The Cowgirl Rogue

Chapter 12

Like he had promised, Brickson showed up at my door eight in the morning. He stayed in the truck and looked forward and saw me sitting with another male and other people lounging in front of my cabin. Confusion filled his eyes, and I could see a small bit of jealousy in his eyes.

"This your mate?" Corbin asked, leaning against the railing and staring at the male. He eyed him suspiciously, and I rolled my eyes at him. "Or is he just some Alpha?" He looked down at me before he moved his gaze to the Alpha, who had finally opened his door and got out of his truck.

"My mate," I replied coldly. "And an Alpha."

Corbin pursed his lips and nodded his head. He moved away from me and walked down the steps, and I trailed after him, scowling. "Alpha Brickson, I presume?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Brickson looked at me and then looked at Corbin. "Yes," he replied. "Who is asking?" Again, he looked at me, and he silently asked me if I was with him and if he should be jealous of the closeness we possessed with each other.

"Corbin, Alpha," Corbin replied. He held his hand out, and Brickson hesitated but gave him his hand, and they shook hands. "I am just visiting and helping out with the transporting of... friends of Kellum."

Brickson frowned and again looked at me. He set his jaw and cleared his throat, pulling his hand out of Corbin's grasp. "Did you get the paperwork?" he asked. "I thought you said you would."

"I did," I confirmed. I nodded my head to where Hunter was leaning against the other side of the fence with Kyler next to him. "He has them."

"Show me."

I held back an eye roll and looked towards Hunter, catching his gaze. I nodded my head, and Hunter groaned before he got up from where he was and walked towards us holding the paperwork.

"I don't know why you didn't just grab it when you came over here," Hunter grumbled. He handed it to me and scowled, and I rolled my eyes. "I don't know why you wanted me to walk."

"Because you needed to walk, Hunt," I replied. I handed the folder to my mate and pursed my lips when he took it from me but didn't touch me like I thought he would. I placed my hands behind my back and cleared my throat. "Everything should be in order, Alpha. Corbin and his... friends are here to help transport them back here or farther if they want to be at my house."

This elicited a chuckle from Corbin, and I jabbed him in the ribs to get him to shut up, earning a groan. "She's right, Alpha," Corbin said. "We're here strictly on business." He sent me a smirk, and I scowled, knowing full well what he was saying.

He silently told me that he was staying with me until all of this was over, and I could kiss his ass if I tried to tell him anything different.

"Hmmm," Brickson replied, flicking through the paperwork, making sure that it was in order. "How did she get it so quickly?" he asked, looking at Corbin and raising an eyebrow. "Miss... Rice wouldn't tell me about her... ways last night." He turned his gaze towards me before he looked away.

Corbin shrugged his shoulders and grimaced. "I had learned not to question her or her doings," he replied. He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "Shall we get this party on the road? I am sure that the quicker we get them out of there, the quicker we can get them settled somewhere else."

Brickson cringed in guilt and nodded his head. "Of course," he said, something in his voice changing. He cleared his throat and handed the folder to me, again making sure not to touch me and leaving my wolf frustrated and confused. He looked at me, his eyes dark and calculating, daring me to say something else. "You are to come with me."

I scowled and took the folder from him but nodded my head. "Of course," I replied. I looked at Hunter. "You know what you need to do. Get it done."

Hunter nodded his head and ran back to the cabin to get everything ready. He and I had no idea if they wanted to stay here or not, so he would set up some places to sleep while we got everyone out. He also was going to make some inquiries with other packs if they wanted to leave and go live in another pack.

However, we wouldn't know until we got everyone out and settled for at least today.

***

Brickson was silent while we drove to the packhouse. He kept tapping against his steering wheel, and I had a feeling that he wanted to ask me something but didn't know how.

I sighed and shifted in the seat until I was facing him. "You're wondering if anything is going between Corbin and me, aren't you?" It was a statement more than a question. I knew that he was wondering about us, and I wondered if that was why he hadn't made a move to touch me while I had handed him the folder, even though he could.

Brickson set his jaw but nodded his head. "Yes," he grunted, finally. "Is there anything going between the two of you? You two seem... close."

"He is a pain in my ass," I replied tersely. I pursed my lips and looked out the window, scanning the world around me before I turned to look at him. "Nothing is going on between us. We... have a mutual agreement with each other."

Brickson glanced at me from the corner of his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to tell me about this agreement?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Remember, the less you know, the less you have to report. If you know about my dealings and agreements, then you can tell... whoever is controlling you, and they'll have an advantage over me."

Brickson pursed his lips and nodded his head. His eyes turned darker, and I could tell that he was angry about something. His grip tightened around the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white.

"Relax your grip," I scolded. "You're going to break the steering wheel if you keep doing that."

Brickson tightened his grip further around the steering wheel and growled before he relaxed his grip. Hesitantly, he released the steering wheel with one hand and held it out, palm up.

I looked at his hand and then looked at the male to see him still looking at the road, guiding the truck back to his pack lands. Again, I looked at his hand before I muttered a silent curse and placed my hand in his.

Sparks went up my arm and down my spine, and I shivered involuntarily. My wolf purred in my head, happy that we were finally touching after knowing each other only a day before she sighed in contentment.

I didn't look at my mate and looked forward. However, I did squeeze his hand, reassuring him that I was there and that I would figure out how to break the curse that had befallen on him, promising him that there might be a chance of a future for us.

Goddess, please let me keep that promise.