In the Company of Wolves(14)

That was crazy. The odds were incredibly stacked against a werewolf ever meeting his one-in-a-billion soul mate. There was no way Becker could have met his in the midst of an armed robbery. That kind of crap didn’t happen in the real world.

But it had happened for Gage and Xander. So maybe it had happened for him too.

He pushed at a piece of dirt on the floor with the toe of his boot before finally shrugging. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Cooper folded his arms, his dark eyes regarding Becker thoughtfully. “Are you sure you’re not just projecting? That you want this woman to be The One so badly you’re willing to overlook anything that doesn’t fit?”

“What the hell does that mean?” Becker demanded. He pushed away from the counter. “Since when did you turn into Dr. Phil?”

Cooper held up his hands. “I’m just saying. I know you’ve been looking around the next corner for that one-in-a-billion babe for you ever since Gage met Mac. I get it.”

Becker didn’t say anything. Cooper was right. He hadn’t had a serious relationship since he’d gone through his change, and if there was a perfect woman out there for him, he wouldn’t turn a blind eye to her—or turn her in to his fellow cops.

“So what if I am eager to find The One for me?” he asked. “What kind of dumbass werewolf wants to live his life alone?”

Cooper seemed to think about that. “I get what you’re saying. But given that you really, really want this woman to be The One, are you sure you aren’t just seeing what you want to see?”

“No. I’m telling you, there’s something about her.” Becker eyed his friend. “So…are you going to say anything to Gage?”

Cooper looked to Tuffie for help, but the dog’s expression remained happily neutral, as if to say Cooper was on his own with this one.

Cooper muttered something under his breath. “Why am I the one who has to keep everybody’s secrets when they’re doing something stupid?”

Becker chuckled, remembering how Cooper had kept Xander and Khaki’s relationship secret from everybody on the team for a while. “Because you’re so good at it.”

Cooper shook his head. “Okay, so we don’t tell Gage and the rest of the Pack. What do we do then?”

Becker frowned. “Hold on. There is no we. I’ve already gotten you in deep enough by asking you to lie for me.”

“If this all goes south, it’s not like Gage and Xander will go easier on me because all I did was lie to them,” Cooper pointed out. “It’s in my best interest to make sure this all works out right. If it doesn’t, we’ll probably both end up getting punched through a brick wall. So, how can I help?”

Dammit, Cooper could be stubborn. Becker should have told his friend that he didn’t want him involved, but the truth was, he could use the help. And as Cooper pointed out, Gage would be pissed anyway. Then again, Gage was always pissed about something.

“The first thing we need to do is get out of here so I can do some digging,” he told Cooper. “Think you can come up with an excuse without making anyone suspicious?”

Cooper thought about it for a moment, then grinned. “Yeah. We tell Gage the truth.”

Becker gaped. Had Cooper missed the part where he said they couldn’t tell anyone about the werewolf babe?

But Cooper was already out the door with Tuffie at his heels, leaving Becker no choice but to catch up.

Cooper’s version of the truth was telling Gage that the two of them wanted to check out the warehouse to see if they could find something that would lead to the other pack. Becker had expected it to be harder than that, but Gage hadn’t even batted an eye.

Cooper glanced at Becker as they headed to the parking lot. “See how easy things are when you tell the truth?”

Becker just snorted as he walked over to his bike. He could have ridden with Cooper, but since Becker didn’t know where the trail might lead, he figured he might need his wheels, so he took his Harley instead. Besides, the ride might help him get his head right where that female werewolf was concerned. Could she really be The One? Yes, he’d been immediately attracted to her and so rattled that he’d barely been able to think, but shouldn’t he have felt something more definitive? Gage and Xander claimed they’d known they’d met their soul mates the moment they saw them. Why hadn’t he?

Unless being attracted to a woman even though she’d been pointing a weapon in his face at the time actually was a sign he’d met The One.

Stupid thoughts like that were still bouncing around his head when they arrived at the warehouse. He pushed them aside as he parked his bike beside Cooper’s Wrangler.