Chapter Thirty-Seven: Briar

“This is how we’re getting to California?” Briar’s eyes were wide as she stared at the jet that they’d just pulled up beside on the runway.

“Change of plans, Kid.” Caelan was speaking to her, but she noticed his eyes were on Brielle, his lips curved downward in a stern frown for a moment before he turned back towards her. He nudged her playfully with his shoulder before offering her his hand to help her down, out of the black SUV. “We’re needed in Las Vegas this week so that’s where we’re flying on this beautiful morning.”

Briar’s gaze shifted to Brielle and she noticed that the other woman was studying her perfectly manicured nails and didn’t appear to be listening to their conversation, although she was standing right next to them, while a couple of men Briar hadn’t seen before appeared out of nowhere and began to unload there luggage from the vehicles they’d arrived in, moving everything they’d brought with them over into the jet.

“I don’t have any cash on me. I mean I was on the run-” Briar began, and immediately Brielle’s head jerked up and she interrupted whatever the younger She-Wolf had been about to say.

“Oh Sweetie, don’t worry about that. I’ve got you covered. My boss is super generous. He’ll be putting all of us up when we get to Vegas. All our meals are covered. And you have your new outfits, so we’re ready to hit the town. Besides, I got a message that he’s in town today, so maybe we can even get you hooked up with a job. Wouldn’t that be amazing, Babe? Mr. Rose is such a good man and I’ve known him to help out so many girls who are down on their luck. Hell, I’m hoping he can help my sister and her friends get on their feet if I can convince them to leave the pack once they turn eighteen and graduate.”

Briar wasn’t certain, but she almost thought that she heard Caelan growl when Brielle suggested getting her “hooked up with a job.” She shook her head. It was loud on the runway and she had to have imagined it. Her eyes slid to the side and she peered at the large Dragon-Shifter as he stood close beside her, his eyes scanning the space around them as if danger might appear even while they stood on the nearly empty runway, surrounded by Rose Industries employees.

They’d gotten ready quickly after waking up, hardly speaking to each other. Briar was seriously embarrassed and her nightmare wasn’t the issue. Everyone had nightmares, she knew that. It was what had happened after her nightmare that had her hardly able to make eye contact with Caelan for the rest of the morning, despite his not infrequent attempts to lighten her mood.

They had talked and that had been fine and good. Then he had gone back to his bed. After that though she spent an hour tossing and turning before he had gotten up, walked across the room and climbed into bed next to her, laying over the covers. He hadn’t said a word as they lay side by side, and it wasn’t the least bit sexual as she had finally drifted off, listening to the steady beat of his heart as he hummed a tune she’d never heard. Within ten minutes she had fallen fast asleep.

When she had woken up his arm had been draped across her, heavy against her waist, and his face had been buried in her hair as he continued to sleep for a few minutes after she woke, his breathing steady and deep.

Briar’s first thought, when she woke up, was that she should find a way to slip out from under his arm, to avoid the obvious embarrassment that would occur in the light of day once he woke up and they came face to face with the fact that she’d slept cuddled against his side. Even as they walked up the staircase to the jet, Briar felt her face burn red again at the memory. Was she so dependent on the people around her that she just fell into bed, one way or another, with every man she got close to? She bristled at the thought.

That wasn’t who she wanted to be. She might have been born an Omega, she might have been rejected by her mate, Hell maybe she was even cursed by the Moon Goddess herself, considering the luck she had at this point, but did that really mean she had to just go along with it all like she was some poor damsel in distress waiting to be rescued? Briar clenched her teeth at the thought. She was tired of being helpless and weak. At least when she’d fled through the forest she’d been the one in control of her destiny, even if it had seemed like her destiny was probably to die by herself in a frozen forest in the remote wilderness.

“Briar, Babe, come sit by me.” Briar nodded, allowing Brielle to link their arms and guide her towards two huge recliners towards the back of the jet. The younger She-Wolf’s eyes were huge as she took in her surroundings. She had seriously never imagined anything like it. Her eyes went to Caelan as he sat down in a nearby seat next to Rian, who was talking animatedly about sports. Caelan was nodding as he spoke and occasionally gave one word answers, but his eyes never left Briar, and the corners of his mouth were still turned down in a frown. She couldn’t help but wonder if his mind was on last night, or if he was upset about this morning.

He didn’t seem like the type who would be upset, but what did she really know about men? She had all of a week’s experience with them. Before that she spent almost all her time when she wasn’t at school or working with her mom and her sister.

When she was at school and work she barely spoke to anyone, she simply kept her head down and followed directions. Thankfully Briar was sitting close to the window and she pushed open the shade, ignoring the feel of Caelan’s gaze on her as the jet began to move forward, picking up speed as they made their way down the runway before surging upwards into the air.

“Briar,” they hadn’t even begun to level out when Brielle cleared her throat and for the first time since Briar had met her she thought that the other women sounded slightly nervous. “Would you like a glass of wine? Or champagne? I think I’m going to have something to celebrate. I do every time I leave my former home state, but more specifically, every time I leave my former pack behind. I figured you might want to join me. What do you say?”

Briar nodded, still keeping her eyes off of Caelan. “That sounds great, Brielle.” She forced herself to smile as the other woman signaled one of the flight attendants who Briar hadn’t noticed until that moment. “I have a question for you though. When do you think we’ll be heading out to California. I’d really like to update my mom and just let her know what’s going on with me so she doesn’t worry.”

This wasn’t entirely true. Briar had yet to reach out to her mother, because she hadn’t been able to decide if knowing what had happened was better or worse than the rumors that the woman had likely heard being run through the rumor mill, orchestrated, she was certain, by Cara’s band of friends. She had wanted something solid and concrete and positive to tell her mother before she called her. She’d also wanted to be a couple thousand miles away from home before she did it, just in case anyone happened to be listening in.

“That was actually something I wanted to talk to you about, Babe.” Briar felt her forehead wrinkle and for the first time since she’d sat down her eyes drifted over to Caelan. He was still frowning, but now he looked worried. “Now here’s a glass of champagne, Briar. Because we are celebrating getting away from our Packs and our pasts! To the future.” Briar frowned for just a moment, as if somehow Caelan’s worry had transferred to her, before she forced herself to smile as Brielle’s glass clinked against hers, the dark haired beauty smiling hugely at her.

“Alright Briar, I have a proposition for you. Last night after Rian and I went back to our rooms I spoke with Hudson. That’s Mr. Rose. I told him about you and he was very interested in you. I mean you’re smart, you’re strong, and he’s heard from quite a few people now that you’re extremely beautiful.” Briar knew that she was blushing in disbelief that anyone had told Brielle’s boss anything about the way that she looked. Again her eyes went to Caelan and this time he looked as if he’d turned a bright shade of red, but she was pretty sure that he wasn’t blushing. What was going on with him?

“Now before I tell you about his proposal I want to tell you my story. When I came to Las Vegas, because that’s where I worked when I originally came to work for Mr. Rose and Rose Industries, I knew what I wanted to do. I wasn’t recruited. I knew I didn’t want a mate.” Briar’s eyes grew wide at this news, even though she vaguely remembered the other woman mentioning it before. She’d never met a She-Wolf who didn’t want a mate, but after her experience the idea was rather appealing. To cover her surprise she lifted the glass of champagne to her lips and took a large gulp.

“Mr. Rose gave me a job. In my first night of work I was able to make six figures. I made another six figures my first year.” She leaned in towards Briar, a small smile playing on her lips as she watched Briar’s eyes widen as she realized that Brielle was serious. “He wants to offer you the same opportunity if you’re bold enough to take it. So my question for you, Briar, is, are you? Are you ready to change your entire life and take control of your future? Are you ready to stop depending on the Moon Goddess for some imagined happiness and start building the life you’ve always dreamed of?”