Prologue

Keegan POV:

It was just another day in Luisca. And of course, it was raining. Sometimes I wondered if this small town was more suited for vampires than a full-blooded wolf like me. That being said, I was living in the lap of luxury, in a four-story house in the outskirts of the small town, surrounded by lush forests. I was only thirty and retired. I didn’t have much to complain about.

How, one might ask. Easy, I trained the men and thugs of one of the biggest crime bosses in the country, Clement Slater.

Eight years ago, I had stumbled across the man outside a restaurant. It had been a complete accident because I sure as hell didn’t want to drop an alpha wolf on his ass. I had always been averse to figures of authority, so I kept away from them rather than stir trouble. But the fact that it was a mistake hadn’t been seen by his bodyguards. They were on me in a split second.

Thank god, Slater had a heart. Yes, shocker! Though, since then, I had found that the man’s heart was black and cold. Nevertheless, he stopped his men from killing me. All of them buff wolves. I would have been torn to shreds.

That was how it all started. I charmed my way into his way of life. Werewolves had long integrated into human civilization and held basic jobs. It wasn’t a wonder that some pack had dipped their hand into organized crime. The concept had thrilled the rebel in me. At first, I just ran errands and delivered ‘packages.’

Eventually, after working with Clement’s right-hand man and beta, I managed to move up to a more elusive role— the collector. I didn’t enjoy beating the crap out of humans, but I got paid well. I told myself that the humans I reduced to a pulp were the scum of the earth and deserved that treatment.

This was how I could afford to retire. Then, there was why. I was exhausted. Additionally, I wanted to wallow in self-loathing. I felt it disgraceful to hurt humans while I was naturally stronger than them. But one time, I accidentally killed someone… someone innocent. I couldn’t handle it anymore.

Clement understood my reasoning and let me walk away, but on one condition. I still had to train his men. Usually, his beta handled the training, but since I easily took him down nine out of ten times when we sparred, I had been given the job.

In short, I was a werewolf gang trainer. I ran a boot camp for individuals to whip them into shape.

The good thing was, I was still paid well and there was the advantage that I didn’t need to do any dirty work. At least, not directly. New wolves were few and far between. I hadn’t seen a new one in over four months and I was fine with that. I enjoyed living alone and didn’t like talking with the wolves that Clement sent my way, anyway.

For example, Frankie Albert. Anyone who saw him would think him incapable of hurting anyone. He had come to my house looking like a little lost pup with a round face, still holding on to baby fat and an out-of-shape body. He was an omega in the pack, but still. His father ran shipments and Clement wanted him fit and able to fight both with weapons and by hand as if his life depended on it. The kid looked like he could barely flirt with a girl, much less a gun.

But for three months, I trained him so hard that not even his mother was able to recognize him. He had gone from a round-faced kid to a slim and strong wolf. I have even made him cut the mop of hair on his head. He had moaned that he wanted to keep it long, but it kept flopping over his eyes, making his workout harder and more frustrating.

I buzz cut his hair in his sleep. More like, I knocked him out for showing me attitude. Since then, three months had passed and I hadn’t heard from Clement or Frankie. I almost missed those two.

Who was I kidding? I did not.

I tried to concentrate on my workout, barely recognizing the man in the mirror across from me. I still looked the same: annoying blond hair that never seemed to settle down without a jar of hair gel and a perpetual scowl. My body was large and muscular but riddled with old wounds. An old bullet wound could be seen on my left shoulder and a thin seven-inch scar running between my left ribs was prominent. The cigarette burns near my naval came from a member of a rival crime family. The giver was later shoved into the trunk of my car, dead. It was the only time I took pleasure in killing a human. He deserved it for the hours of torture he had put me through. It was just that my eyes were different: the color was the same, but they looked oddly hollow.

Or I had too much time on my hands and watching those reality shows was getting to my head.

My phone started ringing while I was on the fifth repetition of my exercise. I cursed at it from across the room. Reluctantly, I put my weights down and jogged over to the phone.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Keegan, guess who?” a cold voice asked. I rolled my eyes. NO one was allowed to call me except for him to begin with. I didn’t need to guess.

“Hey, Clement.”

“I have got a new student for you,” he grunted. I grumbled under my breath, hoping he didn’t send another rookie like Frankie again.

“I’m listening,” I responded, remaining patient.

“It’s my daughter.”

What? Clement had no children. He had always said that he didn’t want any because his enemies would come after his mate and pups.

“This information doesn’t get repeated to anyone,” he ordered. “No one knows who she really is. This is between you, me, and her. You are going to treat this one like Tess. You got me?”

Tess used to be married to a local thug who beat her daily and she had wanted out. She had asked Clement for help a few years ago in exchange for information. Clement couldn’t say no because the thug had made business harder. He needed this thug to come to a stop.

We had helped her train to fight back. Edwin, Clement’s new beta had the largest hand in helping her. She went her merry way and a week later, the thug was dead from a fall out of a window. The cops called it self-defense because she was sporting nasty bruises. Edwin had been by her side ever since.

“What the hell, Clement? I don’t do women,” I snipped back. I was glad the conversation wasn’t happening face to face.

“Yes, I still question your sexual orientation. But right now is not the time. Listen to me, you little shit. Her mother is Vivian and I am sure you have heard that story. I had no clue that she was pregnant with my child when we parted ways. If I had known—”

He sounded hurt. If he had known, he would have done everything to make sure Vivian and his daughter had everything they desired and more. Vivian was the love of his life, the mate he had not claimed officially, but since he was the alpha and the leader of his operations, there was no way that she could stay with him. She was at constant risk.

“Fine, but what is her story?”

“First of all, you watch it around my girls. You got that?” he said in a no-nonsense voice. “Her story is that she married a piece of scum called Brant Moore. He’s got money, looks, and a wicked right hook. He’s got some wolf blood in him, though dilute, so that complicates matters. She came in with her six-year-old daughter and a black eye, bloody lip, and bruises on every inch of her body that I could see. She’s recovering from her injuries right now, but I will send them both to you in a week. Get prepared.”

I sighed. A mother and a child would be living in my house for who knows how long. I didn’t have a choice in the matter, either. “I’ll be ready,” there was resignation in my voice.

“And one more thing. If you touch my daughter, and you know what I mean, Cox… I will kill you.” And then the man hung up. I sighed.

He could rest assured, I wasn’t going to touch his daughter. I didn’t have a death wish.

.

It had been a week since Clement’s call. I was bored and had nothing to do except prepare my house for guests. Clement had mentioned that his daughter loved to cook, so I went to the city and stocked up my kitchen with all the gadgets that she could need. Then I had gone and prepared two rooms on the first floor.

There was one for the little girl. I had not the first clue what a kid would like. Thankfully, Tess had helped by ordering everything online and shipping it to the post office. I just had to pick them up and put the stuff together. As for the other bedroom, I had no idea what to do with it. I had kept the room as it was, blue with matching comforter and sheets.

I was waiting in the living room, tapping my finger on my thigh, and willing the time to speed up. From what they had told me, the woman was in serious trouble: not only had the guy beaten her, but she had also managed to get their daughter away, too. From what Clement had mentioned in his subsequent calls, it sounded like Brant Moore would do anything to get what belonged to him. She had managed to stay in hiding for almost six months but he had caught up to her. After barely getting away from him a second time, she had come to her father.

Clement had been her last hope.

Twenty minutes later, I heard the roar of Edwin’s car pulling into the driveway. I took a deep breath, ready to greet them. When I opened the front door, a little girl with big brown curls bounced up the steps of my porch and took hold of my leg.

“Are you the one that’s going to keep the monster away?” she asked in a whisper, looking at me with blue eyes and a toothy grin. She stepped back, blushing when I smiled down at her. Her scent was faint, but she was definitely a wolf pup.

“Claire!” a woman called after her. I looked up to see the face that it belonged to.

I cursed under my breath. I was going to die.

My heart pounded in my chest, out of control. Clement’s warning rang in my head and I knew that this would be the hardest thing I would ever have to do in my life.