I didn't know what time it was, nor did I care. I was too busy trying to flip the damn red plastic cup. "COME ON!" Kellan screamed at me. "DO IT, DO IT, DO IT!"

With one last flick of my finger, the cup finally landed upside down and the game was won. Julie playfully glared at me from across the table, where her cup laid pathetically on its side. "I'll get you, Bee."

"I'm undefeated, Lee."

Both our eyes widen comically at the new nicknames. "Yes!" I shouted. "We are officially best friends!"

Julie raised her hand and I slapped it with my own. She laughed. "It's about damn time!"

Kellan poured a fourth of a mix drink into my cup. "Jason wants to go again!"

Several other pack members whom I'd seen and talked to at school were surrounding us or joining in on the game. A couple younger pack members stood around drinking sodas that I assumed their older siblings probably splashed with vodka. Everyone was smiling and joking with one another.

I was happy, I realized. Happier than I had been in a long time.

I smiled at the thought. Jason caught my goofy grin and hollered, "The Alpha is officially WASTED!"

I swatted at him. "I can still beat you at flip cup!"

"Bring it on, milady!"

We played two more rounds of flip cup before moving on to a card game I had never played before. When one of the guys turned a card over, he grinned, flashing the five of clubs to everyone. "Five fingers, everyone."

"Oh, god," Julie groaned.

"What's that mean?" I muttered.

"Put up five fingers. It's like 'Never Have I Ever.'"

"Gotcha." I held up five slightly blurry fingers.

"I'll go first," the guy who pulled the card announced. "Never have I ever been a human."

Everyone whooped and hollered as Julie and I each put a finger down seeing as we were the only humans of the group.

"Make sure to clap if you've done it!" the guy shouted. "I want to see who's guilty!"

Another person said something about never been to the ocean, someone said something about never drank coffee. I had played this game with my old friends, but it wasn't as tame as this. Usually, they targeted certain people by saying something detailed and personal to that person, especially if it was a sexual act.

Julie was next, "Okay, okay, I got it." She grinned at me. "Never have I ever kissed an Alpha."

I tried to glare at her, but everyone was catcalling and I couldn't stop laughing. I clapped my hands at the same time someone else did. My head snapped toward the girl who realized her mistake a second too late. I didn't know her very well. I'd seen her around school, but she was the quiet type. She seemed nice enough, but all I saw right then was red as she began to stutter trying to explain herself.

"No, no, no. I didn't—I mean, it wasn't . . ." She tightened her grip on her cup. "It was an Alpha's s-son from a different pack. Th-they were visiting for . . . We were, like, twelve. I'm sorry, I d-didn't realize . . ."

The angry red fog faded from my eyes. I took a calming breath before looking away from the nervous girl. Everyone's eyes were on me. I forced my expression to slacken and put a grin on my face, the anger that had boiled inside of me for two minutes finally subsiding. "No one panic!" I forced a laugh and everyone joined, even the girl, whose eyes still shone with a little nervousness. She was telling the truth, I could feel it; she was genuine and submissive. I couldn't believe how angry I got in the span of one second, but I refused to think further into it.

I held my empty cup above my head and Kellan quickly responded. He took it away, filling it with more alcohol before returning it to me. "Thank you, bartender."

"My pleasure, milady." He grinned.

We played the game for a little while longer before we grew bored, everyone more invested in talking amongst themselves than flipping over cards. Jason jumped up suddenly. "Soccer!" he hollered before running out the door with Kellan at his heels. Julie and I sprung from the couch and followed the rest of the group outside, our drinks sloshing around in our cups.

"All right, rules!" Kellan called everyone's attention. "When the other team makes a goal, you either take a shot or a sip of whatever you're drinking. Deal?"

Everyone agreed before splitting themselves into teams, with Jason and Kellan as the captains. I joined Kellan while Julie went with Jason. We all made comments about kicking each other's asses. I couldn't stop laughing, and neither could Julie. Once the game started, it lasted for a few hours. We didn't keep score, but every time one team scored, the other had a drink. Kellan and I were the only ones on our team brave enough to take shots. After Jason and Julie's team scored four times in a row, I surrendered and switched to sipping a cup full of Sprite, which was given to me by one of the younger pack members.

"It's like you read my mind," I whispered to him. He chuckled and joined the other younger members on the sidelines.

The shots hit me harder than I expected. I started tripping over nothing. No one ran because everyone was too drunk. They just shuffled the ball one way or the other and the ball either went into the designated goal area or it missed it by a mile. I fell for the fifth time and just laid there for a minute, laughing at how ridiculous I probably looked. Julie offered her hand, which I took and promptly yanked her to the ground beside me. She yelped as she landed. "That's the last time I'm ever helping you up," she said in between fits of laughter.

Kellan yelled at us to get up and finish the game, but I couldn't. I just wanted to stare at the stars. Julie was talking nonsense, but I couldn't hear her. I watched as the dark night sky slowly started to transition to morning, the darkness being chased away by the soft light.

I giggled. "What time is it?"

It came out slurred and quiet, but someone answered from across the lawn. "Almost five."

Even in my drunken state, I recognized the voice. My body sang with energy and excitement, but my heart faltered in fear. Beside me, Julie tensed. "Oh, shit," she muttered under her breath. A second later, Seth stood above us. He looked at Julie, the amusement in his eyes betraying the mask of seriousness on his face. Julie swallowed. "Hello, lover."

"Hi, babe." He bent at the knees and tucked his arms under Julie, cradling her to his chest as he carried her away. A fit of giggles spilled from my mouth as I watched them walk into the house. Julie looked back at me, "Good night, Bee!"

"It's morning, Lee!" I chuckled.

My smile was short-lived, however, as a body loomed over me. I threw my arm over my face, shoving my nose into the crook of my elbow, as if I could hide from him. His voice was deeper than normal, but familiar all the same. "Good morning, Phoebe."

I waved dismissively with my other hand. "I'll be in in a minute."

He didn't move. I peek up at him from beneath my elbow. "You can go to bed."

"Not without you."

Oh, dear God. Don't say that. Excitement rushed through me and I tried my drunken best to squash it.

I rolled to my stomach and struggled to my feet, swatting away his greedy helping hands. "I'm fine."

"How much have you had to drink, Phoebe?"

"Clearly not enough," I grumbled.

I started making my way inside, with Alpha Alexander right behind me, his arms tensed, as though ready to catch me. Instead of going upstairs, I made a last minute decision to go to the kitchen. I grabbed a cold bottle of water and took a couple of sips as the ground swayed slightly beneath me. As I stared at the contents of the refrigerator, I spotted a pizza box. I grabbed at it, taking a slice of pepperoni and shoving it in my mouth. As I chewed and examined all the sauces on the door of the refrigerator, Alpha Alexander warmed the space right behind me. His hands gently took hold of my shoulders and pulled me away from the fridge, but not before I snatched another slice of pizza.

I let him guide me toward the stairs before I brushed him off. "I'm fine," I repeated.

As I stumbled up the stairs, I thought about how embarrassing it would be if I tripped. I didn't have to think about it too long. At the last step, my toe caught its edge and I fell forward slightly, but I caught myself before Alpha Alexander could. His hands hovered near my waist. I hurriedly walked down the hall, but his long legs easily kept pace with me. When I got to the room, I sat on his bed and quietly ate my pizza. He watched me from the doorway. "Go away," I mumbled.

He sighed and moved toward the bathroom. "I'm going to have a quick shower. Will you be all right for ten minutes?"

I nodded, staring at my pizza. Once he closed the bathroom door and I heard the shower turn on, I shoved the last of my pizza into my mouth and quietly changed my clothes. I tripped on air three times before I could effectively put on my silk pajama shorts. I traded my bra and shirt for a sweatshirt I found in Alpha Alexander's closet. After staring at the bathroom door for a moment, I turned and quietly left the room. I didn't want to be around him because a small part of me that was a little sober realized what a danger it would be if my mostly drunken self got into bed with the guy whose touch burned such a fierce desire in me that, at the moment, it sounded like a really good idea to pounce on him.

I made my way through the halls until I found the library. I wandered through the rows of books. A particularly large section was dedicated to werewolves. Go figure. I glided my finger across the spines, forcing my drunk eyes to focus on the titles. Remedies and Healing for Adolescent Werewolves; Volume One of Werewolf Abilities and Disabilities; Mating Rituals of Werewolves. The last one caught my interest. As I reached to grab it, the library door opened.

"Phoebe."

I squeaked at the sound of Alpha Alexander's voice. He showered really fast. I heard his footsteps and tiptoed the opposite direction, sliding my body along the tall bookshelf, feeling stealthy like James Bond as I hid behind another shelf. His footsteps stopped at the opposite side of the room before doubling back. "Phoebe," his voice called, a deep rumble of a warning. "I can smell you."

I sucked in a breath.

"You smell like cheap vodka."

"I do not!" I argued before clamping my hands over my mouth.

I heard what resembled a sinister chuckle come from across the room one second, then from the other side of the bookcase the next. I had to act now. It was my only chance. I leapt from my hiding place and sprinted for the door. Alpha Alexander met me at the study tables in the center of the room. I skidded to a halt on the opposite end of the table he stood in front of, his body blocking my exit. His eyes narrowed on my sweatshirt. I dared a chance to glance down. Oh. It looked like I didn't have any pants on. When I caught his eyes once more, a sudden dread of fear came over me. Not like "oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-die" fear, but "holy-shit-he's-really-mad-but-really-hot-at-the-same-time" kind of fear. From my drunken understanding, he was mad because I was drunk, but the look in his eyes was anything but mad. One thing was for sure: I did not want to be anywhere near the bed when he was looking at me like that. I wouldn't be able to resist him for much longer if I was. He moved toward me, going around the table. I went around the other side, keeping the table between us. "Come to bed, Phoebe."

I shivered. "I'm not tired."

"Neither am I."

My eyes widened.

"I will catch you, Phoebe."

"I, uh . . . I—" Real cool, Phoebe. Way to play the game . . .

He circled me around the table until my back was to the door. I realized he was giving me the opportunity to run, but I was hesitant to take it. He was toying with me, I could see it in his eyes. He enjoyed the chase.

I took a step backward, his eyes watching my every move. I slid my eyes to his right, widening them in mock-horror. It worked, he chanced a glance behind him. I twisted around and bolted from the room, nearly colliding with the wall in the hallway because of my momentum. I barely made it to the stairs before his arm wrapped around my waist, tugging me backwards. I shouted in surprise as he threw me over his shoulder and walked back towards the bedroom. I clawed his back, even tried to elbow him between his shoulder blades, but it was all to no avail. I shouted at him, "You caveman! I'm a human being! I am not a sack of potatoes! Put me DOWN!"

He shut the door to the bedroom and dropped me on the bed. I immediately sat up to curse at him, but his face was suddenly so close to mine, the words simply died on my lips. His warm breath tickled my eyelashes as he spoke, "Stop screeching, or the whole house will wake up."

I tried to find something smart to say, but nothing came to me. Instead, I picked the most mature response an inebriated person could give in that particular situation: I stuck my tongue out. He leaned forward, his hands on the bed supporting his weight. "Do that again and I will put it to good use."

I stared at him for a long while before I finally spoke softly, "I'm t-tired."

He finally moved away after a silent moment of the two of us staring each other down. He went to the head of the bed and pulled down the covers before sliding under them. I glanced at the closet, where the blankets and pillows were tucked away. He caught my gaze and stopped me. "No pillow fort and no dog bed on the floor. Come here."

I scowled at him, but moved toward the head of the bed. I slipped under the covers and scooted to the edge of the mattress, as far from him as the width of the bed would allow. It was dramatic, but it was the last of my drunken defiance. I turned my back to him. "Good night."

Before I could even close my eyes, his hands were on me, pulling me back against him. I didn't bother to struggle. His lips were at my ear, "Good morning." With a final kiss on my temple, I finally closed my eyes and fell into a darkness that promised me pain in the morning.

———

Author's Note:

WOW I HEART YOU ALL SO MUCH IT MAKES MY SOUL SING.

Vote and comment, pretty please!! I need to know what you all think. Like the story/hate the story/want to jump Alpha Alexander's bones? Let me know in the comments!

xo —Willow