One: Sloane

A branch scraped my arm as I raced through the trees, a wide smile on my face as I could hear the guards trailing after me. They wouldn't catch me. No one ever had.

I prided myself on my speed. It came in handy when I needed to escape, as I had to now. Running was nothing new to me. I enjoyed escaping for a day or two at a time and being surrounded by nature.

"Stop!" One of the men shouted from behind me, and I rolled my eyes and pushed myself to move faster. Whether they remained on two feet or shifted into their fur, it didn't matter. They wouldn't catch me, and they knew it.

The scrape on my arm tingled as my body healed, and I was grateful it hadn't drawn blood. It would have made it too easy for them to track me if it had.

I would have to be more careful if I were going to evade their attempts to drag me back to my father, the Alpha.

Alpha was a bit of a loose term, as the other pack’s reported to him. He was their king.

"Sloane!" The growl of frustration mixed with my name sent a burst of adrenaline through me. They were falling behind. I was only seconds away from being out of their sight. Another minute, and I would lose them entirely. "Stop!"

Not a chance.

I spun sharply to the right just as I passed a thick section of trees that I could use as cover, knowing if I could make it through the overgrown bushes a few paces ahead quickly and without injury, I would be free.

My instinct was to look over my shoulder to see how close they were, but I knew better than that.

That would only slow me down.

The hair on my arms stood in warning as I slipped between the thick bushes and emerged on the other side with leaves in my hair.

I should have listened to my gut that something was wrong, but I had gotten cocky.

I had seen my freedom before me. The cool, clear water that would lead me to my hideaway where I could be alone.

Just as I dove toward it, a giant black beast collided with me, sending me to the ground on my stomach. His fur was dripping wet from the pond I had been about to jump into, and the excitement of my escape vanished when his heavy paw pressed down onto the center of my back, his claws digging into my skin.

I groaned from the impact, my ribs protesting as I tried to wiggle free and failed due to the enormous wolf holding me down.

A combination of fear and a thrilling kind of excitement that I didn’t quite recognize filled me as he released a low, threatening growl and goosebumps rose along my skin.

We rarely had rogues this close to the border, but this was no ordinary rogue.

From my brief glimpse of him, I knew I was in trouble before he had collided with me. He was twice the size of any ordinary wolf, and the power radiating from him gave him away. He was the Rogue Alpha.

I had seen him once before when I was a kid. He was just a teenager at the time. He had saved my life that day, and I had no hope that he would be so merciful as to do it again.

The thick ropes of scars were new, but from the horror stories I had heard about him, he had more than earned them from his years leading the rogues and taking down hunters.

His snout pressed into the back of my head, and I heard him take a deep breath.

"I'm sorry!" I gasped, the rush and excitement I had felt at escaping the guards turning to fear as he applied more weight.

My wild and wavy blonde hair blew over my head as he exhaled in a huff of annoyance before I felt his body settle over mine. The wet fur of his stomach rubbed against my exposed skin and soaked through my dress as he lifted his paw from my back and laid on top of me.

Every inch of my body screamed in terror, horrified at the position I had let myself be put in. He was large and warm, and with his body straddling mine, pressing down onto my back, I accepted that I had made a mistake.

I had been throwing a fit. I knew that. But I needed one day of freedom and fresh air before my nightmare became a reality.

As the Alpha's daughter, I had never been given a choice in anything to do with my life. Every day since I was born had been planned and scheduled for me.

They treated me as their puppet…so much so that they convinced me that was all I would ever be.

After my parents' announcement at breakfast, I realized that had never been the case. I wasn't a puppet. I was a pawn.

They were going to force me to mate with someone I didn't love, let alone choose, to form a stronger alliance between the packs. If I hadn’t been the eldest, this wouldn’t be my problem. It wasn’t fair, and I resented that I was being put in this position.

I disappointed them repeatedly as I failed to live up to their standards, and my refusal to accept my role in this arrangement only made them angrier.

Even now, I was doing exactly what my parents had scolded me for in the past and running from my problems. My father had ordered for me to remain in my room until the other packs arrived. He knew I had a tendency to wander during the day after I had my chores and training done, and he hadn’t wanted to take any risks.

He should have known better. A guard at my door wouldn’t stop me. I had years of sneaking out under my belt. Getting away this morning had almost been too easy.

I would have to return to face them tonight, but for now, I had just needed to get to my hideaway so I could be alone.

I thought my parents were controlling and dramatic, but now I understood because my impulsive behavior was about to cost me my life or, at the very least, my purity.

"No," I begged, shaking my head. "Please don't do this."

I turned my head in the other direction, facing the bushes I had just forced myself through, and prepared to call for the very guards I had been running from. But if I did, then they would die too. The Rogue Alpha wasn't known to leave witnesses, let alone survivors.

From what I heard, I had been the only person to ever survive an encounter with him, but it had been over a decade, and I had little hope of walking away a second time.

The rogues loved to boast about their leader when they went into the towns in no man's land. I didn't know how much of it was true, but I also wasn't about to question his strength and rumored brutality when he had me in such a vulnerable position.

I was wearing the dress my mother had picked out for me this morning, but when had clothes ever stopped someone from taking what they wanted? All he would have to do was pull it up over my hips and move my panties to the side if that was his intention.

But that didn't mean I wouldn't fight.

I've had to fight everyone on everything my entire life, and I wasn't about to give up now.

My body thrashed beneath him, and he growled lowly.

I may not want to be responsible for the guards dying, but who was to say he wouldn't go after them for crossing into his land when he was done with me anyway?

Three against one was better than one-on-one, and at least with them helping and calling for backup, I might have a chance.

Just as my lips parted to scream, his large muzzle latched around the back of my neck. His hot breath and tongue touched my skin as he pressed his sharp canines against my throat, warning me to stay silent.

A whimper came from me, and he dropped all of his weight on me to hold me still as the sound of the guards moved further away.

They had known from past chases that they wouldn't find me once I had gotten this far. I would dive into the water, swim through the hidden opening, and my trail and scent would disappear.

Until today, I had always escaped.

The noise leaving me caused him to tighten his hold on my neck even more, and as the sound of the guards faded in the distance, I knew hope was lost.

"Please," I croaked, and he held on for a moment more before releasing me.

His body was still on mine, holding me down. Water lined my eyes as his hot tongue slid across the back of my neck, sending a shiver through my spine.

I turned my head to the other side, hoping he would get the hint that I didn't want him touching me or licking me. Instead, he let out a low, satisfied growl and began to clean the newly exposed area.

I hated that it felt nice. I hated that my body betrayed me and relaxed beneath his hold and the soft strokes of his tongue. "Please, stop."

His body tensed, and I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing the tears out as he huffed at me.

I didn't move as he backed away slowly, his body brushing against mine for two steps before he stood and walked away. I knew it was a trap, that as soon as I turned over, he was going to rip my throat or stomach out, yet I did it anyway.

My dress rode up as I pulled my knees to my chest and spun on the balls of my feet to face him, remaining crouched.

I was anticipating an attack. I was prepared to launch myself at him and fight to the death. But he didn't move.

"What do you want from me? If you're going to kill me, just do it!" I rose to my feet slowly, satisfied that he had moved to be several paces away.

Finally able to see him clearly, my breathing hitched. His wolf was larger than I expected, and his grey eyes shined brightly in contrast to his black fur. Scars decorated his body, the raised flesh void of fur, but one stood out over the others.

As he sat back on his hind legs, a small, round scar on his chest became visible only an inch or two above his heart. A bullet wound. How could anyone survive the amount of trauma and pain he had?

He stomped his paw into the dirt, forcing my attention from his chest and up to his face. His head was tilted to the side as he eyed me, and I got the distinct feeling that he thought I was crazy.

"Don't look at me like that," I snapped, widening my stance and preparing to shift. "I'm not going down without a fight."

He didn't look amused, and nothing about his body language indicated he was going to attack. If anything, he seemed relaxed.

The rogue gestured his head in the direction the guards had gone before looking pointedly at me. My hands slowly lowered, "If you want information out of me, you can shift and have an actual conversation with me."

He didn't move. He just stared.

It was unnerving.

The way he looked at me made me feel like he could see right through me.

"Well?"

His lip twitched, and for a moment, I thought he was trying not to laugh at me. Then he gestured toward the side again before pointedly looking back at me.

I gave in to the temptation, forcing myself to look away from him for only a moment. There was nothing there. The guards had long ago left, but realization sank in, and I nodded once slowly in understanding. "You weren't going to kill me. You were trying to help hide me."

The rogue stomped his front paw again, and his body started shaking as he turned toward the water.

"You could have just let me jump in like I had planned. Then you wouldn't have had to hide me!" I glared at him, feeling guilty that I had ever thought he would have forced himself on me or tried to kill me. That was twice now that he spared me.

Twice, I let myself be put into a position where I could have died from my carelessness. I should have turned and run as far away from him as possible. I should have gathered the guards and started a search party to put an end to the Rogue Alpha.

Instead, I stepped toward him, wanting to talk to him. I wanted to ask him why he hadn't killed me, why he had licked me and cleaned the small puncture wound his teeth left as if wanting to be sure he hadn't hurt me.

My eyes were wide as he shifted back in front of me, not bothering to cover himself. I let them travel over his large and muscular form. He was unlike any man I had ever seen, and I was stunned by his beauty. His hair was a rich black, matching the stubble on his jaw, and his grey eyes were bright with amusement.

"Where's the fun in that?" His deep voice washed over me, and my eyes closed momentarily as I savored the sound.

I shivered as he chuckled, and for reasons unknown to me, when he dove into the water and swam toward my hideaway, I found myself jumping in after him.