Page 1 of Brutal Reign
1
THREE YEARS AGO
“She’s not coming, bro,” I grumble, kicking the leg of Ace’s chair to get his attention as I approach with a couple of beers, thrusting one toward him in offering.
He snaps his gaze up from the treeline across the clearing, meeting my eyes as he takes the frosty can from my hand. “I wasn’t…”
“Sure you weren’t,” I snort. Sidestepping past him, I drop down into the weathered Adirondack chair positioned beside my best friend’s, kicking my long legs out in front of me as I pop the tab on my own can. “Neither was I,” I mumble as I bring it to my mouth, staring off into the trees.
The carbonation scalds my throat as I take a long swig of the beer, forcing thoughts of hazel eyes and full lips painted with strawberry chapstick to the back of my mind where they belong. Truthfully, they shouldn’t even be taking up residence there in the first place, but that’s the only aspect of this whole fucked up thing I can’t shut down.
‘Out of sight, out of mind’my ass.
Ace and I silently sip our beers as we sit side by side, staring at the same damn break in the treeline where the trail comes out while thinking the same damn thing about the same damn girl. We don’t talk about it, though. We’ve already had that conversation and it’s the kind you only need to have once. The kind that changes everything.
“Fire’s getting low,” I comment loudly enough for our other friends seated around us to hear.
Eli immediately springs to his feet with an excited gleam in his eye, hustling over to the firewood rack to remedy the situation.
“Not too much,” Ace reminds him as Eli starts filling his arms with as many logs as he can carry.
Eli grumbles something under his breath, tossing a few of the logs back down before carrying the rest over to the pit. Our buddy Beau jumps up to help, and the two of them begin circling the metal ring, strategically adding the fresh logs to the fire one by one.
The bonfire pit on the edge of my pack’s territory has always been a prime hangout spot, but it wasn’t until Ace and I turned fifteen that our parents started allowing us to have fires out here without adult supervision. Part of the agreement was that we’d keep both the fires and the crowd small. So far, we’ve kept our word on the fire part, but as for the crowd… well, word spreads fast, especially amongst a bunch of bored teenage shifters. We never know who’ll turn up.
We know who won’t, though. River Jacobsen is the daughter of the most overbearing, overprotective Alpha in our alliance–his only child– and she’s rarely able to sneak out after dark. Which is probably a good thing, since Ace and I have been actively trying to distance ourselves from her.
Doesn’t mean she’s taken the hint.
The newly added logs quickly catch fire, the flames licking higher into the dark sky as Eli rocks back on a heel to proudly admire his work.
“Think it could still use a couple more,” Beau comments, swiping a hand over his chin as he gazes upon the inferno.
“You want Alpha to turn up and shut this down?” Ace scoffs, swinging his gaze between our friends.
Eli and Beau blanch simultaneously, shaking their heads. They’ve got a healthy fear of my dad, which I suppose is a good thing since he’s our pack’s Alpha. He’ll retire someday, and as his eldest and only son, I’ll be taking his place. Ace’s old man holds the Beta rank in our pack, so the two of us grew up in the packhouse together and were raised like brothers. When I become Alpha, he’ll be my Beta, and we’ll rule our pack side by side.
We already rule our friend group with the same dynamic. Beau and Eli back away from the fire pit, respecting Ace’s warning without further argument. Could just be because they’re scared shitless of my dad, but either way, it works, and I don’t have to lift a finger. I lazily extend a fist in Ace’s direction, prompting him to bump his knuckles against mine.
It’s the usual crowd here tonight– mostly kids from our own pack, plus a couple stragglers from the neighboring territories of Goldenleaf and Riverton. About thirty, give or take, which is twenty more than we told our parents we’d invite to our weekend bonfires.Oh well. We’re not supposed to be drinking either, but Beau showed up with two cases of beer that he talked his older brother into buying for him, and none of us hesitated to crack them open and catch a buzz. What our parents don’t know won’t hurt them.
Beau wanders over to the cooler, popping the lid and bending at the waist to reach inside. “Anyone else need another beer?” he asks as he fishes through the ice for a can.
“I’ll take one,” I say, even though I’ve already had too many for my own good and this cheap shit tastes like piss.
“Same,” Ace echoes.
“Did someone say beer?” Gloria asks, rocking up to the fire pit with a couple of her girlfriends in tow.Don’t know their names. Don’t care.
The girls around here are always thirsty as fuck, batting their lashes at me and Ace whenever we glance their way. It’s not hard to draw female attention when you’re primed for pack rank. We could be reaping the benefits of our status, getting our dicks sucked right here by the fire, but instead, we’re both hung up on the same girl; the only one neither of us can ever have. And if that’s not the world’s biggest mindfuck, I don’t know what is.
“I’ve always got a beer for you, Glo,” Beau replies smoothly, thrusting a can toward her as she approaches. He slides his gaze between the two girls at her back, the corner of his mouth kicking up in a smirk. “Who are your friends?”
“This is Bella, she’s from Summervale,” Gloria replies, tossing a thumb over her shoulder to indicate the blonde on her left.
I perk up at the mention of Summervale, gazing upon the blonde with renewed interest. Summervale is Alpha Theo’s territory– the aforementioned overbearing asshole who keeps his daughter under lock and key. The daughter I’mnotsupposed to be thinking about.
“And you already know Hilary,” Glo continues, gesturing to the brunette before narrowing her eyes on Beau. “Or did you forget hitting on her right in front of me last weekend?”