PROLOGUE

Third person pov

The man stood shrouded in darkness, blending into the night as if he was a very part of it. The slight movement of his clothes in the wind was the only thing that gave his presence away in the otherwise still and silent night. 

“Enter,” he boomed in a deep, mysterious voice, making the newly arrived man hesitate for a moment. He was encased in shadows, an ability he had mastered during his training to be a Shadow guard. Still, his master was able to sense his presence without even looking in his direction. The Shadow guard couldn’t help but be rattled since he was used to being invisible. Still, he collected himself before bowing down to his master. 

“What news do you have for me? Did she receive the letter?” the master enquired, still not turning to face the Shadow guard.

“Yes, she did. I didn’t leave until I saw her reading it.” The guard replied enthusiastically. 

“And? How was her reaction?” He asked with barely concealed excitement. The guard hesitated since it was rare that his master showed any emotions, and such a blatant display of excitement was really at odds with his character. He couldn’t figure out if it was a good thing or not.

“Well, she read the letter and placed it away. And then…”

“Then what? Cried? Panicked? Looked around scared?” 

“The woman did none of these. She…” he hesitated, and he could feel his master’s displeased frown even when he couldn’t see his face. 

“What?” The voice no longer sounded enthusiastic. The Shadow guard couldn’t help the tremor that ran down his spine at the chilling voice. The room was getting colder per the minute, and it seemed darker than it was a moment ago. His master was definitely not pleased, and he gulped down nervously.

“The woman smirked at her mate and acted as if nothing happened. They proceeded to complete their mating, and I left since my job was over,” he reported. 

He was a dignified Shadow guard. Though he had to lower himself to the level of a messenger and spy, he couldn’t stoop down to the level of a voyeur. He had to leave before witnessing something like that. Surely the master would understand, wouldn’t he?

“They completed their mating ceremony?” The guard was startled to hear the question, which brought him out of his musings. To his relief, the question was asked calmly, and he exhaled in relief. Maybe the master didn’t care about the woman as much as he thought?

“I didn’t watch them do the deed, but they were kissing and fumbling with each other’s clothes before I turned and drifted away,” he replied.

He watched the master turning towards him slightly and a sliver of moonlight fell on him, partially revealing his face. As the shadows played across his face, he brought the elegant wine glass in his hands towards his lips. The red wine stained his lips crimson and a drop of wine dripped down his lips, giving the appearance of blood. He looked like a vampire at that moment and from the dark energy radiating off him, he certainly seemed capable of draining lives... 

As the room got colder and colder, the Shadow guard who was used to being the bringer of terror to others felt the bitter taste of fear himself. As terror gripped his insides and clamped them in a vise, he tried to think of something to ease the situation. The tension in the room that had become a living, breathing entity on its own and his heart was beating erratically at the thought of his master’s wrath.

“Yo-“ he started, but he never got to complete his sentence. The master turned towards him with inhumane speed and before the guard could blink or scream, the very shadows which he believed to be his element wrapped around him, suffocating him. He didn’t even realise when the cloak around him fell away and his body became visible. As he tried to struggle, the shadows weaved around him, sucking the life out of him slowly. Within moments in the place where a mighty shadow guard stood, a husk of a man with no life stood still for a moment before falling to the ground and then drifting away as ashes. 

“Fool! How dare you tell me the woman I want for myself is mated! I had sent the letter because I wanted to scare her and, in her panic, cancel their mating. Just because I didn’t specifically ask you to stop the mating, how could you let them continue when you know I had an interest in her! I should have tortured you more before killing you, you incompetent fool!” He snarled at the ashes which were still twirling around the room before settling down on the ground.

He breathed heavily for a while before relaxing and then a slow smile spread on his red stained lips as shadows moved around him like obedient puppies waiting for their master’s instructions.

“Interesting,” he murmured.

“Well, I shouldn’t be surprised. My dear Kayla, I should have known that you are too strong to be rattled by just a minor threat. In fact, your power and strong character were the traits that caught my attention in the first place. You are making me more and more interested in you now…”

He turned away from the moonlight, blending into the darkness once more.

He smirked as he thought of the beautiful Kayla Xanders, the Feral Assassin, the only wolf in history to have ever managed to gain control over their Feral state. When he discovered her secret, he had decided that she was a worthy mate for him and wanted her for himself. 

He had wanted to toy with her and stop her mating with the stupid Alpha guy. But he never thought she would ignore his threat just like that and complete the mating like nothing was wrong. 

Well, her unpredictable character was what he liked about her and what would make her his perfect partner. Knowing how she wasn’t rattled by someone knowing her deadly secret, he wanted her for himself more than ever. 

He had wanted her pure but now that she was mated to her Alpha mate; he didn’t care about that anymore. Pure or not, Kayla Xanders will belong to him…

“My dear Feral Alpha, you want to play with me? Well then, let’s play. We will have a nice game of cat and mouse. You may think you are the biggest predator out there, but this time, you are wrong. It is time for the hunter to become the hunted.. “

His laughter resonated in the dark room as he thought of how he was going to claim the mysterious Feral Assassin for himself. It was time for the games to begin…