Chapter 1

“Shots! Shots! Shots!” My best friend Maddie shouted in sync with the song “Shots” by LMFAO as we both threw the tequila back. 

The liquor burned the back of my throat, but it was a good burn.   “I am so drunk,” Maddie said loudly over the music. “And you know what? Fuck Robbie! He has no idea what he’s missing out on!”  Robbie was Maddie’s on-again-off-again boyfriend. Right now, they were off-again and she was a hot mess. As usual. 

“You can do so much better,” I said, slurring a little as I spoke. I held up a red Solo cup. “Here’s to finding new guys this year!” 

“To new, better guys,” Maddie agreed, hitting my cup with hers. “I need another drink. You want anything?” 

“Another beer.” I knew I was going to end up regretting this combination of tequila and beer in the morning, but that was okay. I’d needed this: to get away from reality. To escape. And Branden Mitchell’s annual back to school party was the best place to do that. 

It was the Friday before our senior year. I had a feeling about this year. A new school year always meant new beginnings, but this year was going to be different. Everything was about to change, even more than it already had. I wasn’t sure how exactly I knew that, but I could feel it in my gut. 

Things were about to change, but I wasn’t sure if it was for the better… or for the worse. 

Not that things could really get much worse than here.  I glanced over at the drink table and saw Maddie talking no, flirting with Robbie. Her head was tilted back in laughter as she touched his arm lightly. I rolled my eyes, knowing that I had probably lost my best friend for the night. 

I scanned the area, looking to see if there was anyone else at the party who I was friends with. I headed deeper into the yard where a bunch of the jocks were sitting around a bonfire. 

As I got closer to it, the scent of fire wafted in through my nostrils.  Squeezing my eyes shut, I could see the smoke billowing into my bedroom. I could smell the fire again, a scent that I had been trying to get out of my hair and off my clothes for the past two weeks a scent that just seemed to want to cling to me, haunting me. 

I had to get the hell out of here. Note to self: stay far away from fires, especially two weeks after your parents are killed in one. 

Opening my eyes, I whirled around and found myself colliding with a rock-hard chest that belonged to a tall person a very tall person. 

This guy seriously had abs for days; I could see the ripples of his six�pack through the black t-shirt he was wearing.  

Glancing up into his eyes, my breath caught in my chest. I had never seen him before, but he was the most gorgeous guy who I had ever laid eyes on. He had black hair, which was shorter on the sides than in the front and a five o’clock shadow that covered his sharp, angular features.  But it was his eyes that stood out to me the most. They were a striking shade of blue, a color that reminded me of the ocean.

His eyes locked on mine, piercing through me… and I felt something I had never felt before.

Attraction. I had never felt this attracted to anyone who I’d ever met in my life. I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame; it was like we were magnets.

There wasn’t even an inch between our bodies, and I was pretty sure that both of us wanted to be closer. 

We just stood there, staring at each other for a long time, before he finally broke the ice. 

“Would you like to dance?” He spoke in the sexiest, deepest voice I had ever heard in my life. It made goosebumps erupt on my arms. 

“Yes,” I managed to say. 

As we moved to the center of the yard where other people were dancing, we began to move to the music.  It felt like there was this heat, this indescribable tension between us, unlike anything I had ever felt before.

“What’s your name?” I asked him.

“Theo.” His blue eyes locked on mine. 

“I’m Raven,” I told him. 

“You’re also stunning.” His eyes didn’t move from mine as he said the words. 

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Of course, that was an understatement.

He was, no lie, one of the hottest guys I’d ever laid eyes on. 

“Are you new here? I’ve never seen you before,” I went on. 

He continued to hold my gaze. “I’m just passing through town.” He paused. “Then again, you just might be the reason I need to stay.”

A wave of liquid courage came over me then, and I did the one thing I wanted to do more than anything.  I pressed my lips to his, kissing him. 

He seemed surprised by my kiss at first, but then his lips came crashing down on mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his tongue explored my mouth.

His kiss was riddled with passion, a fiery desire that matched my own evenly. 

When I pulled away, I was breathless. I met his blue eyes again. Holy fuck. At that moment, something came over me. I wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or the heat of the summer night, but I suddenly felt incredibly dizzy. Before everything went dark, I could have sworn I heard him say,

“Holy fuck is right.”

I hadn’t said that out loud, had I?

When my eyes fluttered open, I was laying on the ground. I glanced around. There were four guys surrounding me, including Theo, the guy who I had kissed at the party. Wait. I had really kissed a total stranger?

 “Actually, you did,” Theo answered.

“Did you just hear my thoughts?” I sat up, even though my head was

pounding. I was sort of out of it right now, but I was positive there was no

way I had said that out loud.

“Yup.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “How?”

“There’s something you should know, Raven. It’s the reason you’re here.” Theo’s blue eyes locked on mine. “I’m a werewolf.” He had I kissed someone who believed he was a werewolf?

Note to self: never drunkenly kiss a stranger.

“I’m not a weirdo,” Theo said softly.

Okay, how did I explain that? He could obviously hear my thoughts.

“Obviously,” he agreed.

I stood up then. I needed to get as far away as possible from Theo assuming that was even his real name

“It is,” he interrupted.  “Would you stop that?” I glared at him. “I don’t know how you’re

able to listen to me, but this has to be some sort of prank. There’s no way you’re a werewolf.”

“Actually, I am.” Theo met my eyes. “We all are. Let me introduce you to my pack we’re known as the Darken pack.” “Why is your pack called that?” I found myself asking. “Is it because you’re all bad wolves?”

“It’s a long story,” Theo replied.

I shrugged. “I’ve got all night.”

If he was going to make up some bullshit story about being a werewolf with a pack name like Darken, he should at least have some meaning behind it. He hesitated for a moment. “Werewolves generally have gray fur, but

it tends to be lighter in color. There are also some red wolves, but that’s incredibly rare. Our pack is darker than all the rest. My pack members are all very dark gray in color. I’m only one of a few in the world.” He shrugged. “That’s part of how we came up with the name.”

“And the other part?” I asked.

“It sounds a little bit intimidating, doesn’t it? You asked me yourself if we’re bad wolves.”

“Why would you want to sound like bad wolves if you’re actually not bad wolves like you claim?” I found myself asking.

He met my gaze. “We have to keep the other werewolf packs on their toes. They need to know that they should never mess with us. And it works out that way most of the time. Now, let me introduce you to the others.”