Chapter One:

Aria Cordova was running for her life, her wolf on alert as always. Their mate was nearby; she could feel it deep in her bones. Even as she raced through thick brush and foliage she wondered why Fate was doing this to her. She’d been trying to escape for several years and now that she’d gotten the chance their mate shows up? Life really sucked sometimes and it just wasn’t fair! First there was the death of her parents. They’d supposedly left her guardianship in their ‘good friend’ Ethan Vicklor’s hands.

In reality Ethan was nothing but a monster that planned on breeding her to the highest bidder so that he could use her pups. He was vicious when dealing with her and left markings on her body to clarify that she was His property. Unfortunately Ethan was also a very influential man and had proven that he was not someone to be trifled with. He’d even had men castrated for looking lustily at Aria, but Aria believed that had less to do with her and more to do with his enjoyment of inflicting pain and watching them suffer.

Secondly, and most importantly, tomorrow night was the first full moon of the year, it also happened to be her sixteenth birthday; the day that everything in the supernatural community would recognize her as a full grown wolf rather than a pup. A females sixteenth birthday also happened to be when they started ovulating, and if their mate was in the area--which hers was--her wolf would go into heat. She’d release a large amount of pheromones that would not only let their mate, but every other male wolf know that she was ready to be claimed. But Aria was different; she’d started ovulating that morning and even though she still had a lot of ground to cover, she could feel as the heat started to slowly consume her wolf as they grew closer to their mate.

Aria panted as she reached the tree line and entered the corn field. If she could just get through the corn and over the Daisy Meadow she’d be safe in her mates’ territory. Aria’s wolf was pacing inside her with anticipation, making it harder for her to concentrate. His scent was being carried her way on the breeze that kept her hair out of her face, drawing her like a moth to a flame.

Except she couldn’t become that moth because even though her mates tantalizing scent was making her wolf giddy it didn’t stop her wolf’s sensitive hearing from picking up the sounds of snapping twigs and dogs barking behind her as Ethan’s goons gave chase. Her pulse pounding and heart threatening to burst from her chest, Aria gulped air desperately into her burning lungs. The sun was setting over the horizon as Aria escaped from the corn maze, entering into the Daisy Meadow. Reaching the top of the hill she nearly cried out from exhaustion.

She’d miscalculated; she still had what looked like another mile before she reached her mates pack. She was weary from running all day and would surely collapse if she even thought about stopping for a much needed second. Her legs were screaming in agony from the wounds she’d received that morning, plus she had a killer migraine that had put blinding pressure on her temples, causing her eyes to water.

She could do this, if she continued running without stopping she’d make it before Ethan’s goons caught up, she hoped… 

“I hope…” she panted.

Chapter Two:

 Spade Dmitri was standing at the edge of his packs territory with the knowledge that his mate was nearby and that she was in terrible danger. His wolf was prowling inside him, ready to attack should he need to. If it wasn’t for his pack mates he would have already shifted and gone after her, his mate. He sensed her distress and weariness as she crested over the Daisy Meadow.

It took all of his willpower to keep from shifting and going after her. Choking on the rumble that threatened to explode from his throat Spade took inventory of her. His senses alert, wolf tense and ready, he tried to focus on taking in every detail of her. She still had about a mile to go before she reached his packs territory. His wolf was raging inside of him at the sight of blood and fresh bruises all over her.

If it hadn’t been for his Alpha’s warning growl Spade might have lost control of his wolf. The closer she got the more antsy his wolf became, a strange feeling rushed through him and his wolf reacted savagely--tearing at him--wanting to be let free. As the wind shifted, he caught on to why he was having such a problem containing his wolf.

She was coming into heat!

Every male in his pack, including his Alpha stiffened and took a step back. A female in heat meant that she was letting loose some powerful pheromones that could make unmated wolves go into a frenzy, willing to kill to prove that he was worthy enough to claim her. The energy in Spade’s pack grew tenser by the second. He knew that he wouldn’t have to worry about fighting any of his pack mates, for most of them were already mated or too young. Besides that, he was their Beta and if he chose this female as his mate--which he did--he’d have to kill his opponent rather than force their obedience to prove his dominance. Taking a deep breath Spade shook his melancholy thoughts away.

She was staggering towards him, and he found himself beyond rage when she stopped inches away from him, only to collapse, unconscious. Her pale brown hair was so matted that he expected it’d have to be cut, which was a shame because he was sure it went at least to her hips. Her eyes were blackened and swollen from what looked like a recent beating and fresh tears. She wore an oversized shirt with what looked to be a pair of boy’s shorts underneath, both which were covered in fresh

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 29.03.2013
ISBN: 978-3-7309-1742-8

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Widmung:
To my mom for always setting me straight when I went the wrong way. To my sister for always being the silent listener. Thank you guys so much for pushing me when I needed a good shoving. Love you!