Bully Alpha Daddy (Gold Wolves Black Ops #1)

Chapter 14 - Declan

The town square was deserted this early in the morning. The small town usually didn’t start bustling with activity until after nine, but I preferred to get into the office closer to eight.

It had been a couple of weeks since the wedding, and most of the leaves had now fallen from the trees, though a few still clung stubbornly onto their limbs. There hadn’t been any issues since the wedding, though Mira still stayed in her own room and kept her distance. My wolf wanted her nearer, wanted his mate beside him at all times. But if she needed space, I could give it to her.

Just as I was about to reach the office, I heard shuffling footsteps crunching leaves from behind me. An acrid, unpleasantly familiar scent reached my nostrils. My wolf growled, his hackles rising as the rustling intensified. I turned, already knowing who I was going to see.

Harrison stood on the sidewalk, his hands in his pockets. He watched me with cool hostility, his eyes sizing me up. His muscles flexed as his face contorted into a borderline sneer. I stared back, keeping my own emotions and dislike at bay as best I could.

Wind rustled down the street, carrying multicolored leaves along the road and blowing his scent toward me. In a way, the whole thing, set on the deserted town square early in the morning, reminded me of a standoff in an old western.

“Good morning,” Harrison said, though not with any real cordiality.

“What do you want?” I asked.

Raising his eyebrow, he said, “I was hoping we could talk. Alpha to alpha.”

“I believe I’ve said everything I need to say to you,” I said.

He gave a grin that would make a used car salesman feel greasy. “I think we both know that isn’t true,” he said. “You and I have some unsettled business.”

I wanted to tear out his throat for what he had put Mira through. But at the same time, I could also tell that was what he wanted me to do. He enjoyed getting reactions out of people. The best thing I could do to someone like that would be to treat him with indifference.

I shrugged, keeping my rage behind a mask of bland boredom. “Suit yourself,” I said. “Come on in. My office is in here.”

I got a savage sense of satisfaction at the flash of annoyance that crossed his features. He had wanted a stronger reaction. But he nodded, keeping himself composed, and followed me into the building.

I opened the door to find Trent leaning against Rose’s desk and Rose giggling, a faint pink creeping across her cheeks as Trent grinned flirtatiously down at her.

Rose glanced up when I entered. She coughed and straightened, adopting a more professional demeanor. “Hey, Declan,” she said. “I—”

Her voice cut off abruptly, her eyes widening when she saw Harrison trailing behind me. Her attention flicked back to me in question. Next to her, Trent glowered at the other alpha.

“Rose, do me a favor and prep some coffee,” I said. “I’m sure our visitor would like some.”

“I… okay.” Rose pushed away from the desk, eyes locked on Harrison. She tried to maintain a polite civility, the way she would with other visitors. I could tell behind the pleasant mask that his presence made her uneasy. I tried to give her a reassuring nod, though I didn’t know if she noticed.

“Thanks, doll,” Harrison said, giving her a wink.

Trent snarled, taking a step forward until I gave him a warning look. I might have told him off. But Rose didn’t need protection, and she was more than capable of firing back a sharp retort.

“Call me doll again, and I’ll lace your drink with cyanide,” she said coldly.

Harrison’s lips puckered as though he had just tasted something sour. I gave Rose an amused smirk that he couldn’t see, then turned toward my office door. I opened the door, then glanced back at Harrison, noticing he had taken a step in my direction.

“Wait here,” I told him. “I have to get a few things taken care of, and then we can talk.”

A new flash of irritation flickered across his face. “Is this really necessary?” He drawled, giving a knowing smirk. “I know, as alphas, we enjoy playing our little games, but don’t you think forcing me to wait is a little beneath us?”

“I have important business that I need to attend to that can’t wait,” I said. “As alpha, I’m sure you understand. In the meantime, Trent can keep you company.”

Harrison glanced over at the other shifter. Trent flashed a grin that showed sharpened teeth. Harrison rolled his eyes but took a seat, examining his nails as though bored. Trent flashed me a questioning glance, one eyebrow raised. I used an old signal from our black-ops days, one that basically told him to keep his eyes locked on Harrison. He gave a curt nod of understanding. I stepped into my office and closed the door.

I did have things I wanted to take care of before having to deal with Harrison and any bizarre accusation he wanted to throw in Mira’s direction. But I might have taken longer with those tasks than strictly necessary. I would take my small pettiness where I could. Eventually, though, I couldn’t drag it out any longer, so I walked to the door to let him in. When I opened the door, I saw Trent staring daggers at him, carefully positioning himself between Rose and Harrison and making no attempt to conceal his distaste. Harrison acted as though he was completely oblivious to the hostility, but that didn’t stop him from practically leaping to his feet when I ushered him inside.

“Right,” I said after I had closed the door and moved to sit back behind my desk. “I’m not going to bother pretending that I don’t know why you’re here. There’s only one reason you would be here. I just want to know why you think my response now that Mira and I are mated is going to be any different than it was before.”

He sat in the chair, then leaned forward, propping his elbows up on his thighs. “Let’s not pretend here,” he said. “We both know that ceremony was not out of any romantic feelings. I don’t know why you decided to put your reputation and your pack on the line for some random woman, but you have to know by now it was foolish.”

“I fail to see your point here.”

Harrison snarled. He pushed himself to his feet and came over to the desk. He slammed his hands down and leaned over, trying to be threatening.

“Hand Mira over to me,” he ordered. His eyes had turned wolf, and sharp claws that had been fingers seconds ago began to dig into the desk.

I met his gaze, not allowing myself to be cowed or stoop to his level. “Take your claws out of my desk,” I said coolly. “It’s mahogany.”

He leered but removed his hands from the desk, the claws returning to fingers. “Mira is a murderer, and she’ll cause the same type of chaos here in this pack that she did in ours. I’m trying to help you, alpha to alpha. I don’t see that as unreasonable.”

Reclining in my chair, I kept my face impassive as I continued to study him. Lacing my fingers, I kept my eyes locked on Harrison. “Tell me. If you’re so concerned about my pack’s safety, and you are so certain that Mira is a murderer, then why on earth did you offer her protection and a pardon if she married you?”

His jaw twitched, eyes narrowing as they showed a flash of wolf. “That’s none of your business,” he sneered.

“That’s what I thought,” I grunted. “So, what, coming after her now is some sort of retribution?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he bristled, continuing to glare down at me. “Hand her over,” he snarled.

I stood, eyes locked on Harrison. “Let me make this perfectly clear,” I growled. “I think everything about this is bullshit. And there is not a chance in hell that I am going to hand Mira over to you.”

“You’re going to regret this,” he said as I moved around the desk.

“I don’t think so.” I walked to the door, not bothering to look at him as I brushed past him. I jerked open the door, using more force than was strictly necessary. When I turned to look back at him, I gave a feral grin, baring my teeth, which had lengthened into fangs. I knew a wolfish glint had entered my eyes.

“I think it’s time for you to leave,” I said.

Harrison sneered. “You’re an idiot for believing her, you know that? She’s strung you along, and you fell for it like a chump.”

“I’m a pretty good judge of character,” I said without bravado. I didn’t need to give any sort of look for him to understand what I truly meant. “Like I said, it’s time for you to leave.”

He stayed still for a moment, then snarled, stalking out of the office. I followed him out. Rose and Trent, now joined by Jackson, watched intently.

“You’re going to regret this,” Harrison repeated.

As he turned to walk out, I fired back one last comment. “I’m going to prove she didn’t do it.”

He froze, then turned back to look at me. Something like panic startled across his face when he met my gaze. But it lasted only a second before he gave a derisive snort and rolled his eyes.

“Good luck with that,” he sneered. “I would love to know how you plan to do that, considering none of my pack is going to cooperate with you.”

“You’re acting as though I need their help,” I said. “You don’t think I learned a few tricks over the years? I’m going to find out what really happened, whether you like it or not.”

He stared, anger radiating off him. “You’re going to regret interfering with any of this,” he hissed. “She’s mine, and I’ll get her sooner or later. The longer you do this, the worse it’s going to be for Mira.”

Rage took over, and I snapped. My wolf snarled, lunging for Harrison as my own anger exploded. I wanted to tear into him for even thinking about saying something like that. In front of me, Harrison crouched, ready to fight back the instant I swiped at him. I was going to enjoy ripping him to shreds.

A hand shot out, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back just before I could strike. I snarled, rounding to look at who had stopped me from punishing that asshole and teaching him a lesson he wouldn’t forget.

Jackson stood next to me. Around me, the office reformed, taking shape again and reminding me where I was. Rose and Trent watched from off to one side.

“Don’t,” Jackson muttered, letting go of my wrist. “He’s not worth it. Don’t give him an excuse to pick more of a fight.”

My wolf snarled in anger. He wanted to ignore Jackson and go back to what he did best. But my common sense prevailed, and I knew deep down that as much as I wished otherwise, Jackson was right. And the best way to get back at Harrison was to prove Mira’s innocence.

“Get out of here,” I growled at Harrison.

His lip had curled into a sneer. “Just remember you had the chance to settle this civilly.”

He stormed out. The wall rattled as he slammed the door shut.

“Asshole,” Jackson grunted as Harrison’s stomping footsteps faded.

“You should have let me go after him,” I said.

“I wanted to,” he admitted. “But that isn’t going to help Mira or the rest of the pack.”

“To be fair, the guy was being a total creep,” Trent said. He glanced out the window, apparently trying to get a glimpse of Harrison. After a moment, he turned to look at me. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone get a rise out of you like that.”

“It takes a lot,” I admitted.

“Why do you care this much?” Jackson asked. “I appreciate that you’re helping Mira, but this isn’t like you.”

I blinked, brow furrowing. What sort of question was that? “He threatened Mira.”

He shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. I get that she’s your mate, but that was out of necessity. You nearly tore his head off for a stupid threat. Why?”

I opened my mouth to answer, then closed it. Why? Because it was Mira, and she deserved better. And part of me cared about her, probably more than I should. I wanted to protect her, to make sure she was safe always. I wasn’t going to stand for some asshole saying things about her the way Harrison did. She deserved better.

Except, I didn’t know how the hell to explain any of that. It should have been simple, but the words wouldn’t come out. I couldn’t show that type of emotion, even if I wanted to. Still, Jackson was waiting for me to respond.

So, I lied. Or told a half-truth.

“She’s my nanny,” I said. “Dani likes her. On top of that, we all know she didn’t kill anyone. It’s the right thing to do.”

Jackson gave me a dubious expression, and I had to wonder if he suspected it was more than that. Granted, it was more than that, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

Before he could say anything or refute my statement, my phone rang. When I saw Mira’s name, I held up a finger and turned away before putting the phone to my ear.

“Hey,” I said, trying to keep the edge out of my voice.

“Thank God,” she breathed, her voice shaking. I stiffened, ears pricking to attention. “You’ve got to come home right now. Dani’s missing.”