THE FIRST FEMALE PRIMAL ALPHA (THE FORGOTTEN BLOODLINE)

Chapter One Rain hammered against the taxi's windshield, blurring the familiar road into a ribbon of darkness. I leaned closer to the window, trying to make out the trees lining both sides of the road. There wasn't another vehicle in sight, not even the occasional motorcycle that usually passed through this area during the day. Only the forest stretched endlessly into the distance, its shadows illuminated by flashes of lightning. Wonderful. Of all the days for my errands to take longer than expected, it had to be today. I checked my phone. 9:47 p.m. "How much farther, sir?" The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror. "About fifteen minutes, miss." Fifteen minutes. I could survive fifteen minutes. Probably. I slipped my phone into my bag and hugged it against my chest as thunder rumbled overhead. My father had warned me not to stay out too late, especially when the weather turned bad. But in my defense, it wasn't my fault the line at the store had been ridiculously long. Besides, I was eighteen. Technically, that made me an adult. Technically. Although, if Dad discovered I was still on the road at this hour, I suspected my adulthood would be revoked before breakfast. I could already imagine the lecture. Where have you been, Astraea? Do you know what time it is? Why didn't you call me? Then would come the disappointed stare, followed by the kind of silence that somehow felt worse than being scolded. Honestly, I'd rather face a hungry bear. At least a bear wouldn't give me a thirty-minute speech about responsibility. I glanced outside again. Our house stood at the farthest end of town, practically surrounded by forest. Dad always claimed he loved the peace and quiet, but sometimes I suspected he'd chosen the most isolated place in the world just to make sure I couldn't sneak out without his knowledge. Wouldn't surprise me. Fifteen more minutes. I'd change into my pajamas, find something warm to eat, and sleep until noon tomorrow. Perfect. Then the taxi jerked to a sudden stop. My body lurched forward, and my bag slid off my lap. "Whoa! Sir, why did we stop?" The driver didn't answer. I frowned. "Sir?" He stared straight ahead, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel. Following his gaze, I looked through the windshield. At first, all I saw was rain, heavy enough to turn the road into a shimmering sheet beneath the headlights. Then lightning flashed. Six enormous wolves stood in the middle of the road. For a moment, I simply stared. Wolves? Here? In our town? My brain struggled to process what I was seeing. These weren't the skinny animals I'd seen in documentaries. Their bodies were massive, their soaked fur clinging to powerful shoulders and thick legs. One stood almost as tall as the hood of our taxi. A nervous laugh escaped me. "Ha." Okay. Funny. Very funny. Someone had to be playing a prank. Maybe they were dogs wearing costumes. Really big dogs with excellent makeup and questionable judgment. I leaned closer to the windshield. One of them turned its head. Amber eyes locked directly onto mine. My smile disappeared. "Sir," I whispered, "why are there wolves?" The driver made a strangled sound. "Don't move, miss." Oh, no. That was not what I wanted to hear. "They're just dogs, right?" I asked, keeping my voice low. "Maybe some kind of breed I haven't seen before?" He didn't respond. Astraea, shut up. Why was I still talking? Why was I trying so hard to convince myself that six enormous wolves were actually dogs? Because wolves didn't come near our town. At least, they weren't supposed to. I'd heard the stories, of course. Old legends claimed wolves had roamed these mountains long before the town was built. Some people called them guardians of the wilderness. Others whispered about monsters that hunted humans beneath the full moon. My father had always dismissed those stories as nonsense. "Werewolves aren't real," he'd tell me whenever someone brought them up. "They're just stories people make up to frighten children." I'd believed him. I wished I hadn't. Lightning illuminated the road again. One of the wolves lowered its head, baring its teeth as saliva dripped from its jaws. My stomach dropped. Those weren't dogs. Those weren't costumes. They were real. "No," I whispered. "No, no, no." The largest wolf stepped toward us. The driver immediately shifted into reverse. "Hold on!" The engine roared. Then one of the wolves lunged. "LOOK OUT!" Its massive body slammed onto the hood. The taxi rocked violently, and claws screeched against the metal. I screamed and grabbed the seat in front of me. Another wolf charged from the side. CRACK! Its body struck the windshield, sending fractures spiderwebbing across the glass. I stared at the spreading cracks. "Oh, my God." The wolf struck again. The windshield shattered inward. I threw my arms over my head as broken glass rained across the seats and dashboard. The driver shouted something I couldn't understand. Before I could lower my arms, a bloodied paw reached through the broken windshield, followed by a snarling muzzle. The wolf seized the driver by the shoulder. "No!" He screamed, desperately gripping the steering wheel as the creature dragged him toward the shattered glass. I lunged forward. "Help me!" His eyes met mine. I stretched as far as I could from my seat, reaching for his hand. "Hold on!" Our fingers nearly touched. Then the wolf yanked him through the windshield. His hand slipped from mine. His scream disappeared into the storm. For several seconds, I couldn't move. The driver's seat was empty. Blood streaked the dashboard, and the steering wheel spun beneath my fingertips. He'd been talking to me less than a minute ago. He'd been taking me home. Now he was gone. A sob caught in my throat. The taxi lurched backward. The engine was still running, and the driver's foot remained pressed against the accelerator. With the gear still in reverse, the vehicle rolled backward, its tires spinning helplessly against the slick road. "AH!" I grabbed the seat as the taxi veered off the asphalt. The headlights swung wildly across the trees. Then came the impact. BANG! The vehicle slammed into a tree. My head struck the side of the seat, and pain exploded behind my eyes. For several seconds, all I could hear was a high-pitched ringing. I blinked, struggling to focus. Rain poured through the shattered windshield. The engine sputtered beneath the hood before dying completely. I dragged in a shaky breath. I was alive. The driver wasn't. The thought hit harder than the crash. My hands trembled as I unfastened my seat belt. I couldn't stay here. Whatever those creatures were, they had already killed a man, and I had no intention of waiting to find out what they'd do to me. I crawled toward the rear passenger door and shoved it open. Cold rain struck my face. My shoes sank into the mud as I stumbled outside, catching myself against the taxi before my knees gave way. Then I looked toward the road. The wolves had gathered around the driver. One lifted its head. Blood stained its muzzle. Its amber eyes swept across the wrecked taxi before settling on me. My heart lurched. "Oh, hell, no." I ran. I didn't grab my bag. I didn't look for my phone. I didn't stop to consider whether plunging into a dark forest during a thunderstorm was a particularly intelligent decision. I just ran. Branches whipped against my arms as I plunged between the trees. My shoes slipped on wet leaves, and tangled roots threatened to send me sprawling. Behind me, a wolf snarled. I ran faster. I had no idea where I was going. The rain obscured everything, and the trees looked identical in every direction. Home was somewhere out there. So was death. At that point, I wasn't picky about my destination. I just preferred the one that didn't involve getting eaten. I was eighteen years old! I hadn't even fallen in love yet. I hadn't gone on a proper date, received flowers from a secret admirer, or experienced a romantic confession beneath the stars. I hadn't met my Prince Charming! Was it too much to ask for a little romance before my untimely death? Apparently, the universe thought so. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" I screamed into the darkness. A branch slapped my cheek. "AND I REFUSE TO BECOME A GHOST!" Something crashed through the bushes behind me. I shrieked and sprinted harder. My lungs burned. Every breath scraped against my throat, and my legs were beginning to feel like they might abandon me out of spite. Then I heard the claws. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. They were getting closer. I glanced over my shoulder. Three pairs of amber eyes gleamed between the trees. Three? Hadn't there been six wolves? I didn't have time to wonder where the others had gone. If half of those monsters had decided to stay behind, I considered that a personal blessing. Three was already three too many. I turned forward and pushed myself harder. Then the sounds behind me changed. A series of sickening cracks cut through the storm. I heard snarling, followed by deep, guttural groans that sounded disturbingly human. My steps faltered. What the hell? Another crack. Then silence. I looked back. The wolves were gone. Three men stood among the trees. For a moment, I forgot to breathe. They were enormous, broad-shouldered, and nearly naked, with rainwater streaming down their bodies. One rolled his shoulders while another flexed his fingers, as though adjusting to an unfamiliar body. I'd seen it happen. I'd watched those monstrous creatures twist and shrink beneath the trees. Their bones had cracked and rearranged, their snarls changing into human groans until the wolves had disappeared completely. In their place stood the men now watching me. The wolves were people. People! What kind of nightmare had I stumbled into? "Stop running, girl!" one of them shouted. I spun around and kept moving. "STOP CHASING ME!" "Then stop running!" "THAT'S NOT HOW THIS WORKS!" A laugh rang out behind me. He was laughing. The man chasing me was actually laughing, as if pursuing a terrified girl through a forest in the middle of a storm were a perfectly reasonable way to spend an evening. I wanted to throw something at him. Preferably a tree. Unfortunately, I was too busy trying not to die. They should have caught me by now. They were bigger, stronger, and apparently capable of turning into giant wolves whenever they felt like it. Yet every time I felt them closing in, my body surged forward with another burst of speed. The forest blurred around me. Branches whipped past my face, and my shoes struck the muddy ground so quickly that I could barely feel the impact. I should have stumbled. Somehow, I kept going. A strange sensation prickled along my skin, but I had no time to investigate it. I could barely keep my eyes on the path ahead. Whatever was happening to me, I could worry about it later. Assuming there was a later. My foot caught a thick root. "No, no, no!" I stumbled forward, my knees slamming into the ground. Pain shot up my legs, and mud splashed across my clothes. I scrambled to stand. Too late. Footsteps approached. I spun around and backed away until my shoulders struck a tree trunk. The three men emerged from the darkness. Not one of them seemed particularly winded. I, on the other hand, could barely breathe. One wiped the rain from his face, studying me with an expression that made my skin crawl. "There you are." I raised both hands. "Okay. Listen. I don't know what your problem is, but I'm sure we can work something out." He tilted his head. "I have money." The lie left my mouth before I could stop it. I had enough money for a sandwich and maybe a bottle of water. If they were expecting a ransom, I was afraid my financial situation would disappoint everyone involved. "But not a lot of money," I added quickly. "And my father is very scary. Extremely scary. He'll probably kill you if you hurt me." That part might have been true. Dad could be terrifying when he was angry. The men exchanged glances. "Please," I continued, my voice cracking. "I'm too young to die. I haven't even met my Prince Charming yet!" One of them snorted. I stared at him in disbelief. Oh, so my impending death was entertaining? Wonderful. At least someone was having a good evening. "I promise I'll never come here again," I blurted out. "I'll move to another town. Another country! I'll even move to another planet if you want!" The man in front stepped closer. His smile made my stomach turn. "You're not going anywhere, human." Human. He said the word as though it meant something. Before I could ask what he meant, a low growl rolled through the forest. The three men froze. Their amusement vanished. One took an involuntary step backward. Another lowered his head, his entire posture changing as he stared at something behind his companions. I followed their gaze. A man stood between the trees. Tall, motionless, and dressed entirely in black. Rain slid down his dark hair, tracing the sharp lines of his face. His clothes clung to his broad shoulders, but he seemed completely indifferent to the storm. He didn't need to move. The men who had been laughing at me moments ago now stood rigidly, their expressions stripped of every trace of amusement. I didn't know who this stranger was. But I knew he frightened them. The newcomer finally turned his attention to me. His eyes were silver-blue. Under different circumstances, I might have admired them. They were striking, almost unreal against the darkness. Unfortunately, I was currently trapped in a forest with three men who could transform into wolves, so appreciating anyone's physical appearance wasn't exactly a priority. The stranger studied my face. Then his nostrils flared. He inhaled sharply. Something changed in his expression. His brows drew together, and he took one step toward me before abruptly stopping, as though he'd encountered an invisible barrier. Confusion flickered across his features. Then disbelief. "No," he whispered. I blinked. Was he talking to me? Because if this was another person who wanted to kill me, I would really appreciate it if everyone involved could form an orderly queue. The stranger continued staring at me as though I were an impossible puzzle. "An ordinary human..." He stopped. His gaze searched my face, and his jaw tightened. For the first time, the man who had frightened three enormous werewolves looked genuinely unsettled. "...is my mate?" Silence fell. Rain pattered against the leaves overhead. One of the men behind me shifted uneasily, but no one dared speak. I stared at the stranger. His mate? What did that even mean? I'd barely escaped being torn apart by giant wolves, witnessed three men transform into people, and discovered that I could apparently run faster than I'd ever imagined. Now a terrifyingly handsome stranger was looking at me as though my existence had just ruined his entire life. I swallowed. "Okay," I whispered. "I don't know what a mate is, but I'm pretty sure you have the wrong girl." His silver-blue eyes narrowed. For a fleeting moment, something beneath his disbelief caught my attention. Fear. Not fear of the men behind me. Not fear of the storm. Whatever had unsettled him, it had something to do with the bond he had just mentioned. "That's impossible," he muttered. Yet he didn't look away. I wanted to demand an explanation. I wanted to ask why he thought I was his mate, what that word meant, and whether someone could please explain why my life had suddenly become a supernatural disaster. Instead, the forest tilted. I blinked hard, trying to clear my vision, but the trees swayed around me. My knees weakened, and a wave of dizziness swept through my body. "Oh, no." Not now. I'd survived the wolves. I'd survived the crash. I'd survived being chased through the forest by three men who apparently considered terrorizing strangers a recreational activity. I refused to faint in front of them. I reached for a tree, but my fingers barely brushed the bark before my knees buckled. The stranger moved. One moment, I was falling. The next, strong arms caught me before I hit the ground. I tried to focus on his face. Silver-blue eyes stared down at me, their intensity impossible to read. He looked just as confused as I felt. I wanted to tell him he had the wrong girl. That I was eighteen, had a father waiting for me at home, and had absolutely no intention of becoming anyone's mate tonight. But my tongue felt heavy, and the darkness creeping into my vision was becoming impossible to fight. Great. I survived the wolves, only to faint in the arms of a handsome stranger. Dad is going to kill me. That was my last coherent thought. The stranger tightened his hold as my eyes closed. Then the darkness swallowed everything. And I knew nothing more.