CHAPTER 1

River Lupin a.k.a an angel on earth.

River was the boy the whole town loved. His skin was a beautiful sun-kissed bronze. His hair was brown and wavy but shone with golden undertones in the sunlight. He kept it long so it fell around his ears but he'd always push it back when he was laughing or deep in thought—actually, come to think about it, he pushed it back all the damn time. It was one of those signature gestures you'd see in a movie that had you weak at the knees falling in love with the main character.

The funny thing was, he didn't even know the effect he had on people, especially the girls. He was oblivious to his perfectly-made good looks, ‘nice guy' personality and charming mannerisms—a lethal combination. He was just being himself and that was enough for everyone to love him.

He really did have that whole sexy Twilight wolf thing going on. Stephanie Meyer was not too far off when she wrote those books. Of course, these days not all of them looked like him—only the lucky ones. And by them, I meant wolf shifters—no, River wasn't actually an angel, he was a wolf. You know the kind; the ones in paranormal romances that turned into actual wolves once they hit some predetermined age and shifted for the very first time.

For him, it was when he turned eighteen. He was an alpha though, so he was always in tune with his powers in some way—a little stronger than your normal teenage boy and a little faster than the average jock. This made him the perfect athlete and was part of the reason he was so popular in our little town of Saint Claire.

Being an alpha, he was also thoughtful, caring and empathetic as well as tough and powerful—making him the ideal leader. He was honestly too good to be true and due to some twist in the fates, he was mine.

The six foot tall golden boy was my best friend growing up, my crush at fifteen and then somehow—miraculously—my boyfriend from the age of eighteen.

And as I lay there in his bed, sun setting outside, his arms draped lazily around me, I couldn't help but stare up at him in awe as he intently watched the TV that had become background noise to my daydreaming. I couldn't tell you what was on, but I could tell you how his honey coloured eyes sparkled with laughter or how his dimples got larger when he scrunched his face and furrowed his brow in annoyance. He was a beautiful sight to behold.

I always felt so tiny huddled up against his large, muscular body.

He looked down at me now, interrupting me as I catalogued his perfect features for the millionth time. I always had this underlying gut feeling that things would just end. That this life that we had, the life that I had, was too good to be true.

Not to mention I was human. A measly mortal among the magical and the mystical.

I was mundane and he was anything but.

Nevertheless, he loved me.

"Vee, stop staring at me." His tone was smooth and soft with a hint of amusement in his voice. He looked at me so intently yet tenderly—lovingly. I continued to stare, tracing his jawline with my finger and smiling up at him.

He chuckled. "I love you, angel." The words were gentle and as always, melted my heart into a pool of liquid.

I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his as he pulled me impossibly closer. I wrapped my legs around his body, wanting to get more of him. He held my thigh, the other hand cupping my face as he kissed me gingerly.

We heard a throat clear and pulled apart quickly as Zander walked through the doorway, looking smug and way too excited to have caught us in this incriminating position. I pulled away from River, embarrassed and annoyed as Zander jumped on the bed beside me, a shameless smirk on his face as he eyed me before giving River a knowing wink. River growled softly in frustration and then shoved his Beta off the bed. Zander landed on the floor with a thunderous thud—understandable given his monstrous size.

He laughed anyway. "What are we watching?"

I gave him a dirty look and threw a pillow at his face.

Sadly, he caught it with his quick reflexes and placed it on the floor beneath him, looking way too comfortable as he folded his arms under his head, smiling like a cheshire cat.

"Get out, Zan." River's voice came out as more of a calm statement than a command. He surprisingly had a lot of patience when it came to his loud, obnoxious, goofball of a Beta.

As if he remembered the reason for his unannounced and somewhat annoying visit, Zander suddenly turned serious.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Alpha, but we've heard from the patrol and there's been an update." Serious except for the way he said ‘alpha', which was more mocking than anything else. I sometimes wondered how it was possible Zander was ever able to be serious.

River stiffened. With his arm still wrapped around me, I felt his mood change and his body language become protective. I had no idea what that statement was about, but I was aware that there"d been a lot going on in the pack recently.

No matter how much I begged, he never liked to give me the details of their pack business in an attempt to keep me as safe as possible. I knew that whatever threats they might be facing, he'd keep me safe—he'd keep the whole town safe. But a part of me couldn't help but feel a little left out. Even though I was basically a member of the pack in every other way, this was the one thing no one thought I could handle as a human.

The beautiful protector beside me looked down at me again. The apologetic look on his face told me our plans for the evening would be cut short and surely enough his next words confirmed it. "I'm so sorry, Vee. I'll get Axel to drive you home."

I pouted in response and he pressed his lips to mine softly. And then harder.

"Or you can stay here and I'll be back in bed as soon as I'm done", he whispered against my lips.

"I'll wait." I kissed him back, reiterating my decision.

Zander snickered again, watching us with a cheeky grin as he left, giving us a few precious minutes to ourselves to say our goodbyes for the moment.