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“Werecreatures, yes,” the shifter says. “Notalphawerecreatures.”

Fuck. It always comes down to that.

Avery squares his shoulders and straightens his spine, knowing nothing is going to make him look impressive while wearing last night’s sweaty cutoffs, smelling like terror, and being nearly a foot shorter than her. The clouds shift, unobstructed moonlight exposing her impressive musculature. Even if Avery lets the ursine free, he might not be fast enough to avoid getting his throat ripped out mid-shift.

“I know you don’t think I’m a threat to your pack,” he tells her, going for candid over useless posturing. He doesn’t expect the shifter to laugh, the sound rasping like a cheese grater in her throat.

“We’re on the same page, then.” The shifter glances up at the moon, far from full, then back down at Avery. “Celeste Fuller. Alpha of the Wilderness wolf pack. This is my land.”

“I had no idea, but thanks for telling me. I’ll get out of your hair—uh.” His eyes flick to the curve of her nearly bald scalp. “Your… fur?”

Celeste begins to prowl, maintaining the same distance as she circles him, gold irises glowing in the dark. “Stay. I’m not done with you, werecreature.” Her thighs flex underneath the torn gown, warning she’s preparing to pounce.

Knowing he doesn’t have a chance of fighting back, Avery stills. “I’m not sure I’ll like whatever you’re planning,” he says.

One side of Celeste’s smile pulls wider than the other, exposing a sharp lupine fang. “Who are you, little alpha?”

“My name’s Avery. Smith, I guess.” Though he doesn’t use his parents’ surname anymore.

Celeste’s eyes flare. “Avery of no pack,” she muses. “Yet trespassing on someone else’s lands.”

“I told you I didn’t know. I’m new at this.”

“That much is obvious.” Celeste surveys him a moment more. Then she snaps, “Beryl. Approach.”

Illumination from the moon traces the broad shoulders of Celeste’s pack member. Avery notes thick, wavy hair and olive-toned skin, a muscular frame, and the confident gait of a?—

Wait.

Nostrils flaring, Avery studies the approaching person with more care and is startled upon realizing Beryl isn’t a shifter, but anotherwerecreature. “That’s not a…” Words abandon him.

“Your nose isn’t entirely useless, at least. Good to know.” Celeste juts her chin at the werecreature. “Beryl is an honorary member of the Wilderness wolf pack, an opportunity I offered them from the goodness of my heart. I know how hard it is for lone werecreatures. It’s a dangerous lifestyle.”

“Lifestyle?” Avery snaps, incredulous. “Getting turned into a rabid animal against your will isn’t a fucking hobby. I had areallife before this.”

If Celeste is offended by his outburst, she doesn’t show it. “You’re lucky it’s me you ran into, Avery. Most alphas would have disemboweled you by now.”

Deciding not to push his luck, Avery withholds further backtalk.

“You being an alpha makes this tricky. What poor species did your mutated genes bastardize?”

“Ursine,” he informs her begrudgingly.

Celeste’s brows arch. “That’s quite the affiliation.”

Resentful, Avery mutters, “It’s not like I got to choose.”

“An alpha were-ursine. Risky, but tempting. Beryl,” she says, drawing the werecreature’s gaze immediately. “Can you keep him in line, do you think?”

Avery bristles at the insinuation, and when Berylresponds, “With ease, Alpha,” the path down his spine where an animal’s hackles would be begins to tingle.

“Alright,” Celeste says, nodding thoughtfully. “I’ll allow you to join my pack, as Beryl has. There are others, as well. Werecreatures that could be of use to me. You’ll be granted protection while acting on my orders. Unlike the slop at the farm, within my pack you’ll eat good meat and serve a purpose as more than a too-autonomous parasite. This is the best offer of protection you’ll ever get.”

The offer has Avery frozen where he stands, as if it was mid-December rather than muggy June. A pack? Not just any pack, but ashifterpack? That’s almost as unheard of as a cougar alpha meeting him in a hotel room to fuck. Except no, he can’t think about Sascha right now. This conversation is too important for him to be distracted by wistfulness.

“What’s the catch?”

“You’ll belong to me.” She says it matter-of-factly, like it should be a given. “Every breath you take will be under my control. My rules are the only things that matter, and you will eat, sleep, and shit in accordance with my schedule. Disobedience will be punished. Questioning my orders will be punished. Defiance of any kind will end with your trachea between my teeth. It might sound unreasonable now, but you’ll come to understand. My authority is the only thing that will keep you safe.”