Right away, she could tell he was drunk. He reeked of beer and whiskey, and his steps were uneven. Chad came over and scooped her off the couch, Lexi feeling totally powerless.
He planted a big kiss on her lips, one she didn’t want in the slightest.
“Chad,” she said, moving her head away. “We’re not supposed to be doing this stuff before the ceremony.”
But he didn’t put her down. “I’m the alpha, baby. That means I can do whatever I want.”
“You’re not the alpha,” she said. “Your dad is.”
This response didn’t seem to make him happy in the slightest. Chad dropped her onto the couch and stepped away, looking out of the window past his truck and to the alpha cabin in the distance.
“It’s going to be mine,” he said. “And soon.”
“It’ll be yours when your father passes it to you,” said Lexi. “And that’s not going to happen any time soon.”
“Whatever,” he said, turning around. “When this war gets going and I give our pack more territory, they’re going to be begging to put me in charge.”
“What war?” asked Lexi. She could tell Chad was drunk enough that he might say something he didn’t intend.
“Those fucking Leafcutter pussies.”
“But...why are you going to war with them? They’re harmless, lived in the same area for centuries.”
“Yeah,” he said with a grin. “And that’s why it’s perfect. They’re on primo land, right between all of the other packs. But for some reason, no one’s got the balls to take them out and claim it.”
“Because that would mean going to war with a pack that isn’t enemies with anyone.”
He scoffed as if he were talking to an ignorant child. “You don’t get to not have enemies when you’re a shifter. It’s bear-eat-bear, wolf-eat-wolf. Anyone who’s not ready to be totally fucking ruthless doesn’t deserve to last. So, I’m going to go out there and wipe that pack off the face of the earth. And once that land’s ours, we’ll be the most powerful pack in the state. Then it’s just a matter of picking off the rest of the other packs, one by one.”
Chad kept right on grinning as if it were the most brilliant idea imaginable. Filled with cockiness, he stepped over to Lexi and loomed over her.
“But right now,” he said, “I’ve got other things in mind. Like your sexy body.”
He reached down and grabbed her hands, pulling Lexi to her feet before she could react. Then Chad placed his hands on her hips, squeezing her tight.
“What...what are you doing, Chad?”
“You’re a smart girl,” he said. “Too smart for your own good, really. I don’t think I need to explain to you what I’m doing.”
He moved his hands around, one going to the front of Lexi’s jeans, the other going to her right breast.
Without thinking, she pulled her hand back and brought it across his face. A crack sounded out, Chad regarding her with an expression of total surprise as he’d realized what she’d done.
“Did you...did you just fucking smack me?” He seemed pissed and amused all at the same time.
“I...I did. And I’ll do it again if you touch me.”
“Listen, babe,” he said. “I don’t know if you get how this whole ‘alpha and omega’ thing works, but you’re mine. That means you’re my property. When I tell you to do something, that means you do it, and you thank me for the command. Understand?”
Lexi was furious.
“You think that’s what it means?”
“That’s exactly what it means. Now, take off your clothes.”
“No.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“You’d better do it now.”
“Or else what?”
He stepped close to her, cutting the distance between the two of them down to inches.
“You don’t want to know.”
But Lexi was defiant. She stood firm, not moving an inch.
And she had no idea what Chad would do next.
Before anything could happen, a booming knock sounded at the door.
Chad turned, clearly not expecting anyone.
“Who the hell is it?” he asked.
“Who the hell do you think it is?”
Lexi recognized the voice right away—it was Rick, the pack’s alpha, and Chad’s father.
“Shit!” Chad hissed. He pointed to Lexi. “You stay right there.”
But the moment Chad turned his back Lexi sat down, not wanting to obey even that simple of a command.
Chad stepped over to the door and opened it. Sure enough, his father was on the other side. From where Lexi was sitting, she couldn’t see Rick. But she knew it was him.