had shaken his head urgently and she’d backed down. Whatever was going on wasn’t something she understood. She’d let her men handle the politics of werewolf life—at least for now—but she’d never been one to sit idly by while people were being treated poorly.
Well, unless that person was her it seemed. She’d put up with an awful lot of unfriendly treatment all in the name of a future that was never going to eventuate. Was it weird that she felt nothing but relief at the idea of not having to pursue her so-called career anymore?
Unfortunately that question set off many more in her head. She had no idea what she was going to do now, or how she was going to support herself. She’d managed to squirrel away a small amount of money, but it wasn’t enough to last her a lifetime. Aw, hell, three lifetimes now … And how on Earth was she going to get her tiny nest egg out of the bank without setting off the security alarms? Her bank was pretty strict—no helmets, mirrored sunglasses, or face coverings of any kind. Would purple be considered a covering?
Panic started to swirl through her. She’d learned from her mother’s experiences that relying on a man to support her was a disaster waiting to happen. She needed to find something to do, some way to support herself. Oh, holy hell, what if Gideon had been wrong? What if she could become pregnant from today’s shenanigans? How would she support herself and a child without an income?
Shenanigans?
The word echoed strangely in her head, almost sounding like it had come to her in Gideon’s voice.
She shook her head, trying not to laugh hysterically at the strange way today had unfolded. The sound of her little car out the front made her heart hammer faster and her knees weak. She turned to Brigden, uncertain what to do. The need to run out to the car and throw herself into Gideon’s arms was nearly overwhelming and ironically the very reason she refused to do it.
“I would have enjoyed it if you had.”
Again the words sounded like they were spoken in Gideon’s voice. She turned sharply, wondering whether anyone else had heard what she suspected was a voice in her head. Was this another side effect of becoming a wolf?
“Everything okay, Suzanne?” Brigden asked politely. It was clear that he would have preferred to embrace her, but it seemed that he didn’t want to show affection in front of two disapproving packmates. As far as she could tell, Gideon was highly regarded within the pack. Brigden was not.
It was difficult to understand considering some of the computer programming work Brigden seemed to be doing, but again she chose to sit back and observe before blundering into the middle of a situation she didn’t fully understand. It didn’t mean she had to like it though.
“It’s okay, baby girl. Hug our man. I’m almost at the door.”
Again she wondered if she was hearing things—especially now when she seemed to be hearing exactly what she wanted to hear.
Still uncertain where the suggestion had come from, Suzanne stepped closer to Brigden and wrapped her arms around his waist. He stiffened slightly, perhaps worried the other two men would say something in Gideon’s absence. She held on tighter as the front door opened and Gideon stepped inside.
“Everything okay?” Brigden asked again, somehow sounding both worried and relieved at the same time. Suzanne hugged him tighter.
“Not a problem,” Gideon said, handing her car keys over. “I did have an interesting conversation with a raccoon-shifter though.”
“Raccoon…shifter?” Suzanne asked, feeling just a little bit sick in her stomach. “There are raccoon-shifters, too?”
“Of course,” Gideon said, leaning over to press a kiss to her lips. Brigden tried to move away, but she wouldn’t let him. She did notice however that while Gideon wasn’t reacting with jealousy—which seemed to be what the other two wolves expected from him—he didn’t show any affection for