Chapter 1-Introduction

"Please" she begged, her voice raspy, a hand clutched to her bleeding neck, eyes staring wildly at the man who seemed immune to her pleas, "please don't take her" she sobbed, falling to her knees, her cloak billowing in the background. The man stared down at her, his eyes a piercing black and a scowl on his handsome face.

"You betrayed me" he hissed "you are no mate of mine. This child" he indicated the small toddler girl he held in his arms, completely unconscious from the tranquiliser dart he'd shot at her "should have been mine" he growled and she flinched, her head lowered in shame.

"I had no choice" she protested, her knees buckling as she fell to the ground "I could not refuse him."

"I felt it all" he growled "you could have said no, but you couldn't help yourself, could you, you whore' he spat "one night at his place and you go running back into his arms."

The woman said nothing, knowing in the end her words would mean nothing to her mate, for she had in fact betrayed him, she could not deny it.

"I love you" she rasped and the man was unmoved, a tic in his jaw, impatience sketched on his face. When would the wolfsbane finally kill her? It was taking far too long to enter her bloodstream, the wound he'd inflicted as he'd stabbed her in the neck with a silver dagger bleeding profusely and yet she clung stubbornly to life.

"You never loved me" he bit out, his voice sounding low and bitter, full of hurt and anger.

"This child will be raised by me" he whispered and she held out a hand, beseeching him, her face completely ashen in the darkness of the night.

"You cannot have her" she breathed "she is his and he will not forgive you" she whispered. "You should have accepted the rejection when I gave it" she cried out, the wind picking up and making it harder to hear her.

"You should never have rejected me" he growled. "Now you're paying the price."

Finally to his relief, she gave a gurgle and he saw her topple to the hard forest floor, her head hitting the ground and her body splayed with her face downwards. Blood pooled around her body. He glanced down at her in disgust and was repulsed. How he'd ever been in love with her, he didn't know and he felt nothing but gladness to find she was finally dead at his feet, where she belonged.

The child in his arms gave a small sigh in her sleep and he cradled her carefully. She was a beautiful child, he readily admitted, with long golden locks and the bluest eyes he'd ever seen. She was incredibly fast, even in her young age and he knew it was because of her father and his heritage. She looked like an innocent little cherub and he quietly wrapped her up in his cloak, keeping her warm as the wind picked up and the night grew chilly. He stroked her porcelain like cheek. She was his ticket to taking over the entire kingdom in the future and she didn't even know it yet. His son Roland still awaited his return, thankfully no son of the whore who'd betrayed him, a child that had been gifted to him by his first mate who'd long since perished. How fortunate he had a son who would require a bride one day. He smirked down at the child, the little girl sound asleep as he began to slowly walk back towards his car, his men following silently behind him.

He placed her tenderly in the passenger seat, getting into the driver's seat and making sure to buckle her in securely. He couldn't afford to have any accidents or something happen to her. Not when she would be so useful to him, if not now, then in the future. He smiled. It would be a long time until he could use her but he would be patient, ensure his son would have the future he'd been plotting since he could remember. Serenity he thought to himself, that was the young girl's name from memory and it suited her just fine. He saw no need to change it and further distress the girl. He wondered if she would remember anything when she woke up, starting the car and very slowly pulling out. It was several days travel to get back to his pack, the Blue Fire Pack and he would need to keep the child under sedation the entire time. They needed to make a move though, because any time now, the man whose daughter he now had would come looking for her and his wife.

He began to speed up. It would be daylight soon and he wanted to make as much headway as possible, his men following behind in their own cars as he glanced in the rearview mirror, satisfied that all was well. He glanced down at the child whose soft snores were filling the car and gave a shake of his head. How different her life would be once she woke up, everything she'd known and the life she'd led before would now be stripped from her completely and she would never fully know what happened to her on this fateful night, her memory hazy from the drugs. Her new life he thought with a grin, was just beginning.