Chapter 1
Cara
The wolf clawed at my sides in a swift move. I hadn't expected the move which meant that I was still in my human form, being torn limb from limb by another wolf. I turned around just in time to see his face. The wolf turned back to his human form and glared at me with a sinister smirk.
“You?!” I groaned, clutching my sides where blood gushed freely. At the back of my head, I wondered why I wasn't healing as quickly. What was happening?
His smile widened. “I bet you didn't think I could do this right?”
I coughed out blood just as I fell to the floor. I should be healing but the blood was flowing quickly. I tore my gaze to his face and gasped. “But…I trusted you!”
He lowered himself and used one hand to lift my chin so I could look at his eyes. He had a scar on the right side of his forehead and his eyes glowed a deep red but his smile remained.
“I'm going to make sure you don't come out of this,” he said. “But you weren't part of the plan, Cara, believe me. You just had to stick your nose where it didn't belong and now you leave me with no choice.”
My body began to heal then and I could feel my powers returning. He seemed to sense this too because he straightened, produced what looked like a shiny dagger from the table, and pressed it against my chest.
“You won't die,” I heard him say, his words sharp and evil. “But you are going to wish I'd killed you when I am done with you, Lady Cara!”
Few hours later, I opened my eyes and groaned. All around me were thick bushes and trees lined to form a canopy. It blocked out the sun completely, forcing me to clutch the side of my face. Slowly, I sat upright and felt a sharp stab of pain from my chest to my feet. This was bad! Really bad, damn it!
Quickly, I got to my feet and looked around. There seemed to be no end to the stretch of green all around. I closed my eyes to think. Yes, I knew my name: Cara Hayden of the Wildland pack. Yet, looking around, I could tell that this place was as unfamiliar and foggy as the rest of my memory.
Then I heard it, sharp and cruel before my brain could register what it meant. The wind rustled the trees and then I heard the sound a second time: a growl and someone racing toward me. I backed down, hands ready for a fight until the wolf appeared on all fours, paws out. The wolf was the biggest I had ever seen, with a black, shining fur coat and golden eyes. I gulped for air just as my body felt weak all of a sudden. I could tell that I was close to passing out. The wolf growled again and stepped forward. “Wait!” I yelped and pushed back again. Something stuck my foot and I toppled backward and fell on my butt.
The wolf sized me up, and I quickly covered my face with my hands. I couldn't go down without at least protecting my face. I waited for the first bite or s***h wound, but nothing came. Finally, I mustered up the courage to look at the wolf again, except this time, it was not a wolf but a man. His clothes hung tattered over his tall, lean frame, but that didn't stop me from staring. I had seen my fair share of men in the past, but this man — whoever he was — was handsome in such a way that commanded respect. I was pretty certain he could make any woman bend and crawl on her knees with just a flick of his eyebrow. In my case, he knelt down beside me and c****d his head from side to side.
“Who the heck are you?” He snapped. Great! I guess his handsome face and gorgeous body were the only good things about him. His tone was sharp and laced with venom, making me want to claw my way out of the ditch and run to safety. “I should ask you the same thing, damn it!” I was starting to feel even more dizzy, certain I would soon pass out and be at the mercy of this stranger. It wouldn't be long now, I reasoned. He arched an eyebrow and I saw his eyes flash brightly. His hands came quickly to grab my neck in a chokehold, and I buckled, shaky. “Don't you dare talk back at me!” he said.
He was a dangerous man, that much was certain now, by the way he held me. His palm was large, and as he held me, I suddenly felt more than small. I bit down hard against my lower lip to keep myself sane. I whimpered and that was when I smelt him. His skin, tanned and glossy, smelt foreign and yet familiar. I could not quite tell where I'd smelt him before, but before I could think too deeply about it, I passed out. When I woke up, I was no longer in the ditch. I jolted out of bed and pressed my small feet against the rug on the floor. My hands had been covered with band-aids, and I was alone. I tiptoed to the bathroom and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked bad with dark circles under my eyes. I quickly splashed water all over my face before walking back to the room.
A woman was already there, looking at me. The room smelled like coffee. She passed me a cup. “I don't know who you are or what you are doing here,” she said to me in a somewhat harsh tone. “But the Alpha wanted me to treat you as his visitor.”
“The Alpha?” I whispered. Was I back at my pack? Why would I even be in the Alpha's house? Was this a dream?
She nodded and turned to leave.
