Chapter 1

CLINK.

The sound of glass echoed through the group, followed by a thunderous roar of laughter.

"Chug, chug, chug, chug!" The crowd cheers and clap their hands in encouragement for them to drink the beer without any hesitant stopping.

"Ah!! Done!" A man yells in joy while throwing the glass bottle into the ten foot high bonfire next to them.

The other individuals followed pursuit and threw their hands up in the air for more.

"Alpha, alpha, alpha, alpha!" The crowd chants.

The man flashes the watching crowd a smile, melting the hearts of young girls in the process. He gives them a wink and turns back around to pat his friends on the back.

"Better luck next time, dude." He teases with a growl and the others laugh.

"I let you win, Alpha Dakota." A girl standing next to him smiles warmly. Her expressions taunting him, but he only returns the grin.

"And don't you forget that name!" He exclaims, stepping away from them to face the entire crowd. He climbed on to a nearby chair and patted his chest as if he was going to give a speech.

"I am your new alpha!" The crowd goes wild over his excitement. He was a truely powerful man and everyone rejoiced in his presence.

Dakota cleared his throat to continue. "This is a new age." He becomes serious, forcing his female friend to smile again.

"There is gonna be some changes around here. All for the better of coarse." His monologue tone made her stomach do somarsaults. He was really moving!

"No more hiding. We are the largest pack! We should stand tall, hold our ground, and represent the very existence of wolves!" He bellowed more with a euphoria feeling, making the crowd cheer.

"I am honored that my father passed down the reigns of alpha to me. I will be the best for you." He furrowed his bushy brows together, the muscles through his tight fit shirt made themselves apparent. He definitely grew into his size.

"I will be the best for all of the Shadow Pack!" He somehow grabbed another beer bottle and hoisted it into the air.

The crowd did the same and everyone yelled in unison.

"Hooah!"

Dakota stepped off the chair and everyone continued to enjoy the party. The speakers circling the area boomed with music that ushered people to start dancing.

"That was some speech." The girl claps her hands together as she walks up to him.

He pulls his curved lips into a smile and bows his head. "Why thank you, Nadia."

Nadia giggles in response and he shoves her arm playfully.

"Now all you need is a Luna and the pack will be complete." She teases, but Dakota shakes his head.

"I want to put all of my focus on this pack. A mate and Luna can come later. " He trails off his words as they get closer to the bonfire. "If she finds me." He finishes with a stiffened expression.

Nadia rolls her eyes. "You'll find your mate." She states with confidence.

It was enough to make Dakota feel better. He was twenty-four with no found mate yet. He’s visited other territories at mate gatherings but Dakota was only a mere wallflower. He internally did want to find his mate, but wanted to put his pack first. As the biggest and most advanced pack in the western region, he needed to build a defense, offense, and everything in between to protect his people.

Nadia could sense his distress and changed the subject to her. "At least you will get a mate." She scoffs. "I on the other hand am doomed for enternity." She laughs at herself but Dakota only frowns.

"Thats not true. Maybe on-" She cuts him off.

"You know thats not going to happen. A Coyote doesn't get to be mated remember?" She raises her brows, studying his face.

"Besides.." She continues. "I actually like being the lone mutt." She laughs.

"Shut up." Dakota shakes his head. "You're a part of this pack and always will be."

Nadia glances over at him and smiles as she sips the bottle of beer. His caramel eyes twinkles against the radiating fire and his tanned skin lit up. He was ravishing tonight and sweating confidence from the ceremony of transitioning to alpha.

All alphas change, emanating something different to shape to an alphas demeanor but Dakota was different. He changed in many ways physically and emotionally but his heart remained pure.

“Dude!!” A man calls from behind them.

They both turn around and are greeted by a Aspen. He’s been officially elected as Dakota’s Beta. The loyalty within Aspen is unphased by anything and anyone, the perfect fit for his alpha.

Rustling his finger tips through the curly locks of his dark hair, Dakota lifted his hand up to grasp Aspens as they brought it in for a warm brotherly hug.

“How’s my beta doing?” He asks.

Aspen chuckles. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”

Nadia watched the two converse back and forth before she excused herself to walk away from the bonfire. Her stomach twisted in growls of hunger and she remembered she skipped lunch today to help get this party together. Dakota really deserved it.

Food.. Her inner canine made herself known.

Nadia laughs and nods her head. “Fine. Let’s go back to the bunk house and find something to eat.”

Nadia abandons the party and heads up the hill to get across the field and back to the bunk house. She stayed at the edge of the territory, bunking with a few others. Dakota bunked with them too because he always felt so close to his pack members. He didn’t care for the alpha headquarters, but now he was required to stay there. Nadia will miss him and his dramatic story telling at night.

As she finally makes it to the bunk house, she strides into the kitchen and rummages through the fridge. There was a sandwich she made the day before and it would do for now.

She opened the bag and ripped into the sandwich with her teeth and sighed in relief from the delicious taste.

Thank you, her inner coyote yipped.

She chuckles and throws away the wrapping as she leaves the bunk house. A loud rustling of leaves and branches startle her from behind.

Nadia whipped her head around in alarm but saw nothing. She reluctantly turned around and head for the wooded tree line but stopped at the edge.

“This is the boundary..” she muttered.

The pack members didn’t typically leave the area, only for errands and meetings with outsiders. Nadia hasn’t been outside of these walls since she was found by alpha Dakota twelve years ago. She was ten at the time which would make her twenty-two now. Dakota was twelve but he was just as brawny and caring as he is now.

The shadow pack was out of territory, attending an annual meeting in the north region. On their way back, they were alerted by the smell of smoke coming from the woods. When they came upon the camp site, they found the entire group slaughtered. The only remaining thing they found was a small pup, Nadia. Upon closer inspection, they realized that it wasn’t a pack of wolves but a pack of coyotes.

Coyotes were a rare species to come across, but they weren’t a highly rated one. The council didn’t look keenly on coyotes because they were a mixed breed and ultimately didn’t share the same power as werewolves. The shadow pack and former alpha Dallas took Nadia in anyway, raising her as their own.

Nadia perked up at the sound of rustling once more, unaware that the tree line was a drop off into a large valley trench. When she stepped forward to try and catch a scent, her legs caved in and she rolled down the steep side.

Her body was flung across the ground, hitting bushes, branches, and tree stumps as she went. She finally thumped against a large Boulder.

“Ow..” she groans. Her backside was in immense pain and her body was covered in scrapes, dirt, and forming bruises.

She craned her neck upwards, looking at the moon that lit up the small opened area.

“So that’s how it is..” she scoffs at what she happened and wobbles into a standing position.

Rubbing her head, she could feel a warm liquid escape on her fingers.

“Damn it..” she breathed out, noticing she had a head injury. She quickly wiped away the blood but immoderately stopped in her tracks when she caught a whiff of something fowl.

The rustling movements sent her into a panic mode, realizing she was now out of shadow territory and in free range land.

This isn’t good. Her canine whined, becoming nervous.

Nadia ignored the soreness rising from the fall and stood tall to be more aware of her surroundings. Her senses were filled with an awful smell that resembled blood.

She brushed off the leaves attached to her clothes and attempted to run back up the hill but to no avail, it was useless.

The shadow pack was smart to build this around the territory.

Another strong whiff of smell filled her nostrils and Nadia quickly turned around to see a dark figure standing across from her in the darkness and out of the moonlight.

“Who’s there?!” She demanded for the thing to show itself. Her coyote yellows grew yellow in color as a defense mechanism to intimidate the enemy.

A soft chuckle began to rise from the figure then into a loud maniacal one.

“Little wolf.” It hissed, possessing a thick Romanian accent.

“Stay away from me!” Nadia stepped forward into the light, holding her ground bravely.

“You’ve traveled away from home.” It’s words slithered out like a snake as it’s eyes grew red in color.

Nadia widened her eyes, realizing what this thing was. She couldn’t believe it. She thought they were a myth, tied to a story about a peace treaty between wolves. She didn’t want to believe that she actually was face to face with one at this very moment.

“Vampire..” Nadia quivers over the words.

Simultaneously, Nadia was overcome with a whirling sense of passion. Her body almost drawing itself subconsciously to the creature. Her breathing heaved and hitched in her throat, forcing her to step back.

Her glowing eyes lock on the vampire, feeling her inner canine become restless. The feeling is wreaking havoc on her emotions, making the coyote yip inside with excitement as she attempts to process the vampire encounter.

“What is this..” she whispers as the figure comes closer, avoiding the light of the moon.

Instantly, her worries are halted. A delicious warmth begins to invade her body and all senses. A gasp escapes her lips.

“M-Mate.” She mutters robotically. Her eyes were still fixated on the figure as if she was in a trance.

Mate.. her inner coyote repeated with joy.

Joy was the furthest emotion from her mind as this was impossible.

The figure cocked its head, taking in her appearance before stepping forward into the moonlight. Finally revealing itself, a brooding, chiseled man stood before her.

His eyes wickedly staring back in just as much disbelief as she. The strong ethereal features he posed are marred with shock as he was now rooted to the spot. The charcoal hair swayed slightly against the breeze. His broad, imposing body tenses, portraying every emotion that she is feeling.

Rain began to drizzle a small shower over them, dampening her hair and clothes. It was enough to snap out of her stupor and realize the elusive man disappeared.