Alpha's Runaway Bride (Runaway Shifter Brides Book 4) Read online

  “Anyway,” said Sam, glancing toward the bar. “How is it in there? How’s Chad?” There was total disdain as he said the name. It was no secret that Sam didn’t care for Chad one bit, or his impending marriage to his best friend.

  “Chad-ing it up, as usual,” said Lexi, shaking her head. “I swear, it’s like he loses an IQ point every day.”

  Shana and Sam laughed.

  “Well,” said Sam. “You fight as much as he does, take that many blows to the head, and you’re not exactly going to be a mathalete.”

  More laughs.

  “So,” said Lexi. “When’s the big day?”

  “Wait,” said Shana. “What big day?”

  “Someone’s going off to college in Seattle,” said Lexi.

  “What?” asked Shana. “Are you serious?”

  The pack was stuck in their ways, but every year, they picked a few betas to go off into the nearby city of Seattle to attend college. There, they could get a sense of what was going on in the rest of the world, along with being able to pick up intel on the goings-on of the city shifters.

  “Serious as it gets. Leaving next month.”

  “Oh,” said Shana, clearly disappointed. “Well, maybe we can hang out sometime before then.”

  “Really?” asked Sam, sounding excited. He caught himself and spoke in a more easy-going voice. “I mean, that would be fun. And it’d be even better if you and Lexi could come with me.”

  “Not a chance of that happening,” said Lexi.

  “I don’t know,” said Sam. “You could always...”

  “Always what?”

  “Just run away. Leave all this behind. With as smart as you are, I bet you could graduate in no time and get a job in the city.”

  Lexi wanted it more than anything, and hearing Sam say it like that, so easily, only made her more conscious of how impossible it was.

  “Don’t tempt me,” said Lexi. “But it’s not going to happen. I’m stuck here with Chad, the barbarian.”

  “Chad the barbarian. I like that,” said Shana.

  The three of them turned, and Lexi’s heart skipped a beat at what she saw.

  It was Chad. And not just him—two of his betas were at his sides, all wearing the same sneering face.

  Chad stepped up to Lexi and looked her up and down with hungry eyes once again, as if he wanted her right there in front of all of them.

  “You didn’t tell me you guys were having a little private party,” he said. He raised his finger at Sam. “But someone’s not obeying my rule—no one, and I mean no one talks to her without my say-so. And you know what they say about rule-breakers.”

  With that, Chad and his betas closed in on Sam, anger in their eyes, their hands clenched into fists.

  CHAPTER 2

  LEXI

  “Wait,” said Sam, raising his palms. “What are you guys doing?”

  “Chad!” shouted Lexi. “Stop!”

  “Quiet,” Chad snarled over his shoulder. “Your job isn’t to talk. You’re an omega, remember? You stand there and you look good. That’s it.”

  But Lexi wasn’t about to do nothing while Chad threatened her friend. She rushed toward him, putting her hands on his broad shoulders. He quickly turned, grabbed her by the wrists, and pushed her back hard enough to make her stumble.

  “What the hell, Chad?” she asked, furious.

  He stopped and turned to face her. The playful bullying attitude was gone, replaced by tight anger.

  “I’m claiming you, remember?” he asked. “That means you’re mine.” He pointed to Shana. “You want to hang out with other females of the pack, that’s your business. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you talk to some other guy. Especially a shithead little nerdy-ass beta like him.”

  “Wait,” said Sam, his palms still in the air. “We don’t need to do anything rash. Guys, Lexi and I are just friends. And if we could talk about this, then I’m sure—”

  He didn’t get a chance to finish. Before Sam could speak another word, Chad flew over to him with the blinding speed only an alpha was capable of. Then, in an equally fast movement, he pulled back his fist and brought it hard against Sam’s jaw. The connection caused a sick, cracking sound to fill the air, Sam’s glasses flying off his face and onto the grass.

  Sam let out a yell of pain before stumbling backward and landing hard. Shana screamed, and Lexi ran over to help Sam.

  “Don’t you touch him,” said Chad, his voice a low growl. “He’s a beta and needs to learn his place.”

  “Not a chance,” said Lexi. “You’re not going to lay another hand on him.”

  Sam was stunned, the blow having knocked the sense out of him. A trickle of blood came down his nose. Shana hurried over to grab his glasses and put them back on his face. But one of the lenses was cracked, and Sam barely seemed to be aware of what was happening.

  Chad stepped close, looming over the two of them. He sneered, the bully expression returning.

  “All right. I guess we can consider this a lesson learned. But if I see you talking to my omega again, prick, you’re not going to like what happens. Got it?”

  Sam was still stunned, not sure what to make of what was going on. Chad dropped to his knees and pinched Sam’s face with his hands.

  “I said, got it?”

  Sam finally came to, nodding in agreement.

  “Good,” said Chad. “And Lexi, I better see you at my place tonight. Don’t make me come looking for you.”

  With that, he turned and nodded to his betas, the group heading back into the bar.

  “Fucking...fucking prick,” said Lexi. “I hate that asshole so damn much.”

  “Are you OK, Sam?”

  He reached up and wiped the blood away from his nose. Then he took a few breaths, Lexi and Shana giving him time to come back to the moment.

  “Well,” he said finally. “I feel like I got hit by a damn semi-truck. But other than that, fine.”

  Shana and Lexi shared a look, one of relief that Chad hadn’t hurt Sam too badly.

  “Come on,” said Lexi. “We need to get out of here.”

  “But didn’t Chad just say not to talk to Sam?” asked Shana.

  “Alpha or not, he’s not going to tell me who I can and can’t talk to. Come on.”

  The two of them helped Sam to his feet, and together they made their way to the tree line. The main pack camp—more like a small town in the woods—was just beyond.

  “Are you good enough to shift?” asked Lexi.

  “He didn’t hit me hard enough to knock the shifter out of me,” said Sam with a wry grin.

  Lexi smiled, happy to see her friend was getting better by the second.

  “All right,” said Lexi. “Let’s get back home.”

  With that, the three of them shifted. Shana was in her black bear form, Sam in his silver, and Lexi white as fresh snow. Together they broke out into a hard run, weaving through the trees.

  And as they did, Lexi looked off into the distance, spotting the lights of Shafford, the nearest human town. At that distance, they were only twinkles, but the sight still filled Lexi with a longing. At that moment, all she wanted was to run, to leave Chad and the pack and everything else behind.

  Her and Shana and Sam, they could start fresh, go from Shafford down to the highway, then to Seattle. There, they could blend in, no one finding them.

  But she knew she couldn’t. She was stuck, her dreams pushed aside so Chad could have his omega. She turned back to the trees, soon spotting the familiar shapes of the pack cabins up ahead.

  They reached the tree line and shifted back, Lexi taking in the scene. The campground was a collection of a few dozen cabins, all spaced out in the clearing to give the owners a good chunk of land, as well as some privacy. The main cabin, the three-story alpha cabin where Rick, the pack’s alpha and Chad’s father, lived, was in the center, the pack meeting place in front of it.

  Rick was a good alpha, thoughtful and strong, nothing like his cocky, vicious son. Bu
t Lexi knew he wasn’t going to be around forever. Eventually, Chad would be in charge.

  Lexi checked her phone, seeing that it was near the time for her to meet Chad.

  “I need to go,” she said. “Chad’s going to be waiting for me. Last thing I want to do is deal with him being even more pissed off.”

  Sam and Shana nodded.

  “Be strong,” said Shana. “We’re here for you, OK? No matter what.”

  Sam, appearing to have finally worked through the pain, nodded. “You need anything, just say the word.”

  Lexi hugged the two of them, Sam and Shana then going off and leaving her alone.

  She turned, her stomach sinking as soon as she laid eyes on Chad’s cabin off in the distance. But Lexi knew she didn’t have another choice. When an alpha gave an order, an omega obeyed.

  The rest of the camp was mostly empty, everyone having gone to bed, a few of the men of the pack hanging out in small groups sipping beers, a few women among them. She walked past her house, where she lived with her father James and her mother Sara, both mid-level wolves in the pack, and both eager to see her paired off with Chad.

  Her home was hardly a better alternative to her alpha’s.

  She reached Chad’s place. The windows were dark, and his truck was gone, letting her know the place was empty. Lexi opened the door and stepped inside, flicking the light on as she did.

  Lexi let out a groan as she looked over Chad’s place. It was total frat-boy heaven, with beer posters and empty liquor bottles displayed as decoration. There was a massive TV with all the video game consoles. Lexi couldn’t believe that in a week’s time, she’d be calling this place home.

  She stepped over to the fridge and grabbed a beer, cracking it open and dropping it on the couch, moving an empty bag of chips to the side and tossing it on the floor.

  “Fucking jackass.” Lexi shook her head as she thought about Chad, what he’d done to Sam back at the bar.

  She wasn’t far through her beer before she felt the buzz of a text.

  It was from Chad.

  “Coming back now. Be there.”

  Lexi resisted the urge to throw her phone across the living room, frustration running through her. But all she could do was drink her beer and see what the hell he wanted.

  When she reached the bottom of the can, headlights flooded through the living room. Lexi knew without a doubt it was Chad’s truck. Rap poured out of the windows, cutting off along with the lights when the engine died.

  Then he stepped through the door, a big grin spreading across his face when he laid eyes on her.

  “There’s my girl,” he said.

  Right away, she could tell he was drunk. He reeked of beer and whiskey, and his steps were uneven. Chad came over and scooped her off the couch, Lexi feeling totally powerless.

  He planted a big kiss on her lips, one she didn’t want in the slightest.

  “Chad,” she said, moving her head away. “We’re not supposed to be doing this stuff before the ceremony.”

  But he didn’t put her down. “I’m the alpha, baby. That means I can do whatever I want.”

  “You’re not the alpha,” she said. “Your dad is.”

  This response didn’t seem to make him happy in the slightest. Chad dropped her onto the couch and stepped away, looking out of the window past his truck and to the alpha cabin in the distance.

  “It’s going to be mine,” he said. “And soon.”

  “It’ll be yours when your father passes it to you,” said Lexi. “And that’s not going to happen any time soon.”

  “Whatever,” he said, turning around. “When this war gets going and I give our pack more territory, they’re going to be begging to put me in charge.”

  “What war?” asked Lexi. She could tell Chad was drunk enough that he might say something he didn’t intend.

  “Those fucking Leafcutter pussies.”

  “But...why are you going to war with them? They’re harmless, lived in the same area for centuries.”

  “Yeah,” he said with a grin. “And that’s why it’s perfect. They’re on primo land, right between all of the other packs. But for some reason, no one’s got the balls to take them out and claim it.”

  “Because that would mean going to war with a pack that isn’t enemies with anyone.”

  He scoffed as if he were talking to an ignorant child. “You don’t get to not have enemies when you’re a shifter. It’s bear-eat-bear, wolf-eat-wolf. Anyone who’s not ready to be totally fucking ruthless doesn’t deserve to last. So, I’m going to go out there and wipe that pack off the face of the earth. And once that land’s ours, we’ll be the most powerful pack in the state. Then it’s just a matter of picking off the rest of the other packs, one by one.”

  Chad kept right on grinning as if it were the most brilliant idea imaginable. Filled with cockiness, he stepped over to Lexi and loomed over her.

  “But right now,” he said, “I’ve got other things in mind. Like your sexy body.”

  He reached down and grabbed her hands, pulling Lexi to her feet before she could react. Then Chad placed his hands on her hips, squeezing her tight.

  “What...what are you doing, Chad?”

  “You’re a smart girl,” he said. “Too smart for your own good, really. I don’t think I need to explain to you what I’m doing.”

  He moved his hands around, one going to the front of Lexi’s jeans, the other going to her right breast.

  Without thinking, she pulled her hand back and brought it across his face. A crack sounded out, Chad regarding her with an expression of total surprise as he’d realized what she’d done.

  “Did you...did you just fucking smack me?” He seemed pissed and amused all at the same time.

  “I...I did. And I’ll do it again if you touch me.”

  “Listen, babe,” he said. “I don’t know if you get how this whole ‘alpha and omega’ thing works, but you’re mine. That means you’re my property. When I tell you to do something, that means you do it, and you thank me for the command. Understand?”

  Lexi was furious.

  “You think that’s what it means?”

  “That’s exactly what it means. Now, take off your clothes.”

  “No.”

  He narrowed his eyes.

  “You’d better do it now.”

  “Or else what?”

  He stepped close to her, cutting the distance between the two of them down to inches.

  “You don’t want to know.”

  But Lexi was defiant. She stood firm, not moving an inch.

  And she had no idea what Chad would do next.

  Before anything could happen, a booming knock sounded at the door.

  Chad turned, clearly not expecting anyone.

  “Who the hell is it?” he asked.

  “Who the hell do you think it is?”

  Lexi recognized the voice right away—it was Rick, the pack’s alpha, and Chad’s father.

  “Shit!” Chad hissed. He pointed to Lexi. “You stay right there.”

  But the moment Chad turned his back Lexi sat down, not wanting to obey even that simple of a command.

  Chad stepped over to the door and opened it. Sure enough, his father was on the other side. From where Lexi was sitting, she couldn’t see Rick. But she knew it was him.

  “Step the fuck aside, boy,” said Rick.

  “What are you—”

  “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

  Chad did as his father commanded, moving aside and letting his father enter. Rick came in like he owned the place, standing in the middle of the living room.

  “There you are,” he said, looking down at Lexi.

  Chad was the spitting image of his father, tall and built and powerful. But while Chad was all cruelty and alpha-male bullshit, his father was patient, wise, and thoughtful.

  He came over to Lexi and kneeled down in front of her. Under the gaze of the alpha, she felt better, like she didn’t have a thing to worry about.


  “You all right?”

  “Of course she’s all right!” said Chad. “I—”

  “Boy, if I have to tell you to ‘shut it’ one more time...” He turned his attention back to Lexi. “What the hell did my dumbass son do to you? I heard about him and Sam over at Marley’s.”

  Chad glared from behind his dad, as if wanting to make sure she didn’t say a single word.

  And Lexi didn’t want to make matters worse.

  “He was being a pushy jackass,” Lexi said. “Like always.”

  “Fucking hell,” said Rick, getting up. “Son, you know you’re not supposed to be hanging around with your omega before the ceremony, let alone whatever the hell else you had in mind—and I think I’ve got a good idea what that is.”

  “But, Dad,” said Chad. “She’s mine—why the hell do I have to wait for the ceremony to claim her?”

  “Because that’s the fucking tradition. And if you’re going to be the alpha, if you’re going to take over for me one day, you’re going to have to learn to keep yourself in check. You understand?”

  “I...” For a moment, it looked like Chad wanted to protest. But he wisely only said, “All right, all right.”

  “Say it like you mean it,” said Rick, rising up and stepping over to his son.

  “I understand,” said Chad, meeting his father’s gaze.”

  “Good. Now don’t you let me hear word about you pulling this kind of shit again. If you do, you’re going to be in for a world of pain.”

  Chad nodded and glanced away, as if ashamed.

  “Now,” said Rick, addressing Lexi. “It’s late, and you need to be home. Come on—let me walk you.”

  He didn’t need to tell her twice. She rushed past Chad, feeling the heat from his stare on her as she did. Rick held open the door and the two left, Rick shutting the door behind her. They walked in silence for a time, the two of them making their way to Lexi’s parents’ cabin.

  “Now,” he said. “Chad’s not with us. Did he do anything besides try his damndest to get in your pants?”

  “No. He hit Sam for talking to me and then told me to come back here.”

  “Fucking hell,” said Rick, shaking his head. “That boy’s getting worse and worse by the day. Might need to whip his ass a few times before the ceremony.”