Chapter 9

[Valerie]

I had to admit that I was scared, like a bear caught in a trap. I knew the Alpha would not give up, so I gave in, pulling my weight to a nearby tree and transforming into my human. The transformation was again painless, and I knew that it was my mate that made that possible. But it barely explained why, for years, the pain gripped me each time I transformed back and forth.

Alexander changed too - and I realized my mistake early. We were out in the woods, in the middle of nowhere, in what he called the Land of The Witches. I had never heard of the witches except around campfires when the elders told us that the witches were not to be trusted, and that back in the day, they used magic to seduce the wolves and snapped their necks any chance they got. But none of us had actually seen one. To me, witches were just a myth.

Alexander, however, went as far as accusing me of using witchcraft to ensnare him. I didn’t think that I would ever need to. Looking at him in all his glory, mad