Chapter 9
1610 Words
Jason
I knew stealing from the Alpha was a stupid idea.
I also knew I was going to do it anyway.
I stood in the storage area of the enormous walk-in pantry, staring at the crates stacked against the wall.
Bourbon.
Vodka.
Enough alcohol to keep the Alpha and his guests drinking for weeks.
My eyes lit up.
Our Alpha rarely entertained visitors from other packs, which meant these bottles could sit here untouched for months.
He wouldn’t miss a few.
At least, that’s what I told myself.
I glanced toward the entrance.
No one.
Perfect.
I spotted a large tote bag sitting on one of the shelves and grabbed it.
One bottle.
Then another.
And another.
Soon the tote was filling nicely.
This is going to be one hell of a party.
I mind linked my best friend.
“Troy, where are you?”
“In our room playing Xbox. Why?”
“Grab a couple of backpacks and meet me in the pantry in the entertainment hall.”
There was a pause.
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
“You’re up to something, aren’t you?”
I grinned.
“Five minutes.”
“Fine.”
The mind link went quiet.
True to his word, Troy appeared five minutes later, two backpacks hanging from his shoulders.
He looked at the tote bag.
Then at me.
Then back at the tote.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
His eyes widened.
“Is that—”
“Bourbon and vodka.”
A grin spread across his face.
“Dude…”
“I know.”
He handed me the backpacks.
We worked quickly, transferring the bottles from the tote into the bags.
By the time we finished, we had enough alcohol to make our little party very interesting.
Troy looked at the bags.
“Where are we hiding these?”
“You take them. Find somewhere no one will look.”
He nodded and disappeared.
I watched him go, grinning.
We had the alcohol.
Now all we needed were people.
And a place to party.
I mind linked Heidi.
“Hey. We’re planning a party tonight. You interested?”
“Well, that depends. Who’s ‘we’?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Me and Troy, obviously.”
There was a pause.
“Maybe. Can I bring a friend?”
My smile disappeared.
A friend?
What friend?
Then another thought hit me.
Had Heidi found her mate?
My stomach twisted.
I had been hoping for far too long that Heidi and I were mates.
“What friend?” I demanded.
“Chill, dude. Lara.”
I blinked.
Lara.
The Alpha’s daughter.
I glanced toward the stolen alcohol.
A laugh escaped me.
The irony wasn’t lost on me.
I had just stolen her father’s booze, and now I was about to invite his daughter to drink it with us.
Brilliant.
If I told Heidi no, though, she’d immediately wonder why.
I couldn’t risk that.
“Sure. Whatever.”
The mind link went silent.
I stared at the bags again.
Something told me inviting Lara might be the one decision tonight that I would regret.
I just didn’t know how badly yet.
⸻
Lara
I had no idea how long I’d been lying on Heidi’s bed when the door suddenly flew open.
I jumped.
Heidi stood there, grinning from ear to ear.
“What has gotten into you?”
She practically bounced across the room.
“Did you find your mate today?”
Her expression immediately changed to horror.
“What? No! Eew!”
I laughed.
“Then what are you so excited about?”
She leaned closer, lowering her voice dramatically.
“Guess who managed to get his hands on some top-shelf alcohol?”
My smile vanished.
“Wait.”
A horrible feeling settled in my stomach.
“Are you telling me Jason and Troy stole my father’s alcohol?”
“Yep.”
She looked entirely too pleased about it.
“Apparently they’ve been gathering bottles for months. But today Jason managed to get his hands on some really good stuff.”
I stared at her.
“They stole it from my father.”
“Technically, yes.”
“And you’re excited about this?”
“Very.”
I groaned.
“What are they thinking?”
“They’re throwing a party tonight.”
My stomach tightened.
“Where?”
“Out in the woods. Somewhere no one will see us.”
She gave me a sly wink.
“We don’t want any problems with you-know-who.”
I stared at her.
“Would you be referring to the person they stole the alcohol from?”
“That would be the one.”
Phoenix snorted.
“I like her.”
“You’re insane.”
“I’m just appreciating the confidence.”
I shook my head.
“Do you realise what will happen if you get caught?”
Heidi’s grin faded slightly.
“We won’t get caught.”
“You can’t know that.”
“They’ve been collecting alcohol for months. No one has noticed.”
“Yet.”
She shrugged.
“The Alpha drinks a lot.”
Phoenix went quiet.
Then—
“She has a point.”
“I know.”
I sighed.
“But this is still playing with fire.”
“More like throwing a lit match into a barrel of gasoline.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
Something about this didn’t feel right.
Maybe it was the fact that Jason and Troy had stolen from the most dangerous wolf in the entire pack.
Maybe it was the fact that they were planning to drink that stolen alcohol in the woods.
Or maybe it was simply the fact that I knew exactly what my father did to people who crossed him.
The arena.
The thought made my stomach turn.
Heidi suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Come on. Why don’t you come with us?”
I looked at her.
“It’ll be fun. Besides, you haven’t seen Jason and Troy in ages.”
Phoenix immediately perked up.
“Oh, I remember those two.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Jason is that buck-toothed beaver and Troy is the little weasel.”
I bit my lip.
Phoenix burst into hysterical laughter.
I couldn’t help it.
I started laughing too.
“What are you grinning about?” Heidi asked suspiciously.
“Nothing.”
“You’re definitely grinning about something.”
“I’m not.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“You’re grinning like the cat that ate the canary.”
“Seriously, Heidi. It’s nothing.”
“Fine.”
She clearly didn’t believe me.
Then she smiled again.
“So, are you coming tonight?”
Phoenix stopped laughing.
Her voice became serious.
“Lara…”
I knew what she was going to say before she said it.
“This is going to end badly.”
I looked at Heidi.
She was waiting for my answer.
“What time?”
Her face immediately lit up.
“Eight.”
“And where?”
“Somewhere in the woods. Jason said he’d let us know.”
Phoenix groaned.
“Fantastic. We don’t even know where we’re going.”
I ignored her.
“Okay. I’ll come.”
Heidi practically squealed.
“Yes!”
She hugged me.
“This is going to be so much fun!”
Phoenix muttered,
“That’s exactly what people say five minutes before everything goes horribly wrong.”
I couldn’t help smiling.
⸻
The moment Heidi left, Phoenix’s expression turned serious.
“What are we doing?”
I sat up.
“What do you mean?”
“You know this party is going to be a disaster.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you agree to go?”
“Because Heidi is going.”
Phoenix stared at me.
I sighed.
“We’re going tonight, and we’re making sure she gets out safely.”
“And Jason and Troy?”
I hesitated.
That was the problem.
“They stole from an Alpha.”
“Our Alpha.”
“My father.”
Phoenix nodded.
“And if he finds out, they’ll be punished.”
“The arena.”
I swallowed.
“The arena.”
Neither of us spoke for several seconds.
We had seen what happened there.
We knew exactly what my father was capable of.
And if Jason and Troy were caught stealing from him, there was a very real possibility that neither of them would walk out of that arena alive.
Phoenix’s voice softened.
“They’re your friends, Lara.”
“I know.”
I stared toward the window.
“They’re also idiots who decided stealing from our father was a good idea.”
“Fair point.”
“If they get caught, I don’t know if there’s anything I can do.”
Phoenix sighed.
“Then let’s make sure they don’t get caught.”
I stood.
“Exactly.”
I grabbed my jacket.
“We’re going to that party.”
“And we’re getting Heidi out alive.”
“And hopefully everyone else too.”
Phoenix hesitated.
“That’s ambitious.”
I smiled faintly.
“Come on.”
I headed toward the woods.
Somewhere out there, Jason and Troy were preparing what they thought would be the party of the year.
They had stolen alcohol from the Alpha.
They had invited a group of wolves into the forest.
And they had no idea that the Alpha’s daughter was on her way.
What they also didn’t know was that I wasn’t going there to party.
I was going there because I had a very bad feeling about tonight.
And whenever Phoenix and I had a bad feeling…
we were usually right.
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