Page 18 of The Denver Alpha

His redirection works. I nod slowly, drawing deep breaths in through my nose and forcing myself to bury my agitation and switch to professional mode. “I agree. Let’s line up two more bartenders and another cocktail waitress. Post a listing on the pack bulletin and have Jason conduct the interviews.”

Sam nods, swallowing down a gulp of coffee. “I could sit in on the interviews, if you want.”

“Nah. I want Jason to know we’re confident in his decision making as manager. Too much oversight and he’ll come to rely on it. Granting him the freedom to make his own choices for his club will give him more of a sense of ownership, so he’ll care more about how well it does.”

“Good call,” Sam agrees. I vaguely hear him say something else, but the words are lost on me because that’s the moment Juliet walks into the kitchen, stealing my attention.

At least she’s wearing clothes this time, but only barely. She’s thrown on an oversized white t-shirt that clings to her wet swimsuit and body like a second skin, the hem barely covering her ass. Her appearance distracts the hell out of me, and though I can hear Sam talking, I can’t reallyhearhim. Not over the sound of the blood rushing to my ears, of my pulse pounding.

She tosses me a flirty little smile as she breezes past, heading straight for the buffet table to start fixing a plate. I can’t take my eyes off of her, and I’m not the only one. Most of the warriors seated at the tables across the kitchen are craning their necks to get a look at the blonde temptation who just strutted into the kitchen like she owns the place. She starts scooping food from the trays onto her plate, her ass cheeks peeking out from beneath the hem of the t-shirt she’s wearing every time she leans forward.

I don’t like the way the guys are leering at her, whispering beneath their breath to one another. I can only imagine the lewd things they’re saying because my own thoughts probably echo them. They’re eyeing her up like she’s a piece of meat, and even though I’m doing the same thing, my wolf doesn’t like the other guys’ attention on her one fucking bit. He’s agitated, clawing at my chest, catching me off guard with his sudden defensiveness.

What the hell is that about?

“So after I sort things out with the new schedule for the pack warriors, I figured I’d swing by the Hive to check in with Rico and the IT team, then report back,” Sam says, his voice filtering back in through the haze in my brain.

I tear my gaze from Juliet and swing it back on him, shoving my wolf into the recesses of my consciousness and forcing myself to redirect my focus. “That’s fine,” I grumble, picking up my coffee mug and hazarding another sip. The liquid inside has cooled enough to take a big gulp and I swallow it down, contemplating Sam’s words. “Actually, I’ll join you. I was planning on sticking around here today anyways.”

Sam nods in satisfaction. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Jules!” Tobias calls from across the kitchen, and I lift my gaze to see him sticking up his arm and waving her over to his table. She spins around with her plate in hand, smiling brightly in his direction and heading that way.

Sam starts talking again, but I unintentionally tune him out once more as I watch Juliet slide into a seat next to Tobias, greeting him cheerfully. I can’t hear their conversation, but their body language says enough. They’re sitting shoulder to shoulder. Smiling. Laughing. Flirting.

My hands curl into fists, my wolf fighting to push forward again.

“Alpha?”

Sam’s voice sounds far away.

“Cole!” he barks louder, and I jerk my head in his direction, blinking.

He heaves a sigh, rolling his eyes. “Man, just fuck her already.”

My mouth falls open. Leave it to Sam to call me the fuck out. I snap my mouth shut and quickly regain my composure, shaking my head with a scowl. “Not interested.”

“Really?” Sam snorts. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“Fuck off,” I snap, pushing up from my seat at the table.

This isn’t me.

I need to get out of here.

For the second morning in a row, I’ve lost my appetite for breakfast and am dangerously close to losing my cool.

She’s only been here for three days.

Three days, and I’m uncharacteristically distracted, my daily routine has been thrown off, and my temper’s on a hair trigger.

If she’s going to stay here, something has to change.

And I have a good idea where to start.

8

I’ve been learning something new with every day spent at the Denver packhouse. Like how if you arrive too late for meals, most of the good stuff will already be gone. And how there’s an entire dresser full of swimsuits of all sizes in one of the guest rooms for visitors, which explains why the one Tayla wore the other morning was so ill-fitting. And that most nights, the young, single guys that live at the packhouse congregate in the game room, shooting pool and watching sports highlights on TV to unwind from their day. Tobias told me about it at breakfast, so of course that’s where I head the following evening when boredom strikes, curious to check it out.

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