she could see some of them bristle under her stare. Good. She always found herself feeling a little badass when she made heavily tattooed shifters feel uncomfortable. Anything to boost up her badass image.
“Our pack is . . .” Kato trailed off, and Britta could tell that he didn’t want to apologize for them, either. And they shouldn’t. “We’ve been through a lot. We don’t do well with strangers anymore, I’m afraid.”
“And that’s why we’re here,” Finn told him, looking around and nodding at some of the shifters whose eyes he caught. “An attack on one shifter, regardless of what pack they are in, is an attack on all of us. We’re only sorry we couldn’t help out sooner. But now, we’re here. And we’re willing to learn and help you all in any way we can.”
Kato nodded, and even Britta felt herself relax slightly, though she still kept her arms crossed against her chest. And she still found herself watching every little thing these strange shifters did. She was already in bodyguard mode, it seemed.
“That’s good to hear,” Kato replied, nodding again. “I apologize that our alpha, Hann, couldn’t be here, but I’d be glad to show you all around.”
Finn, the defacto leader of the group it seemed, nodded and began to walk with Kato. The shifters in the gym, seeming to accept the little speech that Finn gave, decided to go back to their own training, though Britta saw that they still watched the shifters when they came near where they were working out.
Britta followed the group as Finn and Kato walked together, the other three shifters trailing behind them. Britta walked behind the whole group, where she could watch all of them equally. She didn’t like having her back turned against them, even if they did say that they were here to learn and help them. Words were words, and Britta knew that actions spoke louder.
So, the whole time Kato showed these new shifters around and introduced them to others of the Moonlight Pack, Britta watched them and waited for them to make one wrong move.
Britta was running on the treadmill when Finn strode up to her, that smug smile still on his face. She stopped running and popped her earphones out as she gave him a pointed look. She shut off the treadmill, walking fast until it slowed down completely as Finn leaned up against the machine.
She hated that smirk.
“Britta, right?” he asked, leaning towards her. She stared at him, a bit shocked that he would interrupt her workout where she obviously didn’t want to talk to any one–hence the earphones.
“Yeah,” she told him, her voice flat and her face a bit annoyed, a bit inquisitive. She arched an eyebrow at him, wondering what, exactly, he was talking to her for.
“I heard that you were the one to talk to for one-on-one training,” he told her, dropping his voice a bit and chuckling. Britta, now just annoyed, rolled her eyes and got off of the treadmill, slightly brushing his shoulder as she walked over to where she kept her water bottle. She couldn’t help but notice Errol, one of her pack mates, staring at Finn as he talked to her.
“Yeah, I am,” Britta told him, taking a long drink from her water bottle. She couldn’t help but notice the way Finn eyed her neck as she swallowed. “But I’m all booked currently, so you’re gonna have to find another, I’m afraid.”
“Oh, come on,” Finn smirked. “You can’t make an exception for me?”
“No.”
“Are you always this cold to handsome men that come asking you for help?” Britta rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t help the smirk that landed on her face. This guy was so over confident and smug, but he laughed as if he knew it. She could handle his laughing–she wouldn’t be able to handle it if he was actually serious and thought that highly of himself.
“No, I’m never like this to handsome men,” she told him, smiling
sweetly and trying not to giggle as he barked out a laugh. She should not be acting like this with him, but she couldn’t help it. In the matter of a few seconds, she found herself not caring that he could be a total asshole. She hadn’t been flirted with in a while.
And she was looking for a hubby, after all.
“Well, if your schedule opens up, will you let me know?” he asked her, wincing as though he was expecting another insult his way.
“Maybe,” she drawled, not being able to come up with another zinger.
“And if you’re free for dinner or a drink, maybe you’ll let me know then, too?”
Britta felt her heart quicken slightly, though she kept her face neutral as she set down her water bottle and stared back at Finn, making sure he saw her roll her eyes.
She settled with, “Maybe."
She instantly felt guilty as her mind turned to Grant. Wait–why should she feel guilty about this? She wasn’t doing anything with Finn. And Grant . . . well, she and Grant weren’t together, and that was that.
She could do whatever the hell she wanted, with whoever the hell she wanted. And she shouldn’t be feeling guilt towards Grant. All she had towards him was a crush–just one small crush that meant nothing.
But when Grant walked through the gym doors at that second, Britta straightened up and prayed that Finn would walk away, knowing that their conversation was over.
“I’m gonna take that as a yes, and hold you to your word,” Finn told her, smiling and leaning in a bit closer to Britta.
Britta looked over her shoulder and saw Grant speed walking over to her with an indecipherable look on his face.
Her heart did two things. First, it dropped as she realized what he thought he saw. But then, as she realized that he maybe, truly, cared about her, her heart slowly rose from the basement it fell into, lighting up as she realized that Grant was jealous.
And that she could work with.
Chapter 6
“Who’s this?” Grant asked immediately as he walked over to where Britta was standing with some guy. And said guy was way too close to Britta for Grant’s liking.
Grant winced slightly as he heard the sharpness of his first question. He didn’t even say hello first. He really needed to get himself together when it came to Britta.
“Why, hello to you, too, Grant,” Britta responded, crossing her arms and looking at him questioningly. Grant couldn’t help but notice that she took a slight step away from the guy, though.
Grant tried to reel in his anger and surprise at the situation that he saw unfolding before his eyes. First off, it looked like Britta was flirting with some guy, and Grant, very obviously, didn’t like that. He regretted how he bombarded them during the conversation, but he couldn’t help the emotions he was feeling. He just hoped that he could salvage the situation and not tip off how he truly felt about Britta. Because telling a girl you like her while accosting another man wasn’t exactly a turn on, he’d heard.
But this was also a shifter he’d never seen before–this was someone new. He wasn’t a part of the Moonlight Pack, and Grant sure as hell didn’t know how he felt about that. He knew that there were packs around the nation, and some said around the world, that had talked about coming to Maine and learning, while also helping the Moonlight Pack in this new world the shifters lived in. The uprisings from rogues were increasing, and they had Elders like Gabriel and the death of Kaiser to thank for that.
Grant couldn’t help but think of Kaiser and his friends that he’d brought to town. As Grant stared at this new shifter, he crossed his arms. And when his mind replayed his mother’s death, he imagined that there was blood all around him, pulling him back to the moment when he realized his life had forever changed.
In a blink of an eye, the images and memories were gone, and he found himself staring into the blue eyes of the unknown shifter. Grant tensed, pissed for more than one reason now.
“Finn,” the shifter said, putting out his hand so that Grant could shake it. Grant looked down, didn’t move his own arms to shake, and just stared back at Finn, his arms still crossed across his chest.
“Don’t be a dick, Grant,” Britta butted in. Grant looked over at her, her blue eyes piercing into his soul. She looked pissed, too.
“Sorry,” Grant said, deciding that he was going to try to calm down. But only for Britta. “The last time we had a bunch of strange shifters come to Maine, we had a bit of a problem. I don’t think it’s wrong for me to wonder who the hell this guy is.”
When Grant looked back over at Britta, after glaring at Finn, of course, he saw that her piercing gaze had softened. So, that was the right thing to say. Well, it was better than admitting his jealousy was firing up big time from someone just talking to Britta.
“This is Finn, he’s from the Hollow Lake Pack,” Britta filled him in, crossing her arms across her chest as well. Grant noticed that she wasn’t as upset, and was softening up to him with each word she said. “He and a few others from his pack have come to train and learn from us. They’re here to help in any way that they can in the war against hate and evil rogues.”
“That’s right,” Finn interjected. Grant looked back to him and saw that he was trying to be nice to him. Grant still didn’t like him, though. “We’re just here to help and learn, man. As I told Britta and Kato, an attack on one of us, is an attack on all of us.”
“Well, that’s all nice to hear, and I hope we can hold hands and sing together at a campfire one day,” Grant replied dryly. “But I’m gonna have to see it before I believe it. Your loyalty, I mean.”
“After all you guys have been through, that’s understandable,” was all Finn would say.
Grant stared at the shifter for a few seconds longer before nodding his head at Britta to talk to him away from the blond. He wanted to talk to her alone, and Britta smiled politely at Finn as she walked with Grant over to one of the many benches that littered the wall in the gym.
“You know what it looked like over there?” Grant asked Britta as they both sat down on one of the benches. Britta rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall, obviously knowing where Grant was heading with the conversation.
“What, Grant? Since you obviously know exactly what it looked like,” Britta replied. Both of them kept their voices down so that Finn wouldn’t overhear them. Finn was now talking to another shifter who’d walked over to introduce themselves to the new shifter in town. At least some of the pack were being friendly to the strangers.
“It looked like you two were being friendly,” he replied. He didn’t have to say anything else. Britta knew exactly what he meant. And Grant only hoped he was hiding his disbelief and jealousy well.
“Well, maybe you should mind your own business.”
“I just don’t think you should associate yourself with guys like that,” Grant whispered to her, his voice growing slightly. She just rolled her eyes at him again, almost in disbelief.
“Since when do you care?” she questioned him, her whisper rising slightly as well. Grant’s heart quickened when her blue eyes flashed in annoyance. “What’s your deal?”
“Nothing,” Grant shrugged, somehow able to keep his jealousy under wraps. For now. “I just don’t want any rumors spreading about you and him, that’s all. And you know there are already rumors spreading about you guys just from that flirty talk you two were having before I saved you.”
“Grant . . .” Britta trailed off, angry. “Maybe you should mind your own business. I can take care of myself, in case you haven’t noticed. I don’t need you protecting my image, or whatever the hell it is you’re trying to say you’re protecting. Now, I have to go meet with Kato because I’m teaching a defense class, and I don’t need you putting me in a shitty mood.”
Before Grant could stop her or say anything else, Britta angrily got up off the bench and walked away. She quickly said goodbye to Finn, explaining that she had to meet with Kato about her new teaching job, and then headed towards the back offices that the gym held.
Anger rolled off of Grant’s body in waves, and when he caught Finn’s eye from across the room, it took everything in Grant to not snarl at him.
Grant didn’t do well when he was jealous. And he really didn’t like the fact that Britta was flirting with this stranger more than she was flirting with him.
Shaking his head, Grant walked towards the punching bags. He needed to get himself under control.
Chapter 7
Britta didn’t think she would ever be calm when an Elder was near.
Michael, probably the friendliest Elder there ever was, and ever would be, was a friend to the Moonlight Pack. If it wasn’t for him, Thea wouldn’t be with them anymore, and Kaiser and his murderous rogues would’ve probably taken more lives than they originally had. The Elder was old friends with Hann, though Hann was normally pretty quiet about how they actually met and became friends in their long lives as leaders.
Britta knew that Michael was one of the oldest Elders there was, but his age wasn’t known by anyone–other than himself, of course.
Elders were the oldest shifters alive, and there were rumors they were actually centuries and centuries old. Since they had some type of magic spell that kept them alive, they had strong powers that regular shifters didn’t have. They also were pretty scary. They dressed themselves in long robes and hoods so as not to put anyone in unease from their pale and scarred skin, but their faceless voices tended to still give people the creeps.
Right now, Britta was watching Michael walk into the gym, alone with no one behind him. He was a regular at the Moonlight Pack hang outs now, but everyone still stopped and stared as the Elder walked in. Hann patted him on the back in the middle of the gym as they greeted each other, and Britta found herself staring at the scarred, pale white hand that grasped Hann’s own in friendliness. The skin was stretched over a small, skinny, long hand–it wasn’t that far from a skeleton’s hand.
Grant (Moonlight Wolves Book 3) Page 3
