Jade

“Bring Jack Robert’s head to our client in exchange for $2,000.

It was a simple, almost laughable mission for a group of misfits and an easy night to bring in $500 each, but the two idiots behind me who didn’t know how to shut the fuck up were going to ruin it for us all.

I crouched behind a tree, watched Jack tug off his shirt through his cabin window, and inhaled the vile scent from Roger, who hadn’t showered in days. If the Chaos hit this year and Roger finally found his mate, I’d be damn sorry for that woman.

“You think it’ll come this year?” Roger asked, his voice booming through the quiet forest.

Cutting my gaze to him, I sneered. What didn’t he understand about staying quiet?

“I fuckin’ hope so.” Harold hacked up a wad of phlegm and spat at the ground beside his feet. “I heard sex during the Chaos is the fucking best. She-wolves’ cunts get so tight and sopping fuckin’ wet. I can’t wait to—”

Unable to stop myself, I shot up from my crouched position, grabbed them both by the neck, and pulled them closer. “Will you shut the fuck up? We’re out here for a reason, and if you two don’t get it together, we won’t get paid tonight. Talk about she-wolves’ cunts in your dreams. It’s not like you’re going to get any, anyway.”

After pushing them away, I resumed my position and glanced over at Vex who was crouched about fifty feet away with a smirk on his lips and dark hooded eyes. Out of us four, Vex was the only one who had a damn chance of getting any if the Chaos finally decided to descend upon Chaos Valley after nine long and dry years.

If the Chaos hit this year, it’d start at dusk, which meant we had about two hours, if that. And I wanted to get out of here by then, because the forest would turn to madness, wolves would run around aggressively searching for their mates, and love would conquer all, or some shit like that, whatever Mom said before Dad cheated on her.

But I didn’t give a fuck if it came. Honestly, I would rather it not.

For some miraculous reason, it hadn’t happened in almost a decade now, and the world was better off. Mates were pieces of shit anyway. After what happened in my pack, I didn’t want one, and would prefer to live my life in peace by myself.

Inside his house, Jack unzipped his jeans and tossed them onto his bed. If this man was going for a run, he’d be even easier to snag without anyone finding out that it was us. The moon might’ve been full tonight, but everyone was preparing at home like they did every year at this time.

“I heard that there’s an auction for girls up north,” Roger said.

After cursing under my breath at their blatant stupidity, I dug my claws into the monstrous tree trunk in front of me and imagined that it was their throats. The air thickened, sitting hotter and heavier in the air. But maybe that was just my anger getting the best of me.

When Jack opened his front door, I looked at Vex who nodded back at me. We waited for Jack to transform into an enormous silver wolf, his coat smooth and shiny under the setting sun. Jack started on the needle-covered path away from his secluded home, and I tugged off my clothes and shifted into my wolf.

Wanting this night to be over with already, I sprinted after Jack. Leaves from last fall crunched under my paws. I yipped as a hidden branch cut into my paw pad and split it open. Jack glanced over his shoulder and spotted me, wolf eyes widening, then ran right into Vex who sunk his canines into Jack and pulled out his throat.

Easy. Fucking. Peasy.”