Book 1: Chapter: 07

FOUR YEARS AGO...

Sienna When somebody smiles in public, all by themselves, for no apparent reason, without a c are in the world, that can mean only one thing: they‘re in love.

That was what I saw when I looked at Emily, my best friend, sitting by the bus stop, waiti ng for me, kicking her shoes absentmindedly. A big goofy grin on her face.

“Em!” I yelled out, waving.

She turned, shaken from her daydream, and got to her feet. She smiled at me, but it was a different smile. A more subdued, familiar smile.

Not even close to the radiance of the she kept to herself.

“Hey, Si,” she said, giving me a quick hug. “So what‘s on the agenda for today?”

“A new gallery I‘ve been dying to check out. C‘mon!‘

I figured I‘d interrogate her on the way. Give her a second to catch her bearings first. After all, love was not much of a priority in my life these days.

I was only fifteen years old. The Haze wouldn‘ start for another year. Nothing in the world could wo rry me now.

But that didn‘ mean I wasn‘t curious. As we made our way through a scenic shortcut in t he middle of the town, I found I couldn‘t contain myself any longer.

“So,” I said, looking at Emily, “you have something to share, Em?”

“What?” Emily said too quickly. “I...don‘t know what you‘re talking about.”

Hardly convincing. Her red cheeks and darting eyes betrayed whatever secret she was hiding “C‘mon, Em,” I said, nudging her. “It‘s just me. You know you can tell me anything.

Emily sighed, eyes to the ground, kicking a pine cone. But I could tell she was going to c ave. We were best friends. We never kept secrets. Why would Emily start now?

“You swear not to tell anyone?”

“On my life.”

) And I meant il. Emily‘s eyes finally met mine, and I saw a hint of that radiant smile sneak up in the corners of her mouth. She could hardly contain herself.

“Remember how I told you I wanted to sleep with someone before we start Hazing?”

“Yeah,” I said. “So it‘s less of a shock, right?”

“Right. Well... I think I might have... met someone.” I stopped, jaw dropping, grabbing Emily‘s arm.

“Are you serious?!”I exclaimed. “WHAT? When? How? Who? I want details.”

“I‘ll tell you everything, Si.” Emily laughed. “One thing at a time.‘

I‘d known, from that look on Emily‘s face earlier, that there was someone. But I never w ould have expected it to be...that kind of someone. The kind you lose your virginity to. “Just tell me one thing,” I said, growing serious. “Are you sure he‘s the right one?”

“No,” Emily admitted. “But he‘s older. More experienced, which I like. Because that mea ns at least one of us will know what we‘re doing We giggled for a second and kept walking. But I had so many questions.

“Wait. How much older, Em?”

“Ten years?”

“Woah. You weren‘t kidding.”

“But it doesn‘t matter. He‘s tall and handsome and so confident, my God. When I talk, it‘ s like he really listens. With such... intensity.

And I could see from the look in Emily‘s eyes, from the smile on her face, that she was ri ght. His age didn‘t matter one bit.

My friend was falling in love.

And I was gonna be there for her.

I grabbed her hand. “I‘m so happy for you, Em.”

“I mean, we‘ll see,” she said. “Who knows if he‘even wants the same.”

“Look at you, Em,” I said, shoving her arm playfully. “How can he resist?”

“You dominants,” she said, rolling her eyes.

And now we were both laughing, hand in hand, on our way to wherever the afternoon would take us, our plans to see the gallery long forgotten.

The two of us were unstoppable. Together, we‘d make our mark on the world.

***

I woke up with a start, head still cloudy with memories. My hand immediately shot to my neck, swollen and bruised.

Shit. Emily may have been a dream, but this mark wasn‘t. This was a fucking nightmare.

A torrent of texts lit up my phone as it started vibrating like crazy. Michelle girl!

Michelle answer your damn phone already!

Scanned with CamScanner Sienna Ughh Michelle, it‘s so early Sienna What is it?

Michelle u have some explaining to do Sienna ???

Michelle get ur ass to winston‘s FIL Michelle we‘ll all be there Michelle I rolled over in bed, groaning. The last thing I wanted to do was face an interrogation from my friends.

After last night, after being marked by the Alpha…

Oh God. How was I going to cover it?!

When I took a look in the mirror, the sight alone was enough to make me gasp.

The bite was a massive, bruised blue spot across my neck, bigger than any bite I‘d ever seen before It didn‘t hurt. In fact, it almost tingled with a carnal sensation. Every time I touched it, I could feel Aiden Norwood‘s teeth again.

I shook off the feeling and started getting dressed. I grabbed the largest scarf I could fin d and wrapped it around my neck.

At the very least, seeing Michelle and the girls would get the Alpha off my mind.

EU A distraction was exactly what I needed right now.

***

When I arrived at Winston‘s, our group‘s go–to brunch place, I saw that the entire crew was already assembled.

Michelle, who had a new partner every Haze, was chatting to the girls about her latest conquest. Right now, I think the lucky gu y was...

Ralph?

Russell?

No, Ross. That was it. Hard to keep them all straight when it came to Michelle, Don‘t get me wrong. It wasn‘t like Michelle was a floozy She just was incredibly comfortable with her sexuality and didn‘t let anyone tell her what she could or couldn‘t do.

It was Michelle who had tried to set me up with three of her friends and Michelle who kept the grapevine flowing with gossip.

“There she is!” Michelle exclaimed when I walked in.

“Hey, guys,” I said, sitting down, self–consciously adjusting my scarf.

I had managed to sneak out of the Pack House without anyone noticing last night and intended to keep the Alpha‘s mark a secret as long as I could.

Before they could start grilling me about the event, I noticed Mia. She was positively glowing. I grabbed her han ds.

“Mia, I am so so SO happy for you and Harry.”

“Thanks, Si.” She grinned. “I can hardly believe it‘s real. One second you‘re best friends, the next...‘

“You‘re jumping each other‘s bones,” Michelle teased, jabbing Mia’s ribs.

Mia started thrusting her hips, miming sex in the middle of the diner. “Damn straight!”

“So when‘s the mating ceremony? Do you have a location picked out?” I asked.

“A few months. I‘m not really worried about it. Harry‘s family has an ass– load of properties. The perks of mating with a real estate mogul‘s son,” she smirked.

“Must be nice,” I said, laughing.

“Yeah, must be nice,” Erica said, not laughing at all.

Erica was never good at hiding her bitterness. Another season with no partner seemed t o be making her more sexually frustrated than usual.

We all tried to ignore it, knowing this was just the effect of the Haze. Usually, Erica was the sweetest girl in the world.

It wasn‘t easy being alone during the Haze, I could attest. But now I had even bigger problems. And it seemed Michelle was about to suss them out.

“All right,” Michelle said, taking over the conversation. “We‘ve avoided the subject long e nough.

C‘mon, Sienna. Talk to us.”

“It was..” I started, trying to figure out my best deflection strategy. “Fine. Not all that diffe rent from the Yule Ball or Summer Solstice. Just less people. A bit more intimate.” “Intimate, huh?” Michelle asked, grinning.

I didn‘t like the knowing look in her eyes. But it wasn‘t like she could know. Nobody did. Nobody had se en the Alpha mark me. I was sure of it.

<

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“Yeah. My family got some face–time with the Pack House leadership. It was good for our standing.

That‘s all.”

“That‘s not what Michelle said… ” Erica snipped “What?” I turned to Michelle.

“Damn it, Erica,” Michelle scoffed. “Couldn‘t you just keep your mouth shut and let Sienna tell us for herself?”

“Tell you WHAT?!”

I didn‘t realize that I was yelling until the whole diner went quiet and turned to look at us. I wasn‘t mad. I was enraged. How could this happen? How could anyone know?

“Sienna,” Michelle said softly. “It‘s not a big deal. We heard that you and the Alpha might have had a little moment, that‘s all. Some people saw you two leaving the dining hall around the same time and.... I was so hot with rage that I had to loosen my scarf, and as I did, I saw Michelle‘s eyes go wide.

“Wait,” she said. “What‘s that?”

Shit! How could I have been so stupid?

I should have never left my room for the remainder of the Haze. Going out in public with this massive, ugly mark on my neck?

I might as well have worn a sign that said, “I‘m screwed, thanks for asking.”

The worst part was, while I was marked like this, most male wolves would avoid me. That meant another season without finding my real mate.

Another Haze with no one to call my own. With one bite, Aiden had taken that all away from me Realizing I couldn‘t keep the jig up for long, I sighed and slowly unwrapped my scarf. W hen the girls saw it, they all gasped and put their hands to their mouths.

“That‘s not...” Michelle started, disbelieving “Yup,” I said. “The Alpha marked me last night. I‘m his for the Season. Lucky me, right?”

This last part I said dripping with sarcasm. But I could tell from the expression on Erica‘s face that it was not appreciated. She scowled.

“You could be more thankful,” Erica said. “Getting marked by the Alpha of all people?

That‘s a big deal, Si.”

“I know, I just,”

“Are you kidding, this is AMAZING!” Michelle exclaimed.

“Dammit, Sienna, always trying to one–up me!” Mia teased.

I sighed, unsure how to explain this.

The problem was none of the girls knew my secret. Nobody knew I was still a virgin, So how could I frame this in a way they‘d understand?

“He didn‘t ask,” I said. “He just...bit me. Like I was his property, and that was that.”

“Si,” Michelle said, shaking her head. “I know you like to make your own rules. But, man , I would kill for a chance to fuck the Alpha. You kidding? I‘d do whatever he wanted. Be sides, now that he‘s marked you, it‘s not like you have a choice, right? There‘s no one either of you can sleep with for the rest of the season.”

And now I could see that, despite Michelle being paired with Ross for the Haze, there was some jealousy in her eyes. Mostly for the status, I figured.

Nobody, not Michelle, not Mia, not Erica, would understand.

I was about to try to find a way to change the subject when I received a text that made e verything even worse.

If that was possible.

Selene Guess what just arrived in the mail, sis.

Selene An invitation from the Alpha addressed to YOU. Selene I told mom to leave it, but you know she‘s so nosy Sienna What is it?

Sienna What does he want?

Selene Si…

Selene He wants you to move in with him.

I couldn‘t take it.

Before I knew what was happening, I jumped to my feet and ran from the diner without saying goodbye to my friends.

Even the cool air outside couldn’t temper the rage building up inside me.

First, he’d marked me without my permission. He took away any hope I had to find my one true mate.

Then, he summoned me like I was his pet. The world was turning upside down, and only I seemed to be able to see straight.

For a second, I thought I might shift right then and there. Split my clothes open in the middle of a busy intersection. Becoming my most animal, violent self.

That was how badly I wanted to hurt him.

I could picture my fangs tearing his throat out.

But just as I began to shift, as I saw the hairs beginning to sprout on my hands, my nails elongating, my spine bending, I stopped myself.

No.

I was going to confront Aiden Norwood face to face in his Pack House and put a stop to this once and for all. He was the Alpha, yes, Scanned with CamScanner this once and for all. He was the Alpha, yes, but that was no excuse.

The Alpha was about to find out exactly who he was messing with.

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