After Six Alphas Called Me Cheap, I Took Their Pack

"Two A.M.," I whispered to the empty foyer. "Perfect."

The grandfather clock ticked in the silence. The brothers had vanished into the treeline twenty minutes ago for their Full Moon Run.

I pushed the heavy oak front door. It swung open without a creak.

"Idiots," I muttered, slipping onto the porch. "You left it unlocked."

I sprinted down the gravel driveway. The sharp stones bit into my thin shoes, but I didn't stop. Ten minutes of blind, desperate running. My lungs burned. The streetlights of the main road glowed ahead, casting a yellow halo over the asphalt.

"Almost there," I panted. "Just a few more yards."

I lunged toward the light.

*Smack.*

An invisible wall slammed into my face. The air buzzed violently against my skin, sparking like a live wire, and threw me backward onto the dirt.

"What the hell?" I groaned. I rubbed my stinging forehead and sat up.

I crawled forward and punched the empty space. My knuckles bounced off solid energy. A territory boundary.

"Are you kidding me?" I yelled at the trees. "Open up!"

Silence answered. The buzzing hummed louder, mocking me.

I scrambled to my feet and ran along the invisible perimeter, searching for a gap. A rusted iron door sat half-buried in thick ivy against a stone embankment.

"The Forbidden Wing," I read the faded metal sign.

I tore the vines away, breaking my nails against the stone. "Maybe there's a tunnel. An old servant's exit."

I shoved the heavy metal inward. It scraped loudly against the rock.

"Anyone in here?" I called out, stepping into the pitch black.

The air turned freezing instantly. In the center of the stone chamber stood a massive skeleton. A giant wolf. The First Alpha.

Crushing pressure slammed onto my shoulders, heavy as a collapsed roof.

"No," I choked out. "Move. Just move."

My knees hit the stone floor. The oppressive weight squeezed my skull, dragging my consciousness straight into the dark.

***

"Wake up, Ava."

My eyes snapped open. A strange bedroom. High ceilings, dark velvet curtains. Not the attic they locked me in yesterday.

A sharp pain pulsed on my right wrist. I pulled my arm up. Fresh, bloody teeth marks circled my skin, perfectly mirroring the bite on my neck.

"You bit me!" I yelled. I scrambled against the headboard, pulling my knees to my chest.

Griffin sat in a velvet armchair near the fireplace. He calmly ran a cloth over a serrated hunting knife. "Rule twelve."

"You bit me while I was unconscious." I held up my wrist, the fresh marks still wet. "That's not a rule. That's just cruel."

"You were out for six minutes," Griffin said, not looking up. "I chose somewhere hidden. A lesson for you, not a spectacle for the pack. Be grateful I kept it off your face."

"That's not mercy. That's you deciding how much you're allowed to hurt me."

"Trespassing in the forbidden wing carries a penalty," Griffin finished, entirely ignoring my outburst.

"Are you all infected with rabies?" I demanded. I clutched my bleeding wrist to stop the throbbing. "Keep your teeth off me!"

Griffin didn't look up from his blade. "Kade wanted to lock you in the cellar. He thought starvation would correct your behavior. I suggested a more educational method."

"Biting me is educational?" I spat.

"Pain teaches faster than darkness."

"You're psychopaths. All of you."

"We are wolves," Griffin corrected. He slid the knife into his leather holster. "And you are late."

"Late for what?"

"The full moon ritual." Griffin stood up, brushing a speck of lint from his dark slacks. "Walk, or I carry you by your throat."

I swung my legs off the mattress. "I'm not participating in your weird cult."

"You don't have a choice." Griffin pointed toward the door. "Move."

"What if I refuse?" I challenged, gripping the bedsheets.

"Then I drag you by your hair. Choose."

I glared at him, but stepped toward the hallway. "Fine. But I'm filing a police report the second I find a phone."

"The police work for us," Griffin stated flatly. "Keep walking."

***

He marched me outside. The forest clearing bathed in blinding silver moonlight. The air smelled of wet earth and pine.

"Stay exactly here," Griffin ordered. He shoved me into the damp grass.

"Don't touch me," I snapped, stumbling to catch my balance.

Dozens of massive wolves prowled the perimeter. Bones cracked like dry branches. Flesh shifted. Men and women dropped to the dirt, transforming into beasts under the moon.

I backed away, my heart hammering. "I want to go back to my room."

"Watch," Griffin commanded.

He stepped forward. His body twisted and expanded until a towering steel-gray wolf stood in his place.

To his left, Kade morphed into a massive black wolf, his fur absorbing the moonlight.

Three more stepped out from the trees. Jax, his coat a fiery red. Beside him, two identical wolves in white and gray. Mason and Leo. The triplets.

Then, the shadows parted.

A beast twice their size stalked into the light. Black-silver fur. Silas. His eyes weren't gold like the others. They burned a violent, blood red.

"What is he?" I whispered, taking another step back.

Six pairs of beast eyes snapped toward me.

An invisible string yanked hard inside my chest. It wasn't the air. It was a physical tether snapping taut, connecting my ribs to theirs. My heart hammered against my chest cavity.

Jax threw his head back. He didn't howl for a hunt. It was a deep, chest-rattling sound of pure recognition.

"Stop it!" I yelled. I covered my ears to block out the noise.

The black wolf lunged forward. Mid-air, Kade shifted back. He landed on two feet, completely naked in the moonlight, his muscles flexing under the silver glow.

He grabbed my arm and dragged me into the center of the clearing.

"Get your hands off me!" I yelled, wrenching against his grip.

Kade ignored my struggles. He faced the pack, his voice echoing off the trees. "She is not a Mate!"

The wolves growled, low and hungry.

"She is a Bond Servant!" Kade shouted over them. "Shared property. Human debt."

I kicked his shin hard. "I am not property! I am a person!"

Kade yanked me flush against his bare chest, knocking the breath from my lungs. "Anyone with an objection can challenge me right now."

No one moved. Silas simply watched, his red eyes narrowing in the dark.

"Good," Kade murmured. He tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck.

"Don't," I pleaded. I squirmed wildly, trying to break free. "Please, don't."

Kade lowered his face. "Hold still, collateral."

His jaws opened. He clamped his teeth directly over the old bite mark Jax had left yesterday.

"Ahhh!" I shrieked.

His canines sank deep to the bone, scraping against my collarbone. Fire exploded through my veins.

Deep inside my chest, something clicked. A heavy, metallic snap. It didn't lock around my neck. The sensation wrapped violently around his heart, tethering us together in a twisted, unbreakable knot.

Kade pulled back. His mouth stained red. He dragged his tongue across his lower lip, swallowing my blood.

"Monday, Wednesday, Friday," Kade whispered in my ear. His tone dangerously soft. "You're on my schedule now, Miss Sinclair."

I slumped against him. My legs turned to jelly, unable to support my weight.

"And I don't like sharing," he added. He tossed me aside.

I crashed into the mud. Cold wetness seeped through my clothes, chilling me to the bone.

The six wolves broke formation and circled me. Red, white, gray, steel, black, and silver. They stared down at my trembling body the way starving men eye the last plate at the table.

My vision darkened at the edges. The entire Pack lifted their snouts to the sky, their unified howl shattering the night.

Just before the darkness took me completely, Silas stepped out of the circle. His red eyes locked onto mine. A single, human word echoed directly in my mind.

*Mine.*