VIENNA“Hey girl!” I call to my friend Nessa as she walks in the restaurant at the lodge, pulling her long dark hair into a ponytail as she walks.“Hey!” she calls back, flashing me a bright smile. Nessa has so many beautiful features- full lips, high cheekbones, almond shaped eyes- but her smile is by far her best. You know that cliché phrase about how someone’s smile can light up a room? Nessa’s the kind of girl that phrase was coined for. I had a shitty morning, but her smile improves my mood in an instant.“I didn’t know you were working today,” she comments as she rounds the bar, shrugging off her jacket and stuffing it in a cubby underneath.I glance over at her as I finish stacking a row of pint glasses. “I picked up an extra shift, remember?”Nessa cocks out a hip, resting her hand upon it and giving me a stern look. “Girl, that’s the third time this week. You’re gonna work yourself to death.”“Hardly,” I laugh. “My car needs new brakes.”“Your car needs new everything,” she t
VIENNAI don’t know how I let Nessa talk me into going to this party. I tried to get out of it no fewer than ten times, piling on excuse after excuse, but the girl wouldn’t take no for an answer. I’m buzzing with nervous energy as the two of us approach the Norbury packhouse, the low bass beat of the music inside thumping as we make our way up the front walk.“There’s still time to turn back,” I murmur as we ascend the steps of the porch, wiping my clammy palms on the sides of my dress.Nessa stops at the top of the steps, turning to me with an exaggerated gasp. “And waste these outfits?” She gestures between us, narrowing her eyes in determination. “No chance.”Despite my reluctance to actually attend the party, I spared no effort in getting all glammed up for it. My long wavy hair is slicked back in a tight ponytail, my eyes are accented with smoky eyeshadow and dark liner, and my lips are painted bright red to match the tight bodycon dress I’m wearing. I topped off the look with a
CHASEI could kill Levi for not telling me he invited her here tonight. All I wanted to do was drink, smoke, and zone the fuck out. That’s exactly what I was doing, until I looked up and saw her.A little devil in a red dress, dripping in sin. I couldn’t help but stare, because fuck me, she’s got curves I want to sink my teeth into, that clinging fabric flaunting the cinch of her waist, the swell of her hips. Her tits are pushed up, perfectly perky and round, and a strip of her tan thighs is on display between the hem of her dress and the top of her come-fuck-me boots. A delicate outline of flowers climbs up one of them, tattooed in black ink, mirroring the design on her arm that’s now hidden underneath the sleeve of her leather jacket. Between her clothes and her slicked back ponytail, she looks like she just stepped out of a rocker chick fantasy.And she came her for fucking Levi. The bastard has been sliding me smug grins all night as he sits there with his arm thrown around Vienna
VIENNA“I feel like I was hit by a bus,” I groan, squeezing my eyes shut and dropping my head into my hands.Nessa walks out of the storage room carrying a case of beer, shooting me a sympathetic look as she drops it on top of the bar. It lands with a thud, bottles clanking together, and the sound shoots a fresh wave of pain through my head like a bullet.I wince, pressing my fingers to my temples. “What the hell was in that jungle juice?”“Whatever it was, it was delicious,” Nessa quips as she rips the top of the case open, reaching inside to pull out bottles of beer. She looks up at me, slumped in a pitiful heap on a stool on the other side of the bar with my head still in my hands. “Though judging by how you look today, Levi wasn’t lying about it being strong. I’m glad I stopped at one.”I groan, wincing again as she starts to load the beers into the cooler below the bar, every clank and clatter of the bottles making me flinch. She lifts the empty cardboard box when she’s finished,
CHASEThere’s something about fire. The way it ignites from the smallest spark, bursting into creation. The way it destroys. The way it can be contained one minute and uncontrollable the next, raging and spreading as it scorches the earth. Sometimes that’s how I feel, on the verge of cascading over a barrier into something I can’t come back from. Raging and burning until there’s nothing left but ash. The boys and I dug this firepit years ago, seeking a place to hang out away from the ever-watchful eyes of our parents. We thought it was some clever fucking secret, but after coming home reeking of bonfire smoke, my dad figured out pretty quickly what we’d done. He didn’t take it away from us, though. Instead, he came out and helped us dig it deeper, drilling the rules of fire safety into our heads until he was satisfied we weren’t going to burn the damn forest down. From then on, it became our spot; our own little dominion right near the edge of our pack’s territory.At first, we were
CHASE “How the fuck did he get away again?” Theo spits, face screwed up in an angry scowl. He and the other alphas of the six-pack alliance- Gray, Jax, Brock, and Reid- rushed out here to meet me shortly after receiving my text, bringing along the two best trackers on the security squad, Leo and Adrian. We’d all hoped the incident at the lodge was a fluke, but now that the same rogue is skulking around our border days later, that doesn’t seem likely. He must be hanging around for a reason, and none of us want to waste any time in finding out what that is. “The border sensors never alerted?” Jax asks, still catching his breath. We are circled up in the woods in all our naked glory after shifting back from our wolf forms- a sight that would be odd for humans to stumble upon, but for us, public nudity like this is a regular occurrence. Our clothes are left behind when we shift, and the others were able to get here so quickly because they came as their wolves. “No, I checked them twice
VIENNAFrom the way that Chase storms off, it’s clear that something I said must’ve struck a nerve. Not that he’d admit it. The more I get to know him, the more curious I am about what he’s really hiding beneath all that false bravado- though it’s hard for me to have sympathy for someone who devotes so much energy into being a complete and total prick.I get that he has trauma, but these days, who doesn’t? I’ve got my own share of problems, but at least I’m trying to do something about it. Chase just wants to sit around and wallow in his own self-pity at the expense of everyone else. As someone actively trying to better their situation, I don’t have the patience for his brand of bullshit. I’m not going to walk on eggshells or tiptoe around him like everyone else.I climb out of my car, giving it a wistful glance as I look to Chase’s monstrosity of a truck parked beside it. Of course someone like Chase would talk shit about my car, given how shiny and new his own vehicle is. I saved up
VIENNA“How about this one?” Fallon asks, pausing as she thumbs through a clothing rack to pull out a particularly risqué little black dress.We’re at a cute little boutique in Goldenleaf, surrounded by overflowing racks of clothes for every occasion. Many of them boast designer labels and have the price tags to match. It’s the type of place that Fallon and Serena can shop at without batting an eye, while I doubt there’s anything in here that I can afford. As far as I’m concerned, I’m just along for the ride today, here for the girl talk and gossip rather than the intention of actually buying anything.Serena dubiously eyes the garment in Fallon’s hands. “Not unless you want Reid to haul me out of there within the first half hour.”Fallon chuckles, sliding the strappy dress back onto the rack. “Fair point. And your man has the self-control of a saint! I doubt Gray would last ten minutes if I showed up in that dress.” She winks and the two of them exchange devious, knowing glances befo