Chapter 1

Growing up, I always felt like something was wrong with me, like a very important part of my soul was missing. Back then, I thought that couldn’t be possible, after all; I was alive, and without every part of it, it wouldn’t be possible. Till one day, when my parents took me to a festival where I came across something that seemed to call to me like a song that you know all the words to, but you just can’t remember them, no matter how hard you try.

It’s not because I found out that I was adopted, that’s definitely not it, because I had known about that my whole life and never felt like I wasn’t their child.

As it was getting late, we decided to grab some food before heading to the festival games. After all, my father said, “Honey, you're 18 in a few weeks, it's time you had some food and stopped hiding away in your room.”

Which was true, I did hide in my room quite a bit, drawing things like forest scenes that looked like they were from a dream, with a full moon hanging heavy in the sky. I shook my head as the thought and said, You’re right, Dad, so what do you think we should get to eat? It all smells so good.”

“How’s about we pick a bit of different foods and then have a bit of a picnic over on one of the tables?” Her mother suggested.

“TIFFY!” Came a shriek from within the crowd.

The shriek came from none other than her bestie, Laura. I froze for a second, “Laura, geez, what are you doing here?”

“Probably the same thing as you, having fun?”

“Yeah, so far we were just about to get some food, but we’ve never been to one of these before.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you follow me,” Laura said, pulling me towards a food stand where a tall man was standing in line. He had to be at least 6 feet tall, and even from behind, you could tell he would be a heartbreaker.

“Ok, easy girl.”

“Come on, Tiffy, before the good stuff is all gone.”

“Fine, that over there with the large group seems popular, the one with that 6-foot-tall guy.”

“Well, it’s a good place to start. Let’s get in line.”

We made our order, and a second later, the heartbreaker looked at me, his green eyes seemed to want to pull me in, “Oh, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he replied with a look on his face I couldn’t read.

“Miss your orders ready,” said the lady who had put our food together.

“Yes, right, the food, thank you, and sir, sorry for bumping into you. I'd better go now, my parents are waiting. Coming, Laura?”

“Yeah, let’s, it smells so good, and I think you went a tad overboard, Tiffy.”

I shrugged, but lately I had been eating more, and said nothing. As we walked away, I felt like I was being watched, maybe by that cute guy, but hey, who knows.

-MATE- Came a voice in the young man’s mind, -OUR MATE-

-Shit, wait, why is she walking over to humans? Oh crap, my mate is a rogue, dude, this isn’t good, we’ll be forced to reject her.- The young man replied.

-Don’t care, our mate, I want MY mate.- growled the voice back.

-Storm buddy, it’s not like that, and you know it. My father would never allow his son, the Alpha heir, to mate with a rogue.-

-She doesn’t even seem to know what she is, but she smells Alpha-born. Clint, we need to get closer, keep her safe. She is ours.-

I try to ignore the weird feeling of being watched as I make my way back to my parents with Laura chattering beside me. The food smells amazing, but my appetite has suddenly disappeared. Something about that guy's green eyes has me feeling... strange. Like I've seen them before, maybe in a dream.

"Earth to Tiffy," Laura says, waving her hand in front of my face. "You totally zoned out. Was it because of Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Brooding back there?"

"What? No," I lie, feeling my cheeks warm. "Just thinking about where to sit."

My parents wave us over to a picnic table they've claimed. Dad's already spreading out napkins like we're having some formal dinner instead of festival food.

"Who was that young man you were talking to?" Mom asks, her eyebrow raised in that way that means she's trying to seem casual but is definitely not.

"Nobody," I say too quickly. "Just some guy in line."

Laura snorts. "Nobody who looked like he wanted to eat you alive."

"Laura!" I hiss, mortified.

Dad chuckles. "Well, you're turning eighteen soon. It's natural to start noticing boys."

If only it felt natural. The way that guy looked at me felt... different. Primal, almost. Like he recognised me from somewhere I can't remember.

As we eat, I keep feeling drawn to glance over my shoulder. Sure enough, on my third look, I spot him. He's sitting with friends but isn't paying attention to them. Instead, his intense green eyes are fixed directly on me. When our gazes meet, something electric passes between us. I quickly look away, my heart racing.

"I think I need some water," I mumble, standing up.

"I'll come with," Laura says, but I shake my head.

"No, stay. I'll be right back."

I need a moment alone to clear my head. As I walk toward the drink stand, the strangest sensation washes over me, like my skin is too tight, like something inside me is stirring. The full moon hangs low in the darkening sky, and I find myself staring at it, transfixed.

"It calls to you, doesn't it?" a deep voice says beside me.