NATALIE

The eternal blinding light hits my face, making me groan and shift into the soft mattress. My body hurts as if someone has battered it to pieces while my head spins.

It takes me a moment to blink open my eyes and stare at the ceiling in complete confusion.

Where am I? That’s the first question which penetrates my thoughts.

The events from last night flash before my eyes when I try to get up, only to realise that I am naked, oddly sticky between my legs, undeniably sore.

Panic courses through my veins, my whole life starting to revolve in my head.

A gasp escapes my lips and I roll away, falling down on the floor with a thud. A groaning sound comes from above.

All my senses come to life as I forget all about the pain in my head and my body.

Fuck! What did I do?!

I place my hand over my mouth, stopping myself from making any noise. I don’t want to scream and wake him up. My face contorts and I barely manage to not start crying in absolute horror.

Lifting myself on my knees, I peek over the bed to look at the back of the man. His ocean blue eyes dash before my mind, the images from last night becoming even more clear.

I rake my thoughts, trying to recall where I left my mobile last night.

“ Fucking shit! ” I hiss to myself, before covering my mouth and cautiously watching the man’s back again.

I left my mobile in Anne’s car along with my mini purse because it was too much of a bother to me to carry it all around.

Finding no other way, my eyes search for the dress so I can wear it and disappear from here before this man wakes up.

Thank Goddess! I find it lying on the floor beside the bed.

I crawl to it and pick it up. The tattered piece of clothing waves before my eyes, mocking me.

My eyes trail off to the man’s back. “ Animal. ” I whisper under my breath.

I gulp, scanning the room once more. To my relief, his shirt is lying near his feet on the bed.

Raising myself on my knees, I reach out to his shirt. The man shifts in the bed all of a sudden, scaring the fuck out of me.

Lowering my head, I drag my upper lip between my teeth as my heart begins to pound hard in my chest.

Breathing through my nose, I lift my head after a moment passes without his voice calling me out.

His back is still facing me, his bulging inked muscles on full display while his lower body is hidden under the sheets. 

Sneakily, I push my hand forward and grab his shirt before pulling it towards me.

I get up from the floor and wear it hurriedly. All along, my eyes remain on his figure, nervous and cautious.

After successfully buttoning up his shirt, I proceed towards the door.

The fact that I am only wearing a shirt doesn’t bother me as much as cheating on Enzo does. Tears well up in my eyes and unconsciously, I peek at the stranger from above my shoulder. A weird pull makes me continue gawking at him for a moment longer than I originally intended.

I sniff light and make my way out of the room, only to bump into a hard chest on my way. My nose picks up the scent of the person in front of me and I lower my head, finding myself alert.

Fuck! That’s what I was missing.

“ Who are you? Which pack are you from? ” The man questions, leaning down to have a look at my face.

He is the beta of the Night Walker Pack. I recognise his scent because he recently visited Alpha Wilson to talk about the war which might happen between us if we don’t meet their demands. Everyone began hating them in our pack after this beta visited if they didn't do before.

They are the demons who rule our werewolf world. They are called Night Walker Pack because they are known for attacking in the middle of the night and ending packs before the sun begins to shine in the sky again. Even the thought of coming across them or infuriating them can make a warrior wolf shit their pants.

They are dangerous and mysterious. There are many legends about their devil of an Alpha. People have rarely seen him but they all know his name, Ryker Ambrose. 

A shiver travels down my spine at the thought of that monster of a man. 

“ I asked a question! ” He growls threateningly.

“ I— ”

Did he recognise me? It becomes hard for me to breath.

As if the Moon Goddess has decided to save me, his phone begins to ring. 

“ Don’t move. ” He warns, lifting a finger and turns around, picking up the call.

“ Yes Alpha! ” He says.

Is that brute calling the beta? Seriously? Can't he simply mind-link him? But, why do I care? I got my ticket to escape.

“ That girl…” A throaty voice appears from the speaker of the phone, but my mind is focused on escaping from this enemy before he grabs my neck and snaps it to draw some twisted pleasure out of it.

Without waiting for another moment, I push past him at a lightening speed and sprint down the hallway.

“ HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE! ” He shouts from behind, apparently still too busy to talk to his asshole of an Alpha to chase behind me.

I never make the mistake to look behind and show him my face, the face of the daughter of their rival pack’s beta.

Fuck! I am positive that he didn’t recognise me, simply asked because he sensed I was a werewolf and he had to make sure I was not a threat to him or anyone of his companion possibly roaming around here.

I breath a sigh of relief when I run out of the club, sunlight shining over me.

Instantly, I am grabbed by a figure who appears to my right.

“ Where the fuck were you?! We have been looking for you the whole night! Are you fucking mad?! We even had to call Enzo because we thought someone might have kidnapped you! ” Giana sneers at me.

My soul leaves my body for real this time. I turn around to look at her, my face turning pale.

“ Enzo?! You called ENZO?! ” I shriek.

The door of the club opens behind me. I hold my breath when Anne’s scent invades my nostrils.

“ Natalie! Thank Goddess! We have been looking for you for such a long time and we couldn’t find you. You almost killed us with worry. ” Anne engulfs me in a back hug while I stay rooted on my spot, trying to search for a solution.

“ Where is Enzo? ” I jerk Anne off and turn around.

“ He is on the second floor of the club, searching all rooms to find you. ” Anne informs me with a frown etching between her brows.

“ We need to leave. Right now. ” I yell the words at my best friends and run straight to the parking lot where I remember Anne parked her car.

“ Let me call Enzo down! ” Anne shouts from behind and my lungs stop taking in any oxygen.

“ DON’T! ” I shout at her.

She follows me into the parking lot, along with Giana whose eyes are wide, shock apparent in them.

Her eyes take me in and a look of understanding passes through her face.

“ Let’s go. Let’s leave. We can tell Enzo later. ” Giana grabs Anne’s wrist and pulls her to the car.

Anne brings out the keys from her purse and unlocks the car. I jump in the backseat, keeping my head down, just in case Enzo comes out of nowhere and catches me like this.

I don’t know. I don’t know what to do other than to run away from him. I don’t want him to find out, not like this.

Giana climbs into the passenger seat and turns around to glare at me right away. “ You have a lot of explaining to do. ”

I nod my head as Anne starts the engine and pulls the car out of the driveway.

“ You had sex with someone. ” Anne concludes in an oddly calm voice.

She was so occupied with the relief of finding me that she didn’t even realise I was not wearing my dress and I had a horrible stench of sex wrapped around my body along with the scent of another man.

“ What happened?! ” Giana huffs, keeping her head turned at me.

I inhale a deep breath and glance up at her and then at Anne who is staring at me through the back mirror.

“ I was drunk… ” It’s not a good enough excuse.

“ And I…felt hot…for some strange reason…I couldn’t help myself and went behind this…this man whom I don’t even know and I didn’t imagine that things would turn out like this… ” I breath through my words, trying to ease my pain.

“ Fuck! I feel so horrible. I should have stayed behind, should have told Enzo. ” I sniff loudly.

Giana shakes her head.

“ Don’t. ” Anne gives me a pointed look.

“ What? ” I stop crying for a second.

“ Don’t tell Enzo. You know how he is…he won’t take this lightly and… I don’t think it’s completely your fault. It’s the heat season…and it’s not entirely rare for…she—wolves to experience heat when they are close to their mates. ” Giana’s gaze switches between me and Anne.

“ He was not my mate! He was a random man. I — I don’t even know who he was… and…and…I should go tell Enzo right now… ” I give both my friends a look of disbelief, finding it hard to form the right words.

Giana reaches out to my neck. I don’t flinch and allow her to push away the collar from the left side. “ then how do you explain this, Natalie? ”

She presses on a spot where my neck meets my head and a hiss leaves my lips involuntarily.

“ It’s — It’s a mark. ” Anne gasps out loud, pressing her foot on the brakes abruptly.

The car stops with a jerk and my face hits the back of the driving seat, hard.

Shock drives away all pain and guilt. My hand touches the same spot and I feel the tiny bump in the shape of a wolf’s head.

I lean back and look in the back view mirror. The bright red mark of a wolf’s head peeks back at me.

My hands turn cold. Time slows down around me.

“ That fucker marked me! ” I scream in disbelief.

“ Yes. And you are still alive…so… ” Giana flinches before a knowing smirk stretches across her lips.