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THEO

I’m dreaming when the blare of my alarm clock jolts me awake, its high-pitched beep delivering an instant headache. I paw for it on my nightstand, fingers clumsily searching for the snooze button. Instead, I knock the damn thing onto the ground, the beeping only growing louder as it echoes off of the cement floor.

Fuck.

Guess I’m up now.

I blink sleep from my eyes, slowly adjusting to the dim light spilling in through the slit in the curtains on my window. The light intensifies my headache. I tied one on last night, and even my shifter healing hasn’t quite caught up to this hangover yet.

I grumble as I kick the sheets away from my body, sitting up and leaning over to retrieve the alarm clock from the floor. I want to smash the fucking thing, but I hit a bunch of buttons instead, the incessant beeping finally ending. Groaning, I set it back on my nightstand, focusing in on the red glow of the numbers. 7:00 a.m.

Why Gray had the bright idea to schedule this meeting so early in the morning, I’ll never know. He’s the leader of the security squad, a team of fighters assembled to protect the six-pack territory: six separate and distinct packs of wolf shifters, brought together for a common purpose- survival. We aligned years ago to increase our ranks and protect ourselves from some crazy asshole alpha who was targeting, attacking, and absorbing smaller packs.

Gray’s pack was almost a casualty of that lunatic Alpha Xavier and his shadow pack. Some of them were able to escape, and not long after, they linked up with another pack which eventually led to the formation of the six-pack. I was fucking thrilled when the other five packs united with mine and settled into the surrounding territory, making our little corner of the world feel so much larger. I’ve always felt too big for my small town.  

Another bonus to the formation of the six-pack is the fact that it brought me my closest friends- Gray, Brock, Jax, and Reid. All of us are either alphas of our packs or will be one day, so it was easy for the five of us to form a bond with so much in common. When Gray started the security squad, he urged me and the others to come help him take charge of it. The day I graduated high school, I packed my shit and moved to the complex to help Gray get the squad up and running. Jax, Brock, and Reid joined us shortly thereafter, and the rest is history.

I don’t know what I would’ve done if the squad wasn’t there for me to go to after high school. Things were rough at home- my dad’s a total hardass and nothing I ever did was good enough for him. It’s still not. Out of the five of us alphas who run the squad, two of them already run their own packs and another will be running his by the end of the summer. But me? I doubt my dad will ever step down as alpha to let me take over. He always says I’m not ready, not mature enough, even though being Alpha of the Summervale pack is my goddamn birthright.

At this point, I’ve stopped trying to prove to my dad why I deserve to run our pack. He’s made it abundantly clear that I’ll never measure up, and he can go fuck himself if he thinks I’m going to change everything about who I am just to fit the mold of who he wants his son to be. He wants me to be someone I’m just… not.

Still, I don’t need the formal title to enjoy the alpha perks. I may not run my pack yet, but as a future alpha I’ve got all of the clout, none of the responsibility. Females throw themselves at me constantly, itching to spend a night with an alpha, and I happily oblige them. I’ve fucked my way through half the girls on the squad, all eager to invite me into their beds. I can get any woman I want, and I’m always gone by morning.

Just last night I railed a cute little brunette in the bathroom of the bar in Goldenleaf. I’ve been frustrated lately, needing to blow off some steam, and she was all too willing to help me out. I fucked her so hard I nearly took the door off its hinges.

That should’ve helped, but I’m still on edge today. Probably because I’ve got this raging headache and I didn’t get nearly enough sleep last night. Who the hell plans a meeting for 7 a.m.?!

I’m already late. Groaning, I force myself out of bed, heading to my dresser to find something to change into. Jeans, a t-shirt, my leather jacket, and motorcycle boots. Maybe I’ll go for a ride after this damn meeting- the fresh air could do me some good.

The conference room at the squad complex isn’t far from my room in the dorms, but I’m already twenty minutes late by the time I push open the door, five sets of eyes flying to me. Yes, five. Looks like Gray brought his mate along to the meeting.

“So nice of you to join us,” Brock comments gruffly.

I roll my eyes, stepping inside and kicking the door closed behind me. Brock’s always so surly, always giving me shit. It irritates the hell out of me because it reminds me of my dad.

“I’m here now, aren’t I?” I mutter, sinking down into an empty chair at the table. “I didn’t realize it was bring your girlfriend to work day.”

Gray’s eyes meet mine, cold as ice.

“Fallon’s my mate,” He corrects. “And I thought she could provide us with some insight today since we’ll be sorting the new squad members into patrols.”

Fallon leans closer into Gray, wrapping her hands around his huge bicep and looking up at him adoringly.

Their lovey-dovey shit makes me wanna barf.

“Whatever,” I sigh, leaning back in my chair.

I glance over at Jax, who’s warning me with his eyes to knock it off.

Gray relaxes a little, leaning back and angling his body toward Fallon while looking over his shoulder at me. “Now that you’re here, we can go over your new assignment.”

“Right,” I sigh, waving a hand flippantly. “The thing with the computer geeks?”

Gray doesn’t react, just nods and gets back down to business. “Today’s Erin’s last day, so you’ll need to go over there and introduce yourself to everyone, get the lay of the land. And then you’ll need to spend some time with the IT unit every day, get up to speed with what they’re working on. Bring any of their concerns to me as they come up and deliver a full report at our weekly meeting.”

“Got it,” I mumble, popping the last ‘t’. I stare down at my hands, picking dirt out from under my fingernails as I lean the chair back on two legs.

“Try to be nice to my sister,” Fallon sighs.

My eyes shoot up to meet hers. Her comment pisses me off- the girl is getting way too comfortable, like she’s part of our group.

It irritates me. I liked her well enough when she was at training camp this summer, trying to make the squad- she’s a damn good fighter and she’s got more balls than some of the men on the squad. She deserved to make the cut. But then last week’s full moon confirmed that she’s Gray’s mate, and her very presence has been getting under my skin since. She’s always around. It used to just be the five of us bros, and now Fallon’s always there, hanging on Gray. I considered him my best friend, but since he started things up with her it’s like he’s too busy for me and the other guys.

“You have a sister?” I ask, blinking.

Fallon rolls her eyes.

We grew up in the same pack, I know she has a sister. It’s kinda hard to miss a pair of hot blonde twins. I just can’t help but be a dick.

“Let’s move on,” Reid sighs, shuffling a stack of papers. He’s always the one to keep us on task.

I halfway pay attention to the rest of the meeting. My body’s bouncing back from last night’s alcohol abuse, but my irritation this morning is causing my headache to linger. I’m itching to get out, blow off some steam. I could run drills with the squad, but I’d much rather get on my bike and tear up the forest roads.

I’m distracted lately, listless. Bored. Every day it’s the same shit, and sometimes it feels like I’m just stuck spinning my wheels while everyone else’s lives move forward.

A motorcycle ride always tapers my wolf’s agitation. It’s the next closest thing to actually shifting and running on four paws- the wind in my hair, the open sky above me.

I set out on the road leading away from the complex, driving too fast, leaning too far into the turns. The green of the forest blurs beside me as I pick up speed, heading for Pine Mountain. The drive is winding, exciting, and the view from the top is great. When I reach the crest of Pine Mountain, I skid to a stop, cutting the engine. I close my eyes and let the sounds of nature drown out my own thoughts.

I love it up here. Despite the charmed life I’ve led, my lack of responsibilities, it’s the only place I really feel… free.