by Sky Winters
Lexi laid back on the bed, folding her hands over her stomach.
And then the lock clicked, the door opening slowly.
She bolted upright to see who was there.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
Lexi spotted Chad’s sliver of a smile through the darkness of the hallway. He opened the door and stepped in, shutting it behind him and locking it.
“Go away,” she said, the words coming out by instinct.
He stood at the door with that same smile, as if there wasn’t anything she could say that would bother him.
“I’m not going anywhere. And neither are you. So, you might as well accept it.”
“Fuck off.”
He rolled his eyes as if what she’d said had been expected and annoying.
“Shouldn’t you be out there leading your men or something?” she asked. “Or are you letting them do all the fighting for you?”
He snorted. “They’ve got it covered. I’ve got all the planning taken care of, and all I have to do is let my boys do their thing. And it’s just the fucking Leafcutters. I bet I could send you in there to take care of them.”
He rose and stepped over to Lexi, looming over her.
“Nope. There’s something more important that I’ve got on my mind. Something bigger to conquer—you.”
He leaned in and stared deeply into her eyes, his smile sinister.
“I’m going to claim you now. I thought I might wait until tonight, to really celebrate the first victory of my campaign. But then I remembered how you are, what you did to me. And I’m not going to give you the chance to do it again.”
He leaned in and sniffed Lexi, shoving his nose into her hair.
Then he froze. And at that moment, Lexi knew that he’d found out.
“What...what the hell his that smell? That’s...that’s another fucking alpha!”
He stood up spear-straight, his eyes raging with anger.
“You let that fucker claim you!” he yelled. “You...you little fucking slut!”
Before Lexi could do anything, he lunged forward and pinned her to the bed, fury on his face.
“You let him claim you. And I bet you’re carrying his fucking kid. Well, it doesn’t fucking matter. I’ll kill him, then once you’ve had the little brat, I’ll make him my most loyal little soldier, make sure he doesn’t have any idea who his daddy really is. And you’re not going to do a damn thing about it.”
“You sure about that?”
“Huh?” an expression of confusion took hold. But he didn’t have time for any kind of reaction other than that.
Lexi drove her knee straight up, connecting right with his dick. Chad’s eyes went wide, his face turning a deep shade of red.
“Fuck!” he shouted the word before rolling over onto his side, his hands going right to his cock.
Lexi jumped out of bed and ran over to the other side of the room, taking no small amount of pleasure from watching him writhe in pain.
“You...you fucking bitch!” Chad slammed his boots onto the ground, straining to get himself up and onto his feet. He took a few deep, slow breaths before rushing over to Lexi.
Before she had a chance to move, he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up and against the wall.
“I was just gonna fuck you,” he said. “But now, I’m thinking I’m going to do a hell of a lot worse.”
But before he got the chance, a series of pounding knocks boomed through the space.
“What?” snarled Chad. “I’m fucking busy!”
“Chad!” called the voice on the other side. “We need you. Now!”
“Can’t it wait?”
“It’s...it’s the attack. We need you!”
He gave Lexi one last narrow-eyed stare before dropping her to the ground. She fell into a heap, taking in breath after breath as Chad went over to the door and opened it up.
“What?” he said again.
“The strike force made their move into Leafcutter territory. But when they reached the camp, it was...it was empty.”
“Empty? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Abandoned. No one’s there.”
“How the hell is that possible? What, did they all go on a fucking field trip or something?”
“We don’t know. But they need you there to give your command.”
“Fucking hell. I’ll go now. Come on.”
He turned to Lexi.
“Don’t think I’m done with you, bitch. Not even fucking close.”
With that, he stepped out of the room and locked the door behind him.
What the hell happened? The attack went wrong?
Her throat ached, but she considered the pain definitely worth what she’d done to Chad. She smirked, knowing the look on his face when she’d smashed him right in the jewels would be a happy memory for a long, long time.
But he was coming back, and she had to think of something. After no more than ten minutes had passed, a series of bangs sounded in the hallway.
“What the hell?” called the guard.
Then a roar, then a thud. Then nothing.
Lexi stood in front of the door, wondering what the hell had happened. Then the locks unclicked and the door opened.
“Lex!”
It was Shana and Sam.
Shana rushed into the room, throwing her arms around Lexi and giving her a tight hug.
“Are you OK?” Sam asked as he hurried in.
Lexi turned her attention to him, seeing that his face was covered in bruises.
“I’m fine—but you look like hell.”
He shook his head. “It’s nothing. Chad’s guys roughed me up, trying to see if I knew where you’d gone off to. They’d been keeping me in the basement. I found a way out weeks ago, but I didn’t want to waste the chance. And when Shana showed up and told me you were here, I knew the time was right.”
Lexi, not saying a word, came over and gave him a tight hug.
“Ow!” he said with a grin. “Easy. Still kinda sore.”
“Thank you so much, Sam. You’re a real hero.”
“Hey,” he said, nodding to Shana. “She helped too.”
“You’re damn right I did,” she said with a proud smile. “I’m the one who took out that prick in the hallway.”
“What’s happening with Chad?” asked Lexi. “Why did he leave?”
“I just overheard what the guards said,” Shana explained. “And they didn’t know much.”
“They were expecting an easy victory,” said Sam. “But something went wrong. Something they didn’t count on.”
“Jason,” said Lexi.
“Maybe,” said Shana.
“But we have to go now,” said Lexi. “And help out if we can.”
“Right,” said Sam. “Let’s move.”
They hurried out of the room, the three of them stepping over the body of the guard as they left. The group ran outside, the evening well on. A few dozen members of the pack were out, and Lexi called out to them.
“Thundertooth pack!” she yelled. “Jason and I are back! Chad’s gone—take back the camp!”
They all seemed disbelieving at first—especially the few guards that remained. But when they saw it was her, the mood changed on a dime. The pack members took on expressions of anger—anger directed at the guards.
And then they attacked. The fighting didn’t last long at all.
“Come on!” said Sam. “We need to move!”
The three of them shifted and ran off into the woods, covering as much ground as quickly as possible as they made their way to the Leafcutter camp. It wasn’t long before they spotted it, Chad in his bear form slowly joining the bears who waited in the center of the grounds.
They all shifted back.
“It’s empty,” said Shana. “What’s going on?”
“Attack! Attack now!” The voice came from the woods, familiar and confident.
Before any of them could say a word, hordes of bears emerged from the woods, rushing into
the grounds from both sides. They came from the left and the right, catching Chad’s men in a pincer attack.
“They let Chad have the town!” said Sam, his eyes lighting up. “Let him drop his guard. And now they’re flanking!”
“What do we do?” asked Shana.
Lexi grinned. “We finish this!”
Without waiting for her friends to join, Lexi shifted and stormed into the camp.
The fighting was fierce, unrelenting. The Leafcutters had caught Chad’s men totally by surprise, taking out a fourth of them right from the start. Lexi joined, Shana and Sam right behind her.
Roars filled the air, claws cut into fur, and bodies dropped left and right.
And then she spotted him.
It was Jason.
She had no doubt the massive bear leading the charge was her alpha. After taking down one of Chad’s men, she watched as Jason went straight for Chad, lifting his body up and slamming into him hard, pinning him to the ground.
Sam and Shana joined the rest of the Leafcutters, the two packs working together in ripping through Chad’s loyalist, roars cut short as they did their work.
But Lexi wasn’t about to let Jason have all the fun. She weaved through the frenzy of combat, catching up with Jason right at the moment he swiped his paw toward Chad, cutting through the front of his neck, a spray of red shooting through the air.
Chad stumbled back and dropped, still breathing. Jason and Lexi met eyes, and together they raised their front claws above and brought them down hard, piercing Chad’s thick flesh. Lexi twisted, her anger coming through.
Then Chad stopped. Lexi and Jason pulled their claws out and stepped back, watching as Chad shifted back to his human form. He coughed one last time, blood dripping down the sides of his mouth.
He was dead.
Jason quickly shifted to human and called out.
“Chad’s dead! The battle’s over! Surrender now and you don’t have to die!”
The rest of the fighters, loyalists and Leafcutters, stopped. Then they turned in the direction of the voice, seeing that Chad had fallen. They shifted back one-by-one, no one knowing quite what to do.
But Jason didn’t hesitate.
“As the new alpha of the Thudnertooth pack, I hereby announce our surrender. As of this moment, the war is over!”
Silence fell, no one knowing what to say or do.
Then cheers broke out, first from the Leafcutter and then from the Loyalists. Lexi ran over to Jason, throwing her arms around him.
“You came back for me,” she said, tears in her eyes.
“Of course I did,” he said with a smirk. “What, did you think I’d let you have all the fun on your own?”
He tilted up her chin, putting a hard kiss on her lips.
And the kiss was like nothing else.
They were together. Nothing would stop them.
EPILOGUE I
JASON
One week later...
Jason stood in the throne room of the alpha cabin, nearly every member of the pack gathered in the massive hall.
He was calm, his expression even. He knew it was what the Thundertooth pack needed. After suffering at the hands of Chad, a real leader would need to guide them through the months ahead.
And he was ready to be that leader.
He lowered himself to one knee, bowing his head.
The ritual was a sign of humility. When the new alpha took the reins, his first action was to kneel before the pack, to be defenseless, to let anyone there strike him—if they so choose. It was a symbol, a display that while the alpha was in charge of the pack, he was there to serve them first and foremost.
He’d always considered the ritual stupid tradition, a sign of weakness.
But he’d changed over the last few weeks, gone from a man who didn’t give a damn about anyone but himself to one who put the pack over his own life.
He was ready to be the man he was meant to be.
After several long minutes, not a single member of the pack calling out to dispute or challenge his rule, he caught sight of someone approaching.
It was her.
Lexi moved to his side and placed her hand on his shoulder.
“Stand, alpha.”
He glanced up at her, and at that moment, despite everything happening, all he could think about was just how damn hot she was. More than that, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life.
Jason rose to his feet and took in the sight of the crowd. His family was there, his parents and Eric. Shana and Sam and Lexi’s family were in the front row. All watched with pride, ready for a different sort of alpha to lead them through an uncertain future.
“With pride, I take the lead,” he spoke, reciting the lines. “I lead with strength, with courage, and with gratitude.”
And then he raised his fist. Cheers broke out.
It was official.
But there was one more thing he wanted. Jason put his arm around Lexi’s slender waist and pulled her close.
“I love you,” he said over the crowd.
“And I love you, too.”
JASON HAD BEEN LOOKING forward to the ceremony, to officially becoming the alpha of the Thundertooth.
But the wedding was what he really wanted.
After being declared the alpha, he didn’t waste any time officially making Lexi his omega. They’d imprinted, but the wedding was what made it real in the eyes of the pack.
An altar had been built of flowers and vines in front of the alpha cabin, the pack gathered on both sides. When Lexi came down the aisle in her family gown, flowing and white and beautiful, he couldn’t believe that she was about to be his.
The vows were spoken.
And then it was time to party.
The whole pack gathered, food and drinks and everything else in abundance.
What was more—there was peace. Once Chad had been overthrown, Jason was quick to declare peace. The Thundertooth and Leafcutter packs were joined in alliance, and together, they stood united against any who would oppose them.
But no one dared.
Jason and Lexi and Shana and Sam and Eric were gathered around one of the many tables, beers in hand—except for the pregnant Lexi, of course.
“How’s it feel, alpha?” asked Eric with a grin.
“Feel’s the same.”
Sam raised his eyebrows. “What, you don’t feel like commanding the pack, sending out an army, crushing any pack in your way?”
Jason shrugged.
“Eh, not really. Kinda just want a beer and a burger. Maybe a nap—kinda tired.”
The group laughed.
“And that’s how we know you’re the right man for the job,” said Shana. “Shit’s not going to your head.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” said Jason with a grin. “I’ve got big plans for the pack.”
“Is that right?” asked Sam. “Like what?”
He glanced at Lexi. They’d been talking about what was next, and she smiled, knowing he—they—were ready to share.
“First of all,” he said. “None of this ‘getting claimed whether you like it or not’ shit.”
“Right,” said Lexi. “We’re going to modernize this pack, start acting like shifters who aren’t stuck in the nineteenth century.”
“It’s about damn time,” said Shana. “People should be allowed to mate with who they want. I mean, if we’d done what our parents wanted, Maddie would be married to this asshole right now.” She smiled, reaching over and giving Jason a friendly shove.
“She should be so lucky,” said Jason with a grin.
“See what I mean?” asked Shana light-heartedly. “Total asshole. But look at her now—”
She nodded to the far end of the party, Maddie and Kurt in the middle of their usual laughing and flirting and necking. But now they didn’t have to hide their love from the pack.
“And that’s not all,” said Lexi. “We’re going to make connections with shifter packs in Seattle. Onc
e those have been established, we’ll establish a presence there so anyone who wants to move to the city can do it.”
Jason spoke up. “That means college will be an option for every shifter. I’m going to keep my Uncle Stone’s memory alive by making sure Grizzly holdings stays profitable. We’ll be strong in the forest, and strong in the city.”
Jason felt a pressure on his hand and looked down to see that Lexi had taken it, squeezing it gently.
“I don’t know about you guys,” said Eric. “But I’m ready.”
The rest of the group sent up noises of agreement.
Before the conversation could go on, the band started another tune.
Lexi stood up. “All right, talk time’s over—let’s dance!”
With that, the group got up and headed over to the already-packed dance floor. Jason and Lexi paired off, and Eric went with his new girlfriend, a pretty redhead from the Leafcutter pack.
“Shana,” said Sam with a smile. “Care for a dance?”
She beamed right back. “I’d love one.”
Sam took her hand, and the two went off.
“You think...?” asked Jason. “Finally?”
Lexi grinned. “I’ve got a good feeling.”
Jason smiled. “I’ve got lots of those, too.”
They kissed, then they danced.
And the night was perfect.
EPILOGUE II
Six months later...
Lexi sleepily opened her eyes, sunlight beaming into the bedroom of their Seattle penthouse. She sat up and stretched before getting up and stepping over to the window to take in the sight she never grew tired of—the city spread out before her, glittering with morning light.
“Hey,” said Jason behind her. “I don’t remember saying you could get out of bed.”
Lexi turned to see Jason awake and lying on his side, his sculpted upper body bare and the sheets draped over his waist.
“Funny,” she said with a smile. “For the most forward-thinking alpha in the state, you’re really having a hard time with this ‘not telling your omega what to do’ thing.”
“Hey,” he said with a shrug. “When you look as good as you do first thing in the morning, can you really blame me for wanting you right back in my bed?”
