Saving Briar

Theon had called his best friend’s cell three times and each time it had gone to voicemail. Finally he’d asked his Beta to give him a ride back to the diner to pick up his car. He tried Hux’s number one more time after sliding behind the wheel, before pointing his car in the direction of the apartments where he knew that Harlow lived. She’d pointed them out earlier when they’d driven by on their way to the diner, and Kayla had gone so far as to point out her bedroom window, with the pink curtains that was second from the end on the east side of the ground floor.

He wasn’t sure why he was going to tell her he’d dropped in. She wasn’t his girlfriend. They weren’t even friends. She was a human. But her daughter was half wolf. That was a reason, wasn’t it, he asked himself, knowing even as he made the excuse that if her mother didn’t interest him so intensely he wouldn’t be parking in the parking lot outside the run down block of apartments, well after dark.

Theon only noticed the bright green Mazda when he had walked halfway past it. He stopped, and glanced inside, even though there was no mistaking who the car belonged to.

“Hux.”

The Alpha’s hands balled into fists. He stopped for a moment and stared up at the apartments in front of him.

His best friend hadn’t had a serious girlfriend in a while. And he wasn’t close to any humans that Theon could think of. This was significant because these rundown apartments were definitely outside the Pack’s lands in a human neighborhood.

While some packs built their own towns completely separate from humans, buying up all the lands so they could entirely shut out all outsiders and make sure that humans couldn’t move into the area, Theon’s pack had always existed alongside humans. Whether they had coexisted successfully, well, that was debatable.

“Fuck.” Theon didn’t have a reason for the anger that surged through his body, not yet, but he found his heart pounding as he walked towards the door of Harlow’s apartment, hoping that he was wrong. He didn’t want his best friend to be the sort of bastard who’d let his daughter and the mother of his child live the way that he knew Harlow had been living for the past five years since she’d been knocked up and then left to get by on her own.

He’d reached the door and was about to knock when he heard Harlow’s voice coming from inside. The window was cracked and her voice drifted out through the screen.

“What I do or don’t do with anyone else isn’t any of your business. We broke up years ago. Fuck, I was never even your girlfriend. You were always fucking other girls.Yes, I’m your daughter’s mother, which I would think would get me at least a bit of consideration and respect on your end, but I certainly haven’t seen that, have I?”

It wasn’t what she said but the tone in her voice that caused Theon’s hand to drop. Instead of knocking he grabbed the doorknob and twisted. He was ready to break in if he had to, but the door was unlocked and swung in the moment he stepped forward, his eyes scanning the room, not prepared to see Harlow being held fast by Hux around the wrist with one hand, his other hand twisted in her hair, forcing her face up so that she would have to look in his eyes.

For a moment Theon thought he might rip his best friend’s head clear off of his body, but it was about to get worse. He sucked in a breath as Hux opened his mouth and spoke again, apparently so caught up in what he was saying that he hadn’t heard the door open.

“You’re right about one thing Harlow. You not my girlfriend. A fucking half bred mutt is only good for getting my dick wet. But that doesn’t mean I want anyone else from the pack touching you. And if Kayla is going to have a little brother or sister you can bet your ass I’ll be it’s father.”

Oh fuck no. Theon took a step towards the pair, feeling his canines cut through his gums.

“Harlow? I asked you a question. Did you fuck Theon?” Theon could hardly hear Hux’s words over the blood rushing in his own ears.

“You need to leave, Hux. Kayla’s asleep right now, but she could walk in this room at any minute.”

Theon’s mind barely registered the surprised look on Harlow’s face when he grabbed Hux by the back of the neck and his former best friend let go of her hair and wrist, surprise flashing briefly across the other man’s face. He pulled him back, away from Harlow and the yellow couch that Hux had thrown her onto, before smashing his left fist into the side of Hux’s face, surprised at how far the other man went flying, landing on the small dining room table and sending it crashing to the floor beneath him.

“Hux? Hux is Kayla’s father? Are you fucking kidding me?” He wasn’t quite thinking clearly when the words left his mouth, and the look that Harlow shot him told him that it was exactly the wrong thing to say.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your fucking busines.” Harlow snapped out the words, her expression flashing from angry to nervous as she turned her gaze to Hux, who was on top of the pile of boards that had been her dining room table, as he picked himself up off the ground.

“Mommy?” Harlow froze, her face growing pale as she gave Theon a pleading expression, before turning to face her daughter who had just opened the bedroom door to peek out to see what all the commotion was that had woken her up after she’d finally fallen asleep.

“Oh Sweetie, let’s try to get you back to sleep. It’s past your-”

“Daddy! Mommy, Daddy’s here! I haven’t seen him since before the Fourth of July!” Theon’s eyes cut to his friend, who was on his feet next to the table with a tea towel, dabbing away the blood on his face, and the Alpha felt another wave of rage build inside his chest.

They were well on their way through fall and the man hadn’t seen his daughter since summer? What the actual fuck was wrong with him?

“Daddy, why are you bleeding? And what happened to our table?”

“Daddy just got a bloody nose, Princess.” Hux lied as he held the towel up in front of his nose.

“And you and your mom are going to be getting a new, better table soon, so we had to get the old one out of here before we could move the new one in.” Theon volunteered and Harlow shot the man a look, with raised eyebrows that said he better be telling the truth.

“Right now though, you’re Dad has work to do. I’m about to go on an important trip and he has to help me get ready.” The words that Theon shot via mindlink, to the man that he now was certain would never be his Beta, to get the fuck out of the apartment, were far less kind.

“Why don’t you get her back to sleep, Harlow. I’ll be here when you come back out.” Without saying a word she turned and walked out of the room, leaving Theon to his own thoughts, as he cleaned up what remained of the dining room table, carrying the pieces out to the dumpster, half wishing he’d find Hux waiting outside to finish the fight they’d started in Harlow’s living room. The green Mazda was nowhere to be seen though, by the time he made it to the parking lot, and Theon trudged back inside, sweeping up the smallest pieces of the table before emptying the dust tray into the garbage can.

He’d fallen asleep on Harlow’s couch and was surprised when a soft touch on his leg woke him.

“Hey.” She had changed into sweatpants and a white tank top, without a bra on under it, and while it was definitely the most casual thing he’d ever seen her in, with her hair piled up on her head in a messy bun, he also couldn’t help but think that she’d never looked more beautiful.

“I’m sorry about what I said when I first came in here. I was just surprised that Kayla’s Dad is Hux. Probably more surprised I guess that he didn’t take care of her and you.” He reached out and grabbed her hand, carefully examining her wrist, which already had the clear markings of a hand shaped bruise taking shape.

“It’s fine. It’s probably better this way. I’m thankful that he didn’t try to take her from me.”

“I’m thankful he didn’t try to take her too. But it’s not fine. You shouldn’t have to do any of the things you do, just to put food on the table or to buy clothes for your little girl.” Theon shook his head. “The last few days have had a steep fucking learning curve and I guess what I’m learning is that while I thought I was pretty good at this job, being an Alpha, I’m starting to see that a lot of what seemed important, really wasn’t. I haven’t been taking care of things that really mattered.”

It wasn’t lost on Theon that the woman whose hand he was holding was staring at him like he’d lost his mind.

“I have a question for you, Harlow. If you weren’t being paid, would you go out with me?”

“That’s pretty complicated, Theon.” Harlow’s cheeks turned pink, but instead of meeting his eyes she was now looking down at where their hands were joined. “I’d have to say no.”

“Oh-” the sound he made was so sad that she rushed on to continue.

“Let me explain why though. It’s not that I don’t like you. I mean I knew who you were, obviously, before Cara came to me. I was attracted to you, or I wouldn’t have taken this job. Contrary to popular belief, while I am a stripper, I’d never done this sort of thing before.” Harlow gently stressed the word this, her eyebrows jumping up as she met his eyes, waiting until she was sure he understood what she meant.

“But I do do some extras at work during private dances. Handjobs. Blowjobs. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to make it on my own. And you, Alpha Theon, do not strike me as the sort of man who would be okay with his woman giving other men blowjobs or handjobs.”

“Fuck, you don’t strike me as the sort of man who’s be okay with other men seeing your woman stripped down to a thong and a pair of heels. So no, Handsome. I might be fantasizing about the way you look and feel for the rest of my life. But I wouldn’t date you. Because I can’t give up the job that supports my daughter and I, for a man who’s very likely going to get bored of me after a couple of weeks.”

“I’m not going to get bored of you, Harlow.” He brought her hand up and kissed the back of it lightly, before meeting her eyes again.

“You have a mate, Theon. If you don’t want Cara, you can still go after Briar. Why would you pick a human over another werewolf?I just don’t understand this sudden change. I thought you needed strong, that’s what Cara told me, and I’m certainly not that.”

“The fuck you aren’t, Harlow.”

“Listen. What’s this whole thing with you going away? Is it true?” She’d drawn closer to him without really meaning to and at this he reached up and cupped her cheek, running his thumb across her jawline.

“I think Briar is in danger. I know I’ve screwed up. I’ve been a shit Alpha and a worse mate. I’m going to make sure she’s safe and set her free. Then I’m going to come back here and make things right for all the members of my pack, including you and your daughter.”

“If you want, before you go, we could-”

“No.” He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and drew her close, but instead of kissing her, he pressed his lips against her forehead, taking her entirely by surprise. “I’ve recently learned just how much a mate’s betrayal can hurt someone. I can’t touch you again until I’ve rejected her. But I promise once that’s done I’ll be back. And I’m going to convince you that you’re wrong about me.”

Harlow nodded, her teeth worrying her lower lip, as she walked him to the door. This Theon was far more dangerous for her than the man who she’d met a few days earlier. Back then he’d only been a paycheck. Now he was something else entirely. She ran a hand through her hair as he bent and kissed her forehead one last time before turning and walking to his car. If she knew what was good for her, she wouldn’t answer the door for him when he came back, because if he kept acting like he had today, she knew he’d have the power to absolutely wreck her.

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Theon called Poe, who told him he was at home with his wife and kids, getting ready to go out again to hunt down Briar. Nodding, Theon drummed his fingers against the steering wheel and told the man goodnight and that he’d see him first thing in the morning, as he headed towards his last stop of the night. He had one last question that was burning in his mind that he needed answered. And something Hux had said just as he’d come through the door had only further served to peak his curiosity.

“A fucking half breed mutt.” That’s what Hux had called Harlow. What the fuck did that mean? Was it a slip of the tongue? Or was that scent that Theon was nearly certain he’d caught a whiff of earlier more than just a figment of his imagination?

Pulling into a spot across the street Theon briefly wondered if it wouldn’t be better if Harlow didn’t live with her mom in the little house two miles from her current apartment. It was certainly in a better part of town, and it even had a little yard with a playset for Kayla to play on.

Theon was about to get out of the car when the front door of the house opened and two figures stepped out. They were immediately illuminated by the porchlight, and while Theon had been shocked to see Hux’s car parked at Harlow’s he felt the air whoosh from his lungs as he recognized the tall, muscular man who had wrapped his arms around Harlow’s mother and pulled her in for a long kiss that showed that they were definitely more than just friends.

“A fucking half breed mutt.” Theon gripped the steering wheel so hard that he thought it might break. He had one more person he wanted to talk to before he left in the morning now, one more last minute stop to make. If he was right, his pack would have more than one new member when he returned from rejecting his mate, and he hoped, more than one person, would have been set free.