3

3

Aspen

“She can’t go,” Stefanie kept talking as the three of us stood at the business end of the bar with Alpha Derek behind the counter. “Look at how she dresses.”

I glanced down at my overalls and tattered sneakers, preparing to defend myself, and closed my mouth. I wouldn’t say we were in agreement, but I wasn’t about to argue Stef’s point if it got me out of this.

“Silence,” Alpha Derek commanded, rubbing his temples. Like he was the one with the building headache. I was inching toward migraine territory over here. Screw him and his commands…

My wolf sat back on her haunches, smirking. I mentally kicked myself. Do. Not. Challenge. The. Alpha.

Alpha Derek raised an eyebrow as if he could hear my inner dialogue and I panicked that he was going to drag me back to his office for another lesson. But he only seemed mildly amused at whatever vibes he was getting from me as he turned to Stefanie. “I’ll give your father the pack credit card. Take Aspen to buy new clothes.”

Stefanie deflated a bit as she thought that over. “But… We…”

I was going to have to save myself. “Honestly, Alpha. She’s right. I’m not that type of girl.”

“What type of girl is that?” Stef growled.

She was offended?

Humor danced across Alpha Derek’s face as he waited for me to explain.

“I don’t do fashion or dinner parties,” I said slowly. Or cameras or the spotlight. Or mate with Alpha wolves and have their pups and help lead some other shitty pack while they expected complete submission and took away everything from me…

I was going to have a panic attack.

Stef snorted. “I’ll say. They’re going to laugh us out of there if Aspen comes to the show.”

“I already said, ‘enough.’” Derek laced his voice with an Alpha command. Stefanie zipped her lips. “I’ve made my decision. The producers have your profiles. You leave on Sunday. Go pack your bags.”

Oh man. He was serious. I wasn’t getting out of it. How did I piss off the Moon Goddess so badly to end up in this sort of hell?

“Alpha, if I may,” Trenton said.

His father nodded.

“Don’t we want to show the world that Nuva Pack isn’t a bunch of…” Trenton’s voice trailed off as he sniffed in my direction, “scroungy mutts?”

My pupils dilated, anger racing through my veins and riling my beast, but I did my best to keep my expression blank. This backwoods, double-wide trailer trash. He had some nerve calling me scroungy. I may have grown up in a smaller trailer, but he grew up on the other side of the park and we were all in the same damn fence.

“What is that supposed to mean?” My tone was steady as I held my claws in check. Even though I should have kept my mouth shut and let my enemies win, for once. They were helping me. Sort of.

“You know exactly what I mean.” Prince Trenton didn’t dignify me with a second glance.

“Go home, son. I’ll speak with you later.” Alpha Derek reached for a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey and poured himself a drink. “You too, Stefanie. Your father’s waiting outside. My decision is final.”

With the sick sense of dread twisting my gut, I turned to leave with them. Stef shot me a glare that told me exactly how this was going to go down. I prepared myself for the fight coming outside the bar. She wasn’t as tough without her groupies though. It would be over soon.

“Not you, Aspen,” Alpha Derek called me back because the nightmare wasn’t over yet.

I’d have much rather fought Stef outside.

I fixed my gaze on a spot on the floor where a beer stain darkened the hardwood planks, trying to will my wolf to behave. For the past twelve years, I’d avoided being the sole focus of Alpha Derek after he’d discovered that I had a teeny-tiny problem with authority. But I’d worked really freaking hard to stuff it down as I grew up. That was a discussion I never wanted to have again. I needed to stay calm before I did something stupid, like get myself killed.

The door closed leaving us alone in the bar.

“Do you know why I put your name in as a Luna contender?” Alpha Derek asked.

I shook my head because Alphas didn’t like to hear that they were crazy which was pretty much the only reason I could come up with.

“You’ve got the looks.” He smirked, eyeing my body in a way that made me glad I was wearing overalls. I resisted the urge to cross my arms over my chest. “But you’ve also got a good head on your shoulders.”

“Thank you, Alpha Derek.” I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood, begging my wolf to stop paying attention to this conversation as she started to pace in my mind. Submission. That was what he wanted. It was physically painful to keep my gaze averted.

But I’d mastered a solid 100-yard stare after the lessons he’d instilled when I was twelve. The bottles on the bar shelf would burst if they could feel the intensity burning behind my eyes.

“Stefanie and you were at the top of your graduating class. Your work in the prison distinguishes you from the other unmated females. And as my son puts it, we need to show the world Nuva Pack isn’t a bunch of hillbillies.” Alpha Derek grinned over the rim of his glass. Maybe he was getting old, because his voice didn’t hold the same bite I remembered when I was young.

Still, I didn’t want to piss him off and when he put it that way, it made sense. I looked good on paper. Maybe he wasn’t as much of an idiot as I’d always thought him to be.

“I don’t want to mate an Alpha,” I kept my voice low, hoping he wouldn’t see it as a challenge or an insult. That maybe he would understand.

“Why wouldn’t you want to mate an Alpha?” He puffed out his chest as if he hadn’t beaten me within an inch of my life when I was a scrawny pup for daring to say things should change. I was forced to hide from my own papa for three days so he didn’t see the bruising and get himself hurt by trying to defend me. Why would I want to mate an arrogant jerk with Alpha qualities?

I let my gaze drift to Derek, watching as he picked his teeth with a pointed claw.

Never mind.

“I just don’t want to get mated.” I shrugged, trying to think of how else to convince him to rethink this whole thing.

“I assumed as much. Four seasons and still no mate.” Derek sipped from his glass. This was about to get a whole lot more awkward if he knew… “Is something wrong with your wolf?”

There is nothing wrong with me. I clamped down on my lips to stop from growling. You know what was bullshit? Male shifters got years to decide on a mate and no one batted an eye. But I wasn’t ready to get in an argument with the Alpha about gender stereotypes. Especially not when my freaking life was on the line.

“She hasn’t found anyone she clicks with.” It was mostly the truth so I didn’t worry about him sniffing out the lie.

“I see.” The ice clinked in his glass and he poured another drink. “Then I’m doing you a favor by giving your wolf choices. I think we can come to an arrangement here.”

“What arrangement?” I asked, confused.

Derek pulled a folder out from behind the bar and smacked it on the counter. From where I was standing, I could make out my name stamped on the front page.

“It seems you started the application process for dual citizenship without telling me you wanted to leave the pack. You know you need your Alpha’s approval, right?”

I licked my dry lips.

Technically, I didn’t need his approval. Article 544702 stated that in special circumstances we could route it around pack leadership. I’d found the loophole and checked the box. That didn’t explain why the application was sitting here now.

“I wasn’t aware.”

“Yes you were.” Damn shifters and their ability to smell lies. “And it might have gone where you needed it to if you didn’t include a certain provision.”

I hated him more than I’d ever hated anyone.

My wolf growled and I coughed to cover the sound. “My papa is nearing ninety. That’s retirement age for shifters. He’s allowed to come with me. More so now that he needs medical care.”

“Not while he is a necessary employee in this pack.” Derek tilted the glass to his mouth.

My shoulders slumped. I was going to lose, just like the time when I’d crawled out of his office as a preteen girl. He’d won. I’d bent the neck. I wasn’t proud of it, but here I was all over again. “What do you want me to do?”

“I know we’ve had our differences.” Derek leaned against the bar, enjoying his win. “But I’ve been watching you throughout the years. You’re smart. After we had our little chat, you learned your place and stopped challenging your elders, but you’ve thrown your fair share of punches since then, so I know you’re not some weak battered wolf.”

Way to gloss over my trauma that you caused, asshole.

But he wasn’t done yet. “I’d like to take all the credit for the woman you turned out to be, but your biological father had a little Alpha blood in him too despite his loss in the challenge. Which means you’ve got the genetic spark to rise higher in the ranks. And you’re a hard worker. Two years at the prison with no complaints. The inmates love you, but that doesn’t earn you any gold stars in my book. You want to know what I think?”

No, but you’re going to tell us anyway.

“I think you’ll do your pack proud and put on a good show, perform your very best for Mating Season. Pass the Luna Trials and then help Trenton through the Alpha Games so he can find a suitable mate.”

“Why can’t Stefanie…”

Derek arched an eyebrow, waiting for me to come to my own conclusion on that one. Maybe he knew more than I thought he did about the whole Trenton situation.

“Okay.” I straightened my shoulders. “Is this the part where I ask what’s in it for me?”

“You may.” Derek grinned. “Here’s what will happen, you do your job and then I’ll do mine by signing the application to release you and your grandfather from the pack once you make it to mating season.”

“But I don’t have to complete mating season in the traditional sense, right? You just need me to help Trenton get there.” I wanted all the terms laid out to make sure he didn’t screw me over. He may have been my Alpha, but I didn’t trust him.

“I don’t care what you do during mating season.” Derek sighed. “Use whatever stunt you pull here to keep yourself unmated.”

It’s called saying no. My wolf rolled her eyes.

“And you can even keep the money they pay you,” he said.

Hang on. “How much?”

“Enough to move your grandfather with you and get you two on your feet.” Derek chuckled, refilling his glass. “That’s actually kind of funny. Feet. Get it? Because he doesn’t have two.”

It might have been funny if me or my papa said it, but I chose to ignore Derek’s attempt at humor. “So I help Trenton find a mate and then I get to leave.”

“First you have to pass the Luna Trials, but yes. And if you find yourself an Alpha match, you can thank me later.” Derek burped, loudly.

I pretended to think on it a second, but really it was a no brainer. Play their stupid game and earn my freedom while risking my wolf falling for some dominating Alpha who demanded submission.

Funny. My wolf huffed.

One month, three days, and two hours.

I held out my hand, ready to shake with the devil. It wasn’t like I had much else of a choice anyway. But sometimes the illusion of freedom was all we got. “Deal.”