Moon Dancer - Hidden Wolf 1

Ares

Upon coming across the girl on the dirtbike, I was first confused about what a human girl was doing this far north of town, but then doubly confused as she took Spike trail instead of the road. No one took that trail unless they had a death wish.

I slowed down for the sharp turn, trying to get death-wish-girl out of my head. I bet that her red-brown hair fell all the way to her butt when she was standing. Scowling, I reminded myself that I didn't care.

Finn sat in the passenger seat across from me and was giving me the side eye. "What." I snap at him.

He raised his hands in a surrender position and had an easy smile on his face. "You just seem tense, is all."

I growled at him. "What do you care?"

Finley's golden hair sparkled in the sunlight. "We," he gestured to himself and the rest of us in the car, "have football practice after school. So stop looking like your puppy just died."

"Shut up!" I alpha-barked at him. Finn burst out laughing, unaffected by the alpha demand.

The four of us were pretty matched for power, allowing us to lead together without an imbalance. Though, it did not deter us from fighting each other.

"We already know we're going to be starting," Jagger spoke in his aloof drawl from the back seat. I looked back at him through the rearview mirror, but he was staring out the window.

I scowled. Jagger had been even more withdrawn recently. As much as I wanted to beat some sense into him, I was also slightly worried.

Jagger had been against the idea of us accepting our position. Becoming lead pack of Moonstone Mountain had been none of our goals.

We all had our own individual beef with The Society, but at the end of the day, we were Alphas. The Society owned us. And they made sure we never forgot that.

This summer had been hell. We spent long weeks among other Royals and territory leaders. We were forced to bow our heads to Royals that didn't even deserve a glance in their direction. Everyone expected us to behave and act like elite snobs like the rest of them.

So we pretended.

We pretended that we had two smiling parents who raised us in a home with white walls and family dinners every night.

We pretended to respect the vile pigs when they preached their views, clearly thinking that since they were Royals and acrobats, they were better than everyone else.

If we stepped out of line, The Society would not hesitate to rip us apart. When they realized the four of us had formed a pack, they got scared. They didn't realize how much power we were growing into. When the previous Alphas of Moonstone were taken care of, they offered Moonstone to us.

It was really only some twisted measure to control us.

Still, I will protect Moonstone. My life depended on it. All of our lives depended on it.

Jagger's half-brother had a higher seat in The Society, and never missed a chance to mention his Mother's unfortunate bastard son. Basking in his detached reality, Jagger just takes the insults. Never reacting, never fighting back.

I've tried to talk to him about it before, but he just laughs it off.

My eyes flicked to Jagger again, to find him staring right at me.

"Stop fretting." He mindlinked me, a small smile resting on his face.

I rolled my eyes. "I wasn't."

Jagger's laugh echoed in my head. "You were always a bad liar."

My eyes back on the road, we rounded along the side of a cliff. The tall white rocks jut out, threatening to scratch against the side of the matte black Jeep.