Chapter 1

Jarek

A deep tired sigh passes through my lips when I stare at the ceiling after my alarm goes off. Silencing the alarm, I rack my fingers through my hair, then, settling my arm behind my head, I enjoy a few peaceful moments before I have to head into the chaos of the world.

Back in the days, our kind lived in huge packs away from the human population, but now things have changed. Now we live among humans, and most of them are aware of our true nature. We are feared and respected, but some consider us an abomination and want to eliminate our kind.

Even though now packs no longer exist, our wolves still need that connection with other wolves, so we live in small groups. My grandfather started this club after our pack was invaded by hunters, which forced everyone to leave their homes. To keep everyone safe, he decided it was safe to mingle among humans and learn to live among them. 

Since the pack system is strong among wolves, it was not difficult to establish a club that loosely follows the same hierarchy as packs. Werewolves from other packs and some rogues also began to join our club, and soon even humans became a part of our world.  Now our club not only has werewolves, but even humans are also our brothers. 

When my father started recruiting humans in our club, some werewolves objected to his decision because some of the arrogant bastards thought humans were lesser than us. But Dad always instilled in our mind, loyalty and bravery have nothing to do with kind or nature. And his decision was proved right when numerous times our human brothers risked their lives for us. 

So now here we are running a club, which has gained the position of one of the most feared and respected clubs in our town. People of the town fear us; at the same time, they look up to us to help them and protect them.

Getting up, I make my way towards the bathroom as I stretch my arms above my head. Setting the water on warm, I let the warm water soothe my aching muscles as I stand under the running water. 

After my dad's death, being his only son, I got the position of Alpha at the age of eighteen. It was not easy to exercise my control over a dozen hotheaded werewolves and humans. Still, soon I showed everyone that I would not be disrespected, and neither should they mistake my age for challenging me for my position. I have earned the respect of the club, and with the help of some of the most loyal members, I have been successfully running this club for twelve years now.

Even though I love my brothers and this club, there is still a sense of loneliness and longing inside me. My life is anything but mundane, but sometimes my wolf and I do long for stability in my life.

Changing into black jeans and a white shirt, I slip my leather jacket on and walk outside my room. The voice of brothers who have returned from the night shift echoes through the kitchen along with the others who have just woken up, making me lightly chuckle as they are fighting over the breakfast.

"Morning, wolves." I sit at the breakfast bar and nod my head towards my brothers.

"Morning, Alpha." I hear a few greeting me back while others bow their heads.

A breakfast plate is placed in front of me, consisting of scrambled eggs and toast.

My grandfather named our club Wolf Blood, and since then, each member of our club, whether human or werewolf, has been called a wolf.

What I love about my club is that everyone is treated here with complete respect, and we all know our brothers have our back no matter what their kind is. We all are ready to give our lives for our brothers and this club. No kind, blood, or status divides us. We all are one. 

"Alpha, we have spotted scorpions around our territory." Daniel, my beta, takes a seat beside me and digs into his breakfast. "We need to increase our patrolling and inform the town members to alert us if they find anything suspicious."

Scorpions are our enemies, and several times we have gone to war against them. They are criminals and are involved in all sorts of illegal businesses. While our hands are not clean, but still, the club owns many legal businesses, which helps the club's finances run smoothly.

"Call every wolve back to the club, and inform everyone to avoid going anywhere alone." Sipping my coffee, I clench my jaws in anger, "If these motherfuckers are planning anything against us, this time we will fucking wipe their existence."

"Don't worry, Alpha, I have already called everyone and informed them about the scorpions. Everyone is waiting for them to make any mistake, so we can satisfy our thirst by shedding these bastards' blood." He smirks while his hand turns into a claw.

Grunting in approval, I check my phone to see Eric's message informing me that he has passed the territory and now he is heading towards the club.

Eric was dad's friend and is a human, but he is scary as hell and can make any werewolves shit in their pants. After dad's death, he helped me with the club and eliminated every head raised against me. He is like a father to the club and one of the most loyal wolves.

Eric has told me that he is going away for a while to resolve some personal issue. Even though we all are family, we still respect each other privacy, so I haven't questioned him. But last night, he informed me that he is bringing someone with him and he will tell me everything once he comes back.

Lifting my head, I look towards the entrance when the door of the clubhouse opens. Eric nods his head in my direction while his eyes hold a shine that we have witnessed on rare occasions when he is happy. 

Some of the wolves whistle in appreciation when another pair of footsteps reaches my ear. Shifting on my seat, I turn my full attention towards this new girl who is looking around the club with disinterest.

She looks at the wolves like they are gum beneath her boot, and then slightly raising her chin, she turns her face away from them. Her eyes connect with mine, and a wave of calmness wash over me while I feel myself drowning in her big brown eyes.

She presses her lips together, drawing my attention to her bow-shaped lips. Lifting her hand, she tucks a few strands of loose hair behind her ear while I follow her hand with my eyes. There is something captivating about this girl that makes it difficult for me to look away from her.

"Alpha." Eric stands in front of me, forcing me to turn my attention to him. I can sense everyone is curious about this newcomer, which for some reason, is irritating my wolf and me. "She is my daughter." He motions her to come forward while there is an unmistakable hint of pride in his voice as he introduces her.

Her eyes line with tears as she looks at him, but blinking away, she dries her eyes, locking her every emotion.

"Gianna, he is our Alpha Jarek." He places his arm around her shoulders while smiling at me.

"Hi, Jarek."Her soft voice causes my heart to skip a beat. Surprisingly, her not addressing me with my title doesn't annoy me; if anything, I like the sound of my name coming our her lips.

"Gianna." I nod my head while my wolf purs in delight when a light dusting of blush graces her cheeks while a hint of a small smile appears on her face.