Chapter 1

***POV:Amara***

If he keeps this up much longer, this entire room is going to be able to smell my arousal. Trent keeps looking over at me, sending me these knowing, smoldering looks. He is propelling me back into memories from the other night and all the things that he did to me. I am completely lost in the reverie of his intoxicating smell and his tantalizing touch. I am vaguely aware of the discussion happening amongst the council members, but all I can really focus on is wanting to feel this beautiful man inside me again.

Suddenly my father snaps at me, trying to get my attention. I look at him, defiantly, the great Alpha Carlos doesn’t scare me. I find him making the connection, looking back and forth between Trent and I making eyes at each other across the table. I should care if he figures it out, but I really don’t, in fact I hope he does. We are in a Council Collective meeting with every pack, coven, and group leader and their heirs or second in commands. I really should be focused and paying attention, but I just can’t help myself, the man drives me wild. I study Trent from across the table. He is speaking now, moving his beautiful strong jaw, his green eyes intently analyzing the vampire leader he is arguing with, his blonde hair longer on the top and styled to the side. The man is delicious. Must be the reason why I just can’t let him go. Even though I have tried several times to walk away from him, we just keep coming back together, in secret of course.

Meeting is finally adjourned, and I get up. I can’t approach him, everyone would see, but I at least want to get as close to him as I can. I want to, no, I need to, smell him, feel his body heat close to me. I get closer to him, and right on cue, here comes Tobias and intercepts me.

“Hey gorgeous, you got plans tomorrow night?” He says with a wide grin.

I look up at him and smile, he has always been a sweet friend to me. I know he wishes we could be more, as does my father, but my heart is just not in it. Alpha Tobias is the leader of the Sierra Pack. He is a bit older than me, tall, lean muscular build, short brown hair and deep brown soulful eyes.

“No, actually, I’m free” I answer with a smile.

He lights up. “Great! Violet and I were talking about how we haven’t all hung out in while; we need to get out and go to Club Moonlight.”

“Count me in!” I said excitedly. He is right, it’s been far too long since I have spent time with friends. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Trent studying us from a distance, clenching his jaw. He looks completely put out by my interaction with Tobias. I know they have never gotten along, so I am not sure if this is jealousy, rivalry, or both. Either way, it makes me feel good in a weird way to see him bothered.

“Sounds good. I need to blow off some steam with all of this change we are looking at.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot to take in. I can’t believe we may finally be allowing humans in.  Although I feel like the vampires are just looking for new snacks.” Tobias says with a mischievous grin. We laugh while looking around the almost empty meeting hall to make sure we weren’t heard.

This new reality we are living in has brought about so many changes and compromise. Between the destruction from war and the human population being practically decimated through biological warfare, there wasn’t much of a world left. The humans destroyed each other and a good part of their world warring amongst themselves. Now they live off the land, like they are back in the medieval ages. No running water, no technology, no electricity, and that is only if they were lucky enough to survive. The Hidden World Collective, our leaders, had seen it coming and had started planning decades ago. They gathered the smartest of our kind, from all of the supernatural races, and created small isolated, self-sustaining colonies in different corners of the earth, away from all the evil. 

We happened to live on one of the ocean colonies, a city on stilts if you will. We were built on rock solid platforms that were fixed into the seabed. Between advanced building technology and a little magic from our witchy neighbors, we were in a good place. All of The Hidden had survived and thrived, and so it is well beyond time we helped those that are left. The Hidden are all the supernatural beings that inhabit earth: werewolves, witches, mermaids, fairies, and vampires. Now with the possibility of bringing in humans amongst us, I guess we wouldn’t be “the hidden” much longer.  

There was a lengthy discussion at today’s meeting and now all that was left was for the different factions to choose to sign the agreement or withhold their support. The vampires were very vocal with their support. They survive on synthetic blood we are able to create, and donations from willing colony citizens. The hope is that there would be willing donors amongst the rescued humans. The better the vampires are taken care of, the more we can ensure peace, and that they wouldn’t go back to the mainland to hunt down and feed on the few human survivors there are left. The covens seemed to be indifferent, as was the representative from the merfolk. They truly didn’t live with us, but as a species belonging to The Hidden, they always sent a representative to our Council Collective meetings. Some of the werewolf packs were hoping humans would choose to join their ranks, but more specifically, they were hoping to find their fated mates amongst them.

Fated mates in the world we live in seems like such a faraway concept to me sometimes. This is a gift from Moon Goddess that we were no longer likely to find. Before everything changed, we would travel to different packs, or go to annual meets to find our fated mates outside of our own packs. With that being a thing of the past, most wolves now tried to find love, or at least agreeable matches, like what my alpha father and Tobias had tried to concoct between Tobias and myself. At least Tobias was coming from a good place, I know he cared for me, and we have been friends almost our entire lives.

I say goodbye to Tobias and give him a hug, catching a glimpse of Trent glaring in our direction over Tobias’ shoulder. Tobias walks away and past Trent, visibly tensing as he passes in front of Trent, who busies himself sorting through paperwork. I look around and realize that we were the last ones left in the meeting hall. He looks up at me and our eyes connect. One smoldering look from him and I feel myself coming undone.

“So, what’s going on with you and Tobias? You making Alpha Carlos’ dreams come true?” He asks accusingly, his obvious jealousy on full display, anger flashing in his green eyes.

I roll my eyes. “Come on, you know we are nothing but good friends.” I decide not to tell him about going out with him and Violet tomorrow. No reason to further provoke him when he is already worked up.

He walks towards me, pushing me into the edge of the table. He plants his hands on each side of me, pressing his muscular body up against mine and lightly kisses my neck, slowly working his way up to my ear and finally my lips. As I take my hand and bring it up under his shirt, I start moving it up his chiseled torso, feeling every ridge and groove of his muscular stomach and chest. Suddenly, the door opens and my mother walks in.

“Amara!” she gasps. “Explain yourself! You know what, don’t. Come now, your father is about to come back for you, and I can’t deal with him and this right now.”

I let my mother pull me away, turning back for a second to catch that last glimpse of Trent looking at me and shaking his head.