Sam Crescent

 

Copyright © 2017

 

 

 

Chapter One

 

Hayley Ford paused near her apartment and glanced around the street. There were many people going about their business. No one seemed interested in her, and yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching.

Putting her key in the lock, she gave it a turn, and entered the main floor of the apartment building. After going to her postal box, she opened it up, taking out the letters before heading upstairs.

It’s okay, Hayley. You’re just losing your mind.

She walked up the three floors until she got to her room. There was a lot of unlocking of doors, but she was all alone in the big city. No family to speak of, and she had learned long ago not to get too attached to anyone.

Just get inside.

Opening the door, she slammed it closed and rested her head against the door. She didn’t understand why her heart was pounding. Nothing made any sense.

Earlier in the day when she went to lunch she had felt like someone was watching her. She hated that feeling, and it never failed to make her sick.

“You can turn around now.”

She gasped and spun around. There was not a single figure she could make out in the darkness. Reaching out, she flicked the light on and stared at a man she hadn’t given much thought to in a long time. “Micah?”

He sat down in a chair, staring at her. The guy she had met three weeks ago when she went on vacation to an out-of-the-world resort near a large forest and lake, Forest Palm. She had just been leaving after a week’s stay when she bumped into the man who right now sat in a chair in her living room.

She didn’t get it. They had met for like five minutes as she was packing her car up. Other than admiring his action hero style of muscles, and learning his name, there was no way he should be at her home, let alone inside it.

“It took me a while to find you,” he said.

After glancing at her door, she turned toward him. “I really don’t understand. Did I get drunk or something?” She couldn’t recall sharing anything with him.

He stood up and stepped toward her. The shirt he wore was tight across his chest, and her mouth went dry.

Hayley had never had a man like him in her home. In fact, she had never brought any of the men she dated back here. This was her safe haven, and no one was allowed at her home.

With each step he took, he moved closer to her, and her heart began to race. Again, there was that feeling of being watched, which made no sense. The only person who was here was Micah.

“Have you been watching me?” she asked.

“You made it hard for me to find you. Do you know how difficult it was for me to scent you?” Micah asked. “Cars, pollution—it doesn’t help to filter the air—along with the millions of people here.” He pressed his hand against the door, which visibly shook underneath his grip.

“Wait? What?” Micah invaded her space, and she frowned as he inhaled the air around her. His dark-brown eyes flashed, and she gasped. “You’re a wolf!” It wasn’t a question. She had heard of the multiple clans of wolves around the world. Not many people knew about them, but she had searched for them when she was older.

No pack wanted a human near them, and so she had no choice but to back away. Their wolf status wasn’t well known. Only a select group of humans knew about them. All wolves that she had known tended to stick to small towns near open forest and lots of space to roam, kind of like Forest Palm.

Wolf packs were very secretive as well. Outsiders and outcasts were not allowed.

“So you know what I am,” he said, leaning in close and sniffing her neck. “Fuck me, you smell so good.”

This man could tear out her throat with ease. You need to get him away from your throat.

Reaching out, she gripped his shoulders and tried to give him a little push. It didn’t work. He stayed right where he was.

“I feel how nervous you are, baby. You don’t need to be nervous. I would never hurt you. I fucking need you.”

He growled each word against her neck, and it didn’t help, not one bit.

“Look, I don’t know who you are. I thought you were a gentleman, and clearly that was my mistake. You’ve broken into my apartment, and now you’re sniffing me.”

He chuckled.

How dare he!

“Micah, I mean it, back the fuck off!” She rarely cursed, but this man was starting to piss her off. Wolves never searched for a human, let alone a human female. They considered humans weaker, feeble, and pathetic. She had been told it enough times. In fact, there had even been a wolf in a bar about three years ago who had told her that even with a body like hers, they wouldn’t find it attractive.

She wasn’t slim, far from it. At a size eighteen, she had been called out for being fat, a pig, a cow. Pretty much every single mean name one could think of, she had been called it. Over the years since she was a kid, the names had started to hurt less. The numbness was a lot easier to go with.

“You’re mine,” he said.

His eyes flashed amber and had her heart racing.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re mine, Hayley. My mate, my soul, my very life, and I’ve come for you.”

She still held onto his arms, and it took her a few moments to figure out what the hell he was talking about. This had to be a prank. She burst out laughing. “Yeah, nice one. I know you can’t take a human for a mate. Good joke, man, now leave so that I can get on with my night.”

The hands at her waist didn’t let her go.

Micah held her and invaded her space once again. “I’m not joking!”

Well, shit.

****

It took every ounce of control not to take her right then and there. For now, Micah was just happy to scent her. She smelled amazing. He’d been dreaming of this woman, desperate to finally be near her once again. Hayley Ford was one of a kind. She was one of the rare human women who had been mated to an alpha shifter, and he was alpha. The bitches in his pack would try to fight her, but he would kill everyone and anyone who tried to take her place, or who tried to take her away from him.

His wolf had calmed for the first time in weeks. Just by being near her he was able to focus, and to actually breathe normally.

Peace settled over him, and he was inches away from kissing her when she slapped her hand across his lips.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“You’re my mate, Hayley. I’m going to kiss you, and then I’m going to take you back to my place where we’re going to be mated and have lots of wolf pups.”

She burst out laughing and then stopped. “Oh, my God. You really think that is going to happen.” She laughed even harder. “You are crazy.”

He wasn’t impressed. This was the first time a female had ever laughed at him, and he wasn’t enjoying the experience. “I am not joking.” He annunciated each word so she wouldn’t mistake what he was saying.

“I don’t care if you’re joking or not. There is no way I’m going with you.”

“You’re my mate.”

“I met you as I was loading up my car. I don’t know you.”

“You know of wolves.”

“So? A lot of human people know about wolves. The difference is, none of us will ever admit it.”

It was a good job as well. Many humans who had claimed to have met a werewolf often ended up dead or in some kind of special facility. It helped that the wolf packs had a special agreement with the government. They kept quiet and didn’t hunt or experiment on them, and in return, they didn’t kill them. To a lot of wolves, it was a fair trade, and if the government ever asked them for help, they agreed.

A charming relationship that kept the wolves and the humans safe. If anything ever started happening to packs, there would be no telling what fellow wolves would do.

“How do you know about wolves?” he asked.

She paused and bit her lip. “I don’t want to tell you.”

“Just tell me. I am one. I’ve just spent the past couple of weeks hunting for you.”

“Fine. There was a friend I had in foster care. She was dumped there one day by her parents. We got close, and she confided to me what she was. Her parents discovered the truth and they put her in care, not wanting anything to do with her. During the full moon, I would cover for her, and it would help tame the wolf. Being in the city, it helped anyway, but at times it drove her crazy.”

“This girl is not living with you now?”

“No. She was at the care home a year before someone took her. I got a single letter telling me she had finally found her real family, and I didn’t see the point in forcing her friendship. I know wolves don’t really like humans. You deal with us, you don’t make friends.”

Micah stared at her. She was a beautiful woman. Long blonde hair that landed at her ass in curls. Blue eyes that sparkled fire at him. Her figure was mouthwatering and he couldn’t wait to get his hands on her and drive his cock deep inside her. The need to claim her was so strong, and he wanted all of his scent around her so no other male could have her. His cock was already hard, and he knew there was a bed just across from the living room. He’d been waiting for her for over an hour, so of course he explored her home. It was small, and his home in the forest with the rest of the pack was huge.

He already had clothes being sent for her, not that she would need them. The large forests would offer them privacy that meant they could run around naked. He had so many plans for the two of them and couldn’t wait to get started.

“I’m more than happy to be your friend.” He stroked her cheek, and she frowned, swatting at his hand.

“Please leave. I don’t want to be a wolf’s mate, and there’s no way I’m leaving.”

She ducked underneath his arm and removed her coat, revealing a crisp white shirt and a figure-hugging black skirt. She was a receptionist in a corporate building. He had seen her before heading toward her apartment.

He hated the city.

“Babe, you think I’m giving you a choice.”

“You will give me a choice. You’re no mate of me.”

She turned her back on him. Micah had hoped she would be willing, but he had prepared in case she wasn’t. He removed his shirt, covered it in the special sleeping liquid, and pressed the cloth against her mouth. She grabbed his arms, and he kissed her head. “I’m sorry, sweet, but I wasn’t asking.”

Seconds passed and the fight inside her died. When her whole body collapsed against him, Micah cradled her in his arms. Finally, after so many years of searching, he had found his mate, and there was no way he was ever going to let her go.

“I love you, Hayley. One day soon you will love me also.”

He left her apartment without a glance back. There was no way he was going to fail.