Billionaire Bear Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset

by Brittany White

  Cody was silent for what seemed like a long time, mouth a straight line, before finally muttering, “No.” He looked away from Connor, whose bear was satisfied with the show of submission. Cody gulped audibly but continued speaking, “We just gotta watch out for them. If they mistake that for weakness, we’re gonna have a problem.”

  “Don’t think I don’t know that,” Connor sighed, grimacing at the thought of a new wrinkle in what was supposed to be the best Black Bear Lake Lodge season ever.

  The next day, Connor couldn’t stop thinking about the wolves. If they became a real problem the whole thing could easily turn into a war, depending on how big the pack was and how aggressive they were. It was hard to tell from just the three young wolves he’d come across. He went about his business that day and kept having the familiar urge to go bother Brooke at Cole Couture.

  Except he didn’t want to pester her like usual. Normally, he got a kind of thrill out of watching the way her cheeks flushed and she fluttered her eyelashes every time she looked at him, even while telling him he was ridiculous or that he had bad taste in suits. It made his blood hot, driving him crazy, and at the same time he had the feeling she truly did not like him, which made the whole thing at once confusing and exciting. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

  Yet, this time, he wanted to go to her for solace. He wanted to take her out for a drink and just talk, not banter. He wanted to tell her about the wolves, and the worry that was a constant itch under his skin. But they didn’t just talk like that. They chatted lightly, playfully antagonizing each other until she demanded he leave or she went on a break or he caved and left by himself.

  They weren’t friends.

  He found himself wishing they were, and instead of going to bother her, Connor brooded on his own. He resisted the urge to talk to Eric and Nathan about the wolf thing quite yet. He had to keep in mind that him talking about a problem was different from the others talking about a problem. If the alpha was worried about some troublesome wolves it was a real issue, and they would make a big deal out of it. Better to keep it to himself for now, just until he knew for sure if it really was an issue or not.

  After dinner, Connor retired to the guest lounge. There was a good crowd and some of them recognized him. He was forced to chit-chat with some of the important guests, making sure they felt special, before finally finding a dark booth to himself with a glass of that brandy he liked.

  When Connor spied Brooke walking through the door, he brightened up quickly. He waved her over and saw her hesitate, standing frozen in the middle of the lounge. She had changed into her regular clothes; her jeans hugged her hips and her ass. Her cozy red sweater fell slightly off one of her creamy white shoulders. Connor’s mouth watered.

  There was a group of businessmen at a table and one of them whistled at Brooke. They were already half-drunk. She sneered at them and sighed, heading straight for Connor’s table. Rage mixed with the alcohol shooting through his blood. He was nearly overtaken by a desire to punch the whistler for even daring to come at Brooke that way, but he resisted. He took it as a good sign that she was headed this way.

  “You’re joining me,” Connor stated firmly, feeling far too pleased as Brooke sat across from him in the booth. He waved the bartender over.

  “Not like there’s much choice,” Brooke said, gesturing at the rest of the lounge. It was pretty crowded, but Connor did spy a few empty seats Brooke could have taken and felt his smile widen.

  The bartender came over. Connor nodded at Brooke, who ordered a gin and tonic. Then it was just the two of them.

  Connor threw back a sip of his brandy and said, “You seem tense.”

  She huffed; her jaw clenched. Her head tilted to the side, eyes flashing in a way that reminded him of a wolf shifter. He shook the thought off; he was trying to take his mind off the wolf shifters, not continue to obsess over them the way he had all day.

  “Just some...family stuff,” she said, sighing. “I have a young cousin. Told him to stay out of trouble, but did he listen? No. He’s going to get us all…” She glanced up at him as if only just realizing he was there. “Nevermind.”

  “Oh, I know how that is,” Connor said. “My brothers, they’ve been better since they all fell in love, but even now they’re not exactly easy.”

  “Exactly,” Brooke muttered. “I just… It’s hard being in charge sometimes.”

  “Are you in charge?” Connor said, tilting his head.

  “Maybe not here,” Brooke’s cocktail came and she took a long swallow. He watched her shoulders drop and her brow relax. “But in my personal life, yeah. With family I’m definitely in charge. I don’t mind it. It’s just a lot sometimes. A lot to be responsible for.”

  “I know how that goes,” Connor said easily.

  “No, you don’t,” Brooke said, and he looked up in surprise. “I mean I’m sure you think you do. But you have more money than you could possibly ever need and you’re powerful. You have nothing to worry about. You don’t know what it’s like at all.” She glowered at him, lips pursed. Brooke sounded almost angry, and he frowned, agitated and a little baffled.

  What had he ever done to her?

  Connor opened his mouth, about to offer help or, more likely, about to offer to fix whatever was wrong. Because that’s what he did. That’s what all alphas did. They took charge of problems and fixed them. People didn’t want to fall in line or see what was right, what was best for them, and alphas made them. But he saw the flash in Brooke’s eyes when she looked at him. She wouldn’t like that.

  She was like him, and he couldn’t explain how he knew that.

  “You want to talk about it?” he offered instead. If she was like him, he could understand her in a way nobody else could.

  “We don’t talk, Connor.” She knocked back half of her drink. “We fight.”

  He frowned and reached across the table, reflexively about to cover her hand in his. But he stopped short. “Maybe I don’t want to fight anymore,” Connor said. His mouth was a tight line. He felt a surge of desire for Brooke when she looked into his eyes. He’d never wanted to fight with her. He’d never even thought of what they did as fighting. He didn’t like the thought that she did.

  She drained the rest of her drink and got to her feet and the way the light struck her tawny hair and softened the hard glint in her eyes took his breath away. “Give it some time,” she said, sounding a little sad. “We won’t have a choice.”

  Then she left, and Connor finished his drink alone, wondering what on earth had just happened.

  60

  Brooke

  Talking to Connor had riled Brooke up. If she were honest with herself, it had made her horny as hell. She was pissed at him and at Carlo and at the world in general; leaving the lounge, she was buzzed on top of it. She wanted to shift. She wanted to go out to the woods behind the lodge and have a run all by herself. But she was solidly in bear territory near the lodge, and that was the entire problem to begin with.

  “Stupid, goddamn...” she muttered to herself as she made her way back to the shop, now locked up for the night, where she’d left her things. She unlocked the shutters and let herself into the dark and eerie boutique. She passed rack after rack displaying designer threads that she couldn’t afford. Even with her commission, she couldn’t afford such nice things because she gave so much of her money away to others in the pack who needed it for their kids, or for their rent, or for anything else. “But Connor Strauss wouldn’t know anything about that,” she said out loud. “Rich asshole…”

  She found her parka behind the counter and put it on, grabbing her bag and coffee thermos before crossing the store and locking up the shutters behind her again.

  Except he wasn’t an asshole, she thought, as she made her way through the lodge and out the front lobby and into the snowy night. It would have been so much easier if he was an asshole.

  Even if Connor Strauss had never known hunger or struggle, he was a good man.

  S
he didn’t want to have to fight a good man.

  Especially a good man she wanted in her bed. She hated how much stronger that desire got every day.

  She sat in her car for a long time, staring blindly out through the windshield, not thinking about turf wars, or unwanted feelings, and definitely not thinking about Connor fucking Strauss.

  When she finally started the engine and sped off she was much more sober but no less pissed.

  I specifically tell them not to hunt on bear territory and what do they do? A growl of frustration reared at the back of her throat. She’d known the risks when she’d moved the pack so near to Black Bear Lake - the Strauss brothers were well known, even back in Nebraska, for being one of the oldest and most powerful sleuths in the area. But Brooke had been desperate; her pack was finally growing again, and she needed - now, more than ever - to step up in her role as their alpha.

  Carlo was standing outside the apartment when Brooke pulled up, arms folded defensively over his chest. He was pouting.

  Always did have a guilty conscience, she thought wryly. She stopped in front of him, raising an eyebrow when he didn’t move to let her in.

  “Brooke, I-”

  “Save it,” she interrupted. “I don’t wanna hear one word until the others are here, okay?”

  Carlo nodded quickly and followed Brooke inside. “You want a drink?” he asked, making a beeline for the kitchen. “We’ve still got some of that extra strength coffee in the back.”

  Brooke wasn’t listening, collapsing onto the couch and toeing off her shoes with an irritated sigh. Her wolf was pissed, going over Connor’s words again and again in her mind.

  I know how that goes, he’d said. Brooke scoffed. Did he? Did he know what it was like to drag your pack halfway across the country just so they could hunt in peace? Did he know what it was like to go to sleep every night and not know how the hell you managed to get through another day? To feel utter despair and downright terror at the possibility of another unexpected expense, because it wouldn’t take much for your entire life to fall to ruins? She didn’t think so.

  “Brooke?”

  Brooke jumped, uncurling her hands from where they were angrily balled in her lap. Carlo was standing at the kitchen counter holding up a can of coffee. Brooke sighed, closing her eyes. She didn’t normally drink very often, but she’d already had that cocktail and after the day she’d had. She said, “I’ll take some of the gin Lucas keeps under the sink.” Brooke smiled at the somewhat stunned silence that followed, eyes still closed.

  “How did you know about that?”

  “Please, he carries a flask around at all times and swigs from it like a drunkard. He doesn’t have a subtle bone in his body.”

  When Lucas and Simon slunk into the room, they could immediately tell they were in trouble. If Brooke wasn’t feeling so annoyed she might have laughed at how uncomfortable they looked. All three of them sat on the couch opposite her. They were only barely old enough to hunt without her, and, looking at them now, it was so obvious just how young they still were.

  “Okay,” Brooke said, sitting up. “Who wants to go first? And I swear to God, if one of you says, ‘they started it’ I will kick your ass so hard your great, great, grandcubs will feel it.”

  Simon and Carlo looked at each other and then to Lucas, who sat between them, scowling. He was the eldest of the three and was developing a serious attitude problem. Their eyes met and Brooke lifted her chin, not backing down in the face of his childish silence.

  “We didn’t do anything wrong,” Lucas grouched eventually.

  Brooke sighed, leaning forward. God, she had a headache.

  Lucas continued, “We were hunting in the forest, came across a couple of bears and things got tense.”

  Brooke raised a sceptical eyebrow. “So, you didn’t intentionally piss off two of the Strauss brothers?”

  “Okay so maybe we did-”

  “Goddamnit, Lucas.”

  “But we were chasing a bobcat! How are we supposed to hunt in such a small area, Brooke? It’s not our fault the bears get too touchy when we come half a mile onto their ‘sacred land.’”

  Her wolf snarled in agreement. It’s not like he’s wrong. The mountain territory should be more than big enough for them to hunt comfortably without taking the bear’s prey. Brooke and her wolves may be new to the area but they had a right to as much land as the bears had. She looked at the three boys in front of her and couldn’t find it in herself to be mad at them.

  “It wasn’t just us, anyway,” Lucas added, crossing his arms. “Vince and Angela got chased out of disputed lands, just the other day. The bears don’t care about their land; they just don’t want us anywhere near their precious lodge.”

  Brooke downed her gin angrily. Goddamned bears. The boys were right. Their pack needed more territory if they were going to survive here. Bears and wolves had never gotten along, at the best of times, but Brooke had been willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

  “Look. I’m frustrated too, but you can’t go around openly picking fights with them, okay? If their alpha was there you could have been seriously hurt!”

  “We could have taken Connor Strauss,” Simon piped up, voice trembling even as he sneered. Brooke scoffed. Three wolves barely older than cubs didn’t have a hope in hell of taking down an alpha bear as powerful as Connor. Brooke had never seen his bear, but she didn’t need to. As a human he was broad, tall and muscular; his bear would no doubt be even more impressive. Brooke shifted slightly in her seat, squirming as a throb of desire pulsed through her. Bear or not - asshole or not - Connor Strauss was dangerous. And Brooke still wanted him so much it was driving her crazy.

  “Just- you need to be smarter about this. Be careful and stay out of their way-” All three of the younger wolves' hackles rose and Brooke snarled back in warning. “Let me finish! Just because I want you to be careful doesn’t mean I don’t want you to defend yourselves.”

  She felt the familiar itch to shift and, mind made up, she climbed to her feet. If they wanted to turn her pack away from lands they didn’t have any claim to, well, what was that if not starting something? She was tired of standing down, rolling over, and letting everyone take what they wanted from her and her pack.

  “Get your coats on, boys,” Brooke said quietly. “We’re going hunting.”

  61

  Connor

  After Brooke left, Connor stayed in the bar to finish his brandy. He still felt confused as to what he’d said to make her walk out like that.

  “We don’t talk, Connor. We fight.” She was right, there was no point in denying it. That’s how their relationship worked, but Connor had thought that was just their way. Arguing was something he was good at, growing up with three brothers had made him good at thinking on his feet and even better at taking a joke; he’d thought Brooke had felt the same way.

  Thought or hoped?

  Connor sighed. He was tired of fighting. He would always be there for his brothers, but seeing each of them find their mate, their harsh edges smoothing out as they settled down - it was something he longed for. He wanted someone to share his worries with, someone who understood how he felt and could make him truly happy. He wanted, more than anything, for Brooke to be that someone.

  Two drinks later and the noise from the bar was starting to make his head pound. The last thing he needed in the morning was a hangover. Time for bed.

  Connor only managed to get halfway to his suite before someone called his name. Connor sighed. So close. He turned, catching sight of Jack as he hurried up the stairs towards him. Jack was one of the older shifters employed around the lodge. He stopped in front of Connor, his usually happy and relaxed face tight with a frown.

  “Hey Jack, what’s wrong?”

  “Sorry to disturb you Connor, were you going to bed?”

  Connor sighed but smiled. This was his job after all. “I was but it’s okay. What can I do for you?”

  “Four wolves just crossed over into o
ur territory. I saw them while I was working on the grounds.” Jack continued, “I know it’s only four, hardly an army, but they were howling like crazy. I reckon they were looking for a fight.”

  Connor tensed. Fuck. This really was the last thing he needed. His bear reared its head and Conner growled. Maybe this is what he needed. All the frustration and confusion swirling around his head…“I’ll take care of it,” he said roughly, already itching to shift.

  “I’ll go find your brothers-”

  “No. I can handle it myself.” He didn’t want to involve his brothers if it wasn’t necessary. They had their mates to think about now, their cubs. Connor didn’t want anything to take that happiness away from any of them. He could handle this. Jack was looking at him in confusion and Connor shot him a feral smile. “It’s only a couple of wolves, Jack, I’ll go down and sort it out. We don’t want a turf war over this. Not if we can help it.”

  Connor shifted as he reached the tree line, revelling in the feel of the cold wind rushing through his fur as he ran. He struggled to catch the wolves’ scent, still not used to a wolf’s smell. Connor slowed, ears pricked and scenting every few steps.

  There. A few miles East - four wolves. The scent grew stronger by the second. They were moving fast towards the lodge. Connor’s fur prickled. That really was too close for comfort. He picked up the pace again, navigating through the trees effortlessly. He knew these forests like the back of his hand. He was certain he’d be able to cut the wolves off before they could reach Black Bear Lake Lodge.

  Confusion was still spiraling through Connor’s mind. It didn’t make sense, what had set the wolves off? He knew their two species weren’t exactly the best of friends, but as far as he knew, none of his sleuth had done anything to prompt the wolf pack into action.