Prologue

In this new world male and female wolves are each broken down into three unique categories.

Males 

Omega - Capable of shifting, have their own unique scent, and possess enhanced senses. They are still capable of forming mate bonds with female wolves, but they are not capable of soul bonding.

Beta - Larger than omega wolves. They possess everything listed above, however they are capable of soul bonding. 

Alpha - Uncommon, but possess everything listed above. Capable of forming soul bonds. It is very rare for an Alpha to be born into a non-ruling family. Those that are typically end up in positions of authority. Some examples are: second-in-commands to pack Alpha’s, commander of pack warriors, or head chairman of a company.

Females

Omega - Capable of shifting, have their own unique scent, and possess enhanced senses. They are still capable of forming mate bonds with male wolves, but they are not capable of soul bonding.

Beta - Larger than omega wolves, and have everything listed above, but they are capable of soul bonding. However, only female Beta wolves can become Luna’s.

Luna - A beta she-wolf that has been soul bonded to an Alpha and has passed the Trials of the Moon. There is also the more common exception: A beta she-wolf that has a fully formed mate-bond with an Alpha. Upon consummation, the beta she-wolf becomes a full fledged Luna.

Mate-bond: A magically binding connection that either develops or happens instantaneously between two souls. On rare occasions, three.

Soul-bond: The ancient connection that forms when two wolves born of the same soul find one another. Not every wolf has one of these. This connection can never be broken.

Please note, this book is a dark romance. Like all humans, these characters are capable of anything. They are motivated by the same emotions we are. Whether that makes them good or bad is up to you to decide. After all, the human existence is a spectrum and who doesn't have secrets? 

~

Prologue 

The freshly shined booth creaked as I swung my legs over Kota’s lap. It was inevitable. I was going to smell like melted cheese and charred beef all evening.Beneath the tangled scents of fried food I caught hints of oak, football leather, and cut grass. 

It was unusually busy today. I could’ve named almost every voice in the room without turning my head.

Kota’s arm hooked around the backrest, boxing me in the way it had for two years now. I still wasn’t used to it, though every inch of him was familiar. Solid. Mine.

Running my fingers along his bicep, I pulled his attention away from last weeks replay.

“Maybe you should shower twice after practice. Elena keeps complaining I smell like your armpits.”

He nipped at my ear and smirked. “You love it as much as I love bothering Elena.”

My breath halted when he brushed a gentle kiss across my lips. Flashes of warmth passed through me, along with the exhale of coming home after a long day.

A waitress gagged dramatically as she passed.

I was used to it. There were plenty of wolves that thought a Beta male deserved better than some wolfless girl.

Mindy Davis’s faint, half-human scent hit me like a bad spray tan. She set down a tray of drinks three tables over, faking a laugh to the group of college boys she was serving. Her back was turned, but the tightness in her shoulders said plenty.

Some rivalries faded after graduation. 

Ours hadn’t. 

It wasn’t my fault I’d taken her spot as head cheerleader our senior year. That was what happened when you let other things take over your life. Dedication was everything.

When she’d been Mrs. Phillis’s teaching assistant, she’d sneer at me as she snatched the papers from my hand. Once she even winked at me while she did it. After that, two of my assignments vanished. Automatic failure.

Did anyone believe me? No, of course not. 

Hunters had murdered her father outside of his gas station one night. Ever since then, teachers softened when she blinked too hard. Counselors called her brave. No one wanted to call her out. Meanwhile, my missing assignments were “mistakes”.

Her superiority complex never made much sense to me. We were both wolfless half-breeds. Neither of us had what the others did. We should’ve been able to understand one another.

Oh well, at least I wouldn’t have to endure dealing with Mindy any longer.

The few graduation cards I’d received were scattered on my dresser, glitter shedding onto everything. My cap was somewhere beneath the bed after Elena had thrown it at Kota for giving us a standing ovation during our name announcements.

Any day now we would receive our dorm assignments.

A pair of hands slipped over my eyes. They were soft and slightly tacky. Definitely freshly lotioned. “Guess who. You get one chance so make it count.”

Honeydew flooded my senses, sweet and unmistakable. Elena never did enter a room quietly.

I tapped my lip. “Megan Fox? It’s definitely Megan Fox.”

Kota snickered, and Elena flicked his ear as she swooped into the seat across from us. “Rude.”

Her grin was warm for exactly half a second before it sharpened. 

“Did you see the look that red-faced opossum gave you when she passed? She’s so not invited to your birthday bash on the twenty-ninth. Dawson said she was pitching a fit all yesterday. She better be careful or she just might find bear piss in her new Jeep.”

I turned nineteen today, on the twenty-first, but Elena had waved off the actual date as a matter of scheduling inconvenience. According to her, perfection couldn’t be rushed. And fortunately for me, I’d been to enough of her parties that I knew the truth behind those words.

At least she’d given me my presents ahead of time.

“That’s so gross!” I said, wrinkling my nose. “If you’re going to commit a crime, at least have some lackey do it. Oh, have a junior do it! Offer them an invite if they actually manage to pull it off.”

Kota grinned. “Aaron’s little brother would, no doubt. The kids part weasel. He swiped Aaron’s keys last week and took his BMW for a joy ride.”

Elena’s phone was out before the threat had finished leaving her mouth. The beaded purse I’d given her last year swung from her wrist. Aaron’s name flashed briefly across the screen. 

Of course she had his number. Between the two of us there weren’t many people in this town we couldn’t contact in under sixty seconds.

“Speaking of which,” she slid her phone back into the purse, “did you hear someone slashed her tires again? Third time, I think.”

Her gaze flicked lazily around the Grill, like the culprit might be hiding behind a ketchup bottle two booths over. The sound that left me wasn’t delicate. Mindy’s head snapped up from across the room. 

I briefly considered waving, but I didn’t trust her not to spit in my food.

“I hate when you use cute critters as an insult. It’s just not right.” I clicked my tongue against my teeth.

“Opossoms are not cute,” her brows lifted. “They’re all beady eyes and claws.”

“That’s what makes them cute!” My jaw dropped in faux outrage. Leaning back in the seat, I grinned evilly. “Besides you two are technically all beady eyes and claws and I still find you guys adorable.”

And I wasn’t even jealous. Not much, anyway.

Kota bumped his shoulder against mine. “They are a little ugly, Chlo.”

Our laughter collided at the same time, melting into a symphony that came from years of practice. 

“See? He gets my genius.” Exchanging grins, they shook hands as if brokering a deal. “Also, didn’t you just call Anya’s bikini ‘uglier than two slabs of bologna left to bake on a hot sidewalk’ like yesterday?”

I pursed my lips in response, refusing to smile. She conveniently left out the part where Anya had loudly announced my ass looked flat in my favorite pair of shorts. 

My mother always said don’t start something you can't finish. 

A hot spike of emotion had my grip tightening on my drink, the condensation leaking over my fingers. I ignored it.

“Cut the country twang, missy.” I flicked my hair over my shoulder. “I don’t deny my work. She earned it.”

The weightress dropped off Elena’s drink and the basket of cheese fries. I nudged the glass her way before she could get distracted by literally anything else. The hot-pink reusable water bottle I’d gotten her for Christmas was likely in her car. Empty, of course.

She glanced at me. “Full sugar?”

“Obviously.”

Kota made a sound of contempt at her cautious sip. 

Elena rolled her eyes at him and took another drink. Just to rub it in his face she hummed with delight. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, gorgeous. I’m just saying you have your unique way of insulting, and I have mine. Both are effective. Both are deadly.”

“I don’t think I’d be all that insulted if you called me a bucktooth squirrel. Actually, no. I would be offended. Don’t call me that, kay?” 

Looking away from Kota, she kicked me beneath the table. “I’d never call you a squirrel.”

I grinned at her.

She grinned back. 

We reached for the fries at the same time, bumping fingers. Not bothering to apologize, we dug in. There was a limited amount of time before Kota devoured them all.

I was licking the melted cheese from my thumb when the double doors at the front swung open, letting in a gust of warm summer air and the distant trill of cicadas. From where we sat I had a clear view of the entrance.

Plates clattered in the kitchen and someone laughed at the bar, but it lasted seconds before the knowledge of his presence circulated the room. Conversations dwindled until the music–some classic rock song Kota’s dad would know the name of–became a live concert with its own screaming audience. 

Or maybe that was the blood roaring in my ears.

My eyes were the next to betray me, pulled to the figure in the doorway as if drawn by a tether. Or a leash depending on how you looked at it. 

He didn’t pause or look around for the hostess as he entered. He walked in like he belonged there. Like every brick and slab of wood had been strategically placed there for him alone.

Several guys, all monstrously tall and muscular the way all male wolves were, sauntered in behind him. All of them were Beta’s except for one. Most of them I recognized from the high-school football team. When college started in the fall those men would return to their positions of popularity and power.

For Sebastian Eastwood that power ran blood deep.

Even surrounded by other wolves he stood apart. Like a piece from a different puzzle that somehow ended up in the wrong box. 

I had only met one other person like that, but I refused to think about him. He was strictly off limits. 

I dragged my gaze back to the table, finding sudden interest in the basket of fries. The moment stretched into infinity, because of course he saw us. 

Sebastian’s group was heading straight toward our booth.

His scent was luxurious. It reminded me of the inside of a high-end men’s boutique. All suede and leather. If I had a wolf she’d be screaming pack Alpha right about now. Technically it was future pack Alpha, but wolves didn’t always make that distinction. 

I straightened instinctively, pulling my shoulders back in a way that screamed head cheerleader. Granted that was the high-school squad, but everyone knew I’d make it on the college team during tomorrow’s tryouts.

Kota’s arm tightened around my shoulder and I brushed aside the urge to roll my eyes.

Glued to Sebastian’s hip was the girl he’d been dating the entirety of senior year, Sophia Montague. Beta and future Luna. It was impossible not to know her name considering there was a big shiny office building with it pasted front and center. 

Her father owned this mega-huge law firm that was responsible for getting the wolves in our pack out of human trouble. They worked directly for the pack Alpha.

“Hey Eastwood. Ready for first day of practice?” Kota’s smile lit up his face.

“Always.”

Sebastian’s one word reply was a slip of velvet brushing across my cheek. It drew my eyes and as I turned my head those few precious inches I found his eyes locked on my left shoulder. As if he could see the burn scars I typically kept hidden from the world.

I wasn’t ashamed of them, but I also didn’t feel like hearing whispers about the poor wolfless girl who nearly died in a house fire as a kid.

The phantom memory of smoke began to climb up my throat. Kota’s thumb pressed into my thigh and he flicked a worried look my way. The booth came back along with the full weight of Sebastian’s gaze. 

It should’ve been criminal to have eyes that blue.

My attention was snagged on the knife-sharp corner of his jaw when he said, “See you tomorrow.”

He thrust his chin at Elena and I in one of those bland I'm-too-cool-for-words guy nods before venturing off to his usual booth in the back.

Three waitresses and one unenthusiastic waiter rushed over to serve them.

Quickly recovering from my earlier fumble, I leaned across the table conspiratorily. “I’m surprised the Alpha let Sebastian out of his sight long enough to make an appearance. I should be honored he looked my way. Who would’ve thought, little ol’ me.”

Elena mimicked my posture, her hair cascading forward to create a dark curtain. 

“Maybe his leash is getting longer,” she snickered. “Soon it’ll be Sophia on the other end of it, if they form a mate-bond. Could you imagine if it’s a soul bond instead?” Her hand covered her mouth, muffling her voice. “I can’t see Sophia passing the Luna trials. She makes a pretty damsel in distress, I’ll give her that.”

We shared a look. This was a topic we’d spoken heavily about in the past. Sophia was sweet enough, but so far all she’d been good at was following Sebastian around like a lost kitten. The soul-bonded Luna’s that completed them in the past had all been fierce warriors.

Pulling the basket of fries his way, Kota took our chattering as confirmation we were finished and began eating. After popping a few in his mouth, he grinned shamelessly at the two of us. 

“You’re both catty and ruthless and that’s why you get no more cheese fries.” 

Elena’s brows shot up. “Catty? We are wolves, dear Kota. And if I want those cheese fries I’ll take them,” her voice sharpened with a playful edge.

The two of them descended into a nonsensical argument about entitlement and deep fried potatoes. I only interjected to jump to Elena’s defense, resulting in Kota digging his fingers into my hips.

I snarled and swatted at him. My hand snapped across his bicep, stinging my palm. He probably didn’t even feel it. “Quit it, Kota! You know I hate that.”

A slow spreading, shit-eating grin lit up his face. I tried to stay angry. I really, really did. 

Maybe one day I would get it right.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kota’s truck rolled to a stop in front of Elena’s house, the porch light spilling warm yellow across the yard. My gaze ventured several feet to the right where his bedroom was–at the house beside Elena’s. Our windows faced one another, leading to many late night conversations held via notebook and pen. 

That night, freshly showered and halfway through my skincare routine, I grabbed the acceptance letter from my nightstand and flopped back against my pillows.

In a few months Elena and I would be sharing a dorm, and Kota would be a short walk across university campus instead of next door. New classes. New people. New experiences.

Those thoughts circled my mind, forming their own cheer routine. I held onto them, but as the currents of sleep pulled me under the last thing my mind conjured were a pair of stark blue eyes.