Connor (Strauss Bear Shifter Brothers 0f Colorado Book 4)

by Brittany White

  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.

  4

  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.

  She 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.”

  5

  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 our 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.

  He stopped when he reached a clearing in the trees and waited, chest heaving. It felt strange to be on his own, without his sleuth behind him. But Connor didn’t regret not telling his brothers. He had to keep them safe, that was his job as their alpha and as their brother.

  The scent of the wolves grew stronger and stronger. Suddenly, they skidded to a stop on the other side of the clearing. Three of them were the young wolves Connor had seen with Cody, but the fourth was larger than the others; a she-wolf with gun metal grey fur and piercing hazel eyes that Connor found strangely familiar. They stared each other down, the other three wolves circling the she-wolf like they were waiting for something.

  She’s the alpha, Conner realised dumbly.

  As if she heard him, the she-wolf tilted her head back and howled into the night. Connor responded immediately, rearing back on his hind legs to roar at them. If it was a fight she wanted, it was a fight she’d get.

  She gave him no warning. The other wolves continued to howl as she launched herself across the clearing towards him, her face peeling back into a snarl that he felt in his bones. Connor dodged and snarled back, swiping a massive paw at her.

  The two of them were a flurry of movement - teeth and claws snatching and ripping and biting - as the other three wolves watched, growling loudly when Connor tried to put any space between them and their alpha. Connor was a good fighter. Years of getting Cody out of scrapes and protecting Eric from bullies as a kid made Connor stronger, faster, and bigger than all of his brothers.

  But he couldn’t get any breathing space. Every time he blocked a bite and tried to retreat, he was lunged at again. She went for soft spots, his neck and joints. He wished he could shift back, ask them what the hell they wanted. The alpha might listen to him, but one look at the wolves at his back told him he’d be dead before he could get the question out.

  Shit. Pain exploded along his left side and the she-wolf lept back out of reach, blood dripping from her maw. She was beautiful, in a savage kind of way, the vivid red blood staining the grey fur of her muzzle.

  Connor staggered, losing his footing in the snow as he clutched at his side. That’s going to leave a scar, he thought. The wolf leapt again and he lashed out, catching her shoulder and spraying blood over the snow.

  The fighting pair paused, panting in the moonlight. This could go on for hours, Connor thought, feeling a flare of admiration for the she-wolf. She was a strong alpha; Connor couldn’t remember the last time he’d fought someone that matched him in speed and strength. The she-wolf looked back at him and Connor was struck again by how familiar those eyes looked. Brooke’s angry face flashed through his mind and he shook his head. Now is not the time to be thinking about her.

  They continued to stare at each other, neither of them willing to be the first to back down, and Connor found himself frowning. She looked… unsure. He glanced down, following her line of sight and saw the amount of blood on the ground. It looked like a massacre.

  This has gotten out of hand, those eyes seemed to say. Connor had to agree. But you started it. If Connor hadn’t been here, the pack would have gone straight for the lodge. To my brothers and their mates. To the cubs. He didn’t know for sure what they were after, but this had to stop. Now.

  He dropped to the ground, rolling around in the snow to pack the wound as best he could and then pulled himself up onto his hind legs and roared.

  The she-wolf howled in response and then turned, fleeing the clearing with a flurry of snow, the other wolves hot on her heels.

  When he finally got up to his suite, it took everything in his power not to rip the place apart. He felt restless, pacing the length of the room despite his wound flaring hot along his side. He was riled up and horny and confused. It was a shit cocktail. All he wanted to do was collapse onto his bed. His suit was ruined, caked in blood that no amount of scrubbing would be able to get out. He just wanted to sleep, but he knew he had to dress his wound. His brothers would have his hide if they found out he’d taken on the wolves without backup, alpha or no alpha, so he dragged himself to the bathroom and into the luxury shower.

  As the tension and the anger melted away he was left with the hardness of his cock between his legs and a flush of adrenaline that had him reaching for it under the hot spray. He moaned, jerking himself in firm strokes, his other hand scrambling at the tiled wall behind him. He threw his head back, a dull thud echoing as it knocked against t
he shower wall. His eyes slid closed and he saw hazel eyes watching him as he jerked off. Brooke. Her pink, plump lower lip caught between white teeth as she watched him. Connor’s hand sped up as the Brooke in his mind dropped to her knees, her long red hair plastering to her skin under the shower spray.

  “We don’t talk, Connor, we fight,” she said huskily and Connor bit his lip.

  “Maybe I don’t want to fight any more,” he ground out, knowing no one could hear him. “Maybe I want to be good to you. Be good for you.”

  “Can you do that?” He imagined her hand brushing his aside, sliding over his cock and he thrust up, eyes still screwed shut as he chased his orgasm. “Well, can you?” her imagined voice whispered to him.

  Yes! Connor’s entire body seized, preparing, and his movements stuttered. The way he’d felt as they drank together, she was like him; they were equals. He wanted to tell her that he understood her, that he wanted her to be able to rely on him.

  In his mind, Brooke laughed, deep and sexy, and bent to run the tip of her tongue over his cock.

  Connor came with a groan, slumping against the wall of the shower, feeling so much better and so much worse.

  6

  Brooke

  They were quiet on their way back to the apartment, Carlo supporting her weight as Brooke seethed in silence. She’d gone too far. A confrontation to stand her ground was one thing, but that was too close to an all-out war. Her shoulder was killing her. Connor’s bear had a hell of a right hook, and those claws were nothing to sneer at.

  Brooke thought again about what Connor would say if he ever found out she was a wolf. And the alpha at that.