Book 1: Chapter: 11

Sienna From the opposite end of the clearing, another wolf burst through the trees. He was huge, the biggest wolf I had ever seen, and his golden-hazel eyes were G locked on me.

I snarled, baring my teeth. I didn’t care if I incurred his wrath. He wasn’t going to have me.

He was unfazed by my display and stalked closer, trying to make me cower with his enormity.

But the fear that gripped me had nothing to do with his mass or my safety. It had everything to do with the way he could control me now that I was marked.

I remembered my friends talking about it during our first Haze, but I had obviously never experienced it myself.

During the Season, a marked female could be Hazed unnaturally by her marking male. All it took was a special touch, and he could make his female lover as Hazed as he is.

The second Aiden kissed my hand in the restaurant, that was what had happened. I saw it in his eyes.

He didn’t care about the chase or winning me over fairly. He was just trying to fuck.

Typical alpha.

Maybe that was all the whole date was. A chance to have me at my most defenseless. A chance to release his tension so he could go back to his Alpha responsibilities.

Emily’s voice had been strong enough to snap me out of the Haze this time, but what about next time?

How could I escape his bed if he had this much power over me?

Aiden ventured closer, forgetting that I wasn’t one of his tame she-wolves.

I didn’t know my full power yet, but I knew I didn’t want him any closer.

I growled deep in my wolf’s chest. Back off, bastard. Back the fuck off.

I tensed my muscles, waiting for him to pounce.

We locked eyes, neither of us backing down.

Suddenly, our ears perked with the sound of paws trampling the forest floor.

A massive, blond wolf bounded from the treeline behind Aiden with a pack of four wolves close behind.

It was Josh, and he looked tense. Something was off. What were they doing here?

Josh’s wolf glared at Aiden. I was surprised that neither of us scented them, but then again, we were focused on each other’s scents.

Whatever it was, it must have been important because, at first, Aiden was furious at the sight of his subordinate.

But within seconds, he was circling around his Pack, rallying them and communicating through growls and charged looks. He was a natural leader. I wanted to find out more. Was this about me?

But at the same time, I wasn’t going to hang around to find out if Aiden was still Hazed. I saw my opportunity to escape and fled into the woods.

As the last rays of sun faded through the trees, a shimmering figure caught my eye as I ran.

Being in wolf form made my vision much keener than when I was human, sol stopped in my tracks and could see with great clarity a woman with pearly white skin and nebulous eyes of electric purple, blue, and gray Her hair was pitch black and fell down her back in angelic waves.

It took me a moment to realize that, while Twas staring at her, she was staring right back at me. Her porcelain face was mesmerizing I thought Jocelyn was gorgeous, but this woman surpassed her without question.

Her features and symmetry were formed with such perfection that she must be some supernatural, immortal being that came down to Earth.

Despite her otherworldly beauty, her attire was oddly pedestrian.

She wore loose-fitting, slate hiking pants with matching combat boots. Her top was a simple gray tee with a faded denim jacket thrown over it.

I thought that perhaps she was a trekker, but she didn’t have a pack or any other gear on her.

What’s more, there was no fear in her eyes when she looked at me. She wasn’t a werewolf, I could tell that immediately, but she didn’t scent like a human either.

Who was this woman?

Suddenly, the whole forest went quiet, and a droning tone began to echo in my ears. I shook my head, but it didn’t stop the noise.

I locked eyes again with the bewitching woman. My headache as if it was about to split open.

I howled and thought I could hear a child screaming in unison.

My pupils dilated, and two shadows hovered over me. I couldn’t tell whether they were reaching out to me or trying to harm me, but in an instant, they were gone.

I looked back to the woman just as she also disappeared into the night, slowly becoming invisible like a spectre.

The ringing in my ears stopped, and the sounds of the forest came flooding back. The moon was now ascending to its nocturnal throne, and the sounds of the forest settled into their evening études.

I cautiously trotted over to where the woman had stood and could find no trace of her.

I stuck my snout in the air, but all I could smell was the damp musk of the woods and the usual creatures that inhabited them.

Had I really seen someone, or was my mind playing tricks on me?

If she was real, what did she want with me? Why would she expose herself then simply disappear?

None of it made sense.

I shuddered to think what would have happened if Josh and the other wolves hadn’t shown up or if they had arrived a few minutes later.

The whole night reminded me how little I knew about partnering and the rules that govern a she-wolf once she’s marked.

I had only known the Haze for three seasons while Aiden was an experienced lover who knew all the tricks.

And on top of it all, he was an alpha, so his powers were stronger than the typical male.

If I was going to stand any chance against him, I needed to figure out a way to keep him off me while we got to know each other.

None of this helped me with the fact that I was saving myself for my mate, and Aiden was the furthest thing from a mate I could imagine.

What was the point of having an alpha if he couldn’t remain in power on his own?

It all sounded a bit dramatic to me, like an elaborate excuse to sleep around the Pack until he “decided that he’d found his mate.

I wished I could fight my wolf nature and never have another Haze. It was what had driven Emily to do what she did.

I would never want to become human, but during the Season, I was envious of their unaffected state.

Human women didn’t have to put up with this bullshit. They didn’t have to submit to being marked and tricked into sleeping with someone, lover or not. They never lost control of themselves.

The howl of fellow wolves shook me from my thoughts. Even though I was paired, it still wasn’t safe for me to be in such a remote part of the forest alone.

Only the most desperate, unpaired males were out prowling this late at night.

I could handle myself. I had literally just challenged the Alpha, but I knew I would be in trouble if more than one appeared looking for satisfaction.

Last time I’d gotten lucky. I couldn’t stay here any longer.

I sprinted back into the woods, toward home.

I was almost to the forest’s edge when it occurred to me that I had ripped off the dress Aiden had bought me and discarded it somewhere along the road.

In other words, I would be naked when I shifted back It wasn’t exactly taboo to go around town in wolf form, but it wasn’t encouraged either.

I had never done it before, but after stopping into the Pack House half-shifted earlier in the day, I figured I could handle a few disapproving glances.

Still, it wasn’t my nature to attract attention, so I took back roads and kept to the shadows until I got to my street.

As I neared my street corner, the street lamps began to pulse, and my vision blurred again. I became disoriented, all my senses dulled. What did that woman do to me?

I tried to bound over the fence to our backyard, but I caught my hind legs in a slat and landed with a heavy thud. I looked up to see a shadowy figure approaching me.

As I neared my street corner, the street lamps began to pulse, and my vision blurred again. I became disoriented, all my senses dulled. What did that woman do to me?

I tried to bound over the fence to our backyard, but I caught my hind legs in a slat and landed with a heavy thud. I looked up to see a shadowy figure approaching me.

I ran to the back door and scratched helplessly, my paws unable to work the knob, no time to shift back to human form.

I was cornered, with nowhere to run. I wanted to howl, to claw, to fight back, but I was frozen in fear.