Chapter 1

*Piper's POV*

The sun poured into the bedroom. It began to hit me in the face letting me know it was time to get up. I adjusted myself and looked up to notice mate, Matteo looking down on me with a smile. I couldn't help but smile against his chiseled chest.

"I like waking up next to you." Matteo spoke as he looked down on me with his beautiful brown eyes. His hair was a dark brown and it was short on the sides but the top had some length so he could style it into a comb over.

"I like waking up to you too. But we have things we need to do." I responded as I began to sit myself up in the bed. "As the upcoming alpha and luna we need to make sure we don't fall behind on anything."

He let out a sigh. "I know."

I got out of the bed and picked out a pair of jeans and threw them on along with a charcoal grey tank top. I looked in the mirror as I tied my dark brown hair into a ponytail. My fierce blue eyes stood out even without any make up right now.

"Are you ready?" Matteo asked as he came up behind me. He was now dressed in a pair of pants and a white shirt.

Matteo and I belonged to the Moon Stone Pack. His dad was the current alpha but Matteo was set to take his place anytime. He and I were chosen mates. We both reached the age of twenty, when you're supposed to find your mate but neither of us found that fated mate everyone talked about. If you asked me it seemed like a bunch of bullshit.

I was practically trained to be a luna so it was perfect for me to take on a relationship with Matteo. We both wanted to do our best for the pack. So Matteo and I agreed to be mates. I was marked by him and we did have a bond that had developed since we started dating almost a year ago. I felt closer to him than any boyfriend I ever had before.

"Yes. I'm ready." I smiled.

Matteo took my hand and led me out of his suite in the pack house. He moved into the pack house a few months ago. His father was slowly handing him more control over our pack so it was important that he was close to the alpha's office. Matteo now played a part in some major decisions.

The rest of the pack lived in little houses of their own to give them privacy. The only other wolves that stayed in the pack house were the ones who went out to fight. It was a pretty quiet place most of the time. The only time the rest of the pack would enter the pack house was when a meeting was being called or if there was an event that was being held.

Matteo and I did our rounds together. Some luna's of the other packs would just remain in the pack house to breed with the alpha. Others were like me. I was more hands on and liked interacting with our pack. I also liked to be a fighter. I had trained hard and gave some of the other wolves a run for their money. I wanted to be able to protect everyone just as much as Matteo could, especially if I was going to be their luna.

We came across a little girl playing in the field. Emi. She was about five years old, the youngest wolf we had at the moment. There were a few other children in our pack but they were older than her. Emi was my favorite. She was so sweet all the time and could make any day better.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked as I approached her with a smile.

"Picking some flowers." She responded as she held up the dandelions in her hand.

"Why don't you go more towards home." I suggested. "There will be a meeting soon."

"Okay." She nodded and handed me one of the dandelions. "This one's for you."

"Thank you." My smile grew wider.

I watched as Emi ran back to be with the rest of the pack. I loved the idea of being a mother. I always seemed to have the instinct to take care of others. It was one of the reason's Matteo's father felt like I was a good fit for the pack's luna.

The day seemed to go by quickly. We had our meeting with everyone basically going over any news that everyone needed to know. There wasn't much honestly. Our pack kept to themselves and there were rarely any problems that occurred. We'd have an occasional fight between males once a female had found her mate and had to leave a boyfriend behind. But that's about all the excitement we got here.

We continued on with the rest of the day. While Matteo did alpha duties I made sure everything else stayed in order. I didn't take a break until dinner time had arrived. Matteo and I sat in the dining hall of the pack house with the rest that lived here. We were having a pleasant meal when Derek, one of our watchmen, came rushing into the room.

"Alpha Bradley and Matteo!" He looked between Matteo and his father. "Someone's attacked! Bryce has been hurt!"

Matteo and his father exchanged glances. I could tell they were mind linking with each other to make a decision. Alpha Bradley nodded and Matteo stood up from his chair. I watched as he cleared his voice to get all eyes on him.

"We will go check out Bryce. I want the rest of you to look around and see if you can pick up the enemy." Matteo ordered.

The others nodded and proceeded to get out of their seats. Our pack was a little smaller so we only had fifteen wolves that were prepared to fight if needed. They all followed each other one by one as they exited the dining hall. As they did so I got out of my seat and followed Matteo and his father to see the damage done to Bryce.

When we reached the spot of the woods where he was he was laying on the ground breathing heavily. He had been torn up pretty bad. By the claw marks on his body it had to be another wolf. But from which pack? Last I knew we were on good terms with most of the packs.

"Take him to the healer." Matteo ordered.

"Yes Sir." Derek spoke as he waved over two of the other watchmen.

As they got out of view with Bryce, that's when the enemy showed themselves. Two massive wolves came out of nowhere. One was grey and one was light brown. They were growling and baring their teeth. I looked over to Matteo who's face had a look of horror across it.

"It's the Dark Moon Park." Alpha Bradley spoke quietly. He then looked over to Matteo and I. "Run!"

We didn't hesitate as we took off running. The two wolves were following behind us. "We have to split up!" I spoke to Matteo using our mind link.

"Are you crazy?! They're too strong to take on one on one!" Matteo's face had a flash of worry.

"But we need to split them up! We need to split up!" I spoke once more through our link.

"Fine. But don't close the connection." He ordered.

"I won't." I responded once more before taking off to the left.

I was on my own now. The grey wolf was the one that had followed me. With them on our tails there was no time to shift. Thankfully I was beginning to lose him. He may be stronger but I was definitely faster than him. I was feeling confident in myself, up until I tripped on a tree root sticking out of the ground.

I fell to the ground. "Damn it." I cursed myself.

The grey wolf only took a few seconds to catch up. He was in my face baring his teeth again. I looked around but I couldn't come up with an escape plan quick enough. I could feel a slight panic grow within myself but then it quickly disappeared.

Instead I was focused on the most intoxicating scent I've ever smelled. It was getting closer and closer. It began to get overwhelming and I could feel the need to find out where it was coming from. The wolf that was getting closer to my face clearly couldn't smell it himself.

The scent got overpowering as a muscular man approached. He wore a dark pair of pants with a dark red shirt. "Stop!" He ordered and looked over to the wolf in front of me. "Stand down, everyone else stand down!"

The grey wolf began to back off. The man came closer to me. I could feel my desire grow for him as I looked at him. His dark brown hair was shaved short on the sides and the top was longer and styled in a swept up look. His face had the stubble of a beard and mustache. He was the hottest thing I had ever seen.

His hazel eyes met my blue orbs. Suddenly the desire for him was overwhelming. He smelled so damn good and all I wanted was to be all over him. He closed the gap in between us, by the way he looked at me it seemed he was feeling the same way.

Without thinking our lips locked together by instinct. I felt waves of heat and sparks go through my body. My mouth opened to let his tongue inside to dance with mine. He felt incredible and I wanted more. He let out a low growl as his mouth remained on mine.

Finally he pulled away and my brain turned back on. This. This feeling, this is what they said it was like when you find your fated mate. I suddenly became confused. Who was he? If he was my fated mate, where did that leave Matteo and I?

"Are you okay?" Matteo's voice came through in my head as my eyes remained locked with this stranger.

"Alpha Bradley, show yourself!" The stranger called out.

Matteo and his father came over quickly. "What do you want, Alpha Jaxon? What is the reason for this?"

The man who's name I just learned looked over to Matteo and Alpha Bradley. "I came to make your pack extinct tonight."

It became clear. This man I had just kissed was the Alpha to the Dark Moon Park. The most ruthless pack of them all. And he was my fated mate? What the hell did this mean?!

"W-why?" Alpha Bradley stammered out.

"You know why!" He snarled at Alpha Bradley. He then looked back at me and I felt his eyes look me up and down with desire. "However, I've had a change of heart. Maybe we can make a trade. I'll let your pack live, but only if I can take this one with me."