I pulled out of the parking lot and made a show of triple checking both directions for oncoming cars. I drove three-under the speed limit and kept a full car's length between my car and the car in front of me. At a stop light a couple blocks from the fields, I turned on the radio to fill the awkward silence. Alpha Alexander promptly reached over and turned it off. I glared at him. "And here I thought the driver controls the radio."

"The driver pays attention to the road, not to the ridiculous racket they call music coming out of the speakers."

I scowled. "God, it feels like I'm taking my driver's test all over again." I gave him a sideways glance. "At least my last instructor was a lot nicer."

Like I expected, he didn't respond. He simply gave me directions on getting back to the pack house, which I committed to memory. I pulled into the driveway and turned the engine off with a satisfied smirk. "Looks like I win."

"You ran a yellow light."

"It turned yellow when I was already in the intersection!" I argued.

He gracefully got out of the car and I scrambled out after him. I marched over to Alpha Alexander and poked his chest.

"I am driving myself from now on. Just because you're the big bad Alpha does not mean that you can control me."

"Actually, it does, Phoebe." His eyes were burning dark irises. "But that is beside the point. I will drive you to school come Monday and that's final."

"We'll see about that, Alpha Alexander," I scowled and spun on my heel, marching into the house as the sky darkened. As I entered, I asked a passing boy where Julie's room was. He stumbled over his words, but told me where to find her. I stomped up the stairs and down the hall, passed Alpha Alexander's room and knocked impatiently on the closed door. It opened swiftly, revealing a towel-clad Julie. She pulled me inside and slammed the door.

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" she screeched.

I gaped, baffled at her sudden frustration toward me. "I, uh . . . What?"

"You just dipped out on Jason and we didn't know where to find you!"

I rubbed my face tiredly. "I'm sorry, Julie. My brother had a soccer game and I told him I would go."

"You couldn't tell me that before I called the FBI?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You did not call the FBI, Julie."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, no, I didn't. But I was about to before Alpha Alexander flew out of the house like a mad man."

I frowned. "What?"

"Yeah, he heard that you ditched and started calling everyone and their mothers to find you. He went to your house and found out from your dad that your brother had a soccer game."

"Yeah," I grimaced. "He dropped by and nearly tore the head off some obnoxious woman."

Her eyes widened. "Why?"

"She just asked a few too many personal questions about me and Alpha Alexander."

Julie laughed, clutching her stomach. "I would have paid to see that!"

I shook my head. "It wasn't amusing at the time, trust me."

"Never is." Her lips lifted in a smile, but it fell a second later. "You can't keep doing that, you know."

"What?"

"Pushing his buttons." She sighed, "You know, getting under his skin by defying him at every turn."

"Why the hell not? He's a condescending, stubborn asshole. He needs a little disobedience from someone."

"Yeah, but not from you—especially not from you."

"I don't see what the big deal is," I mumbled, picking at a loose thread in the bedspread.

"The big deal, Phoebe, is that you're an Alpha Female now."

I groaned. "Please, stop saying that."

"No. Not until you realize why it's so important to have all the extra security."

I sighed. "Fine. Educate me."

Julie glanced at her towel and then back at me. "Let me change first."

I fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling while Julie changed into some leggings and a t-shirt.

She fell on the bed beside me and started talking, "You are Alpha Female—stop trying to deny it or pretend it never happened because it did. I was there, and I know you were there, when Alpha Alexander announced it to the entire pack. You're not mated yet, so it's technically not official, but that's beside the point."

She sighed, running a hand through her wet hair.

"I can't find an easy way to say this, so I'm going to spit it out." She took a deep breath and, in a rush of words, spilled out, "You are the greatest weakness this pack has, and other packs would take advantage of that to get to Alpha Alexander and make him vulnerable so that they can overthrow him and take control of the pack."

She gulped a breath of air.

I stared at her. "Excuse me?"

She stared back at me. "Being an Alpha's mate is supposed to be fantastic. You naturally have so much respect and trust from each pack member. You have natural instincts that deem you worthy of an Alpha mate.

"You also have the possibility of being a part of the extremely unfortunate situation where you might possibly be used against your own mate to weaken him or weaken the pack. It's happened a few times before, and your mate would do anything to keep that from happening to you, including having your own escort wherever you go. Hence, the rides to school."

"But," I grasped for an argument, "you are a Beta's mate. Shouldn't you be under the same security?"

She shook her head. "While Seth has tried to throw some dogs on me, he couldn't get it to stick. He still follows me everywhere, but his leash on me has loosened. I would never be taken because I am only a Beta's mate. To put it bluntly, if I ever was taken, Alpha Alexander wouldn't negotiate and the rebels' plans would be futile. Sure, Seth would go insane, but it still wouldn't weaken the pack as much as losing an Alpha Female."

I absorbed the information slowly. My mind reeled as what she told me sunk in. I knew Alpha Alexander intended to protect me, but I didn't believe it would be because of such a dramatic idea.

"I thought all the packs in the country were at peace?"

"There hasn't be a war between packs in decades. However," she paused, wetting her lips. "There are a few lone werewolves, called rogues, that—"

"Julie," a deep voice snapped.

She sighed, giving me a look that said, We'll talk later.

Julie sat up, leaning on her elbows as her mate entered the bedroom.

"Hey, babe," she said nonchalantly.

His eyes narrowed. "What are you doing?"

"Having some girl time," she chirped. "Want me to paint your nails?"

He gave her a glare that wasn't half as deadly as it could have been. He looked over at me. "Alpha's looking for you."

I sighed and rolled off the bed. "Well, he can keep looking." I turned back to Julie, "Thanks, Julie. I think I get it now."

She gave me a smile. "Anytime."

I passed Seth and said a low, "Bye."

Once in the hall, the door swung closed behind me. I heard Seth say, "You know you aren't allowed—" before it closed completely.

I wandered down the hall and then realized something: I never really explored the house before. I knew that most of the teens lived on the first floor. Older pack members lived in their own homes around the compound. The second floor was reserved for the Beta's quarters and the Alpha's, as well as a library—which I squealed upon finding—and a large study area with plenty of open windows. I glanced out of one and saw the open fields, where dozens of wolves were practicing their fighting skills. My eyes widened at the sight—several were wrestling, others were practicing with weapons. I raced out of the room when I spotted someone practicing with a particular weapon I happened to be fond of.

I found the field easily enough by going out the back door in the kitchen. I cautiously walked around the wrestling matches and found Kellan and another boy aiming at targets in the distance. I stood behind them, covering my ears as loud cracks thundered from their weapons.

Once they turned to reload, they spotted me. Kellan's smile lifted into a lazy grin. "Well, lookie what we have here: little Miss Jailbreak."

I grinned and motioned toward the weapon in his hand. "Can I try?"

His smile immediately dropped. "No. Nice try, but no."

I groaned. "Oh, come on! I know how to use one!"

"You? You know how to use a gun?"

I nodded eagerly.

His brow lifted. "You're trying to shoot me for making fun of you today, aren't you?"

I laughed. "Definitely. Let me see."

"Do you even know what kind of gun this is?" the other boy—I think his name was Nate—asked.

I glanced at it. "Pistol . . . maybe a Colt, automatic?"

Nate and Kellan shared a brief look. Nate dropped the magazine out and handed me the unloaded gun. I glanced at the barrel—Colt .45 Automatic Caliber was engraved on the dark metal. I grabbed a single bullet and loaded it into the clip, pushing the mag in and turning the safety off. I stepped around Kellan and Nate, both a little stunned at what they just watched me do. I held the gun in both hands, aiming for the orange body target the length of a football field away. I pulled the trigger, the loud sound pulling both stunned boys out of their trance.

"Who taught you to shoot?"

"My dad. He went to great lengths to make sure I wasn't afraid of a gun." I ejected the clip and grabbed the loaded one off of Kellan's belt. After reloading the gun, I shot the target a few more times. I almost emptied the mag before a loud growl erupted from across the field.

I removed my finger from the trigger and switched on the safety. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Alpha Alexander striding toward me. Our eyes met—his dark pupils full of fury—and I whispered to Kellan, "You might want to leave before he rips your head off."

But Kellan stayed put. He quietly took the gun from my hands, emptying the chamber and pulling out the mag, setting the piece of metal on the table. Alpha Alexander reached me and broke eye contact to glare at Kellan. "I should have your head for allowing her to even look at the gun, let alone touch it."

Kellan's eyes widened fearfully. "Sir, I would never have—"

"But you did, Thompson," he snapped.

I stepped in front of him, facing Alpha Alexander. "Hey, he did nothing wrong."

"He deliberately put you in danger."

"I know how to handle a gun, Alpha Alexander. I'm not as fragile as I look."

"You are still fragile, though, Phoebe."

My teeth ground together in frustration. I opened my mouth to say something snarky, but Nate beat me to it. "Sir," he drew Alpha Alexander's attention from me. He glared at Nate, pinning him with a murderous glare. Nate mutely handed his Alpha the orange target. Six neat holes were centered around the head of the target. A few others were scattered on the body or completely off the outline.

"We were practicing heart shots, sir."

Kellan spoke up. "We purposefully avoided any head shots, sir."

I beamed, taking the target from Alpha Alexander and holding it up. "I feel so badass." I looked over at Kellan, grinning. "I'm going to go hang it up. Catch you guys later."

I walked off the practice field and back inside, my whole day seemed brighter. I used to love going to the gun range with Dad. He sometimes took me to the back hills, too. Tommy wasn't old enough to learn how to use a gun. I hadn't started until I was thirteen, when the wolves first came out into the world. If I was being honest, Dad's main reason to teach me how to properly use a gun was because he thought I'd need protection against the wolves. I stuck with it because it helped release a lot of anger and there was always something new to learn.

I was standing on the bed, four pieces of tape stuck to my fingers as I tried to hold the target against the ceiling, when Alpha Alexander stormed into the room.

"I hope you didn't kill those guys. They've recently become my new best friends." It was the truth. I stuck a piece of tape on the corner of the target and then another piece on the other corner.

"They are being properly punished."

I scoffed. "For what? Being dumbstruck when a girl shoots a Colt better than they can? It's not their fault they aren't a badass like me."

"Phoebe."

"Oh, don't 'Phoebe' me. I know how to use a gun, Alpha Alexander. I'm not stupid and I'm not afraid of a chunk of metal."

"That chunk of metal could have seriously harmed you."

I rolled my eyes. "But it didn't."

I reached for the third corner, realizing too late that the shirt I wore rode up over my stomach, exposing a sliver of skin just above my belt. I felt Alpha Alexander's finger glide over the tender flesh. I quickly taped the last two corners and stared at my handiwork, stepping back, away from his not-so-idle hands. My foot got caught in the sheet and I fell backward, landing on my bottom. I laid back on the pillows and stared at the target.

"Now, every night before I go to sleep, I can look up and be reminded of how awesome I am."

I could practically feel Alpha Alexander rolling his eyes. "That will not stay up there."

"Hey, if you gave me my own room, we wouldn't have to deal with my unique taste of decor." I sat up and pointed to the empty wall beside the bed. "I'm thinking of putting a boy band poster there. Or, maybe a close-up of Timberlake. I haven't quite decided yet." I tapped my chin thoughtfully.

"I meant the target is too heavy for the tape," he said, exasperated.

"We'll see about that." I scooted forward, sitting back on my heels at the foot of the bed. I wrung my hands together, a nervous habit I picked up years ago. "I get it, you know."

His head cocked to the side, like a serious puppy. "What?"

"I get why you are so bossy and stalkerish. Julie explained it to me and I am . . . sorry for being . . ." I paused. "Well, for lack of better word, difficult. I'm still getting used to you and everything else that's going on. But, honestly," I looked up at him, "can you be just a little lenient?"

"No," he said roughly. His eyebrows furrowed deeper. "What else did Julie tell you?"

I swallowed. I remembered how upset Seth got when Julie opened her mouth about rogues, but I didn't want her to get into any more trouble, so I said, "Nothing much. Just to give you a break and stop being a pain."

"Good advice."

"Probably won't listen to it, though." I sighed. "But I'm willing to try to be less difficult if you are." I smiled cheekily.

"I am not difficult, Phoebe."

I raised my brows, amused. "Might have to start calling you Alpha Grouchy Pants. I mean, if you'd just . . ." I trailed off as Alpha Alexander stepped closer to me. I tried to gather my thoughts, but I couldn't think of anything besides him reaching for me. I clambered back, scooting away from him until my back hit the headboard. His hand snaked out and grabbed my ankle, tugging me toward him. My back bounced on the bed and his body was suddenly over mine, molding our chest together. My breathing hitched and I was too aware of his every inch against me.

"While I admire your defiance, Phoebe, it is getting rather annoying."

I lick my lips, swallowing to wet my suddenly dry throat. I opened my mouth to say something, but it was quickly diminished by his lips as they captured mine in a heated kiss. His tongue slid into my mouth, dominating upon entering. I responded to the kiss immediately—or rather, my body responded, lifting my hips to grind against him, curling my fingers in his hair. I held him against me as the kiss grew more passionate—maybe even desperate. We broke apart at the sound of something ripping and then a flutter of paper soared over our heads. The orange target settled on the floor a few feet from the foot of the bed. I glanced back at Alpha Alexander, whose smug eyes danced with amusement. I put a finger to his lips before he could even speak a word. "Don't—say—anything."