Chapter 1

Elle's POV

I can't believe I'm really going to sleep with my boyfriend tonight.

That was all I could think as I stumbled into my hotel room, feeling the champagne bubbling through my veins. The annual Moonshade Bay Full Moon Festival was in full swing downstairs, and I'd had more to drink than I'd planned—liquid courage for what I was about to do.

The hotel was absolute chaos tonight. Humans and werewolves mingling freely during the one night a year when segregation rules were relaxed and curfews lifted. I'd managed to book one of the few rooms available.

"Room 716, human section," the harried human receptionist had said, sliding me the key card. Poor thing looked overwhelmed by the festival chaos.

The room smelled strange—a heady, spicy scent that made my head swim even more. The furnishings were luxurious, much nicer than I'd expected for what I'd paid. Must be my lucky night, I thought hazily.

I sent Jason a text with my room number and began preparing. After two years of dating, I was finally ready to cross that line before he left Moonshade Bay tomorrow for his new job. I'd bought special lingerie, planned everything carefully. This would be perfect.

After preparing myself, I lay on the bed waiting, but the champagne and the strange scent were making me dizzy. I didn't close the door, for Jason.

I must have dozed off waiting, because the next thing I knew, I felt the bed dip under someone's weight. The room was completely dark now, the only light coming from the full moon outside my window.

Then his hands were on me, urgent and demanding, and my body responded with a fervor that shocked me. His skin burned like fire against mine, nothing like Jason's usual cool touch. But in my hazy state, I blamed it on the alcohol and the strange heat that had been building inside me all evening.

I felt the hard, throbbing cock between my thighs, and a jolt of fear mixed with need shot through me. He didn't pause, shedding the last barrier and positioning himself.

My eyes widened in the dark at the fleeting glimpse of his giant cock. Before I could react, he thrust into me, sharp pain searing through my untouched walls. I bit my lip hard to keep from crying out, nails digging into his broad, rippling back as he stretched me open, relentless.

His hips moved with brutal force, each deep thrust splitting me apart, my body trembling between pain and a strange, building heat. The bed creaked under his power, my breasts bouncing with every harsh snap of his hips, nipples grazing his sweat-slicked chest. Slick, wet sounds filled the room as I grew hotter, wetter, despite the ache of my first time.

His pace quickened, muscles tensing like steel under my hands. With a final, shuddering thrust, he came, hot and thick inside me.

I gasped, body clenching in response, a hazy rush washing over me as he collapsed, his heavy, sweat-drenched frame pressing me down, an arm sliding possessively around my waist.

I gasped for air, my heart still racing as I caught my breath in the darkness of the hotel room. The sheets felt luxuriously soft against my bare skin. The arm draped possessively around my waist was warm. Actually, more than warm... it was practically burning hot.

I smiled to myself in the darkness, trying to calm my racing heart. I'd finally done it. I'd finally crossed that line, given myself completely. It had been more intense than I'd expected, almost animalistic, but maybe that's what passion was supposed to feel like.

"That was amazing, Jason," I managed to say despite the pain from the first time.

The body beside me instantly stiffened. In one swift motion, he pulled away from me.

"Who the fuck is Jason?" a deep, unfamiliar voice demanded, cold and sharp.

My blood turned to ice. That voice—definitely not Jason's.

I scrambled away, heart hammering against my ribs as I fumbled desperately for the bedside lamp. My fingers found the switch, and harsh light flooded the room.

Oh God.

Across the bed sat a man I'd never seen before—and easily the most gorgeous man I'd ever laid eyes on. Raven-black hair, amber eyes that seemed to glow in the lamplight, and a physique that looked sculpted from marble. His left eyebrow had a small scar running through it, and his expression was somewhere between confusion and fury.

"Who are you?" I shrieked, clutching the sheets to my chest. "Where's Jason?"

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "This is room 716. I followed a scent here—your door was open." His nostrils flared slightly. "The question is, who are you and why does your scent..." He stopped abruptly, shaking his head as if to clear it.

I felt the blood drain from my face as reality crashed down around me. This wasn't Jason. I had just slept with a complete stranger.

"I... this is my room. Room 716." I stammered, trembling uncontrollably. "I was waiting for my boyfriend Jason."

The man's expression shifted from anger to confusion. "This is the werewolf floor. Room 716 on the werewolf floor." His eyes raked over me with sudden understanding. "You're human."

"Of course I'm human!" I snapped, then processed what he'd said. "Wait—werewolf floor? They gave me a room on the werewolf floor?"

He ran a hand through his dark hair, looking surprisingly disoriented for someone so intimidating. "The full moon festival. The damn hotel's completely disorganized with the mixed accommodation policy." He looked at me more carefully. "You really had no idea who just came into your room, did you?"

"No! I thought... I thought you were Jason." My voice broke on the name.

The werewolf's jaw tightened. "I smelled your scent... I thought..."

He shook his head, as if clearing it. "Forget about what I thought. The moon and the whiskey. I wasn't thinking clearly."

The implications hit me all at once. I had just lost my virginity to a complete stranger. A werewolf stranger. On what was supposed to be the most special night of my relationship.

"Oh god," I whispered, sinking to the floor with my clothes clutched against my chest. "Oh god, oh god."

Tears burned behind my eyes as I tried to make sense of it all. How could the hotel have made such a mistake? Jason was going to hate me. I was going to hate myself.

The werewolf was watching me, his amber eyes unreadable. For a moment, something almost like concern flickered across his face, but it was quickly replaced by his cold mask.

"Get dressed," he said flatly. "I'll sort this out."

I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. I just curled into myself against the wall, silent tears streaming down my face as I tried to disappear, to wake up from this nightmare.

But there was no waking up. This was real, and nothing would ever be the same again.

This is so fucked up!