girls, but he didn’t date waitresses at the club. Finn didn’t have
that stupid rule though.
“Do you have plans for dinner?” Finn asked then
remembered he was going to Declan’s party at the club. Yeah, competing with his
brother never went well. “Not tonight, but are you free another evening?”
Gigi stared at him with her rich brown eyes and
he felt needy under her gaze. He suddenly wasn’t a grown male, but a teenage
boy who really wanted the pretty girl to like him.
“I don’t work Monday night. Silas says it’s a dud
night.”
“Monday night would be perfect,” Finn said,
quickly realizing he hadn’t actually asked her out yet, so she hadn’t actually
agreed to anything. “Would you like to have dinner with me on Monday?”
Gigi smiled instantly and he felt good and bad at
the same moment. Good at how he could make her smile and bad at how she
possessed so much power over him.
Once she agreed, Finn got her phone number and
address. She lived four blocks from him and two blocks from Anton. This last
tidbit wasn’t good news, even if Anton also had a rule about not dating
waitresses at the club. Still Anton was an Alpha and he was a good looking guy
who women felt safe around. As if Finn didn’t have enough to worry about with
Declan as competition, now he had to worry about Anton too.
Finn remained with Gigi while they checked out. Then
he grudgingly said goodbye, watching her walk down the street with her two
grocery bags, one filled with just English muffins. If he didn’t have his
brother’s lunch to get to, Finn would have followed Gigi home like a lost puppy
looking for attention.
Instead he slipped into his truck and drove towards
his mother’s house. Ainsley still lived in the house she shared with Seamus
back when Finn and Declan were boys. Their father died the way many Weres in
the Circle did in some territorial dispute. Seamus was a solider - not far up
on the food chain - and his death made no difference one way or another to the
pack. Ainsley never forgot how little her husband mattered and she refused to
let her sons grow up to be soldiers when they could be leaders instead.
A decade earlier, during a wild time as packs
changed hands from one short lived Alpha to another, Declan and his best friend
Anton seized control of two packs and became opponents in the pack wars. An
unsteady peace now existed. Yet Weres in each pack viewed Roger’s slice of the
Circle up for grabs and pressure was mounting for someone to take it.
The constant fighting and political posturing
kept Finn from joining the pack like his brother. Instead he owned an auto
shop- located in Declan’s territory and hoped to live a quiet life, separate
from his family’s power struggles. This decision angered Ainsley, but most days
Declan seemed happy to have his little brother out of the crossfire.
Declan was sitting on the porch of the small
Craftsman-style house which lay near the outer perimeter of the Circle and on
the cusp of the suburbs. While Ainsley allowed Declan spend lavishly on her
home, updating it as a way to pamper the mother who raised them on her own for
so many years, she refused to move into a nicer house in a better neighborhood.
This was the house she shared with Seamus and this was the house she planned to
die in. No arguing the matter or any other matter since Ainsley was a bulldog
who never lost an argument. In fact she was still arguing with Seamus over one
thing or another.
“Happy birthday,” Finn said, strolling to the
porch.
Declan grinned and stood up, his massive build
shadowing Finn. Whereas Declan was thick with muscles and menace like their father
had been, Finn’s build was leaner like Ainsley’s.
“Get a haircut, hippy,” Declan said, taking the
card his brother handed him. “Oh, sweet, I’ll put it next to my bed.”
Laughing, Finn glanced into the house. “Am I
late?”
“Not particularly.”
“I brought wine.”
“Why do you even try?” Declan teased
that stupid rule though.
“Do you have plans for dinner?” Finn asked then
remembered he was going to Declan’s party at the club. Yeah, competing with his
brother never went well. “Not tonight, but are you free another evening?”
Gigi stared at him with her rich brown eyes and
he felt needy under her gaze. He suddenly wasn’t a grown male, but a teenage
boy who really wanted the pretty girl to like him.
“I don’t work Monday night. Silas says it’s a dud
night.”
“Monday night would be perfect,” Finn said,
quickly realizing he hadn’t actually asked her out yet, so she hadn’t actually
agreed to anything. “Would you like to have dinner with me on Monday?”
Gigi smiled instantly and he felt good and bad at
the same moment. Good at how he could make her smile and bad at how she
possessed so much power over him.
Once she agreed, Finn got her phone number and
address. She lived four blocks from him and two blocks from Anton. This last
tidbit wasn’t good news, even if Anton also had a rule about not dating
waitresses at the club. Still Anton was an Alpha and he was a good looking guy
who women felt safe around. As if Finn didn’t have enough to worry about with
Declan as competition, now he had to worry about Anton too.
Finn remained with Gigi while they checked out. Then
he grudgingly said goodbye, watching her walk down the street with her two
grocery bags, one filled with just English muffins. If he didn’t have his
brother’s lunch to get to, Finn would have followed Gigi home like a lost puppy
looking for attention.
Instead he slipped into his truck and drove towards
his mother’s house. Ainsley still lived in the house she shared with Seamus
back when Finn and Declan were boys. Their father died the way many Weres in
the Circle did in some territorial dispute. Seamus was a solider - not far up
on the food chain - and his death made no difference one way or another to the
pack. Ainsley never forgot how little her husband mattered and she refused to
let her sons grow up to be soldiers when they could be leaders instead.
A decade earlier, during a wild time as packs
changed hands from one short lived Alpha to another, Declan and his best friend
Anton seized control of two packs and became opponents in the pack wars. An
unsteady peace now existed. Yet Weres in each pack viewed Roger’s slice of the
Circle up for grabs and pressure was mounting for someone to take it.
The constant fighting and political posturing
kept Finn from joining the pack like his brother. Instead he owned an auto
shop- located in Declan’s territory and hoped to live a quiet life, separate
from his family’s power struggles. This decision angered Ainsley, but most days
Declan seemed happy to have his little brother out of the crossfire.
Declan was sitting on the porch of the small
Craftsman-style house which lay near the outer perimeter of the Circle and on
the cusp of the suburbs. While Ainsley allowed Declan spend lavishly on her
home, updating it as a way to pamper the mother who raised them on her own for
so many years, she refused to move into a nicer house in a better neighborhood.
This was the house she shared with Seamus and this was the house she planned to
die in. No arguing the matter or any other matter since Ainsley was a bulldog
who never lost an argument. In fact she was still arguing with Seamus over one
thing or another.
“Happy birthday,” Finn said, strolling to the
porch.
Declan grinned and stood up, his massive build
shadowing Finn. Whereas Declan was thick with muscles and menace like their father
had been, Finn’s build was leaner like Ainsley’s.
“Get a haircut, hippy,” Declan said, taking the
card his brother handed him. “Oh, sweet, I’ll put it next to my bed.”
Laughing, Finn glanced into the house. “Am I
late?”
“Not particularly.”
“I brought wine.”
“Why do you even try?” Declan teased
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