Chapter 1

I wish I was in love since it's spring.It just so happened that the full moon and Valentine's Day fell on the same night this year. I'm sure that for some people it was the ideal fusion of desire and romance, but I chose to spend it alone , because I'm a mateless, love-deprived fool.

Around the den, wildflowers are beginning to bloom everywhere. These are the first brave blooms to emerge from the winter's gloom. I move over the grass barefoot, my jeans rolled up to just above my ankles, and wrapped in a soft pink sweater that shields the rest of me from the breeze.

My toes occasionally dip into the warm ground as I explore the area near our den.

I wrap my fingers around the wire as I look through the fence at the surrounding prairie. Omegas and betas haven't been permitted beyond the fence since the Dark Moon pack attack because our leadership is concerned that someone is hiding there. However, everything has been peaceful and I haven't scented any of the folks I fear. The feeling of being confined reminds me of the location from which I had to flee in the first place, The Rig , so I wish they would let us out once more.

An abandoned oil rig in the Gulf that has been transformed into a castle and is fortified with cutting-edge defenses. I was born there, the first and only child of Arthur Woods, the Alpha Prime of the Dark Moon Pack. I left that area years ago, but the scent and the dread never leave you.

I have to convince myself that, even though I'm trapped here, this isn't the Rig. I'm secure. I'm entirely, 100 percent safe.

My eyes flit to my left as a pleasant aroma reaches me, where I spot a vivid purple mountain laurel. I approach it with a smile and tiptoe to reach for the bloom from its tree. I add the mountain laurel to a bundle of fragrant bushes that I already have in my hands.

Once I'm upright once again, I hear a noise that grabs my attention.

I turn to face the fence as a light breeze blows by. It makes a slight rattling noise that sounds strange. The wires grate against one another just past where I was standing, with a hole torn in it.

The fence shouldn't have a hole in it.

We have been diligently checking.

My hackles stand up as I move backward. I have experienced enough to know when something is off even when there is no evidence of Dark Moon Pack or harmful alphas. When a twig snaps behind me and a fragrance comes over me, I'm about to whirl around and flee while my eyes dart from left to right.

A hand covers my mouth and a black bag slides over my head before I can see what's behind there. My body heats up anywhere he touches me, and all of my senses go crazy.

My mind is spinning as I struggle to see through a cloud of unexpected desire, and I blame my foolish body for responding the way it does to an alpha's touch. My heat is still in full swing from yesterday night's full moon, and just the smell and touch of it is enough to send me into a frenzy. I groan in agony, but the alpha in the back of me is yanked away, and another person grabs me.

"We must leave", a stern voice declares. "Jack, keep it together."

My arm is tightly gripped, and when I try to free myself, a needle pierces my skin. My throat becomes constricted as I attempt to shout. I've definitely been drugged.

There is no hope.

Even inside the walls, it was not safe.

I'm quickly lifted over a powerful shoulder, and we're off. Though I doubt I'll be able to maintain consciousness for long, I am fully aware of our current location.

by means of the barrier.

throughout the plains.

then to the Rig.

 "You motherfucker, you hurt her…Their prime is going to murder us".

"If you're not ready, we don't have to take her".

"Are you insane? Someone will return her to Arthur, and if it's not us, we won't receive the reward".

The noises are muted by the cowl over my eyes and dampened by the drug that is still pulsing through my veins as they float in and out of my throbbing mind. My mental state is completely topsy-turvy. My head feels like it's bouncing around, and I'm feeling queasy.

It's "choppy out here," a man's voice utters. The other man remarked," Does her head have a cushion?" I believe this is the deeper voice—Jack 

The second man adds, "Oh, calm down," in a louder, more southern voice. You know, she's not really a princess.

I feel two hands at the base of my skull when Jack grunts. I flinch and try to flee, but all I manage to do is flounder around like a fish when I become aware that my hands are restrained.

And the cause of my sensation of bouncing? We're sailing. They have gagged me with a balled-up piece of fabric and bound my wrists and ankles since I passed asleep. I try to avoid the topic and ask them to let me leave, but it's useless because I am speechless. All I can do is lay still on the boat's floor with an unknown man's hands resting on the back of my head.

"Stop it, You could hurt yourself", Jack growls 

"Ih ooh, and ooh—" My voice is muffled by the joke.

The other man replies, "Can't understand you, darlin', and we're not taking out that gag." "We dosed up ahead of time because we know cute little omegas like you can wrap an alpha around their little finger."

Neither do I care nor do I know what that implies. Tears stream into my eyes and seep through the cowl that is over my face.

"She's crying, Brian," Jack murmurs.

The other man, perhaps Brian, asks, "Do you need more wolfsbane?" I can't have you turning rouge on me, sailor, so be truthful".

Jack moves me to a sitting posture, but I hear him scurrying away again. It is passed over, he says. "I believe she could also use some."

Glass clinking can be heard, and then Jack's hand is once more around my arm. I struggle to free myself, but the needle pierces my skin, and I start to cry as a scorching sensation appears along my vein.

"Gotta control your heat, little missy before you drive my friend here crazy," Brian adds 

Once more, my senses are sluggish. This time, I don't believe they gave me a sedative injection, but it seems to be working to dull my senses. I feel a little more in control when it comes to the almost insatiable drive to mate because I can't smell them, recognize their classification, or place them.

I suppose that's a good thing.

Jack grunts next to me, his breathing sounding as though he is in pain. A second later, I hear the glass clink one more; he must have also injected himself.

"You should get some rest."Brian advises "There's no point in attempting to speak; we aren't removing your gag and we aren't looking you in the eye. No, you won't be let loose until you've been brought home safely".

I chuckle at the joke. Safe?Home? He and I probably have quite different ideas of what those terms mean.

"Shut her up," Brian yells.

When Jack grabs my wrist, a faint glimpse of my heart pokes through the mist.

" Elsa go to sleep". He orders

I wish I could tell him that was no longer my name.

I only wish I could scream because the gag is so tight. I regain consciousness in the dark. The only way I can tell is that the light is no longer passing through the fabric, and my heat stroke is killing me. The aroma of the alpha on this ship is enough to throw me over the brink when I wake up already wet and longing to be touched. I can now tell which of them is an alpha and which is a beta, therefore the wolfsbane must have worn off. Jack is an alpha, whereas Brian is a beta.

My wolf wants Jack, but I'm not sure exactly where he is because I can't see him. I move in my seat, making the seam of my jeans rub against me indescribably. I sigh in pain when I feel it, and then I hear someone move a few feet away.

"Brian, damn it! She's awake now. If I keep needing to take it at this rate, I'll run out of wolfsbane".

"We're almost there. Brian declares "Don't you worry about a thing, my horny friend."

"Never smelled anything quite like her before", Jack murmurs." Something like fruit, for example".

"Since I've never seen you lose control", Brian adds, "Yeah, I figured."

 "Shut it ", Jack said 

Moving away from me, footsteps can be heard. The second night of the full moon is driving me nuts, so I grunt to try to grab their attention. I used to spend this time of night, most months, isolated in my room, desperately trying to satisfy my urge; now I'm trapped with an alpha who is caught in a rut and I can't do a thing about it.

What a wonderful way for a lone individual to spend the day following Valentine's Day.

Jack's voice echoes from a distance, "Hey—lights ahead." I

"Let me hail them," Brian responds. The ship's floodlights, if I had to estimate, make a clicking noise behind me. Later, I notice a pattern in the light that flashes behind the fabric of my hood. We are being told that we have access to the dock.

Even the need to mate carnally is suppressed as panic floods through my chest. I jerk at the ropes furiously, knowing that I should have done this a long time ago. I'm going to return home, but I'm now a long way from Austin and all the individuals that could help me.

When I was last here, my father attempted to kill me. As a result, I assisted at least fifteen women in fleeing him.

What he'll do next is unknown to me.

Brian picks up as the community's radio static comes to life. Then comes a voice that I recognize and that makes me want to vomit. It's Lucas, a young alpha that my father was preparing to serve as a lieutenant when I left the Rig.

I'm in real trouble.

"Sea Witch, explain your motivations."

Sea witch? 

"We're bounty hunters, and we just recently took up a contract from your Prime. We're pleased to say that we've completed the deal and have Elsa Woods on board". Brian Explained 

Lucas takes a while to answer. The boat slows down as we drift. Brian asks for reassurance, "You will have fuel and money waiting for us when we dock", He said. " We must make sure we are paid in addition to making sure your treasure reaches safely".

"What is each of your names?" Lucas queries.

Brian and Jack have a little period of silence. I sigh in complaint, but they don't hear me.

Brian says, "Joshua Brian and Jack Heston." 

"Possibly, you've heard of us". Brian adds

"I've got to. Finally making a trip to the Rig, eh, Dark Moon lads from the East? "Lucas says laughing.

 "And delighted to come bearing a prize," Brian adds. "Have the Prime meet us at the pier with our pay—and Elsa is completely yours right here."

Knowing Dark Moon partisans won't ever aid me, my hopes are abruptly smashed. Even if Jack appeared to have some sympathy, these are people who have benefited from the maltreatment of omegas for years; despite coming from various platforms, they all share the same core values. I slouch against the wall while attempting to control my breathing as tears well up in my eyes corners. I have to have faith that my pack will find me and save me.

I need to have faith that someone— Thiba, Paul, Lissa, Jesse—will take the chance and ride the waves to get me home.

It's the only way I can stay alive.