Chapter 1

Prologue

Maya Simpkin raised the beer along with most of her peers. Not only had they all graduated from high school, but they just had their first turning. Even as her arms shook from the transition of human into wolf, she wanted to take the time to celebrate. Her entire body was on fire.

She felt sick and hungry at the same time. Her head felt like it had spent the past couple of hours banging against a brick wall. None of that was going to stop her from enjoying this very moment.

She was finally a wolf.

For a whole year she’d been afraid that she wouldn’t be able to turn, that her parents would be pissed, and the pack would turn her away. Admittedly, for them to do that, their alpha, Luke Marshall, would have to be present, which he never was.

It was kind of weird for them to have a nomad biker as their alpha. She rarely saw him, but she always knew when he was in town because the pack just went nuts. He’d stop by from time to time. The truth was, he wasn’t their true alpha, well, he was and he wasn’t. Confusing, but the pack had been in trouble several years back. She was ten at the time, and hadn’t been part of the drama that unfolded when it came to the pack. What she knew was from listening in to her parents’ conversations. Nothing more.

Their previous alpha had been weak. He’d gained power by attempting to claim how strong he was and how he’d protect them all, but the truth was, he didn’t have the first clue what he was doing. He’d used their obscure location as a way to keep his place at the top for years. He assumed his role of being a dickhead, until eight years ago when they had some wandering wolves stumble onto their private little town.

It hadn’t taken long for the traveling wolves to realize they were powerless. For three days and nights, the pack had lived in fear while the alpha cowered and gave into their every demand. Men had been killed, and some women had been … raped.

Then one man, a nomad biker, rode in on his motorcycle, looking for a place to crash, and stumbled onto the men.

Maya wasn’t exactly sure on the details, but it sounded like Luke passed through town a few times. He’d take the time to stay for a beer and a couple of nights’ rest before moving on. This time, he’d stayed, seen what had happened, and then her parents described him as going “full rabid mode.” She’d never seen a wolf be uncontrollable before, but it had been him against possibly ten men. When she heard the story, which came around when he visited, it sounded a little far-fetched.

Until you saw him.

Luke was not an approachable man. He was tall, muscular, heavily inked, had a few scars that probably could tell a gazillion stories, and he wasn’t very nice. But—and this was a big but—he kept the town freaking safe. Now he stopped by multiple times a year, and the women went crazy for him.

Maya couldn’t recall the last time she’d seen him. It had been a couple of years, but being a minor, unchanged, none of the pack allowed him to deal with the youngest. The truth was, Maya had often wondered why the pack didn’t appoint a deputy alpha, someone to take charge while Luke was riding off into the sunset.

Taking a large gulp of the beer, Maya shook off the weird feeling that worked its way down her spine. The beer was disgusting and turned her stomach. The sick feeling wasn’t going away. She put her beer down, and Jordan, one of her friends, gave her a quizzical look.

“I’m just heading outside,” she said.

“Do you want me to come?”

“No, no, it’s okay. You stay here. I’ll be back in a moment.” She forced a smile to her lips, even though it was the last thing she felt.

She moved around the bar, heading toward the side door. There were not as many from the pack. The pack didn’t like weakness. Since their attack, they had focused on nothing but strength. No one could show a sign of weakness, which at times was so hard to do.

Maya stepped outside, leaned against the side of the building, and took several deep breaths of the warm night air. She stared up at the moon, which wasn’t quite as high in the sky. Time didn’t matter tonight. Her parents had told her to go and have fun. It was up to her when she returned home. This was a night of celebration. She should be in there with her friends.

That strange feeling swept over her body. Maya didn’t know what it was but as she went to turn, someone suddenly wrapped their fingers around her neck and pressed her up against the wall.

“What is the fucking meaning of this?” he asked.

She went to the hands around her neck and lifted her head in time to see that it was none other than the alpha, Luke Marshall. He was there, at the bar, with his fingers wrapped around her neck. There was no pressure to his hold. She wasn’t uncomfortable. There was power to his grip, and she couldn’t look away, even if she wanted to.

“Alpha,” she said.

His blue eyes turned to a dark amber, and then back again as he glared at her. “You’re a fucking newbie.”

Maya had never been with a man. She’d never shared a kiss with any of the pack. Even when some of them were fucking tonight after their transition, she had been more interested in exploring this new body. The feelings of her wolf, which were foreign to her—she wanted to understand that side of her life.

“What’s happening?” Maya said.

She wanted to touch him, to run her hands all over his body, to breathe him in. The scent of him was intoxicating. Her mouth watered. Her nipples tightened. Her pussy grew slick with need.