Lying on his back, Lee Bloodmoon stared at the living room ceiling, a bottle of Corona dangling from his right hand.

You must leave and claim a city, the High Priestess told him last week, right after he and his best friend Caleb Stillwater nearly beat Caleb's grandfather to death at the Full Moon Festival.

Lee winced at the memory, hand tightening around the neck of the bottle. He was not a man of grand aspirations or violence—although he did have a temper, which he'd been working on. But seeing Owen Stillwater attack his sister had broken something open in Lee, a strange quality that had apparently called to the goddess Hecate.

Now he was an alpha, the highest tier of supernatural in the whole world. They were so powerful, so absolute in their rule that only one could exist in a city at a time. If Lee didn't leave Hecate City by the next full moon, he and Caleb's father Alpha Ryan would be compelled to fight each other to the death.

One week in and Lee could sense the urges subtly building. It wasn't a good feeling.

Lee sighed and swirled the remains of beer around in the bottle. He really needed to stop drinking before it became a habit he couldn't break.

He hated that he was being forced to leave the only home he'd ever known. The comfort of his clan, the closeness of his family, and all of his friends.

But what he hated the most was the goddess's edict on marriage.

Established alphas—those who came from a long line of ruling werewolves—didn't have to immediately get married. However, he was newly come into his powers and thus had to make a show of strength by entering his territory with a wife.

Grumbling, Lee tipped the bottle back and drained the rest of the beer in one gulp. Everyone thought that he had a fear of commitment, but that wasn't entirely the reason why he never had a steady girlfriend ...

Knock-knock!

Lee rolled onto his side, tilting his head back to stare at the front door of his bachelor's cottage. "Yeah?"

"Lee?" A tall, slim faerie girl entered Lee's living room and immediately zeroed in on the bottles. "How many of those have you had today?"

Lee slowly sat up and ran a hand through his thick, unruly black hair. Leaning forward, he placed the Corona bottle on the coffee table with its four brothers. "Three."

His sister Sawyer frowned and crossed her arms, staring down at Lee. Her long, wavy lavender hair had been carefully styled to flow over one shoulder and she wore a billowy blue dress that matched her eyes. All dressed up and waiting for him.

Well, everyone would have to wait a while longer.

"Mom's going to kill you," Sawyer noted, wrinkling her nose.

"For being late or for the beer?"

"Both."

Lee shrugged and stood up, brushing crumbs off of his shirt.

Sawyer made a soft sound and reached down to pick up the bottles. "Please tell me that you're not turning into an alcoholic?"

It wasn't that easy, was it?

"No. Those are the last ones."

His sister cocked her head and quickly walked into the small kitchen, bottles clutched in both hands. Lee listened to her root around in his fridge, no doubt looking for evidence, before ducking into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

By the time he was done and dressed—in a dark blue suit their mother had laid out the day before—Sawyer and their parents, Veronica and Alan, were waiting in his living room.

"Find any more?" Lee asked Sawyer, flashing a cheeky grin as he straightened his tie.

"No," Sawyer replied with a relieved sigh. Did she really think he was lying? He had been drinking more than usual lately, so maybe his sister had a point.

"Lee!" Mom exclaimed, exasperated. She was wearing a plain green dress that matched her eyes, paired with a slim brown belt. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a sleek bun. "We're going to be late."

Nodding absently, Lee slipped on his shoes and filed out the door with his family. Dad refrained from making any remarks, although Lee did catch him sniffing the air before closing the cottage door. Well, he hadn't been one for much cleaning recently, either.

Goddess. He was turning into a right old slob and a drunk. Some alpha, huh?

------------

The street outside the Greek-inspired Crossroads Temple had at least a dozen TV news vans parked bumper to bumper. A large crowd of gawkers gathered on the other side of the street, cell phones at the ready. Members of the Hecate City police stood outside, keeping everyone from getting too close to the temple. As Dad pulled around to the guarded back entrance, Lee noticed several drones hovering in the air, their rotators buzzing like giant bees.

The amount of attention this whole debacle was receiving still astounded Lee, and—if his drinking was any evidence—terrified him. As a casino bouncer, he didn't have problems with large crowds or people in general, but this was an altogether different animal. No one was coming to the casino to see him, specifically. Now he was in the spotlight and Lee didn't like that at all.

"ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX ..." Mom trailed off, stunned by the amount of coverage.

Dad parked the car and they exited the vehicle, only to be quickly ushered up the back steps into the rear of the temple by the police. Grabbing his sister's arm, Lee pulled Sawyer into the building while trying not to be blinded by the explosion of flashes from dozens of cell phones. The shadowed alcove only made things worse and Lee had to lean against the doorframe until all the spots faded from his vision.

"Never thought I'd see the day when you were a target of the paparazzi," a familiar voice drawled.

Lee sighed and looked up to see his best friend Caleb standing a few feet away with his mother Helen and sister Naomi.

Lee pulled a face and grumbled under his breath. Caleb flashed him a sympathetic look and went over to greet Sawyer with a kiss. A pang of jealousy stabbed Lee in the heart and he looked away, hiding his reaction by scrubbing at his eyes. For years, he'd prayed that he would find a girl with whom he could share a bond like Sawyer's and Caleb's. But connections such as theirs were rare among werewolves—rarer still between races. Statistically speaking, he was more likely to win the lottery than find his soulmate.

Still, that didn't stop Lee from dreaming. He knew that love could exist between two people without the bond—his own parents and Caleb's, for example. But he just couldn't make himself settle for anything less. It was a secret he'd kept to himself for years; no one, not even Caleb, knew the real reason behind his commitment issues.

"Ryan told me to tell you 'Good luck'," Auntie Helen was saying. Lee pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned to her. "He would have come, but ..." She trailed off and shrugged, making a helpless gesture with both hands.

"It's okay," Lee replied. He understood, but he wished it didn't have to be this way. Pack wars were a thing of the past and alphas peacefully handed over their Authority to the next generation all the time.

Auntie Helen leaned over and kissed Lee on the cheek. "He's going to watch the livestream."

"I'm glad," Mom told Auntie Helen, and the two older women shared a small smile. Lee's mother and Caleb's were best friends since childhood and he had grown up calling Caleb's parents "aunt" and "uncle" and vice-versa.

"Excuse me."

Lee pivoted to see a young priestess approaching. She wore a simple, floor-length black dress and was barefoot. A smooth black mask covered the upper half of her face; a pair of large dark brown eyes flickered over the group.

"The High Priestess is ready to begin the ceremony."

Well, shit.

"Yes, of course," Dad said, gathering Mom and Sawyer. "Lee?"

Lee stared past the priestess. Once he entered the main temple, there was no going back.

A large, comforting hand rested on his shoulder. Lee looked over—he and his father were the same height—and into Dad's blue eyes. "Are you all right?" his father asked.

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

Dad's face crumpled in sympathy. "The goddess chose you for a reason," he said, giving Lee's shoulder a squeeze.

It would have been nice to know the reason in advance, Lee mused. Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and walked into the main temple.

While the outside of the temple mimicked ancient Grecian architecture, the inside was designed with a more gothic flare with massive stained glass windows arching to a vaulted ceiling. A large black marble altar dominated the front, with a giant statue of the goddess Hecate behind it. The statue depicted Hecate in her triple-goddess form, holding hands with herself around a wide, smooth column. One of the aspects held a pair of torches, another a pair of keys, and at the feet of the third was a large dog.

Hundreds of tall, fat candles ringed the altar, perched on thick iron stands. The scent of incense hung heavy in the air, with a strong undertone of warm wax and smoke.

A wide stone bowl sat in the center of the altar, surrounded by several smaller bowls, and behind that stood Zara Seyffert, High Priestess of Hecate. The priestess was a tall, thin, pale woman of middling age dressed in the same garb Lee had seen her wearing at Alpha Ryan's investiture last week: long, flowing black gown, silver belt with keys, a triple white mask with two of the faces covering her ears, and a crown of thorns. At her feet lay two massive black Newfoundland dogs.

She acknowledged their arrival with a slight nod, then gestured to someone hovering in a small alcove at the back of the temple. The man nodded and disappeared into the room.

"Welcome, Alpha Lee," she said softly. "We will be starting the livestream in a minute, so please join me up here. Your friends and family may take their seats."

Mom and Sawyer hugged him, Dad patted Lee's back, and Caleb shook his hand. Auntie Helen and Naomi flashed him a smile and a thumb's up, respectively.

Gritting his teeth, Lee took the two steps up to the altar and stood next to the High Priestess. The Newfoundlands whuffed and rose with identical groans, only to curl up at the base of Hecate's statue. Zara Seyffert's blood-red lips twitched in a small, sympathetic smile before stretching her hands over the stone bowl. Dark water rested within, calm and still, unlike Lee's nerves.

"Family and friends—and to the world at large—I bid you welcome to this holy ceremony," the High Priestess began, reaching for a small grey stone bowl of herbs. "When the world was new and the gods first brought the races into the light, we werewolves were chaotic beings." As she spoke, she poured the herbs into the water, spacing them out to match the rhythm of her words. "We were a temperamental and wayward people, ruled by desire and not reason. The Moon watched the ruin caused by our people unfold and sent the goddesses to create order. They separated us into four castes: betas, gammas, and omegas, and set the alphas to rule over us all. The alphas were given Authority, a powerful compulsion meant to control and keep the peace.

"And so, we have grown and matured, led by the wisdom and Authority of our alphas. Last week, the goddess Hecate saw to create a new alpha—Lee Samuel Bloodmoon. As you know, no two alphas may live in the same territory; he or she must claim a city to rule over, to protect." The High Priestess paused and looked over at Lee.

"Alpha Lee, please step forward so the goddess may reveal to you your city."

Lee took a deep breath and moved to stand over the bowl, peering into the dark water. A ripple flowed over the surface, causing the liquid to shimmer. To Lee's surprise, a bright, full moon emerged, so clear and detailed he could make out individual craters.

"Your hand," the High Priestess murmured.

Knowing what was coming next, Lee grimly held out his right hand. The High Priestess took a small, slim athame and quickly made a small cut in the fatty part of his palm.

"Let the blood of the alpha call to the earth and bring forth the name of his city."

Three fat droplets of blood fell from Lee's palm and onto the full moon shining in the bowl. A red haze covered the surface and quickly blotted out the moon. The High Priestess's brow furrowed and she leaned forward, waving a hand over the water.

Pressing his left thumb over the cut on his right palm, Lee watched as the haze disappeared. Several images began to flash in quick succession: a single street with one traffic light, a desert replete with sagebrush, juniper, and aspen, and dozens of manufactured homes.

A cool breeze blew through the temple, tickling the back of Lee's neck. He shivered as a woman's voice whispered in his ear ...

The High Priestess smiled and straightened. "The goddess Hecate has seen fit to give the territory known as Silver Rush, Nevada, to Alpha Lee Bloodmoon!"