her friends or family. But they didn’t—though the faces were familiar.
“What is this?” asked Lexi. “These are our people!
“They’re members of our pack, some of the men who resisted Chad when he took charge. When Rick died, there were rumors about what had happened, that Chad had been the one to kill his father. And he decided to handle them by making even suggesting it punishable by death.”
Lexi looked over the bodies, rage boiling inside of her at the sight of her fellow pack members killed so mercilessly.
“And some are just people Chad felt didn’t demonstrate clear enough loyalty. He didn’t take kindly to them, either.”
Lexi grit her teeth as she made her way past the bodies.
“When we win, we’ll give them proper burials.”
“Yeah,” said Shana. “I like that idea. Assuming we don’t end up there with them.”
As they drew closer to the grounds, Lexi began to notice trash, beer bottles and liquor bottles and all sorts of litter.
“Chad’s been partying a lot, too, ‘celebrating’ claiming the females of the pack. He’s made it a rule that he gets to sleep with any woman first, before her mate does.”
“He’s a sick fuck. I can’t wait to kill him myself.”
“We have to play this smart, Lexi. We can’t just assume we’ll get the chance to do anything. He’ll be expecting us.”
“I know.”
They kept on, and before too long, the cabins grew visible in the distance. And there were figures moving in the low light of sunset. One stopped and sniffed the air before turning to her.
“They see us,” said Shana. “Shit.”
“No,” said Lexi. “We want them to see us, remember?”
Shana gave a quick nod, her eyes fixed forward. “Right,” she said. “Just...doesn’t make this any easier.”
“Yo!” shouted one of the men. “We got contact!”
Three of them formed up, shifted, and ran over, their powerful brown bear forms thundering through the woods. When they reached the women, they formed a tight circle around them, staring Lexi and Shana down as if wanting to see if they’d make a move.
Lexi was scared, but did her best to stay calm. Part of her worried they might kill her on the spot.
But they didn’t. They shifted back, one of them grinning broadly as he realized who he had in front of him.
“Damn, Lexi?” he asked. “Holy shit.”
“Chad’s gonna fucking freak when he sees you,” said another.
“Probably reward the hell out of us.”
“Let’s get them back,” said the first man.
“What about her?” asked another, gesturing at Shana. “What do we do with her?”
“Take her too. Chad said Lexi would be coming with someone, remember?”
“Oh yeah.”
The first man stepped forward and grabbed Lexi’s wrist. Without hesitating, she yanked her arm back from him.
The men let out impressed, mocking noises. “Whoa, we’ve got a tough girl on our hands.” He grinned and looked Lexi up and down.
“I want to see Chad,” she said, doing her best to keep her voice firm and fearless. “And I want to see him now.”
More laughter from the men. “Oh, don’t worry—you’re going to see him. But you’re going to have to be a good girl first. Can you be a good girl?”
“Fuck off,” said Lexi.
More impressed mocking noises came from the men. “She’s spicy,” said one of them. “I’m starting to get why Chad’s so fucking desperate to get her back.”
“Come on,” said the first man. “Let’s see the big man.”
The men formed up around Lexi, staying close enough that she wouldn’t be able to get very far if she were to break out into a run. They made their way to the camp, and the closer they got, the more Lexi saw evidence of Chad’s new role as alpha.
There was garbage everywhere, the remnants of parties that no one had bothered to clean up. Unlike the orderly scene when Rick was in charge, the place looked less like a town for shifters and more like a collection of cabins that a group of college bros had spent a week trashing.
They reached the main cabin, a massive, put-out bonfire in front of the building.
“Where’s my family?” she asked.
One of the men shrugged. “I dunno. Talk to the big guy about that if you’re so desperate.”
He reached forward and opened the door. Inside was the entry room, which, unlike the rest of the place, was mostly spotless. There were full bottles of expensive liquor, jewelry, and other pricey goods laying around.
Probably shit he stole from the other packs, she thought.
The men led her to a large set of double doors, giving them a