*** Two years ago *** JASMINE Rules. I was good at following rules. Rules like always bring home report cards with a vertical line of As; go to temple to worship the Moon Goddess, Artemis, every week; prepare dinner for the family on weeknights; help keep the house clean. My parents had lots of rules, and I followed them, the number one being: never ever date anyone who isn’t your mate. I liked rules. They kept my life simple. If I followed the rules, my parents would be pleased, and I’d be rewarded with future success and happiness. At least that was what I believed for a long time. Looking back, I could pinpoint the day my feelings began to change—exactly a month before my eighteenth birthday. It was one of those perfect days at the end of August where the sun didn’t scorch you, and the breeze was cool on your skin. Engrossed in a book, I had lost track of time when the loud drumming of a woodpecker broke my concentration, and I realized—shit!—I was late meeting my best friend, L

JASMINE A few days after the beach trip, I entered the café in our downtown area to start my shift. I was on the early shift that day, so I had to be there at five in the morning to clean and prep everything. I always started by wiping down all the tables and counters and sweeping the floor. Even though this had already been done the evening prior. Valerie, the owner, was very obsessive about cleanliness, which I appreciated. I then went to brew the drip coffees. Valerie was busy pulling everything out of the oven and into the displays. She had arrived even earlier than me. Valerie almost never took a day off and often worked twelve-hour shifts. She was very curvy with curly red hair and a fiery personality to match. She never took crap from anyone. As all the different coffees were brewing, I went to open the register. At six, we switched the sign to Open. When I had first started the job, I thought I’d never learn everything, but now I was an expert at all the different types of es

BLAKE My father and I were, once again, in a heated argument. He always played the nice, fatherly Santa-type in front of the pack but, behind closed doors, he terrorized my mother and me. I wouldn’t be surprised if his goal in life was to do as much psychological damage to me as possible before his ultimate death. There were days I considered killing him myself. It was common in some packs for an alpha son to kill his father to assume the alpha title, especially when it wasn’t handed over peacefully, but I had yet to be driven to that point. He was still my father, as much as I hated him, and I wasn’t in any rush to assume his title. I had been eager five years ago, ready for the power, but things changed. . . “I compromised and let you have your fun for four years,” my father raged. “You think Siberia is fun?” “I don’t give a shit if it is or isn’t. It is your duty as my heir to assume the title of alpha, and I’m not allowing you to put it off any longer. The pack is becoming weak

JASMINE He led me down a different path this time. It took about another hour to get down to the bottom. He was not wrong. The sun was beating down on us. By the time I reached the water, I was ready to jump in. He started peeling off his clothes until he was only wearing his boxer briefs, his muscular body on full display. My breath hitched as I tried hard not to stare while the sun reflected off his broad shoulders and bare torso. Damn, he was so jacked and sexy. Before I could lose myself in my gawking, he sprinted to the water on his bared, muscular legs and jumped in. “The water feels great! Come on in! I know you want to!” I had an internal argument with myself. It was ridiculously hot, and, logically, underwear wasn’t much different than a bathing suit. Thank Goddess I had chosen dark-colored underwear this morning. The devil over my shoulder won this time. I gestured for him to turn around. He rolled his eyes but still did it. Once his back was to me, I stripped down out of

*** One and a half years earlier *** LUCY I planned an elaborate trip to visit Luke for my eighteenth birthday. Three months earlier, my friend Emma had turned eighteen and realized that my brother Kyle was her mate after months of grossing me out with their constant hooking up. While my brother and friend becoming mates was initially shocking, it made me feel hopeful about my own relationship and that it could happen for me too. In the same way that Emma and Kyle were attracted to each other long prior to knowing they were mates, I was sure it was the same for Luke and me. In honor of the occasion, Luke booked a luxurious hotel room in Quebec City for the weekend. He made a reservation for a fancy dinner at a steak restaurant at eight o’clock, so we would be dining just as dusk hit on my birthday on April 23. I planned to lose my virginity and allow him to mark me that night, after we knew for sure that we were mates. The act of marking each other by sinking our canines into each o