Aiden
The party was in full swing.
Three separate bonfires formed a triangle in front of the barn, but by now they were mostly devoid of figures. Everyone had moved inside, where sheets and sleeping bags were sprawled out everywhere. Many of them were occupied by various forms. Some sitting up and talking, but most were covered in darkness that humped and moved against themselves. Noises from a multitude of female throats rose into the high ceiling, where they were joined by a few more from the loft of the barn itself.
Aiden was disgusted by what he saw. There were only seven other shifters in Stephen’s pack. All of them were with two, three, or in Langdon’s case, he’d been seen going off with four women attached to him. In other places, women doped to the gills on some concoction of drugs were simply going at it with each other, so horny that they wanted the first warm body they could find.
The air reeked of pheromones, sex, and sweat. So far he’d managed to avoid much more than having a woman or two sit in his lap. He wasn’t proud of himself, but every time one woman would plop down, he’d find another to occupy his other leg. The women were obviously brought in because they were willing to fuck anything that moved. It didn’t take him much effort to get them interested in each other, thinking they were doing that to turn him on.
Once they got good and aroused though, he could put them onto the ground somewhere and let them enjoy each other’s company. Part of him enjoyed the view, watching two women strip each other down and then start pleasing one another. There was a primal nature to that even he couldn’t ignore.
But he didn’t want to join in. Not just because the women were high on who knew what, or rather obviously wannabe porn starlets. No, the bigger answer was that he ended up comparing each one of them to Willow and her curvy figure, honey-blonde hair, and vivid green eyes.
And every single woman came up lacking in a big way.
At first the other packmates had given him some looks when he didn’t just randomly grope and fondle the women who threw themselves at him. But as the night wore on they forgot, becoming more absorbed in their own rutting than they were in him. Things got easier at that point, but now he was starting to get anxious.
Stephen was walking toward him, a gleam in his eye.
“What’s wrong?” his Alpha asked, obviously hoping to corner him into admitting something.
“Just thinking back to my days as an RRT member.”
The Regional Response Teams were composed of highly trained Weres who helped the Alpha and local councils enforce the laws of the Were world. Mostly werewolves, but with the odd bear or mountain lion worked in for good measure, they were a force to be reckoned with.
“Why does that have you worried?”
“Because if I were a team leader who had heard of this Frenzy, I’d wait until most of the Weres were good and bedded before I stormed the place.”
Stephen looked around. “Like now.”
He nodded. “Like—”
The front door of the barn burst open as a pack of snarling wolves came racing through.
“SHIT!” Stephen shouted, picking up a nearby stack of hay and tossing it through the air.
The wolf it was aimed at didn’t see it coming and they went flying, colliding with another wolf, a smaller gray-tufted beast.
All around the barn figures were waking up as the RRT deployed. Aiden had already moved to the side into the shadows, preparing to make good his escape, when the cry that he’d been waiting for struck up.
“Out the back!”
Aiden stepped forward, swatting another wolf aside that wasn’t looking in his direction. He hit it hard enough to hurt, but he’d had enough surprise on his side he could have snapped its neck. That wasn’t his mission though.
“BELAY THAT!” he bellowed, his voice clear and oozing command. “OUT THE FRONT. FIGHT THROUGH THEM!”
Stephen looked over at him from where he’d just hopped back down from the loft.
“Trust me!” Aiden shouted and pointed at the front doors. Then he leapt toward Stephen. The Alpha’s eyes went wide as he assumed Aiden was coming at him.
But Aiden kept going, pushing past Stephen and tackling the wolf that was coming at his rear. He fell on it heavily, using his knee to crack some ribs before driving his elbow hard into its head. The wolf lay there stunned while Aiden got to his feet, picked it up, and hurled it at the back door, wincing as it hit a post and whirled away into the shadows.
Stephen took one look at what had just happened and came to his decision. “Let’s go, boys!” he roared, and as one the now-awake pack shot toward the front door.
As they went, Aiden allowed himself to flow into his wolf form, ignoring the stomach-wrenching shiver that always came just before he turned. Eight men had run toward the front doors, but now they were eight wolves, led by Aiden’s midnight-black beast and Stephen’s gray and black wolf, the duo running side by side.
They shot through the opening, flashing past the bonfires while keeping their heads low to retain their night vision as best they could before disappearing into the growth that surrounded the barn. They ran along by scent and sound more than sight until they reached the edge of the field, at which point they regrouped and fled across the meadow and into the forest.
The pack ran for hours, until they were positive that any pursuit had given up. Then they ran upstream in a small river for half an hour to obscure their scent before finally heading home. Another hour later they were finally back home at the pack house. Stephen ordered them all back into human form and they started washing themselves off in the wading pool out back.
Meanwhile Patrice went and got them all towels so that they could dry off. The cool evening air didn’t penetrate their skin enough to be a real bother, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable either. Their breath was visible each time they exhaled, which was often as they fought to recover from the run.
All around him the pack were high-fiving and exchanging stories of their harrowing escape. He smiled as several of them even included him in their moments, too caught up in the adrenaline to remember they were supposed to hate him.
“How did you know?”
He turned to see Flint staring at him suspiciously. “Know what?”
“That they were coming.”
Aiden shrugged. “I didn’t. But I was on a team for a decade. I know procedure.”
“Did you know that?” Flint asked, turning to Stephen.
“Yes, I was more than aware of that fact,” the Alpha said, glaring at his Second, obviously not appreciating the way Flint was acting. “I’m aware that he was kicked off the team, and then kicked out of Mack’s group. But his knowledge came in handy back there.” He looked at Aiden. “How did you know going out the front door was the option?”
“It’s one of their tactics. I’m not sure if any of you noticed, but only eight of them came in the front. Which meant another four were waiting out back for you. If we’d gone that way, none of us would have escaped. At least, certainly not as a coherent group. They could then track us down individually.”
Stephen seemed satisfied, and then waved for them all to head inside.
Aiden allowed himself to be swept up into the moment again, despite the turmoil he was feeling inside. Even as shoulder-slaps, fist-bumps, and congratulatory remarks rained down on him, he was feeling sick to his stomach.
I just assaulted several members of a Regional Response Team. Who have now seen me participating in an illegal Frenzy. I’m so dead. No matter what, I’m screwed unless I can find out just what Stephen is up to.
He decided to use his goodwill from that night as best he could to ingratiate himself with the rest of the pack. A genuine smile spread across his face. Perhaps tonight had been good for something after all. He could use this to his advantage, to bring down Flint, Stephen, and the entire damn pack.