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~~ All characters in this book are over 18. ~~
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It's time to get out while you still can.
Theadvice, given to her weeks ago, echoed through her head.
Laura Hudson's hands shook as she packed her duffel bag. In the room she shared with the current alpha, no one would bother her.
But alphas change. They get old. They pass on their authority to the next generation.
And sometimes the change of leadership is involuntary, Laura.
Graham's words haunted her as she jammed a bundle of t-shirts into the bag and zipped it shut. Even he, she thought, had been unprepared for this challenge. He had led the Lupe Mountain pack for over twenty years, something which was almost unheard of in the violent world of wolf-shifters.
But Tate had been different. An outsider like Laura who Graham had accepted into the pack, he wasn't content to wait for the alpha to hand over power in his own time. Almost from the moment he had joined them, he had been pushing the limits, like an angry dog on a short leash. Unlike Graham's dangerously democratic notions of cooperation and building consensus, Tate threatened and bullied. And he was not above trying to take by force what was not his by right.
It had all come to a head earlier that morning. Several of the older females, driven to furious outrage by Tate's behavior towards their daughters, had come to Graham for judgment. Graham, after hearing their complaints, had given Tate an ultimatum: change his ways or risk banishment. But rather than accept his terms, Tate had challenged the alpha to single combat for leadership of the pack.
They were down there now, in the clearing, where leadership of the pack had been decided for generations. Surrounded by the other shifters, they would fight to the death, switching from wolf to man and back again as the fortunes of the battle ebbed and flowed. One would die and be left for carrion. One would live and be alpha.
But no matter who won, Laura was leaving. Graham had warned her, weeks ago, that this day was coming.
"I've been unlucky in my children, sweetheart," he had said, that night in bed. His dark eyes were haunted. He ran a tired hand across his short-cropped beard, now speckled with gray. "Three girls who all married outside the pack, and no sons. And none of my grandsons are close to being old enough to lead. Alex is the oldest and he's only seventeen. He wouldn't last a week. Hell, I was close to forty before old Rolf let me take over. And this younger generation..." He sighed in frustration. "They act like it's all some sort of damn game.
"Win or lose, you're going to have to leave. Even if I kill Tate, another one is going to rise up to take his place. Sooner or later I'll be dragged down. There's too many of the youngsters who think like he does. That just because we can change our forms we're superior to humans. And that being alpha is all power and no responsibility.
"If you had family here..."
"But I don't," she said, her voice harsh.
He chuckled softly. "Ah, Laura. You should have been born a man. I could leave this bunch to you and die happy." His hand brushed her cheek. "No, you don't have family here. If you did, they could protect you. But you don't. If I lose, Tate is going to see you as a symbol. He can't let you stay here. He'll either kill you, to show the others what happens to my allies, or he'll do something even worse."
Laura shuddered. Even on short acquaintance, she had a good idea what 'even worse' would be where Tate was concerned.
She nodded to herself, a quick, fierce gesture. She hadn't had much when Graham took her in, and she was ready to leave in a matter of minutes. One duffel, packed. One purse, with money, credit cards, phone, keys, and miscellaneous. One laptop, safely stowed in its case. Her art supplies were already packed in the trunk of her car. She snapped a silver hair ring, a long-ago gift from her grandmother, around the trailing fall of her tawny blond hair and left her lover's bedroom forever.
*****
The common area was quiet, with only a few people hanging around. Most had gone to watch the battle.
Her chin raised high, she slung her bag across her shoulders, her long legs carrying her across the room swiftly. Her boots beat a rapid tattoo on the hardwood floor as she headed for the door.
Into the car and down the mountain. Thank god Graham let me work. I have money enough to last until I find a new pack. I-
"Yo, bitch."
She skidded to a stop. Tate's hulking form filled the doorway. Naked from the waist up, his torso was spattered with blood.
Laura closed her eyes against a sudden wave of grief. A man she had admired was dead. When she showed up on his doorstep, almost mad with terror, he had taken her in. He had been a father-figure, a mentor, and then, for nearly three years, a lover. And now he was gone.
"Tate," she said, her voice carefully respectful.
"I'm the alpha now," he said. His voice was gloating. "Ripped the old man's belly wide open, then tore his throat out. He didn't last two minutes.
"You're mine."
She raised her chin, though her heart hammered in fear. "My oath was given to Graham, not the Lupe Mountain pack. I am released from it on his death. You have no authority over me. I'm leaving."
"No authority?" He grinned, stepping into the room. Two of his cronies followed him. "What authority do I need, bitch? I'm the strongest. I take what I want. That is the way of the wolf." He sniffed the air, and his grin transformed into a feral snarl, his teeth showing long and white.
"Boys, I think this bitch is in heat. Why don't you help her take off her clothes? I'm in the mood to celebrate."
Before Laura could do more than open her mouth in protest, Channing and Blaze had taken her by the arms and forced her over a pool table. She jerked back and forth helplessly, but could not break their grip.
"No!" she shouted. She tried to catch Blaze's eye, but he flushed and looked away guiltily. "You know this is wrong!" she screamed to the room. "Someone help me!"
"Wrong?" Tate laughed. "The strong make the rules, little bitch. Haven't you figured that out yet?" Violent hands pulled down her jeans and panties, a seam parting with a scream of ripping cloth. The rest of her clothes were torn away as well, even her boots, leaving her naked and helpless. "Smell that, boys? She wants it." She heard a pair of thuds as Tate's shoes hit the floor. "After I'm done I might let you both try her out. It wasn't fair for old Graham to keep this sweet piece of ass for himself. If he had been willing to share, I might have let him live. Too bad."