PROLOGUE

THE LUNA SERIES

BOOK ONE: THE RUNAWAY LUNA

PROLOGUE

Maddison felt the icy raindrops hit the smooth layers of her skin through the flimsy white sundress but none of it mattered. She needed to get away as far as possible from this wretched little town. The rain soaking her to the bone didn’t bother her at all and neither did the starless night. Her feet picked pace against the roadside of the desolate street. She glanced behind her, the  approaching car with lights at full tilt as more pain shot through her body as she closed one hand over her bleeding wound on the right side of her stomach. God forbid if the knife had penetrated deep enough. This was absolutely not the time to think; it was the time to run for her life. She could see the blinding lights of the Mercedes Benz approaching at an inexplicable speed. The bleeding was getting worse with each step she took and her vision was growing blurred. No amount of fighting against the haziness was working but nevertheless, she pushed on. 

Just like in every bad horror film she’s had the misfortune of watching, she tripped, surging forward and hitting the ground head first. She knew there was no chance to get up now and run. Tears of helplessness and desperation choked her throat. She was too wounded to turn into her wolf form; not forgetting the wolf lichen Rowan put in her and the car was already slowing down beside her. Three brawny men stepped out of the car, slowly approaching her with conniving smirks. One of them blew a long whiff of smoke before crushing the last piece of cigarette under the heel of his brown leather boot.

“Where did you think you were running to, little wolf?” Another questioned, chuckling along the next words that spilled off his lips, “Did you really think you could outrun us?”

“No, no,” her gaze was growing hazy by the minute and before they could reach her, unconsciousness finally kicked in. She didn’t fight it this time. No. She’d rather not see the repercussions of her actions while fully conscious.

                                                                           ***

The orange streaks of the morning sun rays pushed through the flimsy white curtains, spraying on Maddison Brown’s sleeping face. She squinted a bit before turning her face to the other side of bed hoping to catch a few more ounces of sleep before her mother came rushing into her room. Oh shit! She was married and knowing Rowan, he wouldn’t let her sleep for a few more minutes.

“Good Morning,” It was not neither her mother’s nor Rowan’s voice.

She quickly sat up, her forehead ramming right into a man’s nose. The man cussed as he straightened up, holding the edge of his nose delicately between two fingers. Maddison stared alarmingly at the stranger, while doing her best to ignore the pain coursing through her body from the wound in her stomach; memories of last night rushing into her brain at an inexplicable speed . Why hadn’t she healed yet? Right, wolf lichen. If there was something known to be lethal to the wolves, apart from the famous silver, it was Wolf Lichen. Depending on the amount injected to them, it could paralyze the wolf ranging from a few hours to forever. She yanked the covers off her, baring her lithe body to the morning light chills.  She was naked. No, she would worry about that later.

“Please don’t take me back. He’ll kill me,” she pulled on her best teary voice, pulling the covers back on top of her.

She couldn’t go. Not to that hell hole.

His face remained blank as he pulled the squeaky armchair next to the creaky bed. If she wasn’t too stuck in the events of the moment, she would have perhaps noticed how attractive his sea green eyes were. Or how sharp his jawline was. In his hand, was a pocket knife which he used to slice an apple with. After enjoying the first slice, his eyes returned to Maddison, weighing her out.

“Why were Rowan’s guys chasing you?” He asked instead. Her eyes widened for a moment. Wait, he was not one of them? No, this had to be one of Rowan’s tricks so he could have a reason for punishing her. Again. 

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” she denied, wincing in pain when she tried to move.

“Oh, I know you do. See, I find it oddly suspicious, when a wolf runs in the middle of the night with a wound knife in her tummy and three of Rowan’s guys are after her. So you either tell me or I’m just going to hand you back to him. Your head seems like it could fetch a good price,” No smile, no blinking. He was clearly not bluffing.

“And even if I tell you, how can I be sure you won’t be running your mouth once you learn who I’m?” she poised, watching his face keenly.

“If I wanted to run my mouth, I would not have had to maim three guys to save your ass, Maddison Brown,” So he knew who she was? Then why did he save her? Everyone knew Rowan and no one would dare go against his will. Unless, of course, they had a death wish.

“Oh,” It was all she could mutter.

“That’s right, I know who you are, Maddison. Who in the world would not recognize the mate to the big, bad Alpha Rowan? The question is, why were you running from him?” he asked, completely relaxed.

“Its really none of your business. You can take me back if you want but I’m not spitting a single word,”

“Fine then. Let’s see how long you’ll survive out there on your own when he has got every loyal werewolf searching all the nooks and crannies for you,” he shrugged walking into an inner room.

She took the chance to survey the room she was in. It was surprisingly clean despite the old band posters stuck on the wall and small creaky bed she was squashed up in. She proceeded to step off the bed but more pain shot through mid-waist. Her gaze fell on the dressed up wound, thankful that the stranger, whatever his name was, had at least had the decency to tend to her wounds. She cocked an ear, waiting to hear a sound but there was none. She didn’t care who this guy was but she was beyond the point of trusting anyone, especially when she was carrying a precious secret with her; a secret she would kill anyone just to keep it.