Chapter 1

*** Excerpt / Preview ***

“I had hoped I meant more to you. That this wasn’t just about your duty to the moon goddess,” I mutter, but it doesn’t go on deaf ears. 

Alpha Reed closes the distance between us, forcing me to drop his suit as he backs me up against the car door with only the force of his piercing eyes. My sweaty palms press against the window, my heart pounding hard in my chest as I’m pinned against the vehicle. 

Did I piss him off?

I take a deep, cleansing breath in an attempt to calm down, but Reed walks closer. He is leaning over me now. His blue eyes are directly in my face, and while part of me fears him, another darker part of me is aroused. 

How the hell can that be? Who gets turned on by having a man back them into a car? It pisses me off, but the asshole mate of mine smells…freaking delicious. 

He leans even closer—close enough that I can feel his minty breath on my skin. 

“This isn’t love,” he whispers in a gravelly voice. “Only duty and desire.”

I scowl at him.

There’s mischief in his gaze, even a bit of danger that gives him a sinister look. The shirt he is wearing hugs his broad shoulders and I hold my breath when his hands land on the roof of the car. He is so much bigger than me, and he is everything I hate in a man—wealthy, good-looking, cocky, arrogant, and fearless. 

The only difference between Reed and Jackson is that Reed is my mate, and even though I hate it, my panties are already wet from how he is looking at me. 

I’m trying to fight it, but it isn’t working. Not when he leans down so that his lips touch my earlobe.

“Tell me, Emma,” he purrs in a quiet whisper. “What’s the difference between love and desire?”

His scent hits my nose, and as if that isn’t troublesome enough, his chest is now pinning me to the spot. I try to push him away, but I wind up feeling his muscles instead. 

Shit. 

He is hard all over and smirks at me as I feel him up before kissing my neck. And damn it! I hate how much I like the slight stubble on his face. It strokes against my skin while his hand moves down to cup my breast.

In my head, I imagine myself telling him to stop, but somehow, my throat feels too clogged to speak. 

I make the mistake of moaning while looking up into his blue eyes. Heat flickers, turning them almost black, and his heated gaze drops to my lips.

No. 

This shouldn’t be happening. 

Not again. 

But it is. 

He kisses me, and any earlier complaint or logic goes out through the window. 

***

Chapter 1

Emma

What’s the point of being a werewolf if you won’t ever know what it’s like to be hugged by your true mate and raise children alongside them?

Every day, I ask myself the same question, and every day, I come to the same conclusion: I hate my life, and there is no happy ending for me.

As the pack’s Omega, I can’t bear children, and neither will I ever be able to feel the mate bond. Omegas don’t have them. We just exist to please unmated wolves. Instead of having a period, we enter our heat at the end of every month, and it’s hell on earth unleashed.

Male wolves go insane, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve been hit on. I’m so glad that Werewolf CO introduced the Heat Repellent Pills a few years ago. Now, males can at least control themselves around me, saving me from the constant barrage of unwelcome attention.

Yet, even with that small mercy, the gnawing loneliness never leaves. I feel it every time I see mated pairs around the pack. Their happiness tears me apart because I know that I will never have what they have—a loving family.

I might be pretty to look at since I have a nice figure, obsidian eyes, and shiny dark hair, but a beautiful face won’t land you a fated mate in the werewolf world. Looks are wasted on me. 

“EMMA?!” a sudden bang on the bathroom door makes me jump. It’s my Dad, and, like usual, he is in a foul mood. “What are you doing in there? You’re going to be late for your shift at the diner!”

“I’m almost done!” I shout back, hoping he won’t lay a hand on me for occupying our small bathroom. 

My family is in a lot of debt because of my Dad’s gambling problem. We live in a trailer park, and even though I’m eighteen, I can’t leave. 

Our Alpha, Jackson, doesn’t like Omegas, and the only reason I’m not a rogue, or worse, forced to please the male wolves in my pack, is because my Dad has explained to our Alpha that I’m valuable since I’m working off his debt at the diner. 

I can hear the sigh of frustration outside the bathroom door. “Five more minutes, Emma. You know I can’t argue with Alpha Jackson again.”

I fight the urge to snort. My Dad doesn’t give a crap about Alpha Jackson or me. He is just happy that his debt is being taken care of while he drinks at home. 

I finish quickly, pulling my dark hair into a ponytail before leaving the bathroom.

The smell of stale alcohol and unwashed dishes assaults my nostrils as I pass through our cramped kitchen. My Dad is sitting on a chair, a nearly empty bottle of whiskey clutched in his sunburnt hand.

“If they ask you to work overtime tonight, don’t you dare refuse,” he slurs, waving the bottle absently toward me. “Every penny counts, Emma.”

My wolf growls inside my mind. She wants to fight my Dad, but I know we won’t be able to take him. He is 6’1 to my 5’6 and built like a bear. 

I force a smile. “Of course.”

Leaving the trailer feels like momentarily escaping a prison. Outside, the morning air is crisp and fresh without a hint of alcohol. 

I walk briskly until a wave of nausea hits me. My body is growing hot, and that’s when I realize I forgot to take my Heat Repellent Pills. That’s not good. It’s the end of the month, and I’m about to enter my heat. 

How am I supposed to work like this? Every male werewolf in the city is going to drool at the sight of me! I might even get assaulted on the way to work if I’m not careful!

I look around to see if there’s anyone around. There is a tunnel ahead of me that I need to pass in order to get to the diner, and a group of men come out of it. They leer like hyenas as soon as they see me. 

“Pretty woman,” one of them says and my wolf immediately starts growling inside of my head. 

Danger, my wolf warns, and I know she is right. These men aren’t ones I recognize, and their leers turn most lustful as they sniff the air to zero in on my scent.

“Oh, aren’t we lucky? This pretty little thing is not only a woman. She is also an Omega about to enter her heat. A very pretty one at that.”

“The prettiest one that I’ve ever seen.” 

“She would get so many customers at the tavern.”

“We would get rich if we took her there...”

“And that smell…” one of the men pauses to inhale the air like a complete pervert. He even touches the front of his jeans with this dreamy expression. “You smell so good.”

“I want to play with her.”

“Me too.” 

With a jolt of fear, I realize these men must be rogues. They wouldn’t act this way if they were from the city or even a neighboring pack because every werewolf knows the rules. Omegas are protected in packs unless the Alpha has said otherwise. And Alpha Jackson doesn’t want any unmated males to “play with me” since he wants me to work off my Dad’s debt.

“We should take her with us to the tavern,” one of the rogues says, rubbing his hands together as he steps closer. It’s the same one that was touching the front of his pants. 

He is a tall, burly beast with the kind of sneer that hints at cruel intentions. My wolf knows it, too. She snarls and cowers inside me, baring her teeth at the rogue. Her hatred is strong, but her fear is even stronger.

She knows we can’t outrun them.

Instead, I take a step back and hold up my hands, “Don’t come any closer. I’m under Alpha Jackson’s protection and—”

“Alpha Jackson?” the tall rogue interrupts and exchanges a snicker with the others as if I’ve said something hilarious. Then he turns back to me, smirking. “Alpha Jackson is a joke of an Alpha. No one is afraid of him, and you, my dear Omega, are coming with us.”

Before I know it, I’m grabbed by the man’s friends, and a funny-smelling cloth is pressed against my nose by force. I try to fight them, but my body is rapidly growing weaker. Soon, the world goes dark, and suddenly, I fall limp.