Alpha's Roar

Chapter 1

Secretly, I believed that if you were dumb enough to stare death in the face and not do anything about it you deserved to die. And that red-haired bimbo was definitely going to get butchered any moment now.

Lucy, my best friend, almost pulled out her silky black hair in frustration. "Why are all the girls in horror movies so mind-numbingly stupid?"

"To be fair, the guys are not any brighter. Look at this tool," Ian mumbled, his mouth full of popcorn. His nut-brown eyes were glued to the 55-inch TV screen. "Dude, stop trying to convince her to run. She's obviously in shock. Get a jump on the killer!"

I threw popcorn at the TV, hitting the girl's tear-stained cheek. "He should just slap the bitch and tell her to get her shit together."

Eli, my big brother, burst into laughter and gave me a round of applause. "Kylie Wilder, ladies and gentlemen. Ever the sensitive one."

Reaching around giggling Lucy, I gave him a smack on the shoulder — a target hard to miss, considering how big it was. "Hey, I'm plenty of sensitive."

Eli pointedly rubbed his shoulder, wearing a grin on his handsome face. "Clearly."

This was how the four of us spent all our Saturday nights. When you lived in a place so remote from the civilization, it was either this or howling at the moon — which we did last night. The fact that Ian and Lucy's parents were currently suffering through a four-hour drive in order to celebrate their twenty-second anniversary in a decent restaurant said a lot about how isolated our location was.

The slam of a door had us swirl from our comfy positions on the couch, the rattling sound echoing through our modest pack house. Our Alpha, tall and built like a linebacker, stormed into the room only to pause when he noticed us. "Hey, kids. What are you doing here? With Owen and Sophia gone, you have the whole house to yourselves. Aren't you supposed to throw a raging kegger and trash the place?"

Eli and I shared a look, the same one we share every time dad tries to speak cool before we shook our heads. For a mighty Alpha, our dad could be pretty hopeless sometimes.

Lucy shrugged. "You have the bigger TV. Don't tell dad, though."

Whilst dad chuckled, knowing how easy it was to rile up Owen, the smile didn't really reach his eyes.

Ian noticed it too. "Everything okay, Alpha?"

"I just got off the phone with my mother." We knew that meant he had news from Alpha Alexander, my grandfather, with whom dad hasn't spoken to ever since he had left his father's pack to become the Alpha of this tiny pack in the middle of nowhere. "It seems this whole rogue business is getting out of hand."

Eli frowned, not liking the fact that our dad was worried any less than me. "Anything we can do, dad?"

Dad gave us his signature warm smile as he approached the couch to pet my messy blonde hair and Lucy's neat black one. "Just be vigilant on your border patrols."

Shortly after, he left to talk to Sam, our pack's fighting trainer often referred to as drill sergeant, but only behind his very broad back.

Once we were alone again Lucy spoke. "I still can't believe rogues actually joined together like that."

Ian rolled his eyes at his sister. "It's not like they formed a pack."

"They might as well have," I said, feeling a frown form between my eyes. "Around forty rogues travelling and attacking packs together? It's unheard of."

Ian nudged Eli's foot with his own since they had their feet propped up on a coffee table. "You think your grandfather will do something about it?"