Chapter 54 - Werewolves of Wallstreet Series Novel Free Online

* * *

Brick

I stand in the boardroom, my hands planted on the glass, and stare at my own reflection. My eyes are bright as lasers and I’m glowering hard enough to carve through this window and the Adalwulf building beyond.

If I look down, I can see Moon Co and everything I’ve worked for, laid out at my feet.

I’d raze it all to the ground if it meant I could get Madi back.

She rejected me. I don’t blame her-and I can’t have her even if she was willing to be with me. An alpha can’t mate a human.

There are voices outside the conference room. Nickel, Jake, and Vance, murmuring.

“Is he-“

“Yes. Still no change. He ordered us to leave him.”

“Should we bring him home?” Vance asks. “It’s Christmas.”

I snarl. I’m not leaving the office. I’ve gathered every personal item and scrap of furniture that still bears her scent, and my wolf won’t allow me to leave it.

Nickel quickly shoots him down. “We can’t risk someone seeing him in this state. No one can know.”

If the Adalwulfs found out I’m this out of control, they’d go for the jugular. It’d be all out war, and they’d use the news of my weakness to rally their feral pack and kill as many of my pack as possible. They’ve wiped out packs before-killed the leaders, absorbed the rest into their ranks. My pack is strong, but without me as a figurehead? The largest families would leave, and the pack would splinter into weaker factions the Adalwulfs will see as easier prey.

I have to hang on to my sanity. Too many lives hang in the balance.

I have to fight this.

I clench my fists. My nails have sharpened to claws and cut my palms. The blood drips, staining the carpet. Staining my suit.

And what does it matter? Without my mate, there’s nothing for me.

My wolf rises and fur ripples along my forearms. I’m so tired of fighting him. I have so much to fight for-my pack and family-but my wolf doesn’t care. He knows what I’m beginning to believe.

Without Madi, I have nothing.

* * *

Billy

“We have a problem.” Vance calls me the day after Christmas.

With most of my pack mates in the Berkshires for Christmas, I spent the day yesterday with my parents at our family retreat in Vermont. Now I’m on my way to work after the first good night’s rest I’ve had since the security breach.

It’s hard to imagine we could have another problem. The security breach has been the biggest shit show since our previous alpha got murdered by his own mate back when we were at Yale.

“What is it?”

“Madison won’t talk to Brick.”

“Why is this our problem?” I snap. Solving lovers’ quarrels really isn’t my area of expertise. Especially not when a human’s involved.

“He didn’t go to the Berkshires for Christmas. He’s been here at Moon Co all night and…” Vance sighs. “He’s acting erratic. Like he keeps putting her hand lotion all over his face. He’s truly losing it.”

I tunnel my fingers through my hair. Losing Brick is not an option. “Fuck. So he tried calling? Going over there?”

“Yeah. He sent her a giant trophy that said he was sorry, which didn’t make sense to me but whatever. She refused it. She also turned away a van full of roses.”

I roll my eyes. For fuck’s sake. Humans and their methods of courtship are utterly ridiculous. Why couldn’t Brick have picked a wolf? Literally any she-wolf in the world would’ve been better than this. Hell, even a he-wolf would be better-who cares if they can’t reproduce?

“What does Madison want? Actually, it doesn’t matter what she wants. We just need Brick to mark her.”

I hate the idea of him marking and mating a human, but things have gone too far. This may be the only way to save his life now.

“Agreed.” Vance seems to have arrived at a similar conclusion. “We need to get them in the same room to figure this out.”

“Yeah. Okay. I think we should revisit the plan that involves the vampire king.” Thaddeus could mind control Madi into coming to see Brick and submitting to a claiming bite. Once that is complete, the two could work the rest out on their own.

Vance goes quiet, considering.

It’s a good plan. One that would solve everything, especially now that we know Madi isn’t working for the enemy.

Eagle and Sully have our real traitor, Jerry, imprisoned in Sully’s basement right now. We may or may not have worked him over thoroughly with our fists when we put him there, not that pain matters much to a shifter.

“He wouldn’t be able to come until after dark,” Vance says.

“Obviously.”

“That’s nearly eleven hours from now.”

Alarm bells clang in my head. I scrub a hand down my freshly shaven jaw. “

You don’t think he’ll make it eleven hours?”

“It’s not looking good.”

“I’ll get the human,” I say.

“How?”

“I don’t know-I’ll knock her out and carry her if I have to.”

“

Bad idea,” Vance cautions. “You even touching her could flip the switch in him. We have to think this through carefully.”

“I’ll talk to her roommate.” I am thinking carefully. That ridiculous roommate is key to solving this dilemma.

“Okay, good luck with that. I’ll loop the rest of the guys in on the Thaddeus plan and see if we can get a consensus.”

“Yep.” I end the call and change lanes. My car drives straight to La R?sistance like it knows the way. Like I’ve driven here already a hundred times in my mind.

Which of course, I haven’t. Because why would I?

I find a place to park and walk two blocks to get to the cafe. As I pass by, I give the mural on the outside wall a scornful look. This hippie shit is over the top and ridiculous. Then I see the signature.

Aubrey Jane Cook.

Huh. I take another look at the artwork. I hate the subject, but I have to admit she’s talented. Proportions are perfect, the colors pop. Not that I care about things like that.

I push through the door of the cafe and spot the roommate behind the counter. Even with all the scents of food and coffee, I detect her unique scent in the air, and it does something unnerving to my blood.

She sees me, and her brown eyes flash. Her jaw thrusts forward in anger.

Okay. She remembers me.

She extends an upturned palm when I get to the counter although I have no idea what she’s demanding. Shrugging, I fish a twenty dollar bill from my pocket and drop it in her hand.

She yanks her hand back like the money scalded her. “My picture.” She jerks a thumb at the bulletin board. “You stole it.”

“Ah. Yes, indeed. I borrowed it. I will bring it back.”

She folds her arms across her chest. Her long braids shift over her slender shoulders. “What are you doing here? Just out ruining lives for fun again?”

My lips twitch. Not because I find her words amusing but because I love her anger. I must truly despise humans because my cock actually gets chubby seeing how much she hates me.

“I came to solicit your help.”

“You must be out of your mind. You’d be the second to last person on Earth I’d ever help. The very last would be your buddy, Brick.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate because he’s the reason I’m here. Something very important has come up at the office, and he needs Madison.”

She cocks her head. “He should have thought of that before he chose to believe your lies about her and had her thrown out of the building. You don’t come back from that.”

“It’s extremely important and only she can help. I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars if you convince her to go. Deposited in your bank account today.”

It was the wrong thing to say. This is the girl who occupied Wall Street. Money’s not a good motivator. Her upper lip curls in disgust. “Absolutely not. Get lost.” She makes a shooing motion with her hand. Her fingernails are an unmanicured disgrace, with blue paint caught around the sides and underneath them.

I want to catch that hand and fold it behind her back. Bend her over the counter and spank her ass. I bet it would satisfy on many levels. Especially if it made her mad. I want to lean closer and sniff her neck. Find the place where her scent gathers and lick it.

“Five hundred thousand.” I can’t stop myself, even though I know it won’t move her. Know I’m botching this. I want to see that flash of anger in those dark eyes.

Her nostrils flare. She shakes her head. “You really are a piece of work.”

“I’ll make the same deal with Madi-tell her that. She likes money.”

Aubrey draws back like I slapped her. “She does not.”

I shrug. “Let her decide for herself.”

Aubrey narrows her eyes at me. “Are you done?”

“Yes.” I pick up the discarded twenty dollar bill and drop it in the tip jar. “Thanks for your time.”

As I walk away, my shifter hearing picks up her angry mutter. “Entitled alpha-hole.”

Even though I failed my alpha, I still can’t help feeling a spurt of satisfaction from her words.

* * *

Brick

I’m losing my ability to think rationally. I’ve managed to stay in human form today, but I’m not even sure why anymore. My team flits around, sending me worried glances as I pace around the first floor.

“Brick,” someone says. “

Brick.”

I turn. It’s Vance. Billy stands beside him. “Come into the conference room,” Vance beckons.

I follow because I’m not able to do much leading right now.

“Madi’s coming tonight,” Vance says.

The fog in my brain suddenly clears, and my mind sharpens. “She is?”

“Yes. We’ll bring her here as soon as we can. And then you can mate her.”

I frown, suddenly realizing that everything is wrong about this conversation. The way they’re looking at me. The idea that someone else would bring Madi to me.

My fangs start to descend. “Nobody touches her,” I snarl.

“I told you not to tell him yet,” Billy mutters.

“What?” I whirl. My eyes must be glowing because my vision is sharp as hell.

Billy holds his hands up. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. We’ll get Madi for you. Thaddeus will-“

I cut him off with a roar. Billy’s the asshole who made me believe Madi had betrayed me in the first place. Now he’s not heeding my orders to keep Thaddeus away from her.

I shift and leap through the air, my fangs snapping for his throat.

* * *

Madi

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