Prologue

          

Sam was sitting on the fountain, tired of her mom bossing her around like she had to set the right example for the pack as the next heir. She found a rock and threw it hard without paying attention to where she threw it.  

Thomas was walking away from the coven he grew up in; he did not want anything to do with this life anymore and lived on his own. Kim was the only vampire he wanted and now she is dead and he was being forced to marry the daughter of the coven leader his family was at war with to create a peace treaty.   

He still remembered that day when the coven came back from the recent battle and she was not there and he waited for days, refusing to eat. Then by sunset on the fifth day since the battle, he was told that she died bravely in battle defending the coven.   

Thomas started crying at the memory as fresh grief racked him when he was hit with a rock. He looked around and saw that he came farther than he intended, into the werewolf territory like his feet were leading him. He cried out in pain and looked in the direction the rock came from.   

That is when he first saw her, someone so beautiful, he could not believe he was falling in love again. Before he realized it, his feet were moving on their own towards this stranger.  

Sam looked up when she heard someone cry out in pain after she threw the rock, she saw a vampire limping towards her. She could tell by his scent even though he was technically undead.   

When Thomas got where he knew she could hear him he told her, “You should really watch where you're throwing things because you could really hurt someone who's not like us with that kind of strength. I will not hurt you. I`ve seen too many deaths already because of war. I have no interest in killing others. I'm Thomas from the McCain coven."  

"Samantha, but you can call me Sam. I hate my name."  

He nodded his head. Trying to play it cool and not scare her off, he asked "Do you think you can be friends with a vampire?"  

"Can you be friends with a werewolf?"  

“Yes, I can be friends with you and hang out more.”  

“I would love to hang out more too, how about you meet me over by the abandoned fountain tomorrow at sunset?” Samantha smiled at Thomas.  

“I’ll meet you there!” Thomas answered.   

Sam walked away back to her family`s house and went to her room. Why is my heart pounding so fast like it is trying to break free of my chest? And why do I feel butterflies when I talk to him? Thomas is a McCain, an enemy we`ve been at odds with. Not to mention a mortal enemy!  

Sam was lost in her thoughts and did not realize her parents had come into her room. “Shouldn`t you knock first before just coming in here like that?” Sam looked annoyed mostly at herself to be caught daydreaming by her parents and about a vampire no less. She felt her cheeks burning at the thought of Thomas and the thrill to see him again. She dismissed the thought because nothing could come of their relationship of more than just being friends.  

“We knocked before we entered but you weren't responding so we came in to see you daydreaming. Who were you daydreaming about that you didn't hear us knocking and causing us to worry?” Jane walked over and sat down by Sam, brushing her hair out of her face with her hand. “Your brother John saw you leaving earlier and found you talking with someone outside by the McCain coven border who was it?” Her father Nathan closed the door to the room and had a stern expression on his face.  

“It was Thomas McCain. I was just apologizing for hitting him on the head with a rock I threw blindly. I was thinking about the upcoming ceremony to find me a potential partner since I`m the next leader of the pack.” Sam lied effortlessly to hide the fact she was daydreaming about Thomas and the fact she made friends with a vampire. She pushed her mom's hand away from her face and fixed her hair back the way she liked it.  

“What about the upcoming ceremony had you been so distracted that you didn't hear your mother and I knocking on your door and had you flustered?” He knew she had no interest in pack affairs so why the sudden interest he wondered. The only reasonable explanation was that she was lying to cover something up. Could it be that she was falling in love with a vampire or she just wanted to tell us what we wanted to hear? He hoped it was the latter and that she was not falling in love with their mortal enemy. I need to assign someone to keep an eye on her when she goes out from now on  

“The event’s coming up and I'm wondering if my childhood friend Lucas would be there. I always enjoyed our playdates and the postcards he would send me from his travels. I really liked him and was sad when he stopped visiting and sending the postcards. Also, what events would there be this year? I am curious and I only know from what you told me about the events they held with dad. I was agitated because you caught me being distracted when you've taught me to never let my guard down.”   

I really did like Lucas is that why he stopped talking to me, she wondered.  

After Sam`s parents left her so she could get ready for the ceremony tonight to find her mate and her first shift since she turned 18 today. She really hoped it was Lucas because she`s liked him since they were kids, but that was up to the moon Goddess if she got him as her mate. She went to pick out her dress to wear for tonight. It was a baby blue dress that went down to her knees and hugged her tightly with a V-neck collar embroidered with lace. She hated wearing dresses but she had to for the ceremony and was grateful she could take off before she shifted. After she got her dress out and the shoes, she had to wear she went into her bathroom to get showered.  

                                

Nathan`s Pov  

Helen and I left so she could get ready for her party tonight and ceremony to find her mate and take over as Alpha so we could retire. I do not trust what my daughter said about being excited for the ceremony and she is hiding something from us. I want someone to keep a close eye on her and where she goes when she leaves this house.” I mind linked my beta Raphael “I don`t trust Samantha`s words she's never had any interest in pack event type ceremonies because she has to wear dresses,” He said talking to Helen on the way to their bedroom.   

Well it is possible she is excited to shift for the first time and meet not only her mate, but her wolf as well. She is excited to see if Lucas is her mate. I saw how fond she was of him during their playdates and when she received postcards from their trips. I remember how sad she was that the postcards stopped coming and they didn't play together anymore.”  

“Still all the same I would like for someone to keep an eye on her. I still feel like she was lying thinking about the upcoming ceremony and was thinking about that vampire she met. I already asked Raphael to look into it and to keep an eye on her when she leaves.”  Nathan sat down on their bed and sighed wondering where they went wrong. He hoped for Samantha's sake that Lucas was her mate too because that would keep her out of trouble.  

“I sent out an invitation to Lucas`s family for them to come and catch up and that they could bring Lucas with them. I want her to be happy too and pray to the moon goddess that she gets Lucas as her mate.” Helen walked over to their closet and picked her clothes out that she would wear to the ceremony. Looking at the dress “with the lace embroidery at the bottom and at the V- neck line of the dress. Helen was surprised it still fit her after all these years. The last time she wore it was when her parents picked it for her to wear to her ceremony when she met Nathan.  

I think it would be fun to Catch up with Lucas`s parents since we haven't seen them in years.” Nathan looked at Helen in her dress and nostalgia washed over him remembering the first night he met her.