His brow furrowed. “Oh. I can sense that you’re very strong, so I just assumed …”
“It’s not a position that holds any interest for me. It’s a lot of hard work.”
“I can imagine,” he said before looking down at the necklace once more.
Her current primary, Dani, had held the position for almost a decade. As such, she helped young omegas learn how to shield, trained juveniles to control their gift, taught adult omegas how to counsel people, arranged pride events and celebrations, and regularly met with the Alpha to keep him updated on the emotional welfare of the pride.
Truthfully, Bree thought herself a shit omega. To be good at it, you needed to be friendly, upbeat, considerate, and tactful. Bree was none of those things, and no one could ever describe her as “comforting.” People didn’t go to Bree if they wanted to be fussed over. They went to her if they wanted brutal honesty, someone to simply listen, or help cooking up a plan of vengeance.
“My mate has a thing for opals, so I think she’d prefer this one,” said the lion.
“Is it her birthstone?” Bree asked.
“No, she just likes them.”
Bree’s pulse skittered as Alex slipped behind the counter and sidled up to Valentina. He was so close that his dark scent—citrus, smoldering wood, and a velvety musk—swept over her and stirred up her hormones.
The lion bit the inside of his cheek. “Would you be able to try the necklace on so I can see what it looks like when worn?”
It wasn’t an unusual request. “Sure,” Bree agreed.
“I’ll clip it on,” Alex said. No, declared. His smoky, whiskey-drinker’s voice feathered over her skin and ignited her senses. He always pitched his voice low. And yet, there was always a punch of pure power there.
Bree gave him a tight smile. “It’s fine, but thanks.” She shouldn’t have met his eyes. Rookie mistake. The second they locked gazes, sexual tension flickered to life … just as it always did. And they both ignored it … just as they always did.
He took the necklace from the lion, moved behind her, and swept her hair aside. His fingertips brushed her nape as he clipped on the jewelry, and sparks of electricity danced over her skin, making the little hairs there stand on end. She felt the weight of the opal pendant settle a few inches below the hollow of her collarbone.
“It looks better on,” said the lion.
“Jewelry usually does,” she told him.
After a little more deliberating, the lion finally decided on the opal necklace. Bree reached up to remove it, but warm hands gently batted hers away.
“I got it.” Alex’s fingertips once more tickled her skin as he unclipped the chain and then settled her hair back into place. Handing her the necklace, his mouth grazed her ear. “I want to see you in my office before you leave.” With that, he walked away.
She inwardly groaned. All she wanted was to go home and crash.
Barely holding back a sigh, Bree carefully boxed up the jewelry while the lion fished a credit card out of his wallet. Using the computerized cash register, she rung up the purchase and then bagged it.
The moment the door closed behind him, leaving the store empty of customers, Valentina turned to Bree. “It is impressive you did not snap at big cat,” she said in her thick Russian accent. “Dithering people annoy me. He is too weak to be lion. You know I despise weakness.”
James nodded. “Yes, we do know. You remind us of it often.”
Totally true. “He just wanted to be sure he had the perfect gift for his mate. I can’t fault him for that.”
“Well, I applaud you for not grabbing him by the throat,” said Elle. “You’re admirably good at remaining calm.”
Bree smiled. “I get that trait from my dad.”
James snorted. “Your father, God rest his soul, didn’t remain calm. He acted calm and claimed to forgive the people who pissed him off. Then he did shit like shoot your asshole-ex in the ankle from his balcony.”
“That was an accident—he was cleaning his gun.” Bree looked at Elle. “The person who deserves applause is you. You took down that sticky-fingered human earlier before Greg even got near him, and you did it while taking a call.”
Elle shrugged. “When you’re a person who’s looked into the eyes of the Antichrist daily since you were a child, not a lot can rattle you.”
James sighed at his niece. “Damian is not the Antichrist. And maybe you could be a little more loving toward your younger brother.”
Elle gave him an impassive stare. “Evil does not respond to love. It knows only darkness.”
James waved a hand. “Whatever.”
After they deftly went through their usual closing-the-store routine, everyone retrieved their belongings from the break room. Once Bree said her goodbyes, she headed to Alex’s office. She knocked on the door, heard his gruff bid to enter, and walked inside.
He was sitting in the leather chair behind his desk, one foot rested over the thigh of the other leg. Looking cool and relaxed, he stared at her so intently it was unnerving.
Bree lifted a brow. “You wanted to see me?”
“Close the door.” Damn, that authoritative tone hit her right in her core.
She shut the door without moving her gaze from his … because looking away from a predator that dangerous when you were locked in its sights would just be plain fucking stupid. Pallas cats could never be described as stellar members of the shifter community, but wolverines? Well, they stole, lied, gambled, and started fights over pure bullshit. Why? Because they could.
Positively fearless, they’d fight to the bitter end and were renowned for their berserker rages. You didn’t piss off a wolverine unless you had a morbid interest in being unceremoniously beaten within an inch of your life. Given the unrivalled scale of their madness and the fact that they’d easily win a “Most Sadistic Executioner of the Year” award, it was unsurprising that Vinnie used Alex as an interrogator.
He’d turned down the Alpha’s offer to join his ranks, however, claiming he didn’t need an official status to feel significant. Alex was a wild card, but he followed Vinnie’s lead. To an extent. She suspected that Alex would never have a true allegiance to anyone other than whomever he took as his mate.
Right then, she studied his features, trying to get some inkling of what this was about, but he gave nothing away. It was said that the eyes were the windows to the soul. Not in Alex’s case. Though those dark orbs might harden or glitter with emotion, it was rarely possible to detect just what emotion it was.
The guy was so tightly controlled, she wondered if even her omega-senses would struggle to detect his emotions. Bree didn’t read a person unless they consented. Otherwise, it was an invasion of their privacy—especially since, unlike the other omegas in her pride, she could pick up people’s thoughts when she tapped into their emotions.
It really wasn’t as fun as it sounded. Hearing another’s voice in her head grated on every part of her. It felt as if a sharp pen viciously scratched the words into her mind, the sound so piercing she was surprised her ears didn’t bleed.
“I heard from Mila that you got intercepted by three guys this morning outside the barbershop,” Alex said, referring to his sister. “Who were they?”