Alpha Bully: Wolf Ridge High, Book 1 Read online

  Alpha Bully

  Wolf Ridge High, Book 1

  Renee Rose

  Burning Desires

  Copyright © September 2019 Alpha Bully by Renee Rose

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this book ONLY. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Published in the United States of America

  Renee Rose Romance

  Editor: Maggie Ryan

  This book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book contains descriptions of many BDSM and sexual practices, but this is a work of fiction and, as such, should not be used in any way as a guide. The author and publisher will not be responsible for any loss, harm, injury, or death resulting from use of the information contained within. In other words, don’t try this at home, folks!

  Contents

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  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Check out the inspiration for the Wolf Ridge High Series - Alpha’s Bane

  Read the Bad Boy Alpha Books

  About Renee Rose

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  Other Titles by Renee Rose

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  Author’s Note

  The idea for the Wolf Ridge High series was born when Lee Savino and I were writing Alpha’s Bane, a second chance romance in our Bad Boy Alphas series. The characters in the book, Trey and Sheridan, were high school sweethearts who ended badly. I wrote the flashback scenes from their high school romance while Lee worked on their present day conflict.

  As I played with the idea of this pack of high school students, all going to school together and dealing not only with the raging hormones of a teenager, but also with shifter and pack dynamics, I thought it would be fun to delve deeper.

  This is the result. I hope you become as addicted as I am to the teen angst and drama! :-)

  Chapter 1

  Bailey

  There’s a reason I don’t drive any more. A very good reason.

  But moments like these make me wish I didn’t turn into a hyperventilating spaz every time I even think about getting behind the wheel. Not driving means I attend the local Wolf Ridge High instead of Cave Hills.

  Cave Hills, the top-rated college prep dream school.

  Cave Hills the school I should be going to.

  The school I deserve to go to.

  The school fifteen miles away.

  Without a car, it might as well be a hundred.

  And at this particular moment, no car means I’m screwed.

  Because the bus just passed by my house.

  I hear the ktshh of it stopping on my street. Ten minutes early! Snatching my bookbag off the sofa, I dash out my front door with my teeth unbrushed and my Mexican skull Chucks untied, but it’s way too late.

  “Wait!” I wave and chase after it. “Hold up!” I jog a half a block, tripping and hopping in my loose sneakers.

  The driver has to see me even if he can’t hear. The students in the bus definitely see me. They stare through the windows at me. Not laughing. Not pointing.

  I’m a fish in a bowl. Mildly amusing to them, but they won't feel bad if they have to flush me down a toilet in a week. Racist fucks. You’d think in Arizona being Hispanic wouldn’t get me shunned.

  Dammit.

  I stoop to tie my shoes and sling my backpack over my shoulder. It slides forward and whacks me in the back of the head. I huff and stand.

  Next door, the dynamic brother and sister duo, Cole and Casey Muchmore climb into Cole’s mostly-restored 1950s classic Ford truck. If they witnessed my early morning sprint, they’re not letting on.

  Their dad on the other hand sits in the window with a beer in his hand, not even trying to hide the fact he’s watching me. The front window is where he always is, except when he’s stomping around yelling at his kids loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear.

  Right now, I swear he’s smiling. Like he just had a good laugh over watching me run after the stupid bus. What an ass. Like father, like son, I guess.

  Cole is as cool as his truck and even better looking. And he definitely knows it. Revels in it. He rules Wolf Ridge High like his shit comes out rosy and he doesn’t have wrong-side-of-the-track stank all over him. Like the worn out, ripped jeans he practically lives in aren’t covered in grease and grime from repairing cars.

  No, Cole Muchmore doesn’t need nice clothes, a fancy car, or anything else money can buy. He has something seen as much more valuable. He’s got the status of worshipped star quarterback. And at Wolf Ridge High, that puts him somewhere in the vicinity of a god.

  I eye my last chance at getting to school on time and weigh the chance of catching a ride with them.

  Unlike the rest of the kids at Wolf Ridge High, the Muchmores don’t just pretend they don’t see me. They throw scowls in my direction. Hateful glares, even. I met them the day I moved in—went over and introduced myself because they came out to gawk.

  They barely answered, looking at me like I had two heads. Tay Swift has had friendlier interactions with Kanye than I had with the Muchmores that day.

  But right now I need a lift to school. Even if I walk, I’ll be late for my Spanish exam, and calling my mom is out. If she has to leave work to drive me, I’ll definitely get an earful about how I need to start driving again.

  Besides, she has way too much on her plate with the new job.

  Forcing my social anxiety to the background, I jog down the sidewalk to the curb and flag down Cole. He slows but doesn’t stop. His sister Casey, a sophomore with resting bitch-face, rolls down the window.

  Cole leans across her. His dark hair is tousled, his full lips twisted in a lopsided smirk. “What’s wrong, Pink, miss the bus?”

  Pink.

  He’s referring to the streak of pale pink that cuts through the front of my dark hair of course. The nickname and my unfortunate physical reaction to Cole Muchmore’s nearness throws me off for a sec. Ride. I need a ride.

  I stand on tiptoes to see into the truck and meet Cole’s eye. “Yeah, any chance I could catch a ride?” I curse myself for sounding like a timid mouse.

  He shrugs his shoulders with a mock-rueful expression. “Sorry, Pink. I would offer, but there’s no room.”

  Bullshit. There’s clearly plenty of room between the two siblings, and he’s j
ust being a dick. I hear his deep chuckle as his sister rolls up her window.

  My face flushes hot as they drive away, and a thick knot forms in my throat, heat burning the back of my eyes.

  Don’t cry. Not over this.

  Save your tears for the things that matter.

  Like Catrina. Like the other friends I left behind in Golden.

  The pep talk doesn’t work. Two hot trails make their way down my face as I take off, speed walking toward school.

  I hate Wolf Ridge. I really do.

  I make it to the first major intersection and check the time on my phone as I wait for the light.

  Gah. I’m definitely going to be late.

  “Hey!” An old Subaru wagon pulls over to the curb and the back door opens. “Did you miss the bus, too?” A scrawny girl with bleach-blonde hair punked out in all directions calls out. I’ve seen her on my bus and around school. She’s an underclassman, so we don’t have classes together, but she’s familiar.

  “Yeah.” I tense, prepared for another insult.

  “Get in. My mom will take us.”

  Her mom beckons impatiently. She has bleached stringy hair and prematurely aged skin of someone who drinks and smokes too much. The car reeks of cigarettes.

  Relief and gratitude still slam into me like a tidal wave as I slide in the back seat. “Thanks. I was afraid I’d be late.”

  “I already called the school to complain about that damn bus driver,” her mom rants from the front seat. “It’s bullshit. They can’t just show up when they feel like it. They’re supposed to stick to a schedule!”

  I murmur my agreement.

  “I’m Rayne.” The girl turns in the seat to study me. Her blue eyes are huge in her small, heart-shaped face and her nose is pierced.

  I decide instantly that I like her. “Bailey.”

  “I know,” she says, reinforcing my impression that I’m not actually invisible at Wolf Ridge High. I’m being actively shunned.

  My gut clenches.

  “Thanks for stopping,” I say. “Cole Muchmore outright refused to take me.” I don’t know why I say it. I’m not one to complain and I usually keep my thoughts to myself, but I’m getting freaking desperate for someone to talk to.

  Rayne rolls her eyes. “Cole is an alpha-hole, like all the other ballers.”

  I let out a puff of laughter. “I can’t argue with that.”

  Alpha-hole. It’s a perfect description for him.

  Well, he can go fuck himself. I won’t be crying over his lack of courtesy.

  Guys like him do absolutely nothing for me.

  We get to school on time and climb out of the Subaru. The kids getting off the bus stop to stare at us.

  “What?” I demand out loud.

  I swear, you’d think I was some sort of green-skinned alien from outer space.

  Rayne flips them off and grabs my elbow. “Ignore them. They all do whatever the alpha-holes say like freaking minions.”

  “Wait… What do the alpha-holes say?”

  Rayne looks away, pink staining her pale cheeks. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. This is our school, too.”

  Huh.

  Whatever that means. I let it drop. I don’t need to alienate the only person who’s willing to be nice to me.

  “Thanks for stopping. And for talking to me. I’ve been seriously losing my mind here. I thought maybe all the kids were robots like in this old movie my mom made me watch where the men had all killed their wives and exchanged them with robot replacements.”

  Rayne’s impish face breaks into a huge smile. She holds up her palm like she’s swearing an oath. “Not a robot.” She lifts her chin at all the kids streaming into the school who are craning their necks to ogle us. “They might be though.”

  * * *

  Cole

  I slide into my chair in journalism a few seconds after the bell rings. Of course the human—the bitch who moved next door—already sits at her desk beside me, chit-chatting with the teacher like a suck-up. I catch a whiff of her cinnamon and honey scent as I sit and my balls tighten.

  “Nerd patrol,” I mutter as Mr. Brumgard walks away from her desk. I heard she’s taking Advanced Placement English online, and she’s using this class as an elective. Double English credits. Fucking whack-job.

  She fumbles her pen—probably because I rattled her—and it clatters to the ground. My buddy Austin automatically reaches to pick it up, then catches my glare and realizes who it belongs to. He straightens without retrieving it.

  Good. The king of Wolf Ridge High still rules. No one will talk to Bailey, much less help her, unless I lift my ban on it. I give it another month and she’ll transfer to a school where her kind belong.

  She leans into the aisle to get it, but I kick it away, forcing her to lose her balance and fall halfway out of her seat, balanced on one hand. I get a flash of bare thigh as her mini-dress rides up and a low growl rises in my throat.

  What the fuck is wrong with me? I don’t get hot for her kind.

  Miss Perfect in those little dresses and skull Chucks. I glare in her direction, willing my attraction for her to die. Unfortunately, the way her breasts stretch the front of her polka dot mini-dress today gets me hard. Which makes me hate her even more.

  Even if it weren’t for the situation with our parents, I would say she doesn’t belong here. She’s too fucking smart. Too nerd-hot. Too self-possessed for someone getting actively shunned every day at school.

  And it’s somehow a thousand times worse that her brains and attitude are wrapped up in that juicy little package.

  Mr. Brumgard finishes taking roll, then calls out, “Pop quiz on the reading I assigned yesterday!”

  The class groans. Everyone except for Bailey, who obviously can’t wait to show she did her homework. Brumgard stands and starts placing a sheet of paper face down on each desk.

  My eyes roll back in my head with frustration, and I fall back against my seat back. This fucking sucks. There’s no chance I’ll get a passing grade, and the homecoming game is Friday. Which means I’m gonna get benched. Which means the entire team and Coach Jamison are going to kill me.

  My teammates look over at me with that sort of desperate question in their eyes. I shake my head and a collective underbreath groan ripples through the room. It’s not just my teammates, it’s the rest of the class, too.

  Sports are huge at Wolf Ridge High. Way bigger than academics.

  Even though we have to play our skills down around humans, every student wants to see us win. And I always put on a good show toying with the other team and dishing out cocky attitude on the field.

  “You have seven minutes to complete the quiz over last night’s reading,” Brumgard says, looking at his phone. “You may begin.”

  The rustle of paper fills the room as everyone flips their quizzes over. I pick up my pencil and stare at the words, not even comprehending what I’m reading.

  My mind spins over the possible outcomes of this situation. They pretty much all end in me getting benched for not maintaining a C average and facing the wrath of the entire school.

  But none of that compares to the shitstorm I’ll catch at home when my dad hears.

  Which is ironic, since the reason I haven’t done homework all week is because I’ve been working late at Bo’s uncle’s garage to pay for groceries since my dad’s too fucking drunk and depressed to get off his ass and find a new job.

  My gaze slides over to Bailey. The girl I can’t stand.

  She’s already three-quarters of the way through her quiz. And, most importantly, she hasn’t taken the time to write her name on the top yet.

  In one of my best asshole moves, I snap my hand out and grab her quiz while the teacher’s back is turned. I slide my blank quiz on her desk.

  Her cheeks color pink and her mouth drops open, but before she can make a sound, every student around us turns and stares her down, unified pack style.

  She may be human, but our biology is similar enough that she m
ust feel the pressure. Conform or die. This is wolf domination and pack dynamics at their best. And I’m their alpha.

  Her lips snap closed. Jaw sets. Shooting a murderous glare in my direction, she hunches over the paper and starts furiously writing the answers down.

  The victory that explodes in my chest has more to do with breaking Bailey than it does with solving my grade problems. I’ve been dying to bring her to her knees since the moment she had the fucking audacity to move in next door.

  I smirk as I write my name at the top of her paper and guess at the answers she left blank. Even if I get every one of them wrong, I’ll pass.

  Pink is an A plus student. Possibly semi-genius level. She doesn’t belong at Wolf Ridge any more than her mom belongs at the brewery.

  Anyway, the point is, her answers will be right. And all I need is a C.

  I watch her finish her quiz—the one that used to be mine—brows furrowed, lips locked in a tight line.

  “Time,” Mr. Brumgard calls. “Pencils down. Pass your quizzes up, please.”

  She sends me another furious glare before passing hers up, and I flick my brows in challenge, daring her to do something about it.

  She won’t, and we both know it.

  Score one for the alpha bully.

  Loser human: zero.

  Chapter 2

  Bailey

  Fury burns my throat, blinds me as I stumble out of journalism class.