"Hello...?" I greeted, sort of weary. He told me to stop calling him when I hadn't and then he was the one calling.

"Stop calling me," he told me. "I'm already messed up as it is. I don't need you annoying me."

I didn't even do anything.

"Like that!" he yelled through the phone. "Just stop thinking!"

I didn't need to think because I was feeling embarrassed for letting whatever I thought slip into his mind without even knowing I was doing it. I was even more embarrassed hearing the voices and chants of people in the background because I could bet that at least one of them could hear Ryder chastising me. If they were werewolves, all of them would be listening right about now. Part of me wanted assurance that Ryder as an Alpha would prevent that, but he was probably stoned and didn't give a care. I sure did though. And I hope he heard or felt that coming from me.

"Look..." he began again. "Unless you're trying to call me for a booty call so we can hook up tonight, I don't give a shit, okay? Leave me alone."

He hung up and I did everything in my power to think even the simplest things in order for him to grow more and more vexed. If he wasn't going to care then I was going to act like I didn't. I wanted him to know that I didn't care if he was around his friends or high off his ass; he wasn't going to act like a jerk to everyone and get away with it his whole life. Especially not to me.

*Ryder's POV*

"Unless you're trying to call me for a booty call so we can hook up tonight, I don't give a shit, okay? Leave me alone," I growled through the phone before hanging up and dropping my phone to the ground. I clutched my head, but I should've been clutching my aching heart. Either way, I was in pain. I felt a hand on my shoulder like someone patting me in encouragement while the other guys just messed around. The same person was trying to slide a beer into my hand. I shook my head and it throbbed.

"Ay, that Stella?" one of the boys Kelvan, asked, hopping over a log to sit in front of me.

"Is that Stella?" one of the other boys scoffed in repetition with humor. "Like he'd grow the balls to tell that to Stella."

"Let's be honest, Ryder wouldn't have the guts to even mention a booty call with Stella," Preston's voice laughed as he was my encouragement sitting beside me. My head throbbed and I began hearing every single action of Ashlynn's process of going to bed as if the universe was telling me I screwed up. I knew I was screwed up—my goddamn wolf was growling at me as soon as I dialed her number. But it wasn't the universe telling me that I was wrong. It was Ashlynn making a stand against me being an asshole and it made me like her that much more for not putting up with my bullshit.

"Well I mean, there was that one time in, what, freshman year?" Rod chimed in, but I was too busy hearing her think out loud 'Put down the phone, Ashlynn' and 'you might as well go to bed since he doesn't care'. And anything in between. I knew she was doing it on purpose because she left emotions out of it. And that hurt me more than anything.

"Freshman year and you're still hung up on some girl?"Troy asked me before taking a slow drag on a joint.He passed it to Kel who immediately started coughing at his inhalation. "You could have her any day you want in any way you want her and you still—"

"Last I heard, his eyes are set on that new girl," Colin, a second-year-senior interrupted. My wolf no longer growled at me, but now it was him. No matter how much I glared at him, I couldn't do anything. Not with my head throbbing and my heart in pain. This imprinting business was hindering, but for all the right reasons. I shouldn't have screwed up.

"Oh yeah, she was with Bailee and that Evan guy—are they still going out? I wouldn't mind talking to—"

"Bailee is very much with Evan and I don't need your horny ass to give him any other reason to hate us, okay," Preston pointed before taking a drink.

"So then who's her friend?"

"Oh, I know her, uh...Ashlynn!" Kel snapped and I clenched my jaw.

"Was that the same girl who I saw Stella bitching-at at work a few days ago when she was with you? I remember her from the party," Rod asked. "She also came in the other day for a pizza..."

Ashlynn's list of priorities as she got ready for bed was starting to end. Now, she was remembering the pair of us at the Obsidian house and how I told her I said things I didn't mean. The first thought after that memory was her hoping this situation was what I meant, but then she fell asleep. And I couldn't feel worse at this point.

I looked over at Preston, feeling myself about to explode.

"That's how you know Ryder's been interested in her; Stella's getting all jealous," Rod laughed, but I was blinded by my wolf. I wouldn't be surprised if my eyes were glowing.

"I can see why," Colin said. "She's freaking beautiful and I would be lucky to even—"

I moved faster than I thought I could because before I knew it, I was seizing his collar and pulling him up from his seat.

"You're lucky I don't lay your ass out right now for even—"

Preston pulled me back by my shirt and I swung on him, but by then, I was shaking my head to rid myself of the red tint my vision presented me with since my animal had nearly released out of me. Colin's eyes were wide and fearful—as they should be. But Preston tugged at my back and I calmed down.

"Go home," Preston took control for me and told the boys. I looked down, but my breath was caught. I had tuned out the sounds of everyone goofing off and I knew by now that they were probably just pausing whatever they were doing in order to look at us. "I said go home."

"You aren't the boss of us," a usual laid-back stoner named Vince said while he was yards away. I knew Preston didn't like dealing with him and I also knew I didn't want to be around anyone, so I took a step back and looked over everyone in the area.

"Fine," I whispered. "I say to go home...All of you. Go home."

They all began to leave, stumbling upon each other or arguing about who was sober enough to drive. Right now, I didn't care. I kicked over the nearest bottle of beer and walked deeper into the field.

"Hey," Preston addressed. I turned to him because it was useless to try and hide from him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What do you mean? I'm fine," I lied.

"You're not fine," Preston denied. I sighed. "You decide to take Colin up on his offer to smoke—with Rod around—and then you finally tell off Ashlynn, which I do actually agree on, but it's still—"

"You shouldn't agree on me telling her off," I told him. "I don't even agree with it and she doesn't deserve that from me."

"She does deserve it—"

"She doesn't!" I felt myself growl. I wasn't going to attack him, but I wasn't going to let him go so easily. "She doesn't deserve me treating her like she's worth less than she is like how I've been pulling with Stella for years."

"That's because Stella knows she's always going to be around," Preston rolled his eyes.

"I don't want Stella to always be around," I told him.

"Yeah, okay," he smiled and patted my shoulder and walked past me while saying "Time to get you home; you're wasted."

I didn't want him to laugh and mock me. Yes, I was high and honestly, I was feeling it wear off, but I wasn't mistaking what I said.

"I want Ashlynn to always be around," I muttered and I knew he could hear it.

"Seriously, Ryder. Let's go," he said gesturing towards his car. He stayed in that position for a second before walking on without me, but even though I could command him to stop, I said the one thing I knew that he would respond to.

"I imprinted on Ashlynn," I told him and my wolf was howling within me. Preston had stopped walking and looked over his shoulder at me.

"Whatever, dude," he said and continued to walk. This time, I followed him.

"I did," I insisted. "That night when we met at that party, I knew it was her and—"

"Do you not get it?" he interrupted, facing me. "She's an Everton, and you're an Alpha, Ryder. What makes you think that will ever work—if imprinting is even real?"

"Honestly, I don't think it will," I shrugged. "The moment I met her and Bailee mentioned that she was an Everton, I turn and ran for even thinking about her in a way of interest, but...I couldn't shake her. Ever since, she's all I think about. I feel her all the time and she's on my mind as much as possible. And then one day everything clicked and I wanted to be with her because I thought it was possible even though we weren't even talking to each other because I was so goddamn nervous to even talk to her," I admitted and Preston scoffed at me with disbelief. "And then...today when I went to the old Everton house to get that thing my dad was talking about, she was there and I knew that it was for a reason...I even told her about me being a werewolf with it and she was fine with it—"

"Fine with it?" Preston asked. "She's probably telling her stupid aunt who's gonna say something to the wrong person and then get some hunter on us and next thing you know it, all of us are dead!"

"She isn't going to say anything and you know it," I told him. He knew very well that her family would stay as far away from hunters as it could. They had for centuries.

"You don't know it," he told me. "She is an Everton. She's dangerous."

"That's what you and my dad keep saying, but she isn't. Without being a werewolf or having any male descendant, she's harmless," I said. "That's why I just wanted everything to go smoothly and we could just be together with no problems, but then..."

"Humor me."

"...the one thing that made me confident that we'd be together is the reason why I'm out here going crazy," I said. Now, Preston stopped walking and turned to me. I think he finally realized that I was completely raw right now. No matter how power-hungry he was, he was my best friend and needed him to act like it. I think he finally saw me for the new me that Ashlynn provoked.

"What did she do?"

"She lied to me," I said. "She told Stella's mom that her dad and brother died and it was a lie."

"What do you mean?" he asked and I heard his heart speed up as if he was the one guilty for something.

"Her brother is alive."

"That's ridiculous," Preston dismissed.

"It isn't," I said. "When I dropped Ashlynn off at home, he tried to kill me."

"Shit."

"Shit is right," I said. "But my dad is going to kill me anyways."

"Why?"

"Because he told me that Evertons are trouble," I shouted. "And here I am feeling completely useless because I imprinted on the sister of the alpha who technically owns my territory and my pack when he's probably waiting to kill me—not only because his sister is mine but also because he has some crazy idea that I'm the one who killed their Dad!"

"That's messed up," Preston said in a voice calmer than I expected. "This pack is ours, Ryder. Not that Everton boy's or especially not goddamn Ashlynn's—"

My wolf exploded out of me while he insulted her and my russet-colored wolf pinned him to the ground with a growl.

"As long as she's my mate, this is her pack too," I thought to him and made my decision. "I don't care what her brother does, but I will defend Ashlynn and she will be in our pack so watch your mouth."

Preston shifted into his brunette wolf and rolled me off of him. For a second, I heard the thoughts of the other pack members who happened to be in their wolf forms, but I blocked them out from mine and Preston's conversations.

"I don't care what you do," he thought to me with a growl. "Love her, hate her—I don't care. Just remember that when you get your pack taken over by some no good descent of the man who tore apart your family, then I won't be here to oblige your every will, Ryder. So speaking as your best friend, think about who you're choosing to defend all because of a stupid girl."

He began to walk away from me, but I jumped in front of him, my Alpha Wolf controlling my actions. No one walks away from me—especially not someone beneath me—and especially not after he insulted my mate.

"She isn't a stupid girl," I denied first. I sat down on my hind legs and let out a large howl. The second part of my heart that had opened to Ashlynn awoke, meaning she was in frequency with my howl just as she was in frequency with my pack's telepathy. I was making a message to my entire pack, no matter what form they were in. "I imprinted on Ashlynn Everton, for whoever wants to know."

The final howl sealed her as my mate. Though there was an option to reject each other, I couldn't imagine doing it, so I rather let it be known. Being my imprinted mate meant that she was untouchable to all other werewolves. Being my imprinted mate, considering that I was an Alpha meant that she was under my pack's protection and allegiance. Now that it was out into the world, it was an unbreakable law and oath. There was only one other thing that could thicken the bond, but as things were right now, I didn't see it going that far at the moment.

Even if I was at odds with her brother, she would be safe and that's all I cared about. At the moment, I just wanted Preston to shut up about her. Now that my fate was sealed, he would have to. As my Beta, he was sworn by pack allegiance to protect her with his life in case anything happened to me. Even if he wasn't my second-in-command, I would hope he'd do that just as my best friend.

But when we both phased down, he was glaring at me with his bright silver eyes. I didn't need him to say anything while I had to deal with the several comments about the message I had sent to a nearly a dozen pack members. I blocked them all out for one single voice who had finally returned to me.

What the hell did you just do? Ashlynn wondered for us all.