CHAPTER 1

Pov: Jane Jansen

I struggled to keep my eyes open through the pain as it engulfed me. He stood above me with a malicious smile on his face. My executioner. There was no pity in his cold unfeeling eyes and I stared into the cold empty dark orbs as he pulled the lever. The sound of the blade dropping was the last thing I heard while I swore vengeance on them. On all of them.

Everything here was different from home. From the people to the smell to the exotic foods they had. It was an experience that made my heartbeat race, forcing adrenaline to run free across my lithe body. Tonya was glad to have me and she showed me around.

Every day I was blessed with a new experience that completely altered the previous and it was a struggle to keep up with all the excitement. Being treated like royalty watered most of it but there were places I visited where I was treated as nothing but another woman in a straw hat.

Then one evening Tonya informed me that I’d been invited to dinner by the Alpha of the pack. She seemed excited for me but I couldn’t help but feel nervous. I knew nothing about their Alpha but if he was anything like my father then I had a lot to be worried about. 

The dinner had gone better than I could ever imagine. The Alpha was gentle and he introduced himself as Nate without the title attached. He had an easy way and soon I found myself falling for his sweet words and subtle charms.

“You’re the most beautiful woman in all the land by far. And that’s saying something because I’ve been opportune to see a lot of beautiful women.” He said as we strolled through his garden.

The sweet aromas from the flowers intoxicated me but not as much as the way he looked at me as he spoke. His eyes made me feel like I was the only woman alive. I couldn’t stop looking at the deep blue eyes that threatened to swallow me completely like a raging ocean.

“You’re so kind, Alpha—”

“Call me Nate.” He insisted. “I’d love to do this again. How about tomorrow night?”

And so we had dinner the next night and it was even more magical. Nate was different from what I had imagined. He was a complete gentleman and I couldn't help but feel a strong attachment to him. Soon enough I realized I’d become completely smitten by him and I called my parents to tell them all about it. My mom sounded worried and she didn’t like the idea of me getting into a relationship with a strange man I’d known for a week. My father felt the same way and he told me about stories he had heard about Alpha Nate.

“Rumors!” I gasped angrily. “They’re nothing but lies and rumors, father. He’s a nice man. I can assure you.”

Despite my best efforts, my parents stuck to their doubts about him. I turned to the only person I could talk to about what I was going through—Tonya. She seemed excited to hear about my feelings for Alpha Nate and she urged me to pursue them. She reminded me that there was nothing more important than true love.

“You’re right,” I said, nodding.

“Of course I am.” Tonya beamed. 

It was my life to live and I’d always believed I was going to have a magical love story with the man I would make my mate and something about Nate made me feel this was it.

That evening I was too excited to sleep and decided to take a walk through the mansion. Tonya’s family was one of the noble families in the pack and they had enough influence to live in a place that looked like an Alpha’s castle. 

As I walked along the hall, I felt drawn to a door shut off in an abandoned wing of the mansion. The door seemed old and it was painted in an odd dark color. I reached the door and turned the handle but it was locked.

I knew to go back but there was something about the door that made me feel like I had to go in. I looked around to make sure I was alone and then I put my face against the door.

“Hello,” I whispered. “Is anyone in there?”

I waited for a response but it never came. At this point, I could tell there was someone inside because of my sharpened wolf senses. I could feel her pulse on the other side of the door. The sound of footsteps approaching from the other end of the room made me jerk in panic.

“Please open up. Please!”

Just when I thought I’d get caught, the door opened and a hand pulled me in as the door shut silently. The footsteps approached the door and continued until it was gone. I turned around to see a girl with pale snow-white hair. She was deathly thin and her skin was almost translucent by how pale it was. She looked like a ghost but her soft eyes were kind.

“You can leave now.” She said, turning away.

“Who are you?” I asked as I stared at the dark dusty room. The room was dark and empty except for a bed and several empty trays that had once carried food but now had dust and grime.

“Nobody.” She said in a tiny voice. “Please leave before you get yourself in trouble.”

She was shaking and I could tell she was scared. I approached her cautiously all the while assuring her I wasn’t going to hurt her. She allowed me to touch her and I noticed she was cold. The poor thing was freezing to death. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her.

“It smells like ice cream.” She said sniffing at the jacket.

“My bad,” I said with a nervous smile. “I’m a junkie for the stuff.”

She introduced herself as Willa Irving, Tonya’s older sister. I’d never heard about her but she explained she had been born with a medical condition that made her gravely sick from birth and her family had seen her as a liability so they had kept her hidden in the dark room. She admitted to not having the opportunity to see the world outside so I described it to her. I told her about everything I’d experienced while I was there and she loved hearing my stories.

“You have to go now. It was nice meeting you, Kira. I hope we meet again soon.” She smiled as she urged me to the door.

“I promise I’ll talk to Tonya about getting you out of here.”

“Don’t!” She squealed. “You’ll get yourself in trouble. Please, Kira. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you because of me.”

“Relax. It’s nothing.” I said, waving her worry aside. “Tonya isn’t a monster.”

I left the room and as I was about to go Willa called me back to return my jacket. “Keep it,” I said.

The next day I made a mental note to talk to Tonya about her sister but Nate arrived early to take me out. He was the most dreamy man I’d ever met and our time together was so magical that I gave myself to him completely that evening as we lay side by side under the moonlight. He was a sweet and gentle lover as he guided me through waters of pleasure that were new to me.

My wolf woke me up the next morning and I felt a tingle. It didn’t take long for me to realize what she was trying to say to me. She was trying to tell me Nate was my mate. I’d fallen in love with my mate!