Chapter One

A cool breeze whispered through Raven’s luscious strands of blond hair as she whirled around Jordan’s snarling body. With his fangs glistening in the bright afternoon sun, his howl was silenced as her small, but strong fingers tightened their grip around his jugular. He struggled to break free of her grasp, obviously dissatisfied with her verdict. But the choice wasn’t Raven’s. It didn’t belong to her. There were rules, laws that were to be followed, handed down by the Council for their brethren to abide by. She simply enforced them.

The members of this particular pack didn’t do anything as Raven made light work of their alpha. She dominated him in ways no one ever expected. It was her job. She loved her job. Letting the wolf go, she refused to change into her own animal. Her wolf would have to watch from behind her pale blue eyes as Jordan shook the pain of her grasp away. Raven gave the alpha one last attempt to negate his sentence. But it was all a power play. She needed everyone around to notice who she was as an Enforcer.

With his teeth dripping saliva and his bark low, the alpha charged towards her. Raven waited until he was a few feet away before jumping in the air. Somersaulting, she landed on his back. She locked her ankles around his torso and squeezed her legs so tight the sound of his ribs cracking echoed through the trees. Gasps and cries emerged from the onlookers. Raven smirked as a wheezing noise leaked out of the wolf’s throat.

He’d stopped running and whimpered in pain as she pulled her blade out. The soft pinch as her knife pressed against the base of his neck made her wonder if she should have sharpened it before she came. It didn’t matter. Her grip grew firmer as she moved it back and forth. The motion was quick, swift as it sawed through bone, decapitating Jordan the alpha.

Blood poured from his body as Raven pulled a small vial out of her pocket. She poured its contents onto the body and then flicked a burning match onto it. The alpha’s body burned brilliantly. She stooped down, pulled out a cigarette and lit it off of the emblazoned corpse. She didn’t necessarily like to smoke, but it was more of a celebratory one for a job well done.

Raven walked away from the body and began to eye the members of the pack. She narrowed her gaze to one guy in particular. He wasn’t the biggest, but he was the only one who didn’t shy away from her glare. He openly challenged her and she liked that about his spirit.

“You!” she motioned toward him. “What’s your name?”

“Eli,” he replied shortly. His posture was confident, bordering on arrogance. His curly black hair fell around his face and his body was physically attractive.

“Do you know everyone here?” she asked him.

“Yes.”

“Do you have a good idea of what everyone’s role is and what they’re capable of?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” She turned around slowly announcing to them, “This is your new alpha! If there are any challenges to that, take that up with him.”

“But wait.” Eli held his hand to stop her from walking away. “What are we supposed to do about the prisoners? The humans, the ones waiting to be slaughtered? They haven’t been released yet.”

“What?” Members of the pack stared at Eli.

Raven smiled half a smile. “That’s why you are the new alpha. I assume you all have no idea what Jordan was up to. But I will tell you this. HOLDING, MURDERING, PLAYING with humans, who are not familiar with our kind and against their will, is against the law! Per my orders, any alpha or pack member in violation of our codes will have to deal with me or another Enforcer the Council may choose. Putting our existence in danger is against the law! Humans do not react kindly to us when they find out what we are capable of. They attack. They slaughter. They use gunpowder and ammunition. The Council sends its gratitude to the members who sought out their advice in this matter. It is for that reason only the rest of your lives were spared and that I showed up alone. As for the humans still being held hostage, here.”

She handed him another vial out of her leather vest. “Make them drink this and then bring them into a town. Any town. If you know which one they were from then bring them there. It will make them woozy, hallucinogenic, and feel like they’ve been living a dream. If that doesn’t sit well with you, you can move your pack to a new territory. Whatever that entails is up to you and whatever territory you decide to settle in. If you have any more problems, send word to the Council, and hopefully I will not have to see any of you ever again. Take care and good day!”

With that, she left the pack to fend for themselves. Raven had fulfilled her duties and began to make her way toward the northern California forests. It was home to the largest pack in the country. It numbered over a hundred simply because the Council resided within the mountains there. She made her way back to the overpopulated area she called home.

Weary and drained, Raven walked through the trees. The compound, as the Council often referred to it, was an elaborate community built against the side of a mountain, which led into an even more intricate dwelling deep inside the rock mass; a third of which travelled into the mountain caves while the rest of the community was built on the ground and then up into the trees.

Raven’s blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail swayed from side to side as she walked into the village wondering when her debriefing would be. She hated getting comfortable and cozy only to be yanked out of her cabin to talk to the higher-ups.

“Hey Rae,” a jovial voice said from behind her. Without turning, she caught a glimpse of the wolf in her peripheral. Rolling her eyes, Cyrus wasn’t an alpha. He was barely a male in her eyes. He had cowardly tendencies, often taking his anger out on smaller, defenseless women.

“What do you want?” she snarled.

He placed his hands over his heart as he circled in front of her. “Oh, Rae, I love how you get straight to the point.”

“I’d love it if you did,” she huffed.

“I just want you to let me take you out or something. How about a run through the caves?” he suggested, wriggling his eyebrows up and down.

“How about you jump off a cliff?” she replied snidely.

“I know you don’t mean that.” He laughed obnoxiously. “I know it’s only because I’m not an alpha, or even one of the sub-tier alphas, but we can get out of here and make our own pack. We can do our own thing and it’ll be great.”

“That sounds like a terrible idea. I’m tired Cyrus and as much as I love these emasculating campaigns you thrive to be on, I’m not in the mood. So fuck off,” she sneered, flicking an unlit match at him and walking away.

“Damn, she’s hot,” he murmured, grinning and watching her walk away.

Raven shook her head as she stood at the bottom of a set of stairs. The largest tree in the vicinity had to be at least twenty feet wide, and nearly 200 feet tall. The set of stairs wrapped around the base, spiraling up into an opulent tree hut. It’s where the Council members resided and held meetings. There was a branch system, coupled with bridges that allowed them to travel the treetops leisurely.

“Hey Rae,” another voice called out to her. Turning around, she didn’t see anyone she recognized. Another adoring fan. There were too many fans and not enough space. Being an Enforcer singled her out. It was a high at first, but the longer she held the title, the more irritating it became. Mainly because she had to entertain the likes of Cyrus, who were merely interested in her as some sort of fetish.

Fatigue washed over her as she stood there, still staring at the ascending staircase. She barely noticed as Warner walked up behind her. He was one of the rarer breeds; an all-white wolf with black eyes and a size that seemed monstrous compared to everyone else. His human, on the other hand, was average at best; very deceptive to the kind of package he was hiding.

“You all right?” he asked, placing a soft hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, just tired, you know?” she said, after realizing it was him.

“Yeah, I know, but it’s all in a day’s work, right? You’re getting debriefed, too?” he asked.

They did a handshake of sorts; where they locked arms and bumped fists. Something done between Enforcers only.

“I haven’t been summoned, yet.” She rolled her eyes, staring at the hut above them. “But I just came back and didn’t feel like going all-”

“All the way home,” he interrupted, with a laugh. “I get it. But, maybe you should. You look tired.”

“She looks tired because she’s been doing her job without the aid of her wolf, making a complete spectacle of the event she’s supposed to keep discreet and neat.”

Warren and Raven’s eyes turned to look at the man coming down the stairs. His long white hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He wore white linen pants and a matching shirt. Bare feet at all times, Corbin Christian was one of the highest ranking members of the Council. He was second only to two other Council members and one of those was his brother. They both bowed their heads to him as a form of salute and submission to a Grand Alpha.

“Warren, please go ahead up. The members are anxious to hear what you’ve uncovered. Raven, I suggest you head off toward your parents’ cabin. I know you don’t like this waiting period but we have a system set up. You standing at the bottom of the stairs will not rush the process in any way. Go take a nap or something. You look tired,” he commanded.

Raven hated being dismissed but there wasn’t much she could do. So she left Warren to his meeting and headed to her parents’ cabin as requested. They didn’t stay far from the Council, but they were closer to that tree hut than they were to her dwelling. She lived in a very simple structure along the perimeter of the village with the rest of the Enforcers. They liked their solitude away from everyone else.

When she arrived at the door, she took a deep breath before twisting the knob and entering. Without so much as a greeting, she barked out, “I’m only here until I’m called for my debriefing. I’ve been instructed to take a nap, so that’s what I’m doing. If you need me, I’ll be laying down.”

She walked into their spare bedroom, plopped on the bed and closed her eyes. Raven’s senses were sharp, and when she felt the presence of eyes practically burrowing a hole into her face she couldn’t help but look at where the feeling was coming from.

“Mother, if you’re going to watch me sleep, at least do it from the comfort of a chair like a normal person,” she mumbled.

Raven’s mother was similar in height, build, and features. She was tough, but as she aged, a softer side began to reveal itself. Her blonde hair was white on the sides and her blue eyes grew darker with every passing year.

“So glad you’ve graced us with your presence. Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat? How was it?”

Raven sat up. “How was it? Ma, I kill guys for a living. What do you mean how was it? It was exhausting.”

“Yeah, sorry, honey.” She sighed. “I know it takes a lot out of you. That’s why your father and I have been talking about you retiring. Your sister’s in a pack of her own, with a few pups. We’d love the same for you.”

Raven, severely annoyed, pushed herself out of bed. “You guys raised me for this particular profession and now that I’m nearly a decade in, because Savannah decided to have pups, you want me to reconsider? I don’t want to have this discussion again. For the last eight assignments, I’ve come home to this. I don’t need it!”

She stormed out of the cabin and headed back toward the Council’s tree. There, she was met by Corbin once again. He was standing with a smug look on his face.

“Back so soon?” he laughed.

“It was crowded,” she replied. “I’m tired and just want to lay down.”

“If you’d killed Jordan in your wolf, you wouldn’t be so exhausted. You couldn’t even shift for the trip home, could you?”

“How’d you know that?”

“Because humans are emotionally exhausting.” He chuckled. “Despite what you think, your role as an Enforcer is to extinguish threats to our way of life. You taking wolves out in your human form could give cause to start a war. One of our own, who may not know of you, would think twice if they saw what you could do. If our brethren think humans are as strong as you, do you know the chaos that would come of that?”

“I didn’t think of that.” She sighed.

“Of course, you didn’t.” He glanced up at the hut. “You’re only well-known to the packs in the North West territories. But if you continue to do your job in your present state, you’re going to attract the wrong kind of attention to us and yourself. But once you’re debriefed I have a new assignment for you. Something where you can stay in your human and you won’t have to let your wolf out until the very end, if necessary. This is more of an investigation and I will leave it to your discretion to eliminate any threats as you see fit. How does that sound?”

Looking back at her parents home, and then up to the tree hut, she turned to look into Corbin’s shimmering grey eyes. “When do I leave?”