QUINN
I look up from the pint glass I’m filling from the tap, my heart stuttering as a tall blonde guy walks into the brewery.
Not him.
Damnit. I’ve had the same reaction every time a hot blonde guy has strolled through the doors of Cedar Ridge Brewery over the past week. That one-night stand with ‘sexy stranger’, as I’ve been referring to him, totally fucked me up; my head’s all over the place. Part of me is dying to run into him again, yet I’m slightly terrified that if I do, seeing each other in the light of day might ruin the well-preserved fantasy. And right now I’m living for the memory of that night- it has been my go-to fantasy since.
I’ll never forget his face, or the way he touched me, or how all that hard muscle felt underneath my palms. Not to mention the intensity of his gaze as I came undone beneath him. Clay who? That jerk is like a distant memory now. He never touched me like my sexy stranger did, never made my body come alive like that. Clay’s a boy; that guy was all man.
I jerk, startled, as I feel cold liquid hit my wrist. “Shit,” I hiss, pushing the tap back to stop the flow of the beer spilling out of the pint glass and onto my hand.
“What’s distracting you today?” Kyla asks teasingly, approaching me and tossing a bar towel my way.
I spill a little bit of the overflowing beer from the glass into the drain under the tap, picking up the towel and wiping off the pint glass before setting it down. “I’m not distracted,” I lie, wiping my hands.
I glance up at Kyla and she’s got her hands on her hips, staring me down. We both know I’m full of shit.
I finish drying my hands and fling the damp towel in her direction. She snatches it out of the air, using the same hand to point a finger at me. “Just tell me it isn’t Clay.”
“It’s not Clay!” I sigh exasperatedly. “I told you before, your little mission totally worked. I’m over that jerk.”
“Then what is it?” she asks, narrowing her eyes.
I don’t want to admit that I’m done obsessing over how things ended with Clay because I’ve moved on to obsessing over sexy stranger instead, so I go with a deflection.
“If you must know,” I begin, blowing out a breath, “one of my friends stopped by yesterday to ask if I’d consider joining the IT unit at the squad.”
“And?” Kyla steps closer, her interest piqued.
I shrug, twirling a strand of hair around a finger. “And I’m considering it, I guess.”
Kyla’s eyebrows shoot up.
I swallow, continuing. “I mean, I was interested in going out for the squad after high school, but I put everything on hold because Clay asked me to stick around. And now that we’re over… well, it kinda seems like the perfect opportunity to get away from it all, right? To start over?”
“So what’s there to consider?” Kyla laughs, folding her arms across her chest. “It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”
“I don’t know,” I sigh. “I don’t think my dad would be a fan of me moving out, for one. It’s just the two of us at the packhouse.”
Kyla nods sympathetically. I told her a while ago about how my mom died in an accident when I was eight, and now every time I allude to it just being me and my dad, she just gets this sad look in her eyes. I know she means well, but I also kinda hate the look of pity. I’ve been getting that same look for the past ten years every time someone mentions my mom, and honestly, it has tainted her memory a little bit. I don’t want to be sad when I think about her- I want to think of how joyful and vibrant and loving she was.
I guess everybody processes things differently. My brother Theo hasn’t ever been the same since Mom died; it seems like he’s mad at the world and takes it out on everyone around him. He and my dad don’t get along, so Theo doesn’t come around much. It’s a shame, really- I wish I was closer to my brother and that we could lean on one another more. We’ve got shared trauma, after all… our mother’s death will always be a part of us.
As if she’s reading my mind, Kyla asks “but isn’t your brother on the squad?”
I give a little nod. “Yeah, but we aren’t super close.”
The five year age gap could account for some of that, but it’s mostly the fact that Theo moved out when he turned eighteen and rarely comes back. His life is the squad, now.
“Well if your dad’s cool with him being on the squad, he’s gotta be okay with you doing it, right?” Kyla shrugs.
“It’s a little more nuanced than that.” I don’t really know how to explain all of my family drama to Kyla, nor do I really want to delve into it, so instead I grab the glass of beer that I just overpoured off of the bar. “Gotta deliver this quick.”
I walk away, bringing the beer over to a guy sitting by himself at table eight. Kyla checks on her own tables, and by the time we’re both back behind the bar, she’s back to interrogating me.
“So is that the only reason you’d turn it down?” she asks, leaning an elbow on the bar top. “Your dad?”
I sigh, sliding my hands into the back pockets of my black shorts. “There’s also the fact that Clay’s best friend is on the squad.”
Kyla narrows her eyes. “So? Wouldn’t you rather chance running into Clay’s bestie than Clay himself?”
She’s got me there.
“And didn’t you tell me once that your best friend is on the squad?” she asks, pointing a finger at me.
“Yeah, joined last year,” I say, and I can’t help but smile at the thought of my closest friend and the prospect of us getting to see each other every day again.
Kyla throws up her hands. “So I’m not seeing the problem here! You should go for it, girl. It sounds like you want to, you’re just making excuses. Clay’s not holding you back anymore, so why are you holding yourself back?”
I stare at my friend, a little dumbfounded. She’s right- I have been making excuses. Ever since my friend Brooke stopped by the packhouse yesterday to ask me to join the squad’s IT unit with her, I’ve been busy coming up with reasons why I shouldn’t. I don’t like change, but maybe Kyla’s right; maybe this is the fresh start I need. Maybe I need to stop being so damn stubborn and just take it.
“I’m thinking about joining up, myself,” Kyla says nonchalantly, reaching for the bar towel and wiping up a wet spot on the bar top.
I grin, folding my arms and leaning idly against the counter. “Oh yeah?” I’m picturing little Kyla training as a fighter- as amusing as it is, she’d probably be amazing since she’s scrappy as hell. Girl is small but fierce.
“Didn’t you hear?” She tosses the towel back down, her lips turning up into a mischievous smile. “There’s gonna be an open call for the squad. No cuts or anything, just a month of training to build up a reserve squad.”
Well that’s news to me. You’d think as the daughter of an alpha and the sister of one of the squad leaders, I’d be more in the loop.
I give a little shake of my head. “I hadn’t heard. Wait, are you actually considering it? Because that would be awesome!” I start talking faster, my excitement building. “If you did it, I’d totally go, Ky… say you’ll do it?”
The idea of leaving behind everything I know and moving up to the complex is daunting- but having Kyla with me would make it so much better. She has been my rock this summer, especially after everything went down with Clay. She never judged, just listened.
Kyla chuckles, rolling her eyes. “I said I was thinking about it, didn’t I? Tony has been talking about joining up and there’s no way I’m letting him go away for a month without me.”
And speaking of toxic relationships…
“If you go, I’ll go,” I say, waggling my eyebrows.
To my surprise, I’m actually feeling kind of excited about this now. My dad should be fine- he’s got a brand new beta that’s considering moving into the packhouse, so he may not be alone there after all. And if I go live at the squad complex, I’ll be able to spend more time with my brother and maybe even develop the strong sibling bond with him that I’ve always wanted. And I’ve already got a few friends up there, and Kyla coming would be the icing on the cake.
“I’m still deciding, but you’re definitely going,” Kyla says, stepping closer to me. She sets her hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes. “You need this, Quinn. You know this is the right move.”
I press my lips together in a tight line, giving a little nod of my head. “You’re right. I’m gonna do it.”
Kyla squeals, jumping excitedly like a little kid. “Yay! I’m so glad!”
I can’t help but grin at her enthusiasm. It’s nice to have a supportive friend like her.
I glance out at my tables in the brewery, suddenly realizing that I probably need to go check in on them. “We’d better get back to it,” I mumble.
Kyla composes herself, taking a breath and tucking her shoulder-length blonde hair behind her ears. “You’re right. If these are our last few days working here together, we need to make them count.” She tosses me a wink, turning to walk away. “Oh, and Quinn?” she calls over her shoulder.
“Hm?”
A devilish grin flits across her face. “I’ll take the table with your sexy stranger lookalike.”
My cheeks heat. So she knew the source of my distraction all along!
“Whatever,” I laugh, rolling my eyes exaggeratedly.
Busted.
JAXTwo weeks. It has been almost two weeks exactly since I hooked up with that girl in Stillwater, and I still can’t get her out of my head.This hasn’t ever happened to me before. Sure, I’ve had one-night stands with women, and some of them were pretty great- but my thoughts about this one are bordering on obsession.At first, I thought it was because the anonymity of the whole encounter made it feel more exciting, almost dangerous. But it wasn’t just that. It was her- everything about her. For starters, she was a total knockout; quite possibly the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever had the privilege of seeing up close. Then she had this air of confidence about her- she radiated energy and strength, seemed like the kind of girl who knows what she wants and doesn’t take any shit from anyone. And when the two of us were together… the sexual chemistry was combustible. You
QUINN I whip my little blue car into the parking lot of the squad complex, steering into a spot and slamming it in park. It’s my first day and I’m already late- what a great first impression. I hate being late for anything; it gives me major anxiety. Dad drew out our goodbye, like he didn’t want to let me go, and while I knew it was going to make me late, I didn’t have the heart to rush it. For the past five years, it has just been the two of us at the packhouse- this new chapter is definitely going to be an adjustment for us both. And speaking of new chapters and fresh starts, what a way to begin mine! I don’t even bother grabbing my bags- I can get those later. My only concern right now is getting in there. I’m only ten minutes late, so hopefully I’m not the last to arrive. I toss my keys into a tote that I sling over my shoulder, climbing out of my car. At least I’m already dressed for training in le
JAX I’m still in shock. My mouth is dry, my pulse is racing, and I feel like my stomach is gonna fall out of my butt. The search for my mystery girl is over, but it turns out that she’s the one single female in the six-pack who is off-limits: my best friend’s little sister. I can’t help but wonder whether the universe is playing some twisted joke on me right now. I knew there was something familiar about her that night, but I couldn’t quite place it. Seeing her standing next to her brother today, though, I wonder how the hell I could’ve been so blind- the family resemblance is striking. This is the sister I knew Theo had, but never met. The one he asked me to look out for just last week. Of course, when I agreed to that, I had no idea I’d already broken bro code in the worst way… Fucking hell, when I was telling Theo about my mystery girl that day, I was telling him about his own sister! In graphic fuc
QUINN I’m shoving the last of my clothes into a drawer when I hear a knock, glancing in the direction of the open door of the room in the squad dorms where I’m getting settled in. Brooke’s there leaning against the doorframe, dressed in ripped up jeans and a Journey t-shirt, a bright smile on her face. “Hey, stranger,” she greets when I turn to look at her, adjusting her black framed glasses on the bridge of her nose. “How are you settling in?” “Good,” I breathe, closing the open dresser drawer with my hip. I’ve already filled the dresser with all of the clothes I brought along. I straighten, waving Brooke inside with a hand. “Come on in!” She does, crossing the room and sinking down onto the edge of the bed, looking around. “This used to be my room, you know,” she says fondly. “Really?” I stride over to join her on the bed, perching on the edge beside her. I’ve still got my leggings and sports
JAX Okay, so here’s the thing. I know Quinn’s off limits. I know I royally fucked up by hooking up with her once, and I can never do it again. But there’s no harm in just looking at her, right? I mean, it’s still my job to train her with the other recruits, and the least I can do is honor my promise to Theo to watch over her for the next few weeks. I’ve gotta look at her to do those things, so looking can’t be off limits. At least that’s what I’ve been telling myself all morning, because I couldn’t keep my fucking eyes off of Quinn if I tried. She’s wearing a little pair of black workout shorts and a red sports bra, and the red bra immediately conjures up the image of that lacy red lingerie she was wearing the night we hooked up. I’m a creep- a total fucking creep- because I just kept watching her tits bounce in her sports bra as she was doing warmup laps around the track, and I was popping a semi by the time warmups
QUINN“How much farther?” Kyla groans, tossing her head back exaggeratedly.“Oh, c’mon,” Fallon urges, coming up beside Kyla and linking arms with her. “We’re almost there.”“She’s just being dramatic,” I laugh, following behind the two of them.“If I’d known we had to hike to get to this bar, I would’ve thought twice about wearing sky-high heels!” Kyla laments. “Carry me, Quinn?”I wrinkle my nose, shaking my head. “Nuh uh, you aren’t the only one in heels!”“It’s harder for us short girls,” Vienna says as she comes up on the other side of Kyla, giving her a little smile in solidarity. “We’ve gotta take two steps for every one of yours!”I just met Vienna tonight, but I already like her. She’s a spunky little Latina who seems to have a
JAX“I’m just sayin’, if you two didn’t already have mates, you’d be all for it,” I say, pointing my beer bottle between Gray and Theo.“I never said I wasn’t for it,” Gray clarifies. “I just think the full moon runs are primarily for pack bonding. And besides, one of the cornerstones of the alliance is that the packs remain separate and autonomous, so wouldn’t doing a run with all of the packs would blur those lines?”“Or would it make the six-pack alliance stronger?” I challenge.“It’s a nice idea Jax,” Reid sighs, leaning back on his barstool and raising his beer to his lips. “But I don’t think it’s gonna happen.”“Especially not if we’d have to get Anders, Damian, and Vaughn on board,” Brock adds.Reid grunts in agreement. Now that Brock has stepped into hi
QUINN “Hey, there she is,” Brooke calls as she looks up to see me standing in the doorway of the IT hub on Monday afternoon. She smiles warmly, striding over to the door to greet me. “I was beginning to wonder if you were standing us up!” “Had to catch a shower,” I say apologetically, smoothing my damp hair over a shoulder. “Training was a doozy this morning.” “No worries,” she chirps, taking my hand and tugging me further into the hub. “C’mon, I want you to meet everyone!” Brooke spends the next ten minutes taking me around and introducing me to the rest of the IT staff. There are thirteen of them in total- apparently there were nine originally, and I’m one of five newbies. Theo’s hanging around, too, even though the girl he was replacing just returned from her maternity leave. Everyone I meet seems really nice, with the exception of some lanky girl named Carly who appears to have beef with me for no reason. I