Prologue

Fallon

“We stay until the day of the hunt and then move out.” My brother’s voice held the threat of an alpha bark. He’d always had it, even before he became Alpha, and even though he never intended to use it. The commanding tone echoed through the chilly night. But it was the pack’s howls of war and revenge around the fire that made shivers dance on my skin.

They were all idiots.

I took another pull off the whiskey bottle, letting the burn wash the sour taste from my mouth.

This is good. It gives us more time.

Time is the last thing I want to give you , I scolded my internal beast. She’d been distracted and worked up the last few days, ever since the Luna Trials ended. We’d gotten a stronger whiff of the faint trace that lingered in the stands after the nesting trial elimination round. That scent was delicious and masculine and called to a primal part of my being.

And I wasn’t going near it with a ten-foot pole.

Mating season was riding everyone hard. I shuddered to think of what catching a particular scent right now meant to my wolf. It was not the time to play around with nature or hormones.

It’s not like we’re committing. She rolled her eyes. I just want to see who it is.

Morbid curiosity was going to screw us over.

It’ll be fine.

I’ve heard that before. And I’d also lived long enough to know it was no good to argue with my beast.

With any luck, he’d be some production crew member and that’s why we hadn’t scented the male until now. We could find him while Ranger tried to sweep Aspen off her feet. A quickie might be enough to scratch the itch and get him out of our system.

But we needed to move fast because I wasn’t boning anyone this mating season except for Poe, my trusty vibrator with the swelling base.

It’s not strong enough, my wolf complained.

I’ll charge the batteries once we get home. I handed the bottle of whiskey to Jones and stood. He gave me a side eye but said nothing.

I shoved him anyway.

“What was that for?” he growled.

“Looking at me wrong.” I pulled the shirt over my head.

He averted his gaze. “Come on, Fallon.”

“They’re just tits, dude.” I knew he wasn’t a fan of breasts unless his mate Foster could somehow grow them, but I had a decent rack. Plus, we’d seen each other naked since we were young and scrawny pups.

“How many sets of magic nipple rings do you own?” Jones raised the bottle to his lips.

I glanced down at my starred bars and shrugged. Guess I hadn’t worn this pair yet. “Want me to hook Foster up with my piercer?”

Jones seemed to think about it before shaking his head. “I’d never hear the end of that one.”

“Too late,” I said as my beast took over. “I’m getting your mate’s dick pierced now if it’s the last thing I do.”

The rest of the pack hooted and hollered as I finished shifting into my wolf. They were used to our teasing. Most of the time, they’d be egging us on and I’d stick around to make Jones uncomfortable, especially once he’d given me an opening like that. After thirteen years of us fighting with each other, it was second nature to bite back.

But my wolf pulled us away.

He’s out there.

In the woods?

My heart started to beat faster.

Technically, we weren’t supposed to shift into our wolves during filming. It was against the contract we’d signed for the show. As long as we weren’t on resort property though, they couldn’t enforce it.

We were getting closer to the resort grounds, but still in the forest where the trees were thick. My thoughts raced as my wolf picked up her speed. If the male was this close to the building, maybe he wasn’t under contract as an Alpha on the show.

A fling with a crew member might be fun.

No strings. No commitment.

My beast caught the scent and stopped, inhaling deep as a primal thrill raced through us.

A little hunt would be exciting.

Just to see.

One quick look.

As quietly as she could, she started to track the male wolf who roamed these woods alone at night.

*

On a log in the distance perched a beastly wolf with brown fur so dark in the dim moonlight it looked black. He had his snout to the sky and deep breaths fogged from his nostrils creating a gray cloud of haze surrounding his massive head.

It was the set of his shoulders, a certain kind of sad heaviness, that made this moment feel too intimate. Like we shouldn’t be intruding.

Let’s get back to the resort, I nudged my wolf. We came. We saw. It’s not our place.

But who is he? She took another step, drawn by the darkened silhouette in the moonlight and his intoxicating male scent. Leather and something clean like aftershave. He had no right smelling so good.

The breeze shifted, ruffling my wolf’s fur. His snout twitched and his nostrils flared when he caught our scent.

Big brown eyes locked with mine.

Our heart slammed in our chest in response.

Mate. My wolf stalked forward.

Stomp the brakes, I demanded as panic flared.

The massive male wolf didn’t heed my command either as he stood, shaking off his coat before prowling over to my beast.

They weren’t hurried. Both wolves took their time admiring and sniffing each other while I was busy losing my ever-loving mind. That’s enough! Don’t let him smell you there. Have some decency, for Goddess’s sake. This is not our mate!

He’s perfect, my beast smiled as she cocked her head to the side, exposing her neck to the male who nuzzled the sensitive area. We have a mate.

The fuck we do. I beat my fists against the barrier that separated human and beast. Your time is up. Let me out.

The male wolf growled a soft command as he nudged my wolf’s flank.

She purred and lowered to the ground.

No, no, no… I started begging. Let’s talk about this before you–

She put her ass in the air to present.

The big beast mounted us from behind, locking his paws around her chest in a tender, loving way despite me screaming inside.

This is going to happen whether you fight it or not. My wolf sighed, scolding me like I was a child and she was the rational one–not a beast about to seal our fate.

This is going to hurt. I bit down, tearing my way through the soul barrier.

My wolf yelped in terror and it wasn’t from the pain of me forcing the shift. Something had changed. Anger charged the air.

I stopped trying to take control of our body as she turned around, growling. A bearded, naked human man sat in the dirt. His massive cock was ramrod straight and waving in my direction, but his member’s eager response didn’t match the frustrated look in his eyes.

“Shift into your human,” he demanded. There was an Alpha tone to his bark that had my wolf baring her fangs as she circled him. I should’ve known it when we approached. I never should’ve trusted my beast.

He was an Alpha.

An unmated Alpha.

That meant he was on the show and looking for a Luna to bond with this season.

And he’s mine. My wolf lunged, sinking her teeth into the back of his shoulder.

What the hell did you just do? I screamed, expecting the big man to throw us as the taste of blood filled her mouth.

But he reached for her and gently pried her jaws away, maneuvering her wolfy body with ease. His big hands spanned her midsection as he held her in front of his face. Something deep and urgent pulsed through us. It started slow. A warmth spreading through her chest and coaxing our soul out to play. I wanted to lick his cheek.

This was not good.

The big brute frowned under his beard, but a hint of amusement lit up his eyes. “Where have you been hiding?”

We have to go, I cried to my wolf. Ranger needs us. This was a mistake.

My wolf shook herself free from the male’s hold and bolted through the forest.

It didn’t matter how fast she ran.

The confusion and pounding of our heart didn’t abate.

Especially not when we heard the Alpha’s voice in our head, “You can run, but I’ll find you again, mate.”