Bradley did just that. Opened her office door first, it was unlocked, did not step inside the room, had the feeling that Izzy was watching him from downstairs, like a hawk just waiting for him to step out of sight, so she could call the human police on him, report he’d done something like steal or break something in Pipers office. She was like a bloody bouncer, he thought.
Piper’s office was quite spacious, a single large glass and steel desk on the left side of the room, with a white leather chair behind it. On the wall behind her desk were framed prints of models wearing her designs, he presumed.
There was a glass sliding door that he knew led out onto a balcony, also knew from yesterday that there was a table and chair set out there, for sitting and drinking coffee, he supposed, there was a coffee cup on her desk.
To the right of the room were awards on shelves above a comfortable looking white leather lounge that matched her office chair, and there was a glass and steel coffee table not unlike her desk.
A small stack of magazines were fanned on that table and under it on a shelf he noted were a few children’s books, both for reading and colouring in, along with a selection of high quality texters and pencils and odd thing to have in one’s office, he thought absently. Closed the door and moved to her studio.
The Studio was also unlocked, if she was away shouldn’t they both be locked up? Perhaps Izzy had access to them both for some reason. There was a design desk to the right with many pencils and tools in containers along the back of it. A stool with a black seat on roller wheels, several design pads on a shelf and a bin and a shredder to the left of the desk.
There was a tall wing backed chair in a soft pink colour, sitting next to the mannequin with the dress she had been working on yesterday when he was here. Behind that and all the way around the room stood reams of material; silk, satin, lace, all in varying shades of white to ivory, silvers to black and soft pinks even.
There were shelves on the left-hand wall filled with clear boxes of buttons, ribbons, zippers, beads and all sorts of other things. He stepped back out of the door way and closed the door.
It did not look like she had been here, not that he would be able to tell, but not even Izzy’s scent lingered in either of the rooms, which meant she’d not been up here at all either today. So it was likely that Izzy had been telling him the truth, Piper was not here, had not been here. Could very well actually be away for the weekend.
Bradley contemplated leaving her a note, for when she got back and his number at the pack, to ask her to call him, could leave her his direct number for his Alpha office or his mobile even for that matter, but after only a moments thought, with her reaction to him and how her assistant manager was with him, he didn’t think she would use it.
Headed back down the stairs, Bradley didn’t understand this she-wolf, why, if she was the girl that had fled his pack, had uttered her rejection without him knowing, why she’d done it in the first place? Why did she still hide herself from him? Did she really not want to be his Mate? And if so, why not just tell him to his face? That was how it was supposed to be done, it was unlikely to work at all without it being face to face.
How could he even acknowledge her as his Mate or accept her rejection if he had no idea who she was at all? It was very confusing for him. To all of them who knew about it. He was also not some mean nasty Alpha, felt he was actually a fair and approachable man. Strict yes, but no-one in his pack feared him as far as he knew.
The one to confirm for him, what his pack Doctor Samuel, had told him he believed was going on, that the pain he was suffering that night, was that it looked as though he was suffering from a rejection, of a Mate Bond being torn from him, but was incomplete. Had been Eddie, his Gamma.
Apparently, Eddie had felt her pain at the point of rejection, when she had uttered it or something like that. While Cooper and Harry had been getting him to the pack’s hospital, not knowing what was wrong with him. They had all thought that someone had bloody well poisoned him. He to had thought that initially. The girl in his bed had been scent-masked so it was possible.
But no, Eddie had not followed his Alpha in pain, had bolted off on a mission of his own that night, trying to get to the girl, but he had not been able to scent the girl out. Had only been able to track her pain, as her Gamma he was attached to her, with that Luna to Gamma bond.
Eddie had also felt her sever from him, when she’d rejected the pack, and had known right away what it had meant, that she had gone rogue and bolted away from the pack. Though that had not deterred the man at all, he’d even gone out into rogue territory on his own to hunt her down and try and bring her back.
Had found the border patrol man, who’d reported to Cooper, seeing he was out of action at the time, about a girl who had just gone rogue, had severed herself from the pack right before his very eyes and had then just run away. Eddie had come back empty handed that night.
They all knew females didn’t do well, out in rogue territory, Eddie had not been able to scent the girl, and the poor description he’d gotten off the patrol man had not helped him either. The description had been ‘about yay high, of thin build’ Eddie had guessed 5 foot 8 from the height of the man’s hand, and she’d had ‘brown messy hair and brown eyes’. That was it, there were no distinguishing features, not even what her wolf looked like, though they’d found out upon further questioning of said patroller, the next day she’d not shifted into her wolf, had run off in human form.
Bradley pulled himself from his thoughts. Piper Harper had brown hair and brown eyes and was about the right height too. He looked at Izzy as he reached the bottom of the stairs and sighed, frustrated by the whole thing.
“Satisfied?” she’d shot right at him, which only made him frown at her attitude.
“I need to speak with her.” Bradley held out his business card, saw the woman look at it briefly, but did not attempt to take it from him. Sighed again a little on the heavy side this time, “I understand, that I upset her yesterday. I would like to apologise for that.” he placed his card on the counter she was standing behind and tapped it “Give it to her.” he stated, staring right at her. Then headed out of the store.
Bradley’s wolf’s hearing picked up the sound of his business card hitting the bin and her softly muttered words “never going to happen a*s-hole.” right before the door closed shut.
He had let it go, was very unhappy about it, but had to let it go. Hoped the woman would change her mind and fish that card out and tell Piper he wanted to apologise. It was also likely that this Izzy and Piper were friends and he had seen the pain Piper was in yesterday, could well imagine her state when she returned to the store, after he had left with Hadley.
It was completely possible that Piper had told her Assistant Manager that she actually knew him and didn’t want to see him ever again. He didn’t know, but it did seem that way to him right this minute.
Headed off to the waiting car down the street, Cooper was sitting behind the wheel. Bradley had not wanted to scare her off with his whole unit stalking into her store, behind him. So he had opted to go in on his own. She’d already run off once, hell twice now. In all likelihood. Got in the car. “Not there, gone away for the long weekend apparently.” he answered his Beta’s unspoken question.
“Do you believe that?”
“I honestly don’t know. But she is definitely not there. I can tell you Izzy, her Store Manager,” he shook his head “Doesn’t like me at all, I tried being nice to her, didn’t lose my temper. It made no difference. Wouldn’t even make me an appointment to see her…apparently her books are closed for the next 6 months. Also won’t be working from this store for weeks.” he was more than frustrated right now, he realised.
“She’s bolted, in other words.” Cooper sighed.
“I don’t know.” Bradley stared out the window. “Might not be able to catch her now.”
There was silence in the car for several minutes, “Maybe it’s time to let go, Brad.”
“Maybe,” He answered softly. She had run off and rejected him for no apparent reason. He’d never accepted it. There had to be a reason and he wanted to know what it was. So did his Wolf, Benson for that matter. If they had a mate, they wanted to at least talk to her before accepting her rejection. Have her explain it to them. Maybe it was a misunderstanding or something.
His wolf was quiet right this minute, had been annoyed with the girls reaction yesterday, disrespected him had made him huff in annoyance, in fact. But then when Hadley had stated the girl had reacted like a Mate would, Benson had stalked off to the back of his mind and not come back, until they were in her store just now.
When Bradley thought about it, the woman’s reaction to him; the way she had looked at Hadley touching him? The fact that Hadley had gone into the store for a Luna Gown, if of course, she was mated of to an Alpha.
It would likely seem to Piper that Hadley was his Mate, she had come here to Piper’s store with Cooper, the pack Beta. Then he himself had turned up with Hadley, demanding that Piper make Hadley the dress she wanted. It probably did look like Hadley was his Mate.
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