An Alpha's Storm (Water Bear Shifters 1) by Sloane Meyers

enough of this,” she said, storming past Brett and out the front door.
    “The guys were right,” he called after her. “I should have known that a rebound would end in the same way as my relationship with my ex.”
    Aubrey stopped for a moment, and turned to put her finger right in Brett’s face. “You said I wasn’t a rebound,” she hissed. “And besides, even if we were dating, which we weren’t, I didn’t do anything wrong. You jumped to conclusions and didn’t even give me a fair chance to explain. I’m not interested in spending time with someone who isn’t going to trust me.”
    Brett stared at her without saying anything. His expression was set in a hard line, and his nostrils flared in anger. Aubrey shook her head in disgust and turned on her heel again. So much for the friends with benefits thing actually working out. She should have known it wouldn’t. It never did. She was obviously glad Brett had rescued her from the ocean when her research boat had sunk, but she wished she had never met him again after that. Her life was complicated enough without adding an angry, jealous man to the mix.
    Aubrey climbed into her car, and peeled out of the parking lot. She needed to clear her head, and she knew just the place to do it. She headed for one of her favorite secluded beach spots, driving like a madwoman to get there. She needed to be in the water. She didn’t even bother going back to the lab to grab a wetsuit. It was still warm enough that she could handle a swim in the ocean in her underwear. And she didn’t want to spend another second anywhere near Brett or Gary.
     
    * * *
     
    Brett stormed out of the bar, blinded by rage. He had been such a fool. He had actually believed that Aubrey meant it when she said she didn’t have time for a relationship. He had allowed himself to hold out hope that, in the future, after the slow burn of friendship, she might change her mind and let him love her.
    Now, he had to face the fact that he had been played. He had been so excited when his shift at the air station unexpectedly ended a day early. He had gone to surprise Aubrey at work, hoping to catch her on her way out of the lab. But traffic had been horrendous, and he hadn’t made it to the university until after he knew she would already be gone. He had still driven through the parking lot, anyway, just in case he happened to catch her working late. But he hadn’t seen her car. Giving up on the surprise aspect, he had had picked up his phone to call her and see if she was free for dinner. Just as he’d been about to dial, he saw her car outside of a small bar, Pete’s, down the road from the university. He grinned as he pulled into the parking lot. She had mentioned this place before. She’d told him that they had a great selection of beers on tap, and that she liked to go there after work sometimes to grab drinks with her colleagues.
    Brett’s excitement had quickly turned into anger when he walked through the front door, however. He had been shocked to see Aubrey sitting at the bar with another man’s hand on her arm. He had exploded with rage. His inner bear had pushed against his human skin, demanding to be let out and allowed to rip the other man to pieces. Brett had, of course, resisted that urge. But he hadn’t been able to keep himself from yelling at Aubrey. She had lied to him. She had told him that she didn’t want a relationship, when she was clearly getting cozy with another guy. She had never even held his hand when they were out, preferring to keep things strictly in the friend zone until they were in the bedroom. Yet, here she was, letting some other man put his hands all over her.
    The worst part about this was Brett realized that he actually didn’t have any right to be mad at another man for putting his hands on Aubrey. Brett had no claim on her. They were friends. With benefits, sure. But they had never agreed to be exclusive. Brett had just assumed they would be, blinded by his