Chapter 1.

Why did Asta, her beloved twin sister, have to die here, of all the godforsaken places in the

United States?

Maybe she needed a safe silent place to hide from her wicked husband Marcus's brutality,

after the forced marriage, Marcus had always hit her and showed her no sign of love.

But here in her safe haven, Asta wasn't safe either

Because now she had ended up dead

Akila saw a figure who looked like her cousin Thaddeus, walking into the woods in his wolf

form, but she hoped she was mistaken

He couldn't be so angry with her enough for him to shape shift this close to Silver Town and

risk alerting the Black Lycaon's pack that some brown Lycaons had slipped into their

community

There standing in front of the Silver Town Tarvern's door, Akila wanted to turn her back and

go back home but she had to find her sister's killer she couldn't turn back now

She jarred open the tavern's heavy door, the squaling of the rusty hinges irritated her.

Immediately she entered, Five big bearded men all sitting at a table turned to look at her

and at once she felt her cover had been blown, that they could see through her disguise.

She adjusted the faux eyeglass she was putting on back to its place, cursing at how they

kept sliding down her nose.

The Cowboy hat she picked up at a retail shop earlier that day had her head half swallowed,

which made her look like a little kid who ran off with her dad's cowboy hat.

Yellow glass pendant light hanging from brass rods up above quickly illuminated tables made

from dark oak trees and a long polished bar

Wooden fan blades which were spinning slowly spun up above the room to circulate air,

Filled with the smell of Black Lycaons. Her nerve endings shivered with new awareness.

Vintage old mirrors covering the back wall behind the room bore mute witness to the

happenings in the place, which she suspected they had for decades.

If only these mirrors could tell stories, she wondered how much stories the mirrors would tell

if they had captures all that had happened since the bar's existence.

Just then, another bearded man who was bending with his knee beneath the lip of the bar

suddenly stood to his full six-foot-five height.

He was holding a glass and dish towel which almost slipped from his hand as he saw her, he

continued to stare taking in every inch of her.

Then he made a little twice with his mouth, his lips turned up at the corners a little.

Deep wrinkle lines were on his dark skin and his black hair was shaggy extended to his

shoulders, which gave him the perfect appearance of a rugged mountain man, who was

unused to civilized gatherings.

What interested her most was that he was a black Lycaon like most of the bearded men who

stared at her earlier

She thought the tavern would be run by humans but most of their customers would be

Lycoan just like the bar back at her home town.

Good day miss, what will you have? He asked, his voice warm and welcoming .

She didn't expect a welcoming greeting from him because their kind did not welcome

strangers venturing into their midst, especially not humans and this was tavern was

exclusively for Black Lycaon, she hesitated for some seconds.

Ma'm?

I'll like a bottle of water please

She had planned to sound tough, to match the energy of the tavarn

She had planned to be someone different , with her brown hair dyed black and her high

heeled boots to give the impression that the was taller than she really was, more to fit in like

them.

She put on blue contacts lens to hide her green eyes, which helped hide her eyes perfectly,

yet she still felt like Akila, a triplet to Asta, with very little difference in appearance, except

her eyes were much greener and her hair much brown, almost golden than her sister's hair

had been.

Had her voice given up her identity?

The bartender wore a small smile on his face, she thought the small smile had to be

because she was a stranger who had walked into a wolves den alone , without any

protection than because he had figured out who was behind the disguise.

She hated herself for not disguising her voice better, but the bartender warm smile gave her

a sense of security which could be false and if it was false, it could be the death of her if she

was not careful.

The bartender gave her a cold bottle of water and a glass cup.

Are you new in town?

I'm just passing through she said while paying for the water.

The name is Eric ma'm.

Let me know when you need anything else, just holler at me

“Thanks.”

She wasn't the type of lady to holler for a drink.

She scanned the room and chose a table that was in the farther most corner of the room,

half hidden in the shadows.

Although all of them could see in the dark as well as she could, this table would keep her

away from traffic flowing in and out of the tarven.

She hoped she'd looked innocent, not worthy of any one's attention and she hoped most of

all that she looked like a human

Akila looked at the door

According to her source, Dustin silverback– Asta's widowed mate should arrive here anytime

soon.

One of the men stood up from his seat and gave Eric some cash.

The man gave Akila a smile and returned to his table

He looked small for a Black, stocky, had a bland brown hair, had amber eyes, his cloth with a

coating of dust, he had a round baby face.

His face was soft, looking sweet like a beta wolf.

Particles of dirt covered his cheek and he wiped them off with the sleeve of his shirt.

His eyes still stating at her, he dust off the dust on his sleeve and took a gulp of his beer.

Eric came over to Akila and gave her the cash.

Luke Anderson paid for your water, ma'm

He is a worker at the silver mine, which explained his slightly rough appearance

But he looks really good whenever he his dressed up.

Eric gave her a wink, and returned to the bar.

Should she turn down luke's offer?

On the other hand, if he was interested in her, maybe she could discover the truth quicker.

“Thank you,” she mouthed to Luke Anderson and linked at him, his chest swelled.

The other guys started ribbing him in low voices. The tips of Luke's ears turned crimson.

Her stomach growled with the thought that Asta had the courage to mate a Black, especially

when she already had a mate.

She'd said she wanted to find herself, and she did.

Six feet below the ground

Still Akila could not help feeling it was her fault, that if she'd replaced Asta's place back

home or even flee with her, she might have keep her safe and alive.

But what about their parents?

She couldn't have absconded leaving them behind, not with her dad on a wheelchair, but hell

she hadn't been able to protect her parent either.

They were also murdered anyway.

She tamped down a shudder, feeling bad that she hadn't been able to stop any of it.

But once she learned about what happened to her sister Asta and dealt justice to the

murderer, Akila was going in search of her brother and their uncle– cursing both of them for

leaving the family behind.