Stacey Espino

 

Copyright © 2017

 

 

 

Chapter One

 

“I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding. He could have missed his flight. Maybe—”

“Stop,” said Hailey. “Just stop.”

Her asshole of a fiancé had skipped out of their official engagement dinner, but that was the least of her worries. Their entire relationship was a joke. After eight months together, two of them secretly engaged, she knew he’d cheated on her at least twice. George’s wingman always defended him, insisting men had “needs”. Just because Hailey wanted to save her virginity for the right time didn’t make his other women okay. She never should have forgiven him the first time. He’d crushed her already fragile self-esteem, and now she felt fractured beyond repair.

“I’ll try his cell again,” said Karl.

“Forget it. Cancel the dinner, cancel everything. I’m done.” Hailey adjusted her purse over her shoulder and marched out of the hotel lobby with as much dignity as possible—which wasn’t much at this point. She felt small and stupid, like a Grade-A idiot for believing she could build a future with a spoiled playboy like George.

“Hailey, wait…”

She ignored Karl, and George’s other friends, as she walked back to her car. They’d never liked her anyway—she wasn’t high society or a size zero. She’d only met George because she worked at the coffee shop near his office. He’d been fun and flirty at first, but he soon lost interest, turning his attention to new conquests.

Once in the safety of her car, she locked the door, gripped the steering wheel, and stared blankly at the windshield. She felt numb, lost, and before long, a deep sadness settled in. Why was she so unlovable? Hailey was thirty-two, not twenty-two, so her hope of finding Prince Charming dwindled with each passing year. Without warning, her eyes welled up with tears. She felt like a child, the same one who’d been shipped from one foster home to another—never wanted, never belonging. Her vision blurred, all her emotions rushing to the surface, a volatile mixture of anger and despair. She would have sat in the parked car feeling sorry for herself indefinitely, but George’s horde of friends slowly gravitated to the parking lot, so she decided to get the hell out of Dodge.

According to the whispers in the lobby, George was spending the weekend with his new flavor of the month. The coward could have at least had the decency to cancel the fucking engagement dinner.

It had been a five-hour drive to the new mountain-side hotel surrounded by hundreds of acres of nature. Hailey was in no shape to make the long trek home. Not yet. She drove a few miles from the hotel, turned down a narrow roadway, and parked when she hit a dead end. She stepped out of the car and took a deep, cleansing breath. The air smelled of pine and earth, nothing like she was used to, living in the city. The only sounds were the multitude of birds, insects, and the soft crunch of leaves beneath her flats. It was like another world in the old growth forest, and she definitely needed an escape. Maybe she’d stay here forever, avoiding reality and the never-ending heartbreak that was her life. Hailey had no destination or plan, she just kept hiking deeper and deeper, her mind scattered in a hundred different directions.

After traversing the forest for well over an hour, she could hardly move another muscle. Exhaustion from the physical and mental stress pulled at her, so she settled on a bed of matted leaves, too tired to care about creepy crawlies. She thought about George and wondered if he ever really cared about her. She wondered if she could handle seeing him at the coffee shop again. God, how would she ever be able to face her life again?

****

Darius did his third patrol of the new resort. It was difficult convincing his wolf to accept the monstrosity. Nine months had passed since the ribbon-cutting, so he expected to be more at peace with himself.

“Reports about wolf sightings won’t go over well. Just sayin’.”

Darius wanted to ignore Thorn. His beta was all for progress, blending their wolf and human worlds into some seamless paradise. It wasn’t natural, and Darius only reluctantly accepted the change. If it were up to him, he’d keep their ancient forests as pristine as they were centuries earlier. His wolf was not tolerant of humans on their land, and even now it took all his resolve not to make a scene.

“Trust me, I don’t look forward to these patrols.”

“Then why bother?” asked Thorn.

Patrols might have been common pack duties, not something fit for the alpha, but Darius felt the need to keep tabs on the resort. At the first signs of what he considered an inevitable disaster, he wanted to deal with it personally. He refused to blindly look the other way in the name of progress.

“I think you’re going soft in your old age. Are you sure you’re not more human than wolf?” Darius asked.

“Without change comes extinction. Don’t forget that.”

He didn’t have to argue with his beta, because within seconds his presence was gone. The thoughts in his head cleared, leaving only the peaceful lull of the forest. These days, Darius wasn’t so sure if it was peaceful or lonely. He had his pack, but lately he felt like a lone wolf. In over five generations of alpha shifters, at forty-five, he was now the oldest on record to still be unmated. Thorn thought Darius was a stone-cold bastard with no room for a female in his life. Maybe he was right.

Before he let his thoughts destroy him, he began to run—away from the resort, away from the silence, away from his growing bitterness. He used to be satisfied with his place as alpha of the Northern Summit Pack, and it seriously pissed him off that the darkness inside him was throwing his life off its axis. It was easy to blame the new resort, giving him an outlet to vent his frustration, but it was so much more.

Darius didn’t slow down the punishing pace, darting around trees, leaping over exposed roots, and running until his muscles burned. His black wolf savored the freedom, the shelter of the woodland, and the physical exertion. He knew this forest better than he knew himself, every tree and rocky outcropping. There was comfort in the familiarity.

He had no destination, only focusing on the wind caressing his fur—until an unusual scent halted his course. He stopped dead, his hackles instinctively rising, his lips pulling up over lethal fangs. Darius did not tolerate intruders. If one of those drunken tourists were lost in his woods again, he’d give them a nightmare to remember. If a rival wolf dared to cross Northern Summit territory lines, he’d pay with his life.

Darius moved with focus and stealth, barely disturbing a leaf. He kept low, using all his senses as he moved in on the potential threat. His packmates weren’t nearby, probably drooling over the modern marvel with its human luxuries.

When he found a body on the ground, he began to circle. The sleeping female was far from the resort or any other human establishment. She wasn’t dressed for the woods, wearing shoes that were too delicate for the terrain and clothes that wouldn’t protect her from the rough elements. She was curled up on her side, her lush curves not easy to hide under her layer of clothing. Mascara stained her cheek, a sign she’d been crying. He growled involuntarily.

Thorn would nag him for not keeping his distance, but he couldn’t keep away. Why was he so fascinated? He moved in closer, breathing in deeply at her neckline. When he exhaled, her brown waves of hair briefly fluttered. Her scent was sweet and decadent. He closed his eyes and relished the sensation of every cell in his body coming to life. For a brief moment, Darius truly believed she’d been sent by the gods. Then he thought better. Nothing had ever been handed to him. He’d worked for every rank and dollar, and it seemed too good to be true that his mate would be delivered on his proverbial doorstep. When she began to stir, he moved to the shelter of the brushwood, not wanting to startle her. And terrorizing humans was usually his favorite pastime.

She pushed herself up into a sit, tucking hair behind an ear. Her eyes were glassy and confused as she took in her surroundings. “Where am I?” she whispered to herself. “Shit!”

The human muttered as she struggled to stand, complaining about her aches and the setting sun. All Darius could see was fucking perfection—thick curves and natural beauty like he’d never seen in his lifetime. A deep-seated possessiveness flooded his veins, something new and all-encompassing.

He wanted to fuck her. To own her.

Darius stepped back, scarcely able to keep his wolf in check. Could this little human be his woman, his mate? He’d either lost his mind or fate had a sick sense of humor. Why would he feel such a connection to a human? And he had no doubt she was human. He expected to find a she-wolf, like all the alphas before him, if he found a mate at all.

She stumbled along the unbeaten paths, using low tree branches and saplings for leverage. Within the next twenty minutes, the sun would completely set, all the northern forest predators coming to life. Nothing in the darkness inspired fear in Darius, but this human female would be an easy target. His need to protect her overwhelmed him.

“I’m such an idiot!” she shouted. Too loud. The last thing she needed was attention drawn to her. These woods were rife with wolves, bears, coyotes, and wild cats.

She unceremoniously trudged in the direction of the roadway, so he slipped ahead to investigate. When he finally reached a dirt road, he found her car. It was a beige two-door with rust along the lower frame. Was that duct tape holding the side mirror on the car? When he leaped up against the glass and saw her purse on the passenger seat, he was tempted to shift into his skin so he could find out more about this mysterious woman. But before he could shed his fur, he heard her scream.