“The bitch almost ripped my eye out!” One man whined. “The three of you can’t handle one feral mutt?” A raspy male voice asked. “She fights stronger than a mutt.” Another added. Lacee was starting to come too completely. She looked around the room, scanning it for an exit and planning in her head to escape, but she didn’t expect to see what she did. There were almost a dozen people in there with her, including other women. The bronzed woman was standing close by, a proud smirk on her face. The three men that attacked her were very obvious, as she had left each man with wounds upon their faces. They were huge men and she wondered how she even put up as much of a fight as she did, but she was a survivor, by any means. “We need to wait for Rinc.” One male called out. &

  The taste of victory was on Rinc’s tongue. He savored it with pride as he howled out at his moon. The wolf within him grinned, happy at the defeat of their enemy. The pack celebrated with a howl in unison around him as he smeared the trader’s blood over his own skin. Wearing the blood of your enemy was an honor and a message to those that dare to think about challenging you the same. To his right, he was proud to see his beta standing over a killed enemy. Daron was a fierce and skilled fighter. He nodded at his Beta, honored to fight beside his best friend. On his left, his father stood over his own kill, basking in the blood of the defeated. Rinc looked over him, admiring how strong and feared his father still was at his older age. Kane was still magnificent, and most members of the pack, including Rinc, would still lay their life down for the former Alpha. But it wasn’t the pack that had pushed Rinc to win that fight. It wasn’t an ego or his desire t

Lacee didn’t plan on staying at work long, but when she got there, she was told that the paychecks wouldn’t be ready until that afternoon. After debating on just leaving work without the check, she decided to stay since the fifty dollars in her account wouldn’t get them very far from town. She knew it would take time to find a new job and apartment in a new town, but Lacee was a survivor.  When she was eighteen, she lived in her car for two months until she got on her feet. She had been thrown out of the foster home that she lived in as soon as she became an adult. Her sister was fourteen then and had to stay behind in the foster home until the court date when Lacee was approved to be her guardian. By then, Lacee had found an apartment and was waitressing at two different restaurants to prove that she could provide a life for her sister. Leena would be eighteen in a few weeks, so there wouldn’t be any social worker checking in on them. They could go off the grid

Rinc had tried to be patient and understanding with Lacee, but after the phone call came from Laran with news of a half-breed girl living in her apartment he was losing what little patience he had left. He was trying his best to take Lacee under his wing and protect her, but she was making it really hard with her resistance and now secrets that should’ve been told.“The half-breed girl in your apartment? Who is she?” Rinc asked her.Lacee stared at him for a moment without speaking, but then she tried to make a run for it to her car. He was much faster and stronger than her, even if she had been training her whole life, she wouldn’t stand a chance. With ease, he caught up to her and grabbed her from behind, pulling her back close to her chest as he leaned his mouth to her ear.“Don’t scream. Don’t make a scene. There are people around.” He told her. “Now, if you want to see the half-breed again, stop fighting

Lacee woke up in an unfamiliar bedroom, in an unknown bedroom. To her left, her sister Leena was safely sleeping in the bed. It was a relief to see that the girl was okay, but Lacee couldn’t let her guard down. They were still captured by the werewolves, and she knew it wouldn’t be easy to escape now that they had them on their property. As quietly as she could, Lacee crept out of the bed and began to search her surroundings. Just as she had suspected, the door was locked from the outside, keeping them from leaving the room. She went over to the only window in the room, but it had bars on the outside, guaranteeing no one could climb in or out of it. There was a small bathroom attached, but it didn’t have a window to help aid them with escape. The room was like a prison, but with a mahogany bedroom set and Egyptian cotton sheets. Feeling hopeless, Lacee went into the bathroom and splashed her face with water from the faucet. She looked up at her image in the m