Chapter one

Maria’s POV

I felt a gentle caress against my cheek, it was warm and sent a flurry of sensations all over my body, I nestled into the big hand with a smile on my face.

“What time is it? Why are you awake already?” I said without opening my eyes.

“It’s still early, not time for you to wake up yet” I heard an unfamiliar voice whisper against my ear.

Despite not knowing who the voice belonged to, it sent shivers running up and down my spine but my eyes also fluttered open at once.

I was met with a face that could have easily the Greek God’s statue to shame, he was beautiful, he had a perfect jaw line and well cut nose and he had a mouth that just begged to be kissed and then there were his eyes that looked like pure glistening honey, they had me running my tongue over my lips.

I had no idea who this stranger was but he was making me feel wonderful, sinful things just by the way he was looking at me.

“Who are you?” I managed to ask, though the breathless quality of my voice had the handsome stranger smiling a smile that told me he knew exactly what he was doing to me.

“Does that matter?” he asked and brushed his knuckles over my cheeks once more.

“Yes it does, who are you and why are you in my room?” I asked trying to focus on asking the important questions and not on the other hand that had found my thigh and was softly caressing as well.

Whoever the hell this man was, his touch and everything about him was driving me completely and absolutely insane.

Another smile graced his perfect face and then he whispered in a deep sensual voice that sent heat rushing to a very very forbidden place.

“I will see you pretty soon Maria” he said and then just like that, my eyes sprang open.

I looked around quickly and found that I was in my bedroom but I was alone on the bed, the stranger was gone.

I sat up and ran a hand over my face, that was a very weird dream indeed, I had never seen that man in my entire life but there was no doubting the control he had over me, I could still feel the parts of my body which he had touched tingling as though, it was not a dream but an event that really happened.

My thoughts were distorted when the door to the adjoining bathroom opened and my husband stepped out with a towel tied around his waist, he was using another to towel his wet hair that was sticking to his face.

I watched as a single drop of water fell from his hair and dripped onto to his perfectly sculpted chest, I watched it as it traveled it its course down his chest, onto to his perfectly defined abdomen and finally disappeared into the waistline of the white towel around his waist.

“Seems like you like what you see don’t you?” Ethan said with a chuckle as he approached me and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

I “Mmmmed” in to the kiss and then when he pulled away, I smiled and said “Good morning baby”

He stepped back and said “Good morning baby, did you sleep well?” his deep voice sending waves of pleasure all over my body.

“I did” I answered and lay back on the bed.

“I did not want to wake you earlier, I have to attend a meeting of the Alphas, there seems to an issue that requires my attention” Ethan said as he walked towards his closet to get dressed.

Whenever a meeting of the Alphas was called, a serious issue had definitely occurred and it was hardly ever good.

“Do you have any idea what it could be about?” I asked him.

He gave a casual shrug and said “I have no idea but it seems pretty urgent because when Marcus called me earlier, he sounded a bit out of it”

“Then I suggest you hurry, it might be something really serious” I said and stood up from the bed to help him get dressed.

He had just slipped his white button down shirt over his toned body, I helped him with buttons and then his tie, he was looking at me with such love and adoration in his eyes.

The love story between Ethan and I was one of the most frequently told stories among the packs, we had been from different packs, enemy packs to be precise, they never got along and then we came along, my mother was the Luna of our pack, the Orion pack and Ethan’s father was the alpha of the Crescent pack, our packs had been the most powerful packs in werewolf history and their enmity had lasted just as long as that history.

It had been a total outrage when we realized we were mates and belonged with one another but our parents were not having any of it, it had taken a lot of convincing and even the threat of death to get us to unify both packs, the crescent wolves had 4 smaller packs beneath them and we had 3 smaller packs under our protection so when Ethan and I were joined as one, we united the entire packs and then Ethan was named Head Alpha and I was his Luna, the packs had stayed united for the past 5 years now.

When I was done with knotting his tie, I helped him slip on his jacket, he looked handsome as always, just like the first time I had laid eyes on him, he still made my heart race every single time I saw him.

He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my lips and then he pulled away “I will see soon, let me go and get this straightened out as soon as possible” he said.

I gave him a smile and said “I will be here when you return”

“I love you” he said with a smile which I gladly returned.

“I love you too” I said and then he was gone.

*********************

Ethan’s POV

I walked into the meeting room, the others were already seated and waiting for me, the alphas of the other packs, there was Marcus, who was also my Beta, he was the leader of the Orison pack, then there was, Alfonso, the leader of Lunar pack, Tate was the leader of the Night pack, Benjamin was the leader of River wolves, Frank was the leader of shadow pack, Luis was the leader of the Moonlight  pack and finally there was Jack, the leader of solstice pack.

These men and I formed the high council of the wolves, we co-ordinated and directed everything related to the werewolves, we kept intruders at bay, we made sure our wolves were well cared for and kept safe.

“Good day gentlemen, what seems to be the problem?” I asked once I had taken my seat at the head of the large table.

The first to speak was Marcus “We had reports that a pack of rogue wolves attacked the River pack last night and they have been reports of some casualties, we have still not been able to track them down and find out who they are”

This was truly a disturbing issue, Rogue wolves were a serious problem and most times, it was very difficult to handle them and they caused the most trouble.

“We have the best trackers tracing them right now but they have had no progress since last night” Luis said.

“Why did you all wait till this morning to tell me of this?” I asked, they should have reported this to me the moment it happened.

“We did not want to bother you with the issue, we had thought we will be able to track them and find them before morning but they turned out to very elusive” Alfonso said.

“You are to report every tiny problem to me at all times so that we can work together and solve it” I said.

Sometimes I wondered if perhaps they did not trust my leadership because I was the youngest Alpha so far.

“We will do just that next time” Jack said.

I gave them a curt nod and said “I need details on the outcome of the search and if by nightfall they have not been found, I will track them myself”

“It will not be best option to let you out into the field, you and Maria are the symbol of peace for the entire packs, if something should happen to either of you, then I fear for the peaceful era we have been living in for the past years” Benjamin said.

A deep chuckle escaped my lips at once “ So you expect me to hide behind walls when my people are murdered and sit here on this seat like some poster boy for peace for you all?” I said.

“No Alpha, that is not what we mean” Marcus said immediately.

“I do not care what you all mean but the next time anyone of you questions my orders again, I can assure you the consequences will be dire” I said, my voice becoming colder with each word I spoke.

The men around the table nodded their heads quickly and then I said “You can all leave and Marcus, make sure you keep me informed on the situation of things”

“Yes Alpha Ethan” he said and walked out of the room with the other men.

Once they were gone, I released a sigh, I had known unifying the pack would come with it challenges, I became the youngest Alpha when I was just 24 and during the five years of being head Alpha, I had my squabbles with the other Alphas, they may not say it out loud but I knew taking orders from a younger Alpha was something that did  not seat well with them.

My father had always told me that my soft heart will be my undoing, they needed a display of pure power for me to completely buy their loyalty but that was not my way of leadership.

Just then, I heard footsteps approaching, I raised my head to look and my eyes widened when they fell on the person whom the footsteps belonged to.

“Hello Brother, long time no see” the man I had not seen in almost 15 years said to me.

I was too shocked to reply immediately but when I did, the only I could say was “What the hell are you doing here?”

A smirk passed his lips and then he said “Well I am back home brother, I thought you might have missed me?”

I stood up and walked towards him “You have no home here, not since you tried to murder your own father”