Page 7 of Purrfectly Kissed

I should have protected her. Gotten her help.

Later that afternoon, he’d been pulled from his meeting with earth shattering news. Valerie was dead and the infant she carried in her womb was gone with her.

Bear and man still carried the responsibility for both their deaths. The weight of them sat heavily on his broad shoulders.

That was why he would never take a mate. He couldn’t. Brayden was underserving and unworthy. He would remain unmated and alone.

Forever.

His animal snarled and roared in pain, but the beast would just have to get over it. Loneliness was the only sure thing in his future. The only thing he could bank on.

He had a Pride now, and that helped. But no matter how fucking cute his Bear thought Jessica Maverick was, the she-Cat was off limits.

Never happening.

Rooooooaaaaaaaar.

ChapterFour

Brayden shook his head as he ambled out of the forest. The females were safe, and it was better for everyone if he got the fuck out of there.

He made his way to the back of the Pride House. He entered his suite of rooms through his private balcony and jumped right in the shower.

The custom-built stall was enormous. Big enough for a Bear to move around in. It was cold as hell outside, and the steaming water felt good over his skin.

The original bathroom had been larger than any typical one, but at six-foot seven-inches tall and two-hundred and eighty pounds, he’d needed more space.

It was a good thing he was in the construction business.

Even the specially built facilities of the Pride House were a little bit tight for Brayden. Typically, Tiger Shifters had leaner builds than Bears, though the Neta was wider than the rest of them.

Brayden still towered over everyone in the Pride. Something that used to get his hackles up. He supposed it wasn’t anyone’s fault. Shifters were physical creatures and shows of dominance were the norm.

But it got old fast. Always wondering if some idiot would throw a challenge his way. Now that he was the Pride Beta, it was only a matter of time before some young Tiger thought he could take on the huge Black Bear Shifter.

Grrr.

Brayden hoped to discourage that by his consistent display of loyalty and strength within the Pride itself. He was now foreman of his own construction crew for Maverick Development, and they were a strong group of males, trustworthy too.

The work was hard but satisfying. Their government contracts meant the crew did a lot of highway work. Recently they’d been taking down old overpasses on the highway and replacing them with new, sturdier constructs.

There was an old joke about New Jersey being nice once they finished building it. Now he understood what they meant.

Fact was, the Garden State was busy as fuck. So much traffic went up and down the highways they were constantly in need of repair and renovation. But out of everywhere he’d travelled, Jersey still had the sleekest highways.

Maverick Development was top notch too. Hunter made sure all his crews used the most environmentally conscious methods and supplies to complete all construction work.

The fact that Shifters got the work done at twice the speed of normals just meant the company usually won the contracts. Brayden was damn good at his job.

He liked working with his hands. It provided an excellent outlet for the Bear. It was no fun squashing young cubs who thought he was getting too old to throw down.

Nah.

They were too easily defeated, cowering under his Bear’s might. But tearing down walls and building bridges?

Fuck yeah.

That was much more his speed. He had no interest in fighting, even if Shifters were a bloodthirsty bunch. Sometimes, it was necessary to prove a point or to stop someone from getting seriously injured.

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