Lexi Summerton.

Goddess, she was gorgeous, and she knew it. Her floral sundress danced around her flawless legs as she glided past the tables. Her silky blond hair flowed past her shoulders, while her cerulean blue eyes sparkled with glee. The problem: her eyes only sparkled for his brother as she made her way to him. Once she reached him, she pecked Quinton on the lips and then lowered her cute ass on his lap. How fair was that? He was mateless, but he had the hottest girl falling for him, even though Lexi knew she had a mate. Poor bastard, whoever he might be.

Jason had a crush on her. Hell, everyone with eyes had. It pained him to see her fawning over his brother. But what did he expect, a miracle? She wasn't a slut, but a spoiled girl who got everything her heart desired. Some would have called her a bitch, but she was just high-strung. Another fun fact about her. Lexi was an alpha, the next in line to the Blue Orchid pack, the biggest pack in the state.

"Jase! Stop drooling," Mallory whispered while nudging him in the ribs.

Jason, pulled out of his stupor, wiped his mouth off while Mallory laughed at his foolishness. "Stop laughing." He grabbed his back and his tray.

Jason got up from his table and walked over to the bin to throw away the paper plate and empty soda can.

"Wait for me!" Mallory shouted after him as he walked out of the cafeteria. "I don't get why you're into her. She's just like your brother."

She spoke the truth, even though Jason didn't want to admit it. Both of them were self-centered and materialistic. They usually looked down on other people who they thought were under them. But it was difficult. He couldn't choose who he had a crush on.

***

After another boring school day, Jason and Mallory emerged from the front doors of the school and made their way toward Mallory's car. He didn't have one. His father never wanted to waste money on him. All of it was given to Quinton. What made the matter worse was that the clothes he wore were Quinton's hand-me-downs. It was his father's way of humiliating him further.

With a bleep, Jason opened the passenger's door of Mallory's Jeep Grand Cherokee. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. Out of the corner of his eye, Jason watched as Quinton and Lexi kissed. His heart tightened while Oz whined inside of his head. How could she stoop so low?

"Hey?!" Mallory shouted, startling Jason.

"What?"

Her eyes found the same scene Jason had stared at earlier. "You really are a masochist, aren't you?"

Jason huffed and strapped himself in. "Am not!"

Mallory shook her head and then turned on the ignition. She backed out of the parking lot but suddenly slammed down on the brakes. She punched down on her horn, drawing the students' attention. A black Mercedes Benz belonging to Quinton's beta, Steven, cut her off.

Mallory lowered her window and leaned out of the SUV. Here we go. "Go fuck yourself, needle dick!" She yanked on the door handle and jumped out of the car.

Not this again, Mallory!

She rushed up to Steven, who dwarfed her. A shit-eating grin stretched across his face as he crossed his arms and puffed out his chest.

"What can I do for you, Mallory?" asked the idiot. "Did you finally decide on my offer?" He wiggled his brows.

Mallory huffed and said, "Not even if you were the last mangy mutt on this planet. Go—"

Jason's head snapped to his door. One of his brother's lackeys, Justin, grabbed him by the collar and yanked him out of the door and onto the pavement of the parking lot.

"Fuck you, Steven! Let me go before I castrate you," Mallory yelled as Steven held her back.

A shoe quickly found Jason's face, littering the asphalt with his blood. A sickening crack found his ears, while a numbing pain spread across his face. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. They had broken his nose. Several more punches and kicks rained down upon him, further leveling him into the asphalt.

After a while and several cheers from the crowd, the beating stopped. It took several painful attempts for Jason to stagger to his feet, but he did it. He leaned back into the Jeep for support, fighting against the urge to cry. Hot, searing pain stabbed him in the ribs with every breath he took. They must have broken several of his ribs.

No matter what the fuckers did to him, Jason would not allow them to break him, no matter how many times they beat him down. He was an Alpha!

"Fuck yeah!" Oz growled in unison.

Suddenly, Jason got pinned against the SUV. A calloused hand tightened around his neck, making it harder to breathe.

"Let's get this straight, little brother," growled Quinton. His foul breath fanned Jason's face. "If I ever see you looking or even drooling over Lexi again. I'll cut out your eyes and feed them to you. Got it?" He tightened his grip.

Fuck you, asshole! I'll look wherever my bloody heart desires.

Jason remained defiantly quiet. He would not submit to his brother. Not anymore. He had fuckin' enough of his brother's bullshit. Even if he wasn't interested in taking over the position of Alpha, Jason wasn't in the habit of bowing down to anyone anymore. Not even his arrogant brother.

Quinton's nose flared as his blue eyes flared golden. His alpha voice bled into his voice. If Jason wasn't an alpha, he would have shown his neck in submission, but it wasn't going to happen.

"You're ready, Oz?"

"Hell yes! Let's show this bunch of mutts how a real alpha fights!"

Jason prayed to the heavens above his martial arts training stuck. You see, Jason's father had forbidden any of the warriors, including Mallory, from training him in an effort to keep Jason weak and defenseless. However, after several secret martial arts instructors and Mallory's support, he knew how to defend himself better than his older brother could.

Jason smirked and then cocked his head back and then slammed his forehead into Quinton's face. Quinton dropped to the floor, howling in agony as he clutched his broken nose. A pin from a grenade dropped; several seconds later, hell exploded loose. Three of Quinton's friends rushed up to Jason.

"Pfft! They're screwing with the wrong alpha," Oz growled.

A growl slipped from Jason's mouth as a fist flew toward his face. Jason caught Justin's fist, much to the blonde's surprise. Several gasps erupted from the crowd. Justin's eyes widened, but later slammed shut as he howled out in agony. Justin fell to the ground, clutching his broken arm that Jason had snapped in two. From his left, another idiot barreled toward him. Nick, the redhead, tried to aim for Jason's legs but ended up with his head being smashed into the side of the SUV. Jason followed up his attack by stomping down on Nick's right leg, snapping another limb. The second idiot crawled away, licking his wounds. Jason had thought that the third stooge would enter the fray, but Finny stood rooted to the spot. Fear rippled through his body.

Jason didn't have the luxury of time to revel in the warrior's fear before his brother punched him in the jaw, followed up by a kick in the gut. It didn't hurt as much as Jason had thought it would. Quinton wasn't as frightening as he thought he was.

"That's what happens when an alpha hides behind his warriors," Oz said. "He's weak and pathetic and I feel sorry for the pack when he takes over."

Recovering quickly from his brother's beating, Jason dodged his brother's fist and rained down his own punishment on his brother's face. The progress of the ensuing brawl surprised Jason; it took barely any effort to knock his older brother to the floor. So much for being the stronger Alpha. Jason chuckled as he walked up to his brother as he lay there, reeling from his wounds. The left side of Quinton's face was swollen, his right leg and arm broken while blood dripped from his broken nose and busted up lip.

"Pathetic..."

Jason nodded at Oz's opinion of his brother. Why did he ever look up to Quinton?

Just then, a cry echoed out, drawing Jason and the crowd's attention. Mallory had Steven's head in her hand. She repeatedly slammed his face into the hood of his Mercedez. After the fifth blow to the face, she let go of his hair, allowing Steven to stumble and fall to the ground. He passed out after his head hit the asphalt.

Damn, she's deadly.

Jason returned his attention to his brother, only to find Lexi bending over him. She was examining his wounds before she whipped around, glaring knives at Jason. His heart clenched seeing the hatred in her beautiful blue eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she screeched. "He's your brother!"

What was wrong with her? Why was she defending the ass? For years he got beaten bloody, and no one batted an eyelash, but the moment he defended himself they were quick to cast him as the villain.

"Just shut your mouth, bitch," Mallory interrupted. "This has nothing to do with you."

Lexi's beautiful face contorted into an angry scowl. "You forget your place, Beta."

Slowly, Jason's infatuation with Lexi shriveled up with her bitchy attitude. The rose-colored veil of Lexi fell from his eyes, revealing a female copy of his bother. They deserved each other.

"Oh please, bitch. You're a glorified showpiece with less bite than a Chihuahua," Mallory laughed. "So shut your mouth before I scar that whorish face of yours."

Jason placed his hand on Mallory's shoulder, stopping her from stomping Lexi's ass.

Shaking his head, Jason said, "Let's get going, Mally. We're done here."