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  A cheer rose up from the crowd when Rick stood to claim his prize. As he walked up to the stage, a woman in a gray jumpsuit put a blue ribbon around his neck with a silver charm in the shape of a wolf's head hanging from it. It seemed like a cheesy prize, but Rick obviously took great pride in wearing it.

  “Your female beta for this hierarchy trial is . . .” John continued, “Margaret Fitch.”

  Another round of applause followed Margaret up to stage as she claimed her similar prize. The only difference with hers was that her ribbon was red instead of blue.

  “Betas get to live in the duplex, receive all luxury items, and are allotted fifteen free job points a month,” John announced. “Congratulations to both of you.”

  My eyes darted around the room to all the smiling faces. Most of them seemed genuine, though there were a few that were disinterested in the crowing, knowing that they hadn't placed well enough to earn a high title and not really caring who placed above them. If you weren't alpha, beta, or omega, that put you somewhere in the middle of the hierarchy where placement only really mattered in relation to who got the preferred jobs first.

  “And now, for our alphas,” John continued. “Your male alpha for this hierarchy trial is . . . Emmett Kennedy.”

  The crowd seemed a bit less elated about Emmett's crowning, probably because they were used to him winning alpha so frequently. He ran to the front of the room, oozing enthusiasm with every step as he bowed his head for the woman in the gray jumpsuit to place a fake gold crown on his head. It looked silly on him, but he wore it with pride, waving to the crowd as if they were all his adoring fans.

  “And your new female alpha for this hierarchy trial is . . . Sasha Abakumov.”

  My heart sank in my chest to the point that I wanted to vomit. Not her. Anyone but her. Surely to God, Sasha didn't score high in the intelligence portion. She seemed more like an animal than a person capable of thought.

  I grimaced as she whizzed past me, jogging to the front of the room with her hands thrown high into the air, her long wavy blonde hair bouncing behind her. My hands clapped together so hard that they hurt. Despite my new-found dislike of this woman, I could not give my true feelings about her away. Sasha was the new female alpha now, and I'd have to treat her with respect and kindness.

  “Alphas get to live in the houses on the outskirts of the housing community. They enjoy all the luxury items and get thirty free job points a month,” John announced while the woman in the gray jumpsuit placed a rhinestone tiara on Sasha's head.

  “I want yours.” She turned to Emmett, snatching his crown from his head and putting it on while shoving her tiara into his hands.

  The crowd guffawed at her bravery, and Emmett only laughed nervously, allowing Sasha her way to keep the peace. His disturbed expression quickly faded in camaraderie as he grabbed her by the hand and held both of their fists in the air to show their victory. Another round of applause surged through the crowd, and John found himself having a hard time breaking through it to speak again.

  “We also have an honorable mention,” he said, raising his voice to demand the silence of the crowd. When all was near quiet, John cleared his throat and continued, “Ms. Taya Raveen, who participated in the hierarchy trials out of sport. You placed second in the hierarchy trials.” For a brief moment, I thought that was a good thing, but then all the werewolves looked at me and began laughing. When John began speaking again, I wanted to crawl under the table and die. “You're lucky you're not a werewolf, Ms. Raveen. You were one place away from being omega. Let's give Ms. Raveen a round of applause for being a good sport, shall we.”

  Everyone clapped, but all I could think about was how I wanted to run away—didn't want their eyes upon me. I was so embarrassed, and now they all thought I was weak, or stupid, or a combination of both. If this is what it felt like to be an omega, then I would rather die than ever be one. Poor Devon. Now I really felt for him.

  “As usual, refreshments and food are being served in the recreation room. Results for the hierarchy trials are posted on all four walls in the recreation room for those of you who are curious about how you placed. This concludes our thirty-fifth hierarchy trials. You guys don't get too rowdy now.” John smiled before stepping away from the microphone.

  “Are you ready?” Chris asked, but at the same time I saw John approaching.

  “I'll be along in a while,” I told him, trying to force a smile.

  While he might have stayed with me if food wasn't involved, thoughts of the feast carried him on through the crowd to join the other werewolves in the recreation room. To be honest, I was kind of glad. It would probably take a few minutes for me to lick my wounds and mentally prepare myself for the derisive stares that I was sure I'd receive from some of the werewolves for my poor performance.

  “Well that was fun, now wasn't it?” John said as he stopped in front of me.

  “Perhaps if I wasn't on the bottom,” I replied.

  “Ah well, it just happens like that sometimes.” He brushed it off.

  “I suppose.”

  “Are things still treating you well here?”

  “Yep.”

  “And how about Chris, how's he getting along? I hear that you two have been spending quite a bit of time together.” There was a strange tone to John's voice, something speculative that I didn't like.

  “He's doing well.”

  “I hope he doesn't get too attached to you.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, averting my eyes. “I wouldn't want it to be hard on him when you leave.”

  “I'm sure he'll handle it just fine,” I fought to keep the tension from my voice and my eyebrows from furrowing.

  “I don't want you to get attached either.” John looked down on me. “You know what these people are.”

  “I do.”

  “Well, I think that's all there is to say then. You should go enjoy the celebration. I'm sure you'll be able to get lots of good and interesting pictures tonight. The werewolves are always happy after the hierarchy trials.”

  Except for the ones that place as omega, I thought. “Hey John?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You didn't announce the omegas.”

  “I never do.”

  “Why not?” I asked curiously.

  “Did you enjoy being publicly embarrassed?” His lips quirked into a smirk. When I didn't answer, he turned and walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

  As much as I wanted to sit there for a while longer, I knew that I needed to get to the celebration, not just to take pictures for my report, but also to eat. That sandwich at lunch hadn't done much to quell my appetite, and after expending so many calories during the tug of war challenge, I needed something more on my stomach.

  Thankfully, most of the werewolves were too engulfed in their meal to throw me more than a glance when I entered the recreation room. The first thing I noticed when I went inside was the expansive amount of food. In the back of the room, rows of benches were pushed together to form a long buffet table, filled from one end to the other with various meats, cheeses, breads, side dishes, and deserts. This put the welcoming celebration to shame. No wonder everyone looked forward to the hierarchy trials so much.

  After I piled my plate as high as it would go, I searched for a place to sit. I was surprised to find that Chris wasn't sitting with the alphas and betas. Although I would have rather sat with him, Emmett was motioning at me to come to their table, so I was forced to take my place with the higher ups . . . and Sasha.

  “Why isn't Chris sitting with you guys?” I asked as I sat down.

  “He's been placed in the hierarchy. He has to sit with the other werewolves now,” Emmett told me.

  It seemed a bit mean, but I understood what he was saying. The only reason Chris had been allowed to sit with the alphas and betas up to that point was because his place in the hierarchy hadn't been distinguished yet. Now, he would have to find his own place among the lower ranked werewolves.

  “New wolf p
laced high,” Sasha said in a strong Russian accent as she peered over my shoulder at Chris. “He will be strong member of pack. Good strong wolf.”

  “Yes, he will be,” Rick laughed.

  That reminded me that I hadn't even bothered to check the hierarchy results before I got my food. I was completely out of the loop as to how Chris and Devon had placed.

  “Is Devon still omega?” I questioned.

  “Nope. He actually made it a few spots up. He even beat you, Taya,” Rick joked, though I didn't find it funny.

  “Good,” I sighed in relief, happy that he had escaped his life of misery, despite the fact I knew it had just been passed on to someone else. “Does that mean that he won't be my guide anymore?”

  “No, he'll still be your guide,” Emmett told me. “It wouldn't make sense to replace him right now. He knew he would continue to be your guide, even if he made it out of the omega rank, and he was fine with it.”

  “Good,” I said again. While I didn't particularly mind the idea of having to get used to someone new, I liked Devon as a person and felt like I could trust him.

  It didn't take long before most of the werewolves were drunk. With an unlimited amount of beer at their disposal, they gorged themselves to the point that some of them were puking into trashcans before it was even seven o'clock at night. I felt sorry for the person who would have to clean up their mess, probably the new omegas.

  Chris seemed to be getting along fine with his new pack mates. Alcohol definitely helped to strengthen a bond that had barely been there before. I watched with a smile as the two men on either sides of him threw their arms over his shoulders to sway back and forth and sing. Perhaps life did have its happy moments on the reservation after all.

  When Sasha jumped on the table and started kicking beer cans all over the room, I decided that it was a good time for me to take my leave. Before I exited the recreation room though, I stopped to look at the paper on the wall that had the hierarchy trial results printed on it. At the very bottom, above a girl named April Brown, was my name. My face involuntarily dipped into a scowl before I allowed my eyes to travel up the list to find Chris's name. Surprisingly, he was only three down from Rick. Maybe he really would be a threat come the next hierarchy trials.

  The air outside was cool and crisp as I walked aimlessly around the reservation. It was hard to believe that I had already been there for a week. So much had happened since arriving, from the welcoming celebration, to listening to so many interesting stories, to the hierarchy trials. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd miss it when it was all over. Three more weeks and I'd be returning home, and who knew where life would take me from there after my report set my career on a blazing path of success.

  A ruckus near the housing units made me turn my head, and I blushed as I spied two werewolves viciously making out against a wall, tearing at each other's clothing. In embarrassment, I walked faster towards my room. That was one thing I wouldn't be returning to when I left the reservation, a boyfriend. It had been so long since I'd slept with a guy that I hardly remembered what it was like. Maybe that was for the best though, because it kept me from thinking about what I was missing.

  Since I had forgotten to leave a light on, my room was dark inside. As I flipped the switch near the door, my eyes landed on Chris, curled up on my loveseat. I grasped at my chest, trying to catch my breath as he moaned awake, shielding his eyes from the light.

  “Chris, you about gave me a heart attack,” I chastised him. “Why didn't you just wait outside?”

  He sat up, holding the sides of his head, and I knew he was drunk. Even from where I was standing several feet away, I could smell the alcohol on Chris's breath. Strong, pungent beer. Yuck.

  “The door was open,” he muttered.

  “Of course the door was open, there aren't any locks on them.” I furrowed my brow at him, thinking of John's warning.

  “I just . . . didn't want to be out there anymore,” Chris sighed, kicking his feet over the side of the loveseat and sitting up.

  “Do you want me to walk you home?”

  “No. I don't want to go home. That Sasha girl might find me.”

  My blood boiled when it clicked in my head what he was talking about, and it took everything in me not to display that his words had upset me.

  “Well, what do you want to do then?” I asked.

  “I just want to stay here for a while. Is that okay?”

  “Oh, I guess.” I threw myself into the recliner, tossing my notebook onto the table.

  “I start job duty or whatever it's called on Monday,” he told me. “I have to submit the job that I want to do to Emmett tomorrow. He handles that stuff.”

  “I assumed that the compound staff handled job assignment. At least, that's how he made it sound on the tour.”

  “No, apparently that's one of his jobs.”

  “What did you put in for?”

  “Whatever it looked like sucked the least,” he laughed.

  “Well, what looked like it sucked the least to you?”

  “I think I picked laundry duty, maintenance, and . . . I forgot what the last one I picked was.”

  “I doubt you'll get laundry duty. I've only seen females in the laundry facility since we've been here.”

  “Well, it never hurts to try.” Chris cringed as a surging pain raced through his skull.

  “Nope, it sure doesn't.” I smirked at him. “You're going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow.”

  “Oh, I know. I've already thrown up once.”

  “Sexy,” I teased him.

  “It is, isn't it? I bet you'd like a kiss right now.” He stood, throwing himself on top of me.

  “Chris, no!” I tried to fight him off, giggling as he tickled me in an attempt to get close enough to kiss my face. Finally, he landed a sloppy vomit scented smacker right on my cheek. My gag reflex kicked in from the smell of his breath, and I was never happier when he got off and flopped back down on the loveseat. “That was absolutely disgusting.”

  “You know you liked it.”

  “About as much as you'd like Sasha all over you,” I tested him.

  “Pfft, that girl would have blown me if I gave her half the chance,” he told me. “It's scary to think she's an alpha.”

  “That it is,” my voice went solemn, thinking about how much power she held over everyone now. She could probably take Chris by force if she really wanted him. “Terry said that you'd start feeling better about this place if you took a mate,” I said cautiously.

  “Pfft, a mate.” He rolled his eyes. “Like we're some kind of fucking animals. You know, that's what bothers me about these people here. They seem to forget that we're people. Just because we turn into some crazy blood-thirsty monster once a month for an hour or so doesn't mean that we're any different than normal people the rest of the time, you know. A mate . . . I guess that's why they neuter us like dogs.”

  I didn't know what to say. Talking about it obviously made him upset, so I decided to change the subject. “You placed really high on the hierarchy trials. I'm proud of you.”

  “Who would you take as a mate . . . if you were stuck here?” Chris asked, catching me completely off guard.

  “Me?” I stuttered. “It doesn't make any difference. I'm . . . not a part of the pack.”

  “But if you were. Is Emmett your type of guy, all big and muscly and super masculine?”

  “Oh, heavens no.” I couldn't help but smirk at the description.

  “Or are you into little scrawny guys, like that Devon kid. Oh, I know, I can be a wolf, and you can be a cougar,” he joked.

  “Damn, Chris, I'm only twenty-seven. I think I'm a bit too young to be called a cougar,” I told him with a hint of annoyance in my voice.

  “You're older than me,” he said, and for some reason, the comment struck a hurtful chord with me, as if he thought I was too old to be with him.

  “I can't help that.” I shrugged.

  “Oh, did I offend you?” Chris straig
htened up, getting ready to pounce on me again.

  “Don't.” I glared at him to let him know I was serious.

  “Why not? You're too weak to stop me.”

  Despite my warning, Chris was on top of me in an instant, tickling me until I thought I might piss myself. All that I could do was flail and kick to try to get him off me. By the time he stopped, I was absolutely breathless, staring down at his hands.

  When I looked back up at Chris, our eyes met, and all joking was aside. The air was tense as he held himself over me, dominating me, waiting for my reaction, but I was too captivated by him to move. Disgusting beer breath and all, I wanted Chris, and I couldn't deny it to myself.

  My lips parted as he leaned forward, my expression softening under his heavy gaze. Just when our lips were about to meet, when I could feel Chris's warm breath caressing my skin with the heat of his life, he pulled away, leaving me sitting there, shocked, and embarrassed, and angry, and a hundred other emotions that felt like they were ripping through me like daggers.

  “I'm sorry,” Chris said as he fell back against the loveseat, staring out into space. “I . . . I should go.” He stood to leave.

  “Chris.” I flew to my feet, but before I could take two steps towards the door he was gone.

  What in the hell just happened? I sat down, curling my fingers into my hair. The second the tears began flowing, I turned off the lights, resigning myself to cry in the dark so that no one could see me from the outside, not that anyone would come look through my window. It just felt safer in the dark, somehow.

  That night, I cried myself to sleep, but when I woke up the next morning, it was with new resolve to finish my interviews. In the end, this was only a job. I couldn't afford to have feelings for Chris. Besides, it had probably just been the alcohol that had caused him to act in such a way.

  Devon arrived early, as usual, to pick me up for breakfast. This time, he had even more pep in his step, due to shedding his omega rank.

  “You're awfully happy this morning,” I teased him, pretending like I didn't know what had happened at the hierarchy trials.

  “Of course I am.” He beamed at me. “I got to pass the shit sandwich on to someone else.”