Page 6 of Same Rogue
“Bridger, are you listening?” Liam asked.
Bridger eased his eyes open to realize the entire Rogue Pack was staring at him. He cleared his throat and sat up straighter. “What did you say?”
“Vic and Lyric are banned from interfering anymore. Everyone here is banned from pushing a mate onto Bridger, and that is an order,” Liam ground out. “Is that understood?
“Yes, Alpha,” they all murmured.
“You can all go,” Liam said in an annoyed tone. “Bridger, hang back for a second so I can talk to you.”
Great.
He glared at Vic as he passed. Asshole.
“We texted her and apologized,” Lyric said softly. “We feel so bad.”
“You should. Why the hell did you think that would work?”
Lyric shrugged and looked miserable. “Honestly she just felt…special.”
“She couldn’t be farther from Amelia if she tried.”
Lyric exchanged a glance with Vic. “Isn’t that the point?”
Bridger frowned. “What do you mean?”
“We weren’t trying to find a replacement for your mate, Bridger. We were trying to find someone you couldn’t compare to her.”
“You should look at her matchmaking page, man,” Vic said softly as he typed onto his phone. He looked up and clapped him on the shoulder. “We messed up, but she seems cool as hell.”
Bridger was still stuck on the ‘Isn’t that the point’ comment Lyric made when his phone buzzed in his pocket.
He pulled it out and opened the link Vic had sent him. It opened up on a page with the tattooed lady’s picture at the top. Actually, there were multiple pictures of her if he scrolled. Nikita ‘Kit’ Rothchild. The first picture was a selfie of her in natural sunlight with a bright smile. Great smile. It lit up her light-colored eyes. The next was of her on a hike in some desert. Her long bi-colored hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and she wore a tight tank top and shorts and hiking boots. Sunglasses covered her bright eyes, and she was waving to the camera. The next was a picture of five wolves, with a petite cream and brown one circled. On the photo was typed,would pair best with a protective partner. Submissive wolf.
The next was of her behind a bar at some fancy place. She wore a white, long-sleeved ironed shirt and a black apron. All of her tattoos were covered, and her hair was in a bun at the nape of her neck. She was shaking up a drink with the biggest, happiest smile plastered across her face. His attention lingered on thatone. She seemed to love what she was doing. He could feel the joy jumping through the picture.
The Mark made sense now as a job she’d set up for herself.
He respected that she hadn’t come here just to coast for a while with a new mate. She’d had work lined up for herself. Independent. Nice.
He scrolled down to her biography.
Thirty-four years old, never paired, no cubs. Ready for long-term pairing. Wanting to trust someone and to let her wolf bond. She is a part of the McIver Pack but is willing to relocate if a partner is solidified into a Pack and wants to stay. Can be flexible with living arrangements. Is fine with taking it as slow as a partner needs. Would ask for the same consideration as she is ready for a match to stick. Partner must have a job and steady stream of income and willing to pay their own bills. Must be of sound mind, and patient. Must be trustworthy. Must want cubs.
Below that were a few links to her social media pages. He clicked the first one, and her Instagram page popped up. The page was set to private, so he couldn’t see anything, but he could see the tags with her in it, and The Mark had just tagged her page. He opened up the video of her behind the bar taking orders for a trio of ladies. Two more guys were waiting at the end of the bar. She wore the same short tank top she wore earlier, and jeans, and her hair hung in wild pretty curls down her fit shoulders. She talked with a customer, leaned in, listened to her order, and went to making a drink. She did fancy bottle spins and chatted away with them as if she’d made drinks like this a million times before. A woman’s voice in the background said, “Bartender Kit is our guest tonight! Come see what she can make for you. Last call is at one-forty-five!” The caption said,Shout-out to Bartender Kit for coming out a full day early when I needed her. I’ve been counting down to getting this onebehind my bar. Welcome the newest member of the team. She’s going to shake things up around here. Get it? Shake things up? Bartender joke. We’ve got one-dollar cheap whiskey shots for the next hour! Come and get ‘em while the getting’s good!
There were forty-five likes on it already, and when he looked at the comments, there were a bunch of thirsty guys talking about how hot she was. One said he was headed to The Mark right now just to talk to her.
“You good?” Liam asked.
Bridger swallowed the growl that was rattling his throat. “Always,” he lied.
Such confusion swirled in his chest as he thought about Amelia again. He shook his head hard, but the damn growl was sitting right there, ready to rattle his chest again.
“The Pack is worried about you, man,” Liam said, resting against the dining table. His mate, Nory, was cleaning dishes in the kitchen, but Bridger could tell her attention was really on their conversation.
“Tell the Pack to mind their own business. They are all paired and breeding. They have plenty to keep them busy. Stop worrying about me.”
“Yeah, but lately, you’re so quiet and combative. It’s getting worse.”
