I watched the line of people with more than a hint of anxiety. There were three breakfast shifts. The first was for morning crew. The second was for overnight workers. The third was for anyone who came later: the alpha included.

As a line worker, I had to keep a constant supply of food in the line, ensuring we didn't run out of eggs, sausage, pancakes—essentially, if someone wanted anything, I had to make sure it was there. It was a job for a mind reader.

Charlotte and Chelsea had been through the line at first meal; they wasted a bunch of food. To my surprise, they showed up at second meal and were doing the same. I could almost imagine them in their pajamas last night, giggling as they planned to ruin my life today.

Second shift, they were more intentional with their waste. I could only cook so many eggs. The third time I went back to scramble more eggs, Jody whipped out a knife in a not-so-subtle gesture, shouting at me to stop stalling. I could hardly tell her that we were out of eggs—again. I soon realized that I had a bigger problem. We were almost out of eggs.

And the alpha loved eggs.

I had intentionally left a dozen eggs in a carton. The last thing I wanted to do was upset Alpha Maximus of the Redwood Pack.

The second breakfast shift ended, and I hurriedly reordered the line, praying fervently that no one but the alpha would ask about eggs. When he came, I had more than enough to make his breakfast.

I peeked into fridge to confirm my salvation. The carton of eggs was gone. To my horror, I turned to see that Jody was mixing the eggs into a giant batter.

I froze in horror. My three options were as follows: recover the eggs from Jody's batter, recover the eggs from the trash can, or die. Or, I could find someone who would get eggs from the general store and bring them up. I had no way to pay them, so what were the chances that someone would do it out of the kindness of their own—?

"What the hell are you doing? Get back to work, lazy wretch!" Jody shouted. I hurried back out. One of the fighters was piling bacon onto his plate. The third breakfast had begun. So, death it would be.

I stood by the line as each person filed past. No one asked about eggs. I tried to blend into the beige wall as much as possible, eyeing the clock. Soon, the shift passed. I could have cried with relief. The alpha hadn't come.

I bused the tables and began to clear the breakfast cart. My stomach rumbled, and I paused for a second, eyeing the food. Taking a cereal bar and sliding it into my apron would be incredibly easy. And, it wouldn't have been technically wrong; everyone could grab food as they wanted. But the last thing I needed was for Jody to think I was a thief. That punishment was far worse than a burn. My arms may have been an ugly mess, but at least my hands were intact.

I had just pulled the metal container of strawberry yogurt out of the ice when a familiar voice tickled my ears. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize a human had the authority to tell her alpha that breakfast was over." Panic flooded my veins. "Look at me when I'm speaking down at you, wretch."

That nickname had really stuck.

I slowly turned and faced the alpha. He lips were pressed into a firm line and his eyebrows were furrowed like he was trying to pop a pimple between them. He took a step closer, and I looked down in submission. Without warning, he shoved me backward.

I flew through the air, reaching back with my hands to try to stop my fall. In my fumbling, my shoulder clipped one of the tables, and I heard a popping noise filled the cafeteria. The alpha laughed and began serving himself breakfast and I slid onto the floor. The pain in my shoulder followed shortly thereafter.

"Just shift, wretch. Shift into your wolf and you can heal yourself a hundred times quicker. Just shift," he taunted. His posse laughed behind him.

I quietly stood up and faced him, trying to keep the pain off my face. It was radiating down my body with each heartbeat.

"You know, " he said casually. "My father never hosted a Hunt." He casually glanced over his shoulder. "I can't wait to host one for you. It's what? Two days away?" He looked at me, and I quickly looked down. "Yeah. Two days to shift, pretty girl. If you don't shift by then, it's out of my hands."

The Hunt. My heart thudded in panic. I could feel my shoulder beginning to swell. It was dislocated. The rational explanation did little to make the pain go away, but it was all I had.

The Hunt was an archaic practice that Redwood had somehow clung to; the entire pack was enamored with rigidity and hierarchy. The Hunt. Any werewolf who does not shift into their werewolf form by their twenty-first birthday was open season for the Hunt. In the Hunt, non-shifters are given an hour to escape from pack lands. If they escape, they are free to join humans on the outside. If, after the hour, someone from the pack finds them, they are free to do with them as they will. From the stories I've heard, most are killed. Some are kept as personal slaves. Others are sexually abused and locked in basements. Some are graciously set free. The alpha has the right to claim the loser at any time, however.

It was two days away. The day after tomorrow.

"—even listening, wretch?!" the alpha screeched. Jody stormed out of the kitchen. I blinked back into the moment. The alpha was stood in front of me menacingly, holding a fork at eye level. I feared if I blinked, my eyelashes would have licked the prongs of his fork. "Eggs."

The panic intensified and my shoulder began to grate in pain. Blinking in panic, I shook my head.

"Out of eggs, are we? What? Have you been shoving them down your fat throat all morning? I AM YOUR ALPHA!" he raged. His face, which was normally ruddy, seemed to be at the point of busting.

He snarled and stopped just short of biting my neck. Instead, he stood down and smirked. He swiftly reached out and snapped my shoulder back into its socket. I couldn't help it. I opened my mouth, doing everything in my power to not gasp. A short exhale of barely controlled agony escaped me.

He sighed as if he had just finished listening to a particularly pleasurable song.

"Your pain is a sweet voice to my ears," he said sweetly. Tears flooded my eyes as he tightened his grip on my arm. "In two days, you will be mine to play with. You can rest assured that you will be making lots of noises like that, toy" he said.

Faster than my eyes could register, he had yanked me against him, with his hand firmly gripping my waist. I could feel his claws digging into my skin. He purposefully pushed his hips against mine. I tried to pull away in disgust, but he was far stronger. His other hand found its way to my throat, where he latched on and slowly constricted my airway, smiling broadly as I struggled.

"Oh, yes. You'll be screaming my name while I fu—"

A heavily ringed hand slunk over his shoulder, and the alpha released me suddenly. I stepped back, breathing heavily. Panic was coursing through my veins.

It was Charlotte's hand. She was his mate; I could only assume their relationship was built on nothing less than their mutual hatred of me. Their official bonding was only a couple weeks away. Of course, that was just formality; the alpha asserted his dominance once the bond formed—in the middle of a pack meeting. Mothers had to cover many children's eyes that day.

Despite their connection, somehow the fact that the alpha wanted to assault me made her jealous. She stepped between us coolly and grabbed the alpha's hand. "Honey, you had better let her get back to her work," she cooed. He whirled and grabbed her by the throat. Charlotte's hands were decked in rings, but the alpha's fingers were covered.

"Don't tell me what to do...honey," he snarled. I could see the blood from where his nails were piercing her skin. I looked at his fingers. How did he bend his fingers with all those rings?

She gasped, and he dropped her. She rubbed her throat. "I only meant, alpha, that she should keep cleaning." I risked a glance to see red spots and marks where he had gripped her. Any pity I may have felt vanished like the morning mist when she lurched around behind me and grabbed my right arm, the one that hadn't been dislocated. She untied my apron and, using the loose straps, swiftly tied my right wrist to my back. Immediately the hand started to go numb. I tried to pull my hand out, but she had tied it tightly at the wrist. She wrapped the extra strap around and tied it again.

The alpha smiled at that. "My dear, what a lovely idea." He whirled on me. "Wretch, I want this cantina spotless. Jody, would you please ensure it gets done? If she fails, perhaps we can tie both arms behind her and let her lick the place clean." Jody smiled and nodded. Her weathered face showed no mercy, no concern. She relished my pain. Sadist.

The alpha smirked and grabbed his plate, rings clinking.

He flicked his hand at the container of strawberry yogurt, which tumbled to the ground, splattering wetly.

I reached for the rag in the soapy bucket and almost groaned at the shooting pain down my arm. I was being forced to clean the entire cantina with my recently dislocated shoulder. Tears began their path down my face, and I quickly got to work.

I would shift. I just needed to shift.