Chapter 1 - A fateful night ...

IT WAS COLD AND WET, but Anna had to keep running. Her paws were bleeding, but she couldn't think about the pain. She had to make it to civilization. She had to find someone that could help her. She had just lived through the worst possible thing any werewolf could live through, and she couldn't stop. If the rogues caught her scent and came after her, she would have nobody to protect her.

Anna saw the city lights in the distance and she almost cried with relief as she made her way into the first alley she could find. The rain beat down on top of her head, but she was so cold by now that it no longer mattered that she was soaked. In the distance, she heard a wolf howl and she ducked behind one of the large rubbish bins hoping it would hide her scent.

The howl grew softer and Anna started crying with relief. They were turning back! She had made it to safety! Her parents had just been murdered right in front of her. Her entire pack had just been killed by rogues thanks to her father’s beta's betrayal! How could he have done that to them? Anna sobbed as the images of what happened flashed through her memory. Her father’s beta wanted control over the pack and, from what she could figure out, he made some kind of deal if they helped him to kill the entire alpha family. She would never forget the look in his eyes as he gave the order for all of them to be killed.

It was clear that her parents never expected any of it. Anna was able to get away, but not before seeing the rogues tearing into her parents. After that, all she could think about was getting out of there as she stormed out of the house. The outside wasn’t looking any better as pack members were either being killed or were already lying dead in the square. Anna realized that her only hope was to get somewhere where the wolves wouldn’t go and she started to make her way to the human city. It started raining just as she ran into the forest.

It was a dark night and the clouds hid the light of the moon as Anna ran. She wasn't sure if she was crying or if it was the drops of rain, but she knew she couldn't stop until she reached the human city. She had finally made it and now she found herself sitting outside in the rain on a very cold floor as tears streamed down her cheeks. It felt as if the rain was falling harder than before and although she was feeling cold, at least it would wash away all traces of her scent. Hearing voices, she curled up even more, but it was too late.

The rogues had found her! One gripped her by the arm and pulled her out of her hiding spot while the others laughed. She was expecting the punch, but not what happened next. She was still reeling from the pain in her jaw when the blade flashed in the light of the streetlamp. It was the only thing illuminating the dark alley as a sharp pain shot through her entire body from her side. She screamed and a moment later something cracked over her head and everything went dark as her body hit the floor.

“You fool!” One of the rogues shouted to the idiot who had just knocked the girl out. “He said we were only supposed to scare her and not kill her!” The rogue shouted at his mate. They heard voices coming from the main road and made a run for it, leaving the girl’s body behind in the dark alley. They were sure she would bleed out before anybody would find her. Besides that, the knock on her head was hard enough to crack anybody's skull, so they decided to just tell their leader that she died.

***

HEARING YOUR PARENTS telling each other they loved each other more than life was enough to make Collin barf! Okay, maybe not, but a guy could pretend, couldn't he? They had been together for so long that they didn’t even notice what they were doing to him!

“OW! My eyes!” Collin shouted as he smacked his hand over his eyes when his parents kissed, but he couldn’t keep them there when his sister Elana decided to stick her finger in between his ribs! “Who needs enemies when they have you lot for family,” Collin announced as he grabbed his backpack, kissed his laughing mother on the cheek, and made his way to the elevator.

Teasing Collin about his lack of a mate had become the latest pack sport since he had been alpha for four years already, and yet there was still no sign of a mate or grandchild. Elana threw her arm around her brother’s shoulder as they stepped into the elevator and she grinned and waved at her parents.

“You know, bro. If it wasn’t for their behaviour, you wouldn’t be here right now.” Elana teased and Collin rolled his eyes.

“I could say the same to you, you know?” He banged his finger down on the button again and she burst out laughing. The doors slid open and she stepped out in front of him.

“You could, but I didn’t come out of mom’s Vijay jay!” She squealed with laughter as she made her way outside. Collin rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time that morning as he stepped out of the elevator and met up with his Beta. Today was his last day at university and he would finally be able to get down to the business of the pack. Collin never wanted to go to college or university, but his parents convinced him that it would be good for him to get some experience out in the human world before he bound himself to the pack.

In his last year of college, he turned eighteen and his father declared him the new pack Alpha. Since then, he had been acting as the alpha, but his parents were still running most of the day-to-day business in the background and all he wanted was for them to be able to actually retire. He couldn’t wait to take over everything and truly be the alpha in all senses of the word.

That being said … Although he wanted his mate just like any other wolf did, he wasn’t entirely ready to settle down just yet. He had a lot of things he wanted to do first. One of those things was going to meet up with his human friends from university for one last cup of coffee in the human city.

As Collin walked out of his last class, he smiled. They spent most of the morning just saying goodbye to their lecturers since their exams were over and there was nothing more for them to learn. He made his way to the car and popped his bag onto the back seat when the incredible scent hit his nose!

“No, no, no!” He whispered as he looked around at all the people walking by, but nobody jumped out at him. He waited until everyone was gone before sniffing the air. This time the scent was gone and he burst out laughing. Great! All the jokes were finally driving him mad! He thought to himself as he slipped in behind the steering wheel and manoeuvred his car out of the parking lot.

The music was blaring and the wind was blowing through his hair as he pulled into the first available parking spot in front of the coffee shop. Coffee with his friends was even more special than it had ever been before since he knew he would probably never see them again. He couldn’t very well tell them he was a werewolf-hybrid vampire, could he? Collin made sure to visit friends at their homes all throughout his school career and he wasn’t planning on inviting them over now that he was all grown up.

He discussed it at length with his parents and, although he would miss his friends terribly, they all agreed that it would be best if he cut all ties with his human life. He had just walked out of the coffee shop when the strong scent of blood caught in his nose. His head whipped from side to side as he noted the empty street. He made his way to the car feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand up when he caught a glimpse of the girl down in the alley.

He sighed. If he helped her, he would have to see it through … His wolf howled in his mind and Collin wondered what the hell was wrong with the beast. He was jumping up and down as if he was excited, and who could be excited about a possible dead girl in an alley? Collin sighed and decided to at least check if the girl was still alive, but it didn’t smell like that.

Collin twitched his ear just a little and he could hear her faint heartbeat, forcing him to rush to her side. He almost gasped at the sight of the blood that pooled around her and wondered how long she’d been lying there. She was deathly pale, but whoever did this to her clearly didn’t finish the job! Collin picked her up and that was when the scent of roasted coffee hit his nose and he looked at her pale face as the word “Mate” escaped between his lips.

He could smell that she was a wolf and he wondered how the hell she got here. She didn’t smell like a rogue …

“Idiot!” He reprimanded himself as he realized he was standing in an alley with an unconscious bleeding girl in his arms in the middle of a damn human city! He had to get her out of there and fast. Rushing to his car, he made sure that nobody saw them as he softly put her down on the back seat. Rushing to the driver’s seat, he pulled away so fast that the tires screeched as he pulled onto the road. He had to get her to the pack doctor. All he could think about was that he had to get her there urgently!