HANNAH

My name is Hannah, and I’m a werewolf. I lived with my father in a small pack, and I thought I had the most ordinary life.

That was until that night.

Because that night had changed my life forever.

I was having dinner with my dad like any other day. He was a little grumpy, which wasn’t that unusual, so I stayed silent. Looking down and concentrating on my food, it took me a moment to realize something was off. His hand with the spoon froze midair and I could see his eyes get distant as I looked up. Someone was mind-linking him. I watched his face getting darker, then he stood up, making the chair fall behind him, and he left the house in a hurry.

I heard the door slam shut behind him, and at that very moment, Alpha Robert’s voice rang in my head.

“Attention, pack members! We are under attack! Every wolf capable of fighting, report to the training hall! Those who can’t fight go to a safe place closest to you!”

For a moment, I froze. Under attack? But we were a small, peaceful pack. Why would anyone attack us?

“Hannah!” Luna Meredith linked me. “Can you come and help with the children?” She asked, and I jumped immediately.

I was not of age yet, and without my wolf I couldn’t link back, but the Alpha and Luna could link all pack members, so I just hurried to the packhouse. It was my duty to help. I ran as fast as I could and saw several warriors taking off to our borders. I ran up the stairs to the main hall, looking for Luna Meredith.

“I’m here!” I ran to her side and took one crying baby from her arms.

“Take these children to the basement. I will stay here, gathering the others,” she said, nervously looking around in the mess that was our main hall now.

I hushed the crying little girl in my arms and turned to the others. I saw children at all ages, some crying, some putting on a brave face and some simply not understanding what was going on. We had a few women who were not fighters and remained, and I saw Gemma, one of our warriors, with her newborn. She gave birth just a week ago, so she had to stay with us, but I could see in her eyes that she would like to go fight alongside her mate.

“I will guide you down to the shelter,” I raised my voice so everyone would hear me. “Children, hold each other’s hands. Leave no one alone. We will go together. It is a bit dark down there, but don’t be afraid, you will be safe there.” They started moving, and my gaze met with Gemma’s for a moment. She nodded, and went to look for the rear of the group, tightening the sling around her sleeping baby.

In the basement, I opened the hidden door, and I got some flashlights for us. Down there, it was too dark, even for a wolf's vision. Our packhouse was built on the ruins of some ancient building, and we had catacombs under the entire building, deep underground.

It was a long walk, even longer with the children. The little girl in my arms was sound asleep by the time we reached the hall that was strengthened to serve as a shelter.

“Would you look out for them, please? I will go, see if I can help Luna Meredith,” I turned to Gemma. She was a great warrior, and 6 years older than me, so I didn’t want to sound like giving orders.

“It’s okay, just run along. I will take care of things here.” She gave me a weak smile.

I ran back, not bothered by the maze-like corridors or the dark. I knew this place just well enough, my flashlight giving me enough light, so I ran at full speed. When I finally reached the stairs, I was a little out of breath, but went on to find Luna again.

“They are safe!” I reported to her, catching my breath.

“Good,” she nodded, but she still looked worried. “We still have someone missing,” she mumbled.

“Who?” I looked around, a bit worried.

“Elena and her boy,” she said, looking at the crowd like she hoped to see her somewhere.

“Can’t you mind-link her?” I asked, and she just shook her head. “Maybe she went to the other shelter?” I tried again. I was getting anxious. We were losing time, which we didn’t even know how much we had.

“I talked with them. They haven’t heard of them either. And this shelter is closer to their house.”

“I will go find them. You go down with the others, Luna.” I offered without hesitation.

“No, I have to…” she started opposing, but I cut in.

“Luna please. I’m fast enough, and more expandable if anything happens. You have to stay safe for all of us,” I pleaded, and I could see her hesitate, but at the end she just nodded.

“Take care, Hannah,” she said, tapping my face, then leading everyone to the basement.

I took a deep breath and hurried to the door through our now empty hallway. Elena had a small house in the woods. Her mate was away with a hunting party. They had a 2-year-old boy and just found out they would have another baby. I had to find them before the enemy did.

I stepped out of the packhouse, ran down the stairs, and halted. I couldn’t see anything, just the darkness of the woods, far across the clearing that surrounded our packhouse, but the screams and growls I heard from afar made my blood go cold. Whoever attacked our pack had already breached our borders and was getting closer.

I felt my heart beating in my throat as I sprinted towards the woods. My only chance was to be fast and silent enough, not to be noticed in this whole mess. Even though I hadn’t shifted yet, I was quite fast, and for once my size came in handy.

I knew the woods by heart, so the darkness hadn’t bothered me. Running as fast as my legs could handle, I almost saw Elena’s house when I felt something. I didn’t have my full werewolf senses just yet, but I knew something was off. I pushed my back against a big tree and looked around, trying to spot out what I just sensed.

I didn’t have to look for long.

A huge brown wolf emerged from the shadows, snarling at me threateningly. I froze in place, my heart beating like crazy. I never thought they had come this far already. He was too close. I would never outrun a full-grown wolf, not to mention a trained warrior. If only I had noticed him earlier, I would have given it a shot, but now…

I saw two other wolves emerging from the shadows of the forest, slowly coming closer. I was too afraid to think. All I could hope for was that they would kill me quickly. One grey wolf, who seemed to be higher ranking than the others, came closer and sniffed me. He growled, and I felt my knees go weak.

I fell on the roots of the tree as the wolf came so close I could smell his musky scent. I wouldn’t dare to look away from his eyes. He had beautiful amber eyes, and those amazing wolf-eyes would be the last thing I saw, I thought.

“Just do it quick, please,” I managed only a whisper.

Then he started shifting, and I forgot how to breathe. I never saw someone shift so fast and easy. I just watched as the wolf’s features turned into a handsome man’s, his gray fur turning into dark locks. He crouched down in front of me, not bothered by his nakedness, and reached his hand out for me.

“It’s okay, dearest. I won’t hurt you,” he said with a small smile and I just looked at him, dumbfounded. “I would never hurt my little mate,” he added, and it felt like my heart just stopped.

.

GAVIN

I could feel her. My mate was somewhere close, and my wolf was going nuts about it. I have been waiting for so long, but I would have never thought that I would find her in this filthy little pack.

“Aaron, I think I found my mate,” I mind-linked our Beta.

“What? Now?” he technically screamed. That was why I haven’t dared to contact my Alpha. It was a ridiculously bad time for it.

“She must be from this pack. I have to find her.”

“Go, do that, but don’t forget we are on enemy territory,” he said, still not too happy about it.

“This region is clear already. I’ll go west.” I said, not wanting to fuck up the whole plan.

“Take your men with you, for Goddess’ sake!” he barked and closed the link.

I signaled my men to move, splitting up to cover a bigger territory. We haven’t seen any warriors for a while now, but we had to be sure before going to the packhouse. We found a tiny house in the woods, and I let my two men check it.

“It’s a female with a child,” one of them reported a minute later.

“Take them, but be nice,” I said as another voice called.

“Hey Gav, we found a girl,” my best friend called, and I was running without thinking. I came up next to Rob, then I saw her, and it felt like my world had turned upside down.

I slowly approached the frightened girl and sniffed the air. Her heavenly scent was almost totally covered by her fear. She fell to the ground, looking straight into my eyes, and I nearly forgot everything. Those were the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen.

“Just do it quick, please,” she pleaded, and I suddenly realized she was still afraid of me. She wasn’t feeling the mate bond. Was she underage? I growled and shifted. It must be my luck.

“It’s okay, dearest. I won’t hurt you,” I reached for her slowly, as I tried giving her a reassuring smile. Her eyes now showed disbelief. “I would never hurt my little mate,” I caressed her face, and she didn’t move away, just her eyes rounded.

“Mate?” she whispered just above a breath.

“Yeah, dearest. How old are you?”

“I… I will turn 18 next week.”

“Then you will feel our bond soon enough,” I smiled at her, this time for real. One week, I can handle. I have already been waiting for her for freaking 4 years.

“But I…” she started, then changed her mind and just looked at me with those round, endlessly blue eyes.

“What’s your name, dearest?”

“Hannah,” she answered, her voice still a bit weak.

“I’m Gavin. And I won’t let anything happen to you, okay?” I asked, offering her my hand.

She just nodded, and I helped her stand. She was a good head shorter than me, with a lean figure and small curves. I found her incredibly beautiful and had this sudden urge to bury my fingers in those amazing auburn locks that reached down to her hips.

“Head to the packhouse! We have their leaders!” Lucas, my Alpha, roared in everyone’s head.

“Hannah, my dear, we will now head to your packhouse. Stay by my side, okay?” I told her, trying to be as gentle as possible. We would have to wait to get to know each other.

“But… I have to… What happened…? Elena…” she started stuttering, more worried than afraid now.

“You came here to find someone?” I asked gently, commanding my men to shut up, as I heard a growl from behind me.

“Elena. She lives in a small house, close to here. She was alone with her baby boy. I came for them because they didn’t come to the shelter,” she started gabbling without taking a breath. “Don’t tell me, you…” she suddenly looked up at me in terror, blood completely drained from her face. I could tell she was thinking we had already killed her friend and the pup.

“We don’t hurt weak women and pups, dearest. My men have already found them. They will bring them to the packhouse,” I said calmly, trying to reassure her. “Promise,” I added as I saw disbelief in her eyes.

She just nodded, so I shifted back and signaled my men to leave. Alpha Lucas was waiting.