Chapter 1

I thought the worst part of my life was over when Lucas Mattfield divorced me and dissolved our bond. I thought I'd be free.

I was wrong.

After enduring two years of abuse at the hands of the future Alpha of Red Ridge, I’m left bruised and broken.

Betrayed by my mate, my pack, my best friend, and even my own father, I’m nothing more than a discarded Omega, sold to yet another man. A rogue Alpha in a town I’ve never heard of - Haven's Crest.

Alpha Johnathan Banks — tall, commanding, and impossibly handsome — offers me a new life and the chance to be his Luna. With his dark eyes and rugged charm, he’s as dangerous as he is captivating.

The town is breathtaking, the people are friendly, and everything seems perfect. But something dark and dangerous lurks beneath the surface, and I don't know who I can trust anymore.

Chapter 1

Mara

I climb the steps to my father’s mansion with heavy legs.

Haley, my best and probably only friend, dropped me off at the gate because Lucas, my mate, won’t allow me to drive.

The guard refused to let Haley in, and I was forced to walk up the kilometre long driveway, while my bruised and battered body screamed out in agony.

I haven’t been home in two years. Today is my twenty-first birthday, and my father wanted to see me for the first time since I married Lucas Mattfield - the future Alpha of Red Ridge.

I am in a sad state. I’m only allowed to eat once a day - Lucas wants a hot wife - and last night I took a particularly brutal beating. It was one of the worst he’d ever given me, and he laughed the whole time.

I think it’s one of the reasons my father refuses to see me. I’m always covered in fresh and healing bruises now, and he can’t stand to look at the thing he had done to me.

On the night of our wedding, Lucas took me into the bond room - the place where newly wed couples have sex to seal their bond - and proceeded to beat me black and blue. When he was done, he threw me on the bed and violently took my virginity.

He dragged me out of the bond room and presented me to my father, as is the custom, with blood streaming down my legs and my face beaten to a pulp. “Thank you for my mate, Douglas,” he said. “I’ll be sure to enjoy her.”

Lucas wanted to send both our fathers a message. He was pissed. He didn’t want to marry me, and I didn’t want to marry him. Our fathers set the whole thing up. It still amazes me that Lucas could not see that I was as trapped and unhappy as he was.

My father looked at me, then at Lucas, said, “May she give you many, healthy sons,” and left.

In the years since, it has only gotten worse and worse. Every day that Lucas is with me, is another reminder to him that an Omega owns his pack, and he can’t stand it.

Sometimes, the only break I get from the constant beatings and stream of verbal assaults is when Lucas is forced to attend a meeting at BioGen - my father’s biomedical engineering company.

Douglas Smith, once an unassuming pack wolf, Omega, genius, and my father, started that company from scratch and single-handedly saved Red Ridge from financial ruin. Everyone, from the humans in the bordering town, to the wolves in our pack works for my father.

The current Alpha and future Alphas for generations to come, will always be indebted to my family.

And they hate it. Being forced to marry an Omega’s daughter so the pack won’t lose their cash cow, was an insult to Lucas’s pride.

With a sigh, I press the doorbell and wait for Ira, the butler, to open the door. I am just a guest now, and I have to announce myself like everyone else.

The door flies open and Lucas looms over me, his amber eyes flashing in the gloom of the foyer. “What took you so long?”

My heart almost stops beating and a knot forms in the pit of my stomach. Why is he here? “Sorry,” I mumble and keep my eyes on the marble floor.

My mate’s fist disappears into my stomach. All the air whooshes from my lungs, and I fold in half, unable to breathe. “Well…come in,” he says as if nothing has happened.

I grab the doorframe and force myself to stand up straight as I gasp for air and try to keep my tears at bay.

Lucas hates it when I cry.

My head spins as I step into the familiar house. I grew up here, but I can never come back. My father made that much clear on my wedding night when he turned his back on me and left me with Lucas.

I quietly follow him through the mansion, trying not to make a sound as every step sends shockwaves of pure agony rattling through my body.

I’m not healing anymore. Aria, my wolf, has gone silent and Lucas forbids me to shift. Even on the full moon, when the shift is inevitable, he makes sure I can’t shift by forcing some kind of potion down my throat that puts Aria to sleep.

I haven’t felt her for months now. She’s so weak, and as a result so am I.

We walk into my father’s impressive parlour. Alpha Kyson, my father, Haley, Donovan, her mate, and a man I don’t know, all look up at the same time.

I focus my gaze on Haley. Not twenty minutes ago, I watched her drive away. Why is she here?

Everyone has a glass of champagne in their hands and looks ecstatic. All of them except for Donovan. I manage to catch his eye and he woefully shakes his head at me. He holds up his left hand to show me that his wedding ring is gone.

This can’t be good. But things rarely are these days.

“Fantastic news, Mara!” Alpha Kyson exclaims. “Your bond with Lucas will be dissolved.”

My heart does a little flip-flop of excitement, but when I look at my father my joy evaporates.

“You have been married for two years, and haven’t produced an heir,” Kyson says. “That entitles Lucas to abjure you and take a new mate.”

I let out a fluttery little breath. I’ve been buying an illegal and very dangerous birth control potion on the black market. I told Haley about it, but no one else knows.

“Why have you not produced an heir, Mara?” my father asks, his loud voice booming around the parlour.

“I- I don’t know,” I lie.

“I’m very disappointed in you,” he declares.

“Haley is pregnant with my child,” Lucas says without a hint of embarrassment. “She has agreed to marry me.”

This time, I think I black out for a few seconds. A low buzz starts to echo in my ears. Haley?

I glance at Donovan who looks like he’d rather be eaten alive by alligators than be here right now.

My head begins to spin and I can’t seem to pull any air into my lungs. I blindly start to feel around for a chair but can’t find one.

“All is not lost,” my father announces. “Alpha Johnathan Banks of Haven’s Crest will take you as his mate.”

Out of the frying pan and into the fire I go. “What?” I ask.

The unknown man steps forward as if summoned. “Hi, Mara,” he says in a warm, friendly voice. “I’m Beta Preston. Alpha Johnathan sent me to pay your bride price, and bring you to your new home.”

I’m so confused. He already sold me to someone else? I look from the Beta to my father. “Why are you doing this?”

“What did you think would happen?” my father asks. “You have a responsibility to produce an heir. You failed.”

The law. If a she-wolf can’t give her mate an heir, he can abjure her and demand compensation for his loss from her father.

I bargained on this. It was my only way out of that hell of a marriage, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon.

Or that my father would sell me to another Alpha.

Knowing that my father cares so little about me almost crushes the last bit of life out of me, but I refuse to die. I’ll go on living simply to spite these assholes.

Haley’s betrayal cuts far deeper. So deep that I can’t bear to look at the wound. With tears in my eyes, I stare up at Preston. I’ve never heard of this Alpha Johnathan or Haven’s Crest. “He doesn’t want me. I can’t have children,” I say in a low whisper.

It might be my only way out. The way I feel now, I’d rather go rogue than marry yet another wolf who’ll use me as his personal punching bag.

“It doesn’t matter,” Preston answers. “He doesn’t want you for your childbearing abilities.”

“Why does he want me? I’m just an Omega.”

“What are you doing, Mara?” my father hisses through gritted teeth. “The deal is done.”

“There’s no need for that, Mister Smith,” The Beta says and gives me the warmest, most genuine smile I’ve seen in a long time. “Alpha Banks wants you for the same reason any Alpha wants a mate. Our pack is in need of a Luna.”

“I…” I catch a glimpse of my father’s disapproving eyes and shut my mouth.

“I disown you as my daughter,” my father says in a chillingly cold voice. “You are removed from my care.”

As he did on my wedding night, my father turns his back on me and walks over to the bay windows overlooking the gardens.

“Mara Smith,” Alpha Kyson says. “You are banished. Red Ridge is your pack no longer. You are not welcome here. You may not shift with us or hunt with us.”

Before I can even recover, Lucas takes his turn. “I Lucas Mattfield, future Alpha of Red Ridge, abjure you Mara Smith, daughter of Douglas Smith. My protection and love is yours no more. I will call you mine no longer.”

“I accept,” I croak.

It is a lot to deal with all at once. I’m not Lucas’s fated mate, but I can still feel the agony of the breaking bond. It’s as if someone’s carving my heart apart with a rusty blade.

I start to sway as darkness creeps up on me.

The last face I see is Haley's, then the world simply blinks out of existence.

Chapter 2

Mara

I wake to the sound of tyres humming softly on the tarmac, the woodsy scent of Beta Preston’s cologne in my nose, and the more flowery lavender scent of a woman.

Frowning, I sit upright and look out of the windshield of the moving SUV. Ahead of us is a long, deserted road and the setting sun.

I have no idea where we are. Red Ridge must be far behind us. I’ve never seen anything so empty and desolate in all my life. The world here is flat, with nothing but the road and grasslands as far as the eye can see.

How long was I out?

“Hello lovely,” a chirpy voice says from the front seat. “Did yeh have a good sleep?”

I look over at the platinum blonde sitting in the passenger seat. She’s in her mid-twenties. Her make-up is heavy, and she’s dressed in a tight, red dress that leaves little to the imagination.

All I manage in way of an answer is a croak.

“Give her some water,” Beta Preston says, his voice deep and even.

He’s a handsome man, with salt and pepper hair, hazel eyes, and a beard that matches his hair. Everytime he smiles, two deep dimples appear in cheeks, and like all wolves of his station, he’s huge. The steering wheel looks like a toy in his hands.

“I’m Rhoda,” the woman says and leans back to hand me a bottle of water. “E’ryone jus’ calls me Roe.”

“I-” a frog catches in my throat and it takes several tries to clear it. “I’m Mara. Thank you,” I say and take the water.

“Nice ta meet, yeh, Mara.”

“Luna Mara,” Preston corrects her.

“I’m not a Luna,” I remind him.

He looks at me in the rearview mirror, his warm eyes catching mine. “You will be.”

I don’t answer him. I haven’t had much to say since I got married. Sometimes, it feels as if my brain is empty - like someone went in there with a brush and scrubbed out all my thoughts. Lucas didn’t allow me to talk to guests, and I could only leave our house with his permission.

He only ever let me see Haley, and she was allowed to visit me once a week. I used to think it was the one small kindness he allowed. Now I think it was so he could get information about me.

Not that she’d tell him anything he didn’t already know, other than the fact that I used birth control and that I hated him. He must have known, surely.

“Yeh’re lookin’ a bit rough there, Mara,” Rhoda says. “What happened to yeh?”

“Rhoda!” Preston scolds her. “That is none of your business.”

He’s right, but I answer her anyway. “My mate liked to take his frustrations out on me.”

“Ah yeah,” she sighs. “I had one of those too.”

I look down at my left hand resting on my lap. Someone took my rings off. I have nothing but the clothes on my back. They even took my purse with my cell phone in it. “They took everything,” I mutter, more to myself than the other two occupants in the car.

Rhoda glances at Preston who shakes his head, but she either doesn’t care or doesn’t see the warning. “Yeah, I’m sorry lovey. Them men are assholes.”

Warm tears spill down my cheeks. It’s the first time in two years that I’ve allowed myself to cry in front of others, but it’s too much to hold on to. “What will happen to me?”

“Look what you’ve done,” Preston says and flicks the indicator on.

It wasn’t Rhoda’s fault, but I don’t have the energy to stand up for her. The Beta pulls off the road, and shoves the gear into neutral before he awkwardly tries to turn in his seat. “Mara. You are going to a good place,” he says. “A better place.”

It’s the kind of thing people said to my mother when she lay on her deathbed. It stirs a restless fear in me that has been my ever-present companion since the day we buried her. “Am I going to die?” I ask.

“What? No!” Preston exclaims. “I’m just saying…Haven’s Crest is a good place full of good people.”

“And the Alpha?”

Preston and Rhoda exchange a glance that doesn’t put my mind at ease. “He’s okay,” Rhoda says at last. “He can be a lil…snippy, sometimes.”

“Snippy?” I ask.

“He has a temper,” Preston explains.

The fear in me grows, swallowing my insides like a big, black hole.

“Don’t worry,” Rhoda says quickly. “He don’t beat women or nothing like that.”

But he might beat his mate. Lucas doesn’t beat women either, yet he enjoyed using his fists on me.

Preston exchanges another one of those troubled glances with Rhoda. “You’ll be okay,” he says and straightens.

Was that supposed to be comforting? If anything, he just made me feel worse.

A few seconds later, we’re back on the road. A sense of impending doom settles over me like a heavy blanket. It’s so bad that I’m afraid to breathe.

This day has been too much to deal with. My whole world, fucked up as it might have been, came crashing down in less than ten minutes.

I lie back down and go to sleep.

When I wake again, it’s dark and the SUV is parked outside a small hotel. There are a few other cars in the parking lot, but otherwise the place is deserted. Preston is not in the car, but Rhoda is. “Do yeh feel better, sweetie?” she asks.

No. Not at all. “Sure,” I say and rub my hand over my throat.

Rhoda’s eyes fall on my throat and she lets out a soft, tsk, sound. “Why are yeh not ‘ealing?”

“He beats me too much.”

“My mate…he used ta go in with his fists too.”

“Where is he now?”

“Dead. I killed ‘im.”

“That was brave,” I say. “I wish I was that brave.”

“You are very young, lovey,” she says with a grimace. “I din’t find my bravery ‘til I was much older.”

I snort softly. “You are what? Four years older than me?”

“I’m thirty-five, schnookums.”

I like her. There’s an honesty about her in the way she speaks, and she doesn’t seem to care what people think of her. “What do you do for the pack?”

“We’re not really a pack. Yeh’ll see when we get there.”

“What does that mean?” I ask.

Rhoda opens her mouth to answer me, but before she can, Preston is back and leaning into the car. “You are in room ten. Eat. Sleep. We leave at dawn.”

Chapter 3

Mara

I stare in wonder at the winding road ahead of us. It disappears around several bends, leading all the way to the top of the mountain, and the town of Haven’s Crest.

Who the hell builds an entire town on the top of a mountain?

We crawl up the road. There’s literally nothing between us and a sheer drop into the canyon below, but it’s idyllic, with the green mountain rising up against the bright blue sky. Cotton candy clouds drift in the azure heavens.

As we round one of the many dangerous bends, a waterfall comes into view. Rainbows dance in the misty water that vanishes into the pond below. “Wow,” I gasp.

“Pretty, ain’t it?” Rhoda says with a soft laugh.

I can’t tear my eyes away from the beautiful scenery. It’s like a postcard sent from some exotic place I never knew existed. Far below and in the distance, a blue lake glimmers in the bright sun.

At long last, we reach the top. A massive white and black sign welcomes us to *Haven’s Crest - A home for every soul.*

I smile wryly. How deceptively cute. I bet not everyone’s welcome here.

When Preston pulls up to the first stop sign, I understand why they built the town here. The view is spectacular, the heavens lie wide open above us, and below us the peaks and valleys stretch out for miles around.

The Alpha’s compound is built right on the edge of a cliff. From here, I can just make out the roof peaking out above the trees. I don’t see any fences, walls or guards. Everything blends in perfectly with nature.

“No security?” I ask as Preston drives up to the front door of a truly impressive mansion built entirely from wood and stone.

“We have warriors patrolling,” he says. “At night the vampires take care of security.”

My stomach flips over. “Vampires?”

“Hm. We have all sorts here,” Preston answers. “Did you not see the sign?”

“I thought it was just for show.”

“No,” the Beta says. “In the summers, humans like to vacation here. It’s how we make our money.”

“Do they know what this place is?”

Rhoda cackles loudly. “The tourists don’t.”

But the regular residents do. Vampires need to feed, and werewolf blood is toxic to them. Where I’m from, we despise vampires and hunt them with impunity.

The moment we stop, the front door opens and a man dressed in comfortable linen trousers and a white shirt exits the palatial mansion. “That’s Chad,” Rhoda helpfully points out. “The butler.”

My father’s butlers wore grey pinstripe suits.

Lucas wouldn’t allow me to have any help. According to him, the only thing I was good for was to cook, clean, and breed. I learned how to do the first two, but I refused to breed with him.

The butler opens my door first and steps aside so I can get out. “Luna,” he says. “Welcome to Haven’s Crest.”

Everyone’s so nice. A little too nice. I don’t trust it.

“Thu- thank you, I guess.”

He just smiles. “Did you bring any luggage?”

I shake my head. My father really let me come here with nothing more than the clothes on my back. Last night, I had to borrow a t-shirt from Rhoda, and this morning I had no other choice but to dress in the same clothes I wore yesterday. A light green maxi dress with long sleeves and a high neck - chosen because it hides most of my bruises.

“That’s all right,” the butler says. “We have several lovely boutiques here in town that should be to your liking.”

I bite into my lower lip and swallow the tears that threaten to overwhelm me. I don’t have money. It was bad enough that I had to beg Lucas to give me money for new underwear, I don’t have it in me to ask my new mate for the same.

“This way, madam,” he says and sweeps his arm in the direction of the big, oak door.

It’s surprisingly warm here. I thought it would be cold, being in the mountains and all, but the weather feels more tropical than anything else. The humidity is almost stifling, and the breeze that lifts my skirt away is scorching hot.

I’m relieved when we enter the air-conditioned mansion. “Please wait here,” Chad says when we’re in the vast, open foyer. “Alpha Johnathan will be right with you.”

Preston and Chad disappear deeper into the mansion, and I take the time to look around.

Everything is rustic and beautiful. The furniture is handcrafted from reclaimed wood with leather upholstery. The gleaming hardwood floors give the place a warm, homey feel.

The decor is minimalist, screaming of understated wealth. There are a few art pieces, hand carved from wood and stone, depicting various animals. On either side of the foyer are a pair of staircases leading to the upper floors.

I’m drawn to a particularly magnificent sculpture of an African elephant. Carved entirely from some kind of black stone, it’s a lifesize piece with intricate details. I run my hand over the smooth stone, marvelling at the little details the artist included. The wrinkles of the animal's skin, the almost sad eyes and big ears that seem to move in the shadows.

“Mara,” a velvety smooth voice says right behind me, pulling me from my thoughts.

I freeze. I can tell by the aura that rolls over me that it’s an Alpha who just entered the room.

My new mate.

Slowly, I turn to face him.

My mouth dries up and my heart does a silly little flip-flop in my chest. The physical attraction is immediate and visceral, almost forcing me to my knees.

The man is huge. Taller than Preston by at least a head, broad shouldered, with dark brown hair, and onyx eyes that I can drown in. He’s as perfect as the sculptures. As if an artist cut him from marble, making sure to capture every immaculate detail - from his perfectly straight nose, to his high cheekbones, full lips, and square jaw.

Like the butler, the Alpha is dressed comfortably, wearing only a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He didn’t even bother to put on shoes. His hair is a little too long and messy. The stubble around his jaw is at least two days old.

He drops his chin and looks at me through a fringe of hair that flops over his forehead. “Can you speak?” he asks.

“Yu- yes, Alpha. Sorry. I- it’s nice to meet you.”

He gives me a lopsided grin that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “This way,” he says and points at a door on the other side of the foyer.

On shaky legs, I follow him through the mansion, trying to take it all in. Living like this might not be too bad. Maybe I’ll be lucky this time. Perhaps, my new mate won't beat me that much, and hopefully, he’ll allow me some measure of freedom.

Johnathan pushes a door open and stands aside so I can enter his office first. This room, like everything else I’ve seen so far, is minimally decorated with only the finest handmade furniture.

One wall of his office is just a big window. It looks out over the stream that leads to the waterfall, and shows off the amazing palette of colourful plants and trees. There is no garden. Nature itself is his garden.

“Sit,” the Alpha says curtly and walks past me to take a seat behind his desk.

Before I can even sit down, there’s a knock on the door, and Chad enters with a tray of sparkling drinks. He puts it on Johnathan’s desk, and as quietly as he entered he leaves again, closing the door behind him.

Johnathan hands one of the glasses to me. “Drink it,” he orders. “You’ll feel better.”

The flavoured water is refreshing and tastes mildly like peaches and strawberries.

“So,” the Alpha says after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence. “You must be wondering what this is all about?”

Chapter 4

Mara

“Your father asked me to take you off his hands,” Johnathan says in a straightforward, almost bored voice. “Actually, he put you on the open market. There was a fierce bidding war for you.”

My eyes almost bulge out of my skull and fresh tears burn my throat. How could my father do that to me?

He did not put me on that market to sell me to an Alpha. It’s a slave market where wolves sell their used up wives or unwanted daughters. Most end up as breeders or prostitutes in the wolf pleasure houses.

“Everyone thought you came with an inheritance and that you were worth the investment,” Johnathan goes on.

I have no idea how much he paid for me, but my father would not have settled for anything less than the compensation Kysan and Lucas demanded. “My father disowned me,” I whisper. “You won’t get your money back.”

“I know. Preston told me.” His eyes slide over my ravaged face. “That is not why I bought you. You do not need to fear me,” he says and leans over to take one of the drinks. “I don’t believe in hitting women…well, unless I have to.”

My stomach turns cold. I’m suddenly and starkly reminded of my place in this world. I’m still just an Omega, sold like a lame horse on auction, only good to be dog food. “Forgive me, Alpha,” I say softly. “If you can tell me your rules so I don’t transgress…”

For a moment, Johnathan just stares at me. “Rules?”

I nod. “For me. I…I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

“You mean you don’t want to get beaten?”

“Yes.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he says, but doesn’t elaborate. “I will not beat you.”

“Okay,” I whisper and sip my drink.

He has a strange manner about him. He’s direct, almost detached, and doesn’t appear to be in the least bit interested in me.

“I have no rules for you specifically. All I ask is that you carry yourself with the dignity of a Luna. Your father told me that he sent you to finishing school for Luna training?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

It says a lot about my life that I now look back on my time at the finishing school as one of the best years of my life.

I was the only Omega there, but I held my head down and did my lessons. The other girls at the school were all Alphas’ daughters and loved to taunt me, but at least they were never violent.

Upon my return, and on my nineteenth birthday two days later, I married Lucas in a lavish ceremony. I can’t remember my life before him, and I can’t imagine this new life after him.

“You can come and go as you please. Haven’s Crest is safe. No one here will touch you.”

“Thank you, Alpha. What…my household duties? What are they?”

“Johnathan,” he says. “You are to be my mate, not my servant. I have a full staff.”

He makes me nervous. He has a dark, dangerous aura, yet there’s something about him that I find at once alluring and utterly terrifying.

“I bought you because my pack needs a Luna. Your only duty will be to the pack and to serve them faithfully as such.”

Rhoda said that this was not a pack. And if it’s not a pack, why would they need a Luna?

“The wolves living here are all rogues,” Johnathan says, and answers my unasked question. “Me included. My plan is to form an official pack. I already registered with the council, but they will not recognise us until I have a Luna.”

I don’t talk. I don’t know what to say. Years of silence and obedience have turned me into a mindless, barely functioning, she-wolf. I feel like a moron, but my tongue refuses to move, and my mouth won’t form words.

“I’m given to understand that you are unable to bear children?” Johnathan asks.

I quickly shake my head. “I- no, I might be…I used contraception. I did not want to have Lucas’s children.”

A lazy smile ripples across Johnathan’s mouth. “Clever.”

I don’t think so, but I’m not going to contradict him. Johnathan keeps up a good front, but he exudes danger. The kind that can consume a person if they’re not careful, and I haven’t forgotten Preston’s warning that the Alpha has a temper.

“It doesn’t matter to me. I already have a son,” he informs me.

“Oh. How old is he?” I ask.

“Five. His mother abandoned him right after he was born.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not,” he says without elaborating, but his chest puffs up with pride when he talks about his child. “His name is Gregory. He is the reason I want to turn Haven’s Crest into a proper pack. I want to leave him a legacy.”

I smile. This is the first time Johnathan has shown any real emotion. He clearly loves his son.

“Do you have any questions?”

“No, Al- Johnathan.”

He opens his desk drawer and removes a thick envelope. “Your documentation is in here. Your father gave it to Preston. There’s also a bank card with a pin. You will need clothes and such.”

A bank card?

He takes another, bigger envelope out. “Your divorce papers. Lucas asked that you sign them within the week and courier it to him.”

I stare at the thick brown envelope in Johnathan’s hand. “Do you have a pen?”

He nods and reaches into his drawer to produce a pen. I pull the documents out of the envelope and start to sign them. “You should probably read those first,” he says, interrupting me.

I look up from the paperwork. “Why?”

“Your divorce is for the human authorities,” Johnathan says and without asking takes the stack of papers from me. “According to their laws, you’ll be entitled to some form of alimony.”

“I don’t want it,” I say. “I don’t want anything from them.”

The Alpha doesn’t answer me. His eyes are flying over the typed pages. When he reaches the third page, he stops “Yes, see…this is what I mean. If you sign these papers, even the house your father bought for you will be transferred into his name.”

“He can have it.”

Johnathan looks up from the paperwork. “Man, he really beat all the fight right out of you, didn’t he?”

Shame starts to eat away at my guts like a hungry caterpillar. That’s the worst of it, I think. The humiliation. The burning, unspeakable shame of it all.

And Haley. My confidant. My friend. I swallow past the tears. I will not cry for them. I won’t.

“Your house is on human territory,” Johnathan goes on. “It does not fall under pack law. He can’t legally take it. That’s why he wants you to transfer it into his name.”

“Why does it matter?” I ask in a husky voice. “I won’t be going back there.”

“You’re not signing this,” the Alpha says, his voice taking on a dark, dangerous edge that scares me half to death.

“I- I have to.”

“No. My attorneys will fight this for you. You deserve that house, Mara. You can sell it, but you are not giving it to that…arrogant asshole.”

My eyes widen a little at his anger. Why does he care? He doesn’t even know me. I’m part of a business transaction and a necessary evil to get his pack recognised by the wolf council.

“Leave it with me,” Johnathan says and presses a button on his desk.

Within seconds, Chad walks through the door. “Alpha?” he asks.

“Show Miss Smith to her room,” he says. “Then arrange for a driver to take her into town.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Chad says. His voice is filled with adoration.

When I don’t immediately get up, Johnathan gives me a disapproving look. “That’s your cue to leave, Mara.”

Chapter 5

Johnathan

I take out my phone and pull up the listing for Mara. She has been removed from the site, but I screenshot it right before the auction came to an end.

I spent roughly half the money in my bank account on her. It’s way more than I can afford to waste on a she-wolf. I did not need someone like Mara. Technically, I can take any mate and declare her my Luna for my pack to be recognised by the council. But I wanted Mara.

Establishing a new pack takes a lot of money. Money I don’t have. The modern world destroyed a lot of packs. Humans are encroaching on our territories, and to keep the unknowns, as we call them, out, we have to buy the land that has been our homes for centuries.

The human authorities who are aware of our existence also keep increasing our taxes. They are convinced we’re rich even though most of us don’t even have a pot to piss in.

Douglas used the word heiress in Mara’s listing, knowing that a lot of Alphas are struggling to get by now and would jump at the chance to get their hands on a rich little she-wolf’s money. Insincere fuck.

It was a stupid move. I could have gotten a much better she-wolf for far cheaper. I shouldn’t have done it. I should have given up on her, but I couldn’t bring myself to stop. Douglas Smith is a multi-billionaire. Only a fool wouldn’t have taken that chance.

I’m getting by for now, but my money is running out. My pack is growing by the day and maintaining it is starting to cost more than I’m earning.

I own the entire town of Haven’s Crest. I bought it one dilapidated shack at a time, and turned this place into an irresistible tourist attraction. The humans spending their money here are barely keeping me afloat, and if I want to keep growing my pack, I need the land surrounding my town.

Unfortunately, the land belongs to the local government that purposefully inflated the price - they want us out of here. A town of vampires and werewolves on their doorstep makes doesn't sit too well with them.

I considered threatening or simply killing them, but there are always new, more corrupt humans to take the place of the ones I kill.

The fact that Douglas disowned Mara is a complication, but not an unexpected one. I already prepared for that contingency when I put in my first bid. I always have a Plan A, B, and C in place before I make any kind of move. I never make hasty decisions, and buying Mara was a calculated risk.

There are other ways to get my hands on BioGen and Douglas Smith’s fortunes.

Preston knocks on my door a minute or so after Mara leaves with Rhoda. I’m not happy that she’ll be seen with the whorehouse’s madam, but Preston thought that Rhoda was a good choice to make Mara feel more welcome here. Rhoda comes from a similar background as Mara, and my Beta figured they’d bond over their shared trauma.

My Beta sighs and slumps in the nearest chair. “So,” he says, getting right to the point. “What do you think of her?” Preston asks.

“Mara? She’s a little skittish. Quiet.”

“Can you blame her?”

“No,” I answer curtly. “But she-wolves like that…Lunas need to be authoritative.”

“She’ll find her way.” Preston replies with a sigh. “You are not going to…harm that poor girl are you?”

Like me, Preston is a rogue, but unlike other Alphas and Betas we did not grow up together, forming a familial trust bond. He has served me faithfully over the years, and I trust him, but I still keep my darkest secrets close to my chest.

He knows why I bought Mara. though He was the one who told me that Douglas listed her on the slave market.

“Johnathan?” Preston asks a little hesitantly. “The girl? You will be kind to her, right?”

“I won’t harm her. You should know better than to even ask me such questions.”

He’s asking because I started with pleasure houses and strip clubs. That’s how I make some of my money, but I have never hurt one of the girls who works for me, and all of my employees are there of their free will. I’ve never forced anyone to work in those places.

I hate it. I hate what I’ve had to do, but it was the easiest and fastest way to establish myself in Haven’s Crest, and now the income from my various establishments is just barely enought to keep my head above water. I want to stop doing it. Trading in flesh never sat well with me.

“She asked me about the bank card,” Preston says.

“Mara?”

“Yes. She wanted to know if it’s from you.”

“What did you say?”

“The truth. I know nothing about it.”

“It’s from her father. It’s not a lot. Enough to get her settled with the essentials. Less than I paid for her, actually.”

“How do you know that?”

I pull out a letter addressed to me and hand it to Preston. It doesn’t say much. In it, he simply asks that I’ll keep her safe and treat her better than her previous mate did.

That is where my Plan B comes in. Douglas cares about his daughter. Maybe not as much as he should, but enough to ask that I treat her well. That could be all I need to get my foot in the door.

“Hm,” Preston grunts when he’s done reading. “That’s interesting. The way he turned his back on her when he disowned her…I didn’t think he cared at all. Maybe Douglas Smith isn’t the cunt I thought he was.”

“Maybe not. Kyson’s a dickhead though. I’ve met him.”

“Yes, he’s not going to win any popularity contests,” Preston says with a chuckle. “Do you think Douglas really disowned Mara?”

“We have to assume that he did.”

“It’s a shame. We really could have used that money.”

I sigh and lean back, staring up at the roof. “What’s done is done, Preston. There’s no use crying over it now.”

“I know,” Preston says. “At least she’s pretty, right? I mean…she will be, once she heals.”

The photo Douglas used in his listing is of a younger Mara. I think she might have been seventeen, maybe eighteen, when it was taken. Clearly still more girl than woman. Her skin was perfect, unmarked by years of abuse, her green eyes sparkled with light, showing all the excitement her bright future held.

A future that was destroyed by her father and their asshole Alpha.

What I haven’t told anyone, what I’ll never tell anyone, is that her image alone called out to me in ways I couldn’t explain. Even if she didn’t come with the promise of a large inheritance, I would have kept bidding on her. There’s just something about her…

The call was even stronger when she sat in my office, rendered almost completely mute by years of abuse. I felt it. A connection that transcends words or understanding.

"Yes, well,” I say. “Pretty doesn't really pay the bills, now does it?”

"You can put her back on the market...see if you can recoup some of your money."

I glare at my Beta. "Have you lost your fucking mind? No!"

"I'm just saying-"

"And I'm saying no. What's wrong with you?"

Preston holds his hands up in a defensive motion. "It was just a suggestion, man. There are rich Alphas out there who will want her."

"I don't care! I will never sell her. Never. Bring it up again and I'll rip your head off your shoulders. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Alpha," Preston mutters under his breath.

"Good. You can go, and we won't talk about this again."

My Beta nods and wordlessly leaves the study.

I get up and pour myself a whiskey. This has been one hell of a long and disappointing day. I can't wait for it to end.

I stand in the window and watch the waterfall while I sip the whiskey. As the burning liquid slides down my throat, I try to convince myself that buying Mara was just a business decision and nothing more.

I almost believe it.

Almost.

Chapter 6

Mara

I thought I’d enjoy my excursion into town with Rhoda, but I’ve been isolated for so long that all the people made me nervous.

Everyone seemed to know who I am. People stopped me to introduced themselves, welcomed me to the town, and asked me if I’m happy to be here, when the wedding would be, if I like the Alpha, and wanted to know who bruised me up. Who dared to touch a hair on our Luna’s pretty little head? Is your father happy with the new arrangement?

All questions I couldn’t answer, or didn’t want to answer

Rhoda was no help. She basked in the attention. Or perhaps people here are just like that and she’s so used to it that she didn't even notice. I couldn’t quite figure out which one of the two it was.

By the time we made it back to the mansion, I was exhausted and ready to crawl into a hole.

There was a time, not so long ago when I think about it, that I enjoyed going out. I was popular in school - no doubt because of my father's money - and I had no shortage of invitations to every party thrown by both humans and wolves. I loved being the centre of attention.

Today, it felt as if I tried to navigate a minefield. I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole.

In a weird way, I long to go back to my quiet, solitary house back at Red Ridge where my only company was the radio and vacuum cleaner.

Chad knocks and enters with my mountain of parcels. I haven’t shopped like that since I was eighteen and my father instructed me to get everything I needed for finishing school. He made sure that I bought the best of everything. It wasn’t for my sake. I realise that now. It was so he could show off his wealth to the Alphas.

The butler drops all my parcels on the floor, and says, “I’ll send an Omega up to-”

“It’s fine, Chad, thank you. I can put it away myself.”

My bedroom, which I figure won’t be my bedroom for long, is beautiful. I love the rustic interior. The bed frame and headboard are made from wood like everything else, and my window overlooks the town and the lake in the distance.

The antique wardrobe is in immaculate condition, as is the matching dresser and vanity. Even the bathroom is beautiful. The countertops are made from the most beautiful black granite which seems to sparkle in the light. The basin, made from some kind of stone, shower, and bath blends in beautifully with everything else.

It’s like living in nature without any of the inconvenience. The only thing that reminds me that I’m not inside a natural museum is the white toilet that stands out starkly against all the earthy colours.

“Supper is served strictly at seven,” Chad says and puts the last of my parcels on the floor. “Alpha Johnathan appreciates...punctuality,” the butler warns me.

It doesn’t happen a lot, but every so often, a glimmer of a warning shines through. Someone will mention something Johnathan doesn’t like, and everytime they do, I can see just the slightest hint of discomfort in their eyes, if not outright fear.

“D- does he dress for dinner?” I ask.

The butler’s entire face lights up as he smiles at me. “No. This is a home, not a palace. Alpha just keeps a strict schedule, that is all.”

I nod my understanding, and Chad quietly leaves my room.

My father always insisted that we dress up for dinner. I wore evening gowns from the age of thirteen, always dressing as if I was on my way to the prom. I never asked him why. I just assumed everyone did things that way.

When I moved into my own home, Lucas continued the tradition. I cooked every meal, but for dinner he expected at least a three course fare. There was never anyone to serve us, so not only did I have to dress up in slinky evening gowns every night, I had to serve my mate while wearing six inch heels and trying not to spill food on my expensive dresses.

Once, I accidentally upended an entire bowl of soup on a particularly expensive, red evening gown. Lucas grabbed me by the hair, and shoved my face into the tureen, almost submerging my head in the boiling hot soup.

He held me under until I blacked out. When I woke up, I lay on the floor, covered in soup, vomit, and blisters as big as my fist. The one on my forehead was so deep that I could see bits of my skull poking through the skin.

I shifted that night. Alone in my room. I was afraid I’d die if I didn’t.

Lucas came in to see my wolf, my beautiful Aria, and commanded me to shift back to human. I was healed, but it wasn’t worth the beating he gave me for shifting against his command.

I couldn’t walk for three days, and it took nearly two weeks for my broken wrist to heal - injuries that would have healed instantly if he’d let me shift.

And even then, he still wanted me to cook and clean for him. Broken hand and all.

Tears as hot as that soup burns the back of my throat, but I quickly swallow them away.

All of that is behind me now. Lucas is no longer my mate, he has no claim to me. He abjured me in front of witnesses, and even if he wants me back at some point in the future, he’ll need my permission this time because my father disowned me. Douglas Smith has no say over my life anymore.

I glance at my watch and realise, in horror, that dinner is only an hour away. I still have to shower, and I desperately need to change out of the wrinkly green dress. It’s starting to smell.

Alpha Johnathan may not have a dress code, but I’m fairly certain he’ll want me to look at least presentable when I join him for our evening meal.

Forty-five minutes later, I’m ready. I did my hair a little, curling it so it falls in golden red curls down my back, and dressed in a comfortable, but I hope suitable, dress that covers me from my neck to my toes.

I tried my best to hide my bruises with my limited supply of make-up, but I can still see the different shades of green, blue, and purple that colour my face.

I sigh loudly and decide to let it go. If I don’t leave now, I'll be late for dinner, and I do not want to upset my future mate before I know what kind of man he is. Many men make all sorts of promises until they trap you in a marriage, and then it’s game over.

It’s only when I leave my bedroom that I realise I’ve made a catastrophic mistake.

I have no idea where the dining room is. and time is ticking away.

With Aria being asleep, I have no way to track it down by smell. I’m practically human at this point.

There’s no one around to ask for directions either. When we came back up, the pack house was bustling with life, but now it’s as if the whole staff upped and disappeared into thin air.

Bile pushes up into my throat and my stomach cramps spasmodically. He said he doesn’t beat women….unless he has to. What if that ‘has to’ is to correct their behaviour?

“Mara,” Johnathan says from the bottom of the stairs.

I almost burst into tears when I see him.

“Why are you just standing there?” he asks.

He did dress for dinner to some degree. He changed out of his shorts into linen trousers, replaced his t-shirt with a button down shirt, and he's wearing shoes.

“I- I don’t know where the dining room is,” I answer

To my utter relief, Johnathan smiles. “It’s a big place. I know. I am just heading there myself. Come. I’ll show you.”

For a moment, I am frozen, unable to move. What if he’s only pretending to be nice? What if I join him and he sucker punches me for being too stupid to find the dining room by myself?

“Mara!” Johnathan snaps. “Right now. I don’t like being late.”

That gets me out of my frozen state. “Sorry,” I mutter.

Johnathan waits for me as I descend the stairs, his face pulled into a disapproving scowl. “I like things a certain way, Mara.”

Feeling bold I say, “I thought you said there are no rules. That I must merely conduct myself with the dignity of a Luna.”

“I told you that I don’t have specific rules for you. I never said that there are no rules. Imagine the chaos if I had no rules or laws.”

“Will you tell me the rules now?”

“No,” he says as we start to walk through the many hallways. “You’ve had a long day, so I decided that it can wait.”

“But what if I accidentally break one of your rules?” I ask, hating how timid and scared I sound, but simultaneously unable to stop it.

“Then I will inform you, and correct you.”

Correct me. Like Lucas did?

Johnathan's words leave me cold and terrified.

I escaped Lucas and his abuse, but now my future mate is threatening to 'correct' me. Lucas used to say that it was his duty to guide my behaviour. He said it whenever he beat me. "You disobeyed me, Mara. I have to guide you. How else will you learn?"

But Johnathan is twice Lucas's size, and probably twice as strong. He could kill me with a single blow.

I feel stuck. Trapped.

My life will never change. I will always be some Alpha's punching bag.

Maybe that's all I'm good for, anyway.

Chapter 7

Mara

The dining room is one of the smallest places I’ve seen so far. It’s big enough to hold a six-seater table, carved by hand like everything else, a sideboard and serving trolley piled high with food and plates.

There’s enough room to move around, but no one’s going to throw any lavish parties in here. I get the feeling that it’s Johnathan’s private dining room, but somewhere in this massive mansion there must be some kind of reception hall for parties.

Wolves love to throw parties.

Preston is sitting at the end of the table with a lovely blonde woman next to him. She’s dressed comfortably in a strappy sundress. I remember when I was able to wear clothes like that. Jealousy tucks at my heart - not because the girl is a hundred times more beautiful than I am, but because she has the kind of freedom I’ve forgotten.

“Hello,” she chirps and sits upright. “I’m Ally, Preston’s mate. You are Mara right?”

I nod and smile at her. Like everyone else in Haven’s Crest, she’s almost uncomfortably nice. “Yes,” I say in a soft, demure little voice. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Johnathan loudly clears his throat and steers me to the head of the table. To the left of him and directly opposite me sits a boy who is almost an exact carbon copy of Johnathan. The only difference are their eyes. The boy has beautiful, clear, blue eyes.

He’s the cutest kid I’ve ever seen, with his chubby cheeks and fat little fingers. I forget all about the adults in the room and focus on the child. “I guess you’re Gregory, right? Your daddy told me all about you.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he says very politely. “Awe you my new mommy?”

My heart melts into a puddle of goo. I always liked children, but I have no clue how to answer his question. “I am not your mommy,” I say when no one else offers an answer.

“Do you want to be my mommy?” Gregory asks.

Feeling helpless, I look to Johnathan who regards us with an amused grin on his face. He leans over and ruffles the boy’s black hair. “We spoke about this buddy,” he says, his voice filled with warmth. “Mara and I aren’t married yet.”

The boy pouts a little and defiantly crosses his arms over his chest. “But you said when Mawa gets heaw she’ll be my mommy.”

I try not to grab the boy and run with him. I’ll happily be his mommy. I know what it’s like to grow up without a mother. Every child deserves to have a mommy who’ll love and protect them.

Johnathan looks at me, his face filled with consternation. No one’s ever looked at me that way, wordlessly asking for help.

“I’ll be your friend,” I offer up. “At least for now. How’s that?”

That seems to mollify the boy a little. He gives me a wavering smile, but I see the tears pooling in his lovely blue eyes. He’s trying very hard not to cry, taking in deep breaths as he attempts to get his emotions under control.

Johnathan shouldn’t have made promises like that to Gregory. I can never be the boy’s mother, not really.

Without thinking about it, I walk around Johnathan’s chair to the trolley and start to uncover the dishes. “Uh, what are you doing?” the Alpha asks.

“Serving you,” I say without missing a beat.

“No, you’re not,” he says. “Sit down.” He pats the seat to his right. The official Luna’s place.

I glance at Preston and his mate who are looking at me with matching shocked expressions on their faces.

I blush all the way to my roots. “I- I’m sorry,” I stutter. “I forgot. Old habits.”

“It’s all right,” Ally says. “Preston told me your ex-mate was a brute.”

Does everyone know? I don’t want people to know about my shame. I lower my gaze and walk back to my seat. At the same time, the Alpha gets up and pulls my chair out. I sit down and allow him to slide my seat under my ass.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Ally goes on. “A lot of she-wolves here fled mates like yours.”

I want to crawl under the table and die.

“That’s enough,” Johnathan says and retakes his seat. “Mara’s past is not open for discussion. How would you like it if we start to discuss your past, Ally?”

The girls blushes and goes very quiet.

A door swings open and Chad enters with a smile on his face. Wordlessly, he starts to take plates from the serving trolley, loading every dish with food, serving Johnathan first, then me, Gregory, Preston and last of all, Ally.

When he’s done he moves to the corner where he awaits any orders, his hands folded in front of him.

He may not dress like a conventional butler, but he behaves like one.

‘Bwoccoli?” Gregory says and pulls a face. “I hate bwoccoli.”

“Then don’t eat it,” Johnathan says as he picks up his utensils.

“It’s touching my food!” the boy protests.

“I hate broccoli too,” I say as I watch the petulant child. “Do you know what I like to do when someone puts broccoli on my plate?” I ask and start to plant the broccoli florets in my mash so they’ll look like little trees. “I like to pretend I’m a dinosaur.”

“Dinosaws eat meat. Like wolves.”

“Some dinosaurs eat vegetables. Did you know the biggest dinosaurs in the world only ate veggies? And we are not all wolf right? We are part human, so you need to eat your veggies so you can grow up to be big and strong like your daddy.”

I pull my hair back, lean over and grab a broccoli tree between my teeth before I suck it into my mouth. “Num num,” I growl softly. “I’m a dinosaur, eating my veggies.”

Gregory giggles and starts to plant his broccoli. I glance at Johnathan who is looking at me with a deep frown between his eyes. The way we’re eating is rude. Bad manners. “Remember,” I say quickly, “we can only do this when Daddy doesn’t have company over, or we’ll give away our secret.”

“Whatch ow secwet?” Gregory asks around a mouth full of broccoli.

“That we know vegetables makes the biggest, strongest Alphas in the world.”

I give Johnathan a sideways glance. The frown is gone and there’s a small smile on his lips. He gives me an approving little nod, picks up his knife and fork and starts to eat.

Even though I suddenly feel very vulnerable and exposed, I finish eating my broccoli like a dinosaur because it makes Gregory happy, and every time I snatch the vegetables between my teeth, he giggles and does the same.

When I’m done, I wipe my face and watch with satisfaction as Gregory does the same. Then we both pick up our utensils and dig into our food.

Everyone eats in complete silence. The only sound is that of knives and works scraping against the plates, and soft polite chewing. Johnathan only speaks once - to ask Chad for more wine.

It’s unnerving, and I’m so unsettled by the unnatural quiet that I don’t dare to open my mouth. My father was a stickler for proper table manners, but at least we made polite dinner conversation.

At eight on the dot, a middle-aged woman enters the dining room. “Master Gregory,” she announces in a thick accent that I can’t quite place, “it is time for your bath.”

“I want Mawa to do it!” Gregory protests.

I look at Johnathan who nods his approval. Frankly, I’m relieved to get out of here. Besides, I enjoy the little boy’s company. Children don’t see what adults see. They don’t judge based on appearance or rank. They simply accept people for who they are.

Gregory hops off his chair as I get up and runs around the table to place his sticky hand in mine. “Can you tell stowies, Mawa?”

“I’ve never tried,” I say as we walk from the dining room. “I guess we’ll find out together if I'm any good at it.”

As we leave, I glance over my shoulder at Johnathan. He's watching us go, his dark eyes unreadable. My heart clenches and my stomach roils. I wish I could read his mind. I can't figure out if he's pleased or disappointed in me.

Gregory tugs on my hand, pulling me back to him. His innocence, his easy joy—it’s so pure. So simple.

What I wouldn't give to go back in time, to be a child again.

Chapter 8

Johnathan

I don’t usually like it when my schedule and routines are interrupted, but I’m not completely inflexible. Rules and structure are the most important things in life, but rigidity can shatter even the most carefully constructed framework.

Normally, I go up to Gregory's room a few minutes before nine o’clock to tell him a bedtime story, then I tuck him in for the night. At exactly nine, I turn off his light and switch on the nightlight. I then head to the pool where I have a cocktail to unwind before I head up to bed at eleven.

Everything in my life, personal and professional, runs according to a very strict schedule and set of routines. I can set my clock to it.

Tonight, however, I allow Mara to tell Gregory his story while I stand outside his bedroom and shamelessly listen it. It’s a story about a young man who has to go on a series of adventures to save his family from an evil witch.

I smile. The story might be a little too grown up for Gregory to fully understand, but Mara is inexperienced, and Greg is transfixed.

One of her duties will be to be a mother to my son, and frankly I expected an uphill battle. Gregory has hated every nanny I appointed. He has the uncanny ability to send all of them running screaming for the hills in six months or less.

It always starts out well. He starts out by being the nicest, sweetest boy, and then his behaviour becomes progressively worse. None of them have been able to handle him. Nannies are easy to replace though. I can’t replace my Luna if my son decides he's going to hate her.

His current nanny, Susarah, a blown-in from way down South somewhere, has lasted a week longer than the nanny who came before her. Susarah comes from a rough pack and a brutal country where violence reigns supreme in all walks of life. She doesn’t scare easily.

The clock in the hallway softly dings nine times. I push the bedroom door open and step inside. “That’s it,” I say. “Lights out.”

“But Mawa isn’t done with hew stowwy yet,” Gregory protests.

Mara immediately gets to her feet, obeying my order without questions. “It’s a long story,” she says, “our hero’s on a quest. It will take me days and days to tell it. We can go on tomorrow night.”

Without being prompted, and seemingly without a hint of shame, she leans over, kisses Greg's forehead and ruffles his hair. “Sleep tight, little guy.”

It would melt my heart, but I harden myself against the sweet image. I’ve seen nannies treat Gregory the same way, and I’d feel some hope that it would stick, that he'd finally find the motherly love he so desperately craves, but inevitably, he’d end up chasing them away like a bad dream.

I wait until Mara's out of the room before I take a seat on the edge of Gregory's bed and smooth his ruffled hair. “So what do you think, little man? Do you like Mara?”

“Yes,” he says without missing a beat. “Can we keep her?”

I laugh at my son's innocence. “She’s not a toy, but we'll see if she wants to stick around.”

There's no way to explain to a five-year-old that I actually bought his future stepmother at an auction, and that Mara has nowhere to go. She’s stuck here, and even if he starts to hate her or tries to drive her away, she won’t go anywhere.

I talk to my boy a little longer, bending my own rules just slightly, before I call a halt to our conversation and pull the blankets up to his chin. He immediately kicks the blankets off, “It’s too wahm, Daddy.”

It can get cold here at night, but most of the time it’s really fucking hot. “Okay,” I say and flip off the main light. “Sweet dreams. I want to hear all about them in the morning.”

Gregory yawns and turns on his side, away from me. Within seconds, I hear the soft, even breathing of my sleeping child.

Smiling, I close his door and tiptoe across the landing to the flight of stairs that leads to the back of the mansion.

I step out onto the deck and inhale deeply. From here, I can’t see or hear the noise of the town.

Chad already put out two pitchers of cocktails - enough for two or three drinks - and covered it with a net to keep the bugs out. The quiet, unlit pool glimmers in the moonlight, and a warm breeze floats across the deck, calming my unraveling nerves.

With a sigh, I stretch out on the lounger next to the table and look out over my mountain home. I love this place. I grew up here. It was at once my greatest sorrows and biggest joy to hear that Haven’s Crest went tits up.

Back then, my father and the Alpha of this place, called it Misty Mountain. I changed the name. This place went from my hell to my haven, and it should be that for every rogue who blows in here.

Behind me, I hear the soft and yet unfamiliar footsteps of an approaching she-wolf. “Good evening, Mara,” I say without looking over my shoulder.

“I- I- sorry,” she says. “I- I…” she goes quiet and I can feel the uncertainty radiating from the core of her being.

This is my quiet time, but if I’m going to have a mate, I’ll need to get used to having her around even when her presence annoys me. “Come. Sit with me. Have a drink.”

Her soft footsteps barely make a sound when she steps out on the wooden deck. “If you’d rather be alone…”

“No. Have a drink.”

“I’m not allowed to have alcohol.”

Fuck. This is like pulling teeth. “You are no longer with Lucas. You are with me. Have a fucking cocktail and try to relax.”

I get up, open the lounger on the other side of the table, and pour two drinks from one of the pitchers. When I hand one of the drinks to her, she visibly flinches, lifting her arm up as if to shield herself.

My jaw clenches and I hold on to a frustrated sigh. She reminds me too much of a little boy I once knew - a boy I buried a long time ago.

Without a word, I walk back to my lounger and sit down, clutching my own drink in my hand.

Mara finally sits down. Stiff and silent, her back ruler straight. She's afraid of me, and who can blame her for it? She reminds me so much of...

I push the thought away. Dwelling, on the past doesn't do anyone any good. “Can you relax?” I ask her. “Or is that too much to expect?”

She just stares at me with those big, terrified eyes.

I sigh inwardly. I have no idea how to make her feel better.

I’m not great with women. I know how to seduce them and I know how to fuck them, but I don’t know how to build a relationship.

Gregory is the result of a one night stand with a blow-in. I thought I was in love with her and even planned to marry her, but when she left two days after giving birth, I was relieved.

I know nothing about love, but I do know you’re not supposed to be relieved when the she-wolf you think you love leaves you alone with a newborn.

When Mara doesn’t say anything, I shake my head, take a sip of my girly drink, as Preston likes to call them, and lie back in my lounger.

The silence is suddenly thick and uncomfortable. “Do you like it here?” I ask.

“It- it’s very busy.”

I laugh. “Yes. We’re outgrowing the town. I need more space.”

She nods but doesn’t offer up potential solutions to the problem. Lunas are supposed to lead alongside the Alpha. They are supposed to advise and solve problems. Mara should know this.

Dante, my wolf, decides that now would be an excellent opportunity to give me advice though. “Give her some time. She’s afraid.”

“Oh,” I answer him. “Now you have something to say. You’ve been quiet all day.”

“Her wolf is hurt.”

That is not what I wanted to hear from him. “How badly?”

“She needs a healer.”

I sigh and throw my hands in the air. “Felicity,” I say aloud. “Are you around?”

“Who are you talking to?” Mara asks.

A vampire drops out of the sky, landing softly on the deck. Her eyes flash crimson in the darkness. “You called?” she asks.