Prologue

He took a sip of beer from beneath his hood, his eyes tracking her every move. Sitting in the far corner booth, he had his back to the wall to prevent anyone from sneaking up on him. He also used the dim lighting and his hood to hide his identity, all out of habit. They were little quirks he had picked up from his previous line of work. However, it came in handy now as he had been able to watch her for the last several hours while going completely unnoticed.

The more he saw, the more he studied her, the more he wanted her, and the beast inside of him agreed. Everything about her was captivating as hell; the way her smile revealed an adorable set of dimples, how animated she got when she spoke about something she was passionate about. Then there was the way that she pushed her hair back behind her ear when she was nervous and the way she chewed on her bottom lip when she was deep in thought. The list went on and on. He knew the moment she walked into the bar that she was meant to be his, and she was going to be. Even if she didn’t know it yet.

He had heard of this phenomenon before, a long time ago, but the way it was talked about had him believing that it was just a myth or a legend. That it wasn’t real. And even if it was real, he never thought it would happen to him. He was a beast, a monster of the worst kind, and he had more blood on his hands than he cared to admit due to killing people for a living. However, there was no denying the onslaught of emotions that were flooding through him now. The primal urge, the sudden need, the undeniable… obsession.

Nothing in this sick and twisted world mattered anymore, only her. Everything else faded away to the dark depths of his mind until only she remained. Well, her and his raging erection. That hadn’t gone anywhere. If anything, that had only gotten more prominent the longer he was forced to watch her from afar and imagine what it would feel like to be buried deep inside of her as he claimed her as his. It was borderline painful, but the pain kept him grounded, kept the monster at bay. It was also the only thing keeping him from turning the small bar into a bloody massacre, even though she’d be worth it.

She was tiny, probably only about 5’4’’, and she had creamy pale skin with just a small smattering of freckles across her cheeks and her adorable button nose. She had plump, rosy lips, chestnut brown hair that went to the middle of her back, and these big green eyes that made him feral.

He noticed that she also had a small dove tattoo on her right wrist, which prompted him to give her the nickname “little dove.” So sweet, so innocent, and a beacon of light in his otherwise dark and bloody life. Though, her low-cut shirt gave him a perfect view of her glorious tits, and the way her jeans clung to her ass would make any man with eyes drool. Granted, he would then have to gouge out those eyes with a rusty knife for looking at his girl, but that was beside the point.

To him, his little dove was perfect in every way, and soon, she would be all his. He would have approached her the moment she walked in instead of watching her from the shadows—if it were not for one pesky detail. His little dove was on a date with someone else.

The guy she was with wasn’t even close to being good enough for her and was obviously not her type. He looked like a model who had to pad the front of his underwear with a roll of socks, and he was probably just as idiotic. He could tell that the two of them hadn’t been together very long as they were still trying to get to know each other too. She wasn’t completely comfortable with her date yet, but trying to fix that was a pointless effort since there wouldn’t be another one after this. He didn’t know what she saw in the guy, but it wouldn’t be a problem after tonight. He’d make sure of it. And it looked like it was finally time to get this show on the road.

As the two of them got up and started gathering their belongings, he tossed some cash onto the table and moved toward the door himself. He wanted to get a head start so that it would make following them easier.

The air was drastically cooler outside with a few storm clouds rolling in as he made his way to his truck. He climbed into the driver’s seat and adjusted the rearview so that he could keep an eye on the door. A few moments later, they emerged hand in hand. He ground his teeth in jealousy as the guy opened the car door for her and she gave him a shy yet sexy smile. He should be the one who had her smiling like that. He just kept reminding himself, and his monster, that she would be his soon enough.

Within moments, they were pulling out onto the highway, and he wasn’t too far behind. He continued to follow at a safe distance as the man drove her back to her place. It was a cute little house that was rather secluded as it sat nestled into a little outcropping of trees that lined the forest. It wasn’t very safe for a woman living alone, he noticed. Any monster with evil intentions could waltz right up to it without any witnesses, which would work out perfectly for him. He made a note of her address in his phone before watching the two of them say goodnight.

He nearly shifted on the spot when the asshole dared to kiss her, his wolf wanting to tear the guy apart with his teeth so he could feel the skin and muscle rip while the bones and tendons crunched and snapped. Those lips were his. She was his. As soon as he got this guy alone, he was going to pay for that.

Bloodlust consumed every fiber of his being as he followed his target back to his place. It was a little closer to town than he would have liked, but he would make do. He had been in more complicated situations before, and he had gotten very adept at adapting to the situation. Already, a plan was forming in his mind, and how he was going to make this guy pay made him giddy with excitement. He wasn’t going to kill him, even though he definitely deserved it, but there were other, more creative ways to get his point across.

He was unfortunately bound by the vow he had made to himself, the one that forbade him from killing anymore unless it was absolutely necessary. There had been enough bloodshed, and he was trying not to go too far off the deep end. He had been doing this a long time now, so he had more than a few tricks up his sleeve that would still give him the same sense of satisfaction and satiate his bloodlust. His vow not to kill didn’t prevent him from seriously maiming.

After pulling up across the street and killing the engine, he picked his cell phone up out of the center console. He had a bit of time before he planned on going in, wanting the guy to feel nice and safe tucked away in his home, so he decided to see what kind of information he could gather in the meantime. He pulled up an app and quickly typed in the address. Once he had the guy’s name, everything else was easy to find. He was like an open book.

David Carlisle, age twenty-eight. His parents were Stephen and Martha Carlisle. As an only child, he spent all his life in prestigious private schools and had everything handed to him on a silver platter. Now, he was a low-level lawyer at a law firm in town and was actually allergic to cats. He had learned that from David’s dating profile, which had been all too easy to find. It was amazing what kind of weird tidbits someone would post to things like that.

After hacking into David’s profile, he discovered that that’s where he met her, Madelyn Hart. His little dove. He didn’t know why she felt the need to be on a dating app in the first place as she was far too good for any of the sleazeballs on it, but after a few moments, he found himself hacking into her profile as well. After all, he didn’t need to know much about David. Once he got his point across, he would never see the guy again. Madelyn, however, was a different story, and he wanted to know everything there was to know about her.

According to her profile, she was twenty-five, nine years younger than he was. She loved hiking and being outdoors, loved to garden, and was obsessed with reading. It didn’t say what she did for a living, but that would be easy enough for him to figure out.

He ended up losing track of time, saving all of her photos to his phone and scrolling through the messages guys had been sending her, each one pissing him off more than the last. They were animals, every one of them, and he eventually just deleted the whole damn thing. She wasn’t going to need it anymore now that she had him.

Once that was done, he tossed his phone back into the center console and climbed out into the cool night air. It was time to get to work and show David what happened when he touched something that didn’t belong to him. It was true that David had no idea that Madelyn was his, but after tonight, he most certainly would.

It was funny how trusting guys like David were. The back door wasn’t even locked, and there was no security system either. So, he was able to slip inside completely undetected, his boots barely making a sound on the pristine tile floor. He could hear David in the bathroom, either washing his face or brushing his teeth, he wasn’t sure. Either way, he only had a few moments to enact his plan.

Without so much as a rustle of clothing, he crept into the basement and found the breaker box in the far corner. The door creaked a bit as he opened it, but David didn’t seem to hear it over the sound of the sink. Then, with a simple flip of a switch later, the house was shrouded in total darkness where his monster preferred to thrive.

“What the hell?” he heard David mutter from the bathroom.

A menacing smile graced his lips as he slipped into the dark corner behind the door and waited for David to come downstairs.

Usually, he preferred a bit more of a chase instead of just ambushing his targets from the shadows. He liked it when they were afraid as it made the job that much sweeter. But as this was a spur-of-the-moment thing, he was going to have to compromise a bit. He also realized that he was going to have to improvise some kind of weapon as well because his were all in a duffel bag at the bottom of his closet.

This wasn’t like him. He was usually vastly over-prepared for things like this. However, his little dove was getting under his skin far more than he realized, and he was beginning to act irrationally. The thought made him smile as he couldn’t wait to do the same to her.

A few agonizing moments later, David finally shuffled into view. David had taken a shower while he was waiting in the car, obsessing over his new girl. David’s hair was still wet, and he was only wearing a pair of white underwear. He nearly laughed out loud at the sight. Real men at least wore boxer briefs. What this guy was currently wearing made him look like a pussy.

He closed his eyes for only a moment, but when he opened them again, the human in him was completely suppressed, leaving only the monster behind.

Slowing his breath and loosening his muscles, he waited until David began examining the breaker box, bent at the waist and using his cell phone as a flashlight. With the stealth and grace of an experienced predator, he struck fast, slamming David’s head against the concrete wall. It wasn’t hard enough to knock him out; he wanted David conscious for what he had planned, but it was just hard enough to daze and confuse the hell out of the guy.

He snatched a handful of David’s hair and yanked his head back. He then snarled in his ear, sounding far more animal than man. The beast inside of him was in charge now. He was the one running the show, and the beast was pissed.

“W-who are you?” David stammered. “What do you want?”

There were all manner of ways in which he could answer that, but he decided to go with the most reasonable response. “You and I are going to have a chat, David,” he sneered before he shoved him back toward the middle of the room. “About Madelyn.”

“Madelyn?” David asked, lifting a shaky hand to the now-open and bleeding wound on his head. The surprise was evident in his voice, and his brows creased in confusion. Though it could also have been the blow he took to the head.

“Uh-huh.”

“W-what about her?”

He took a step toward David, who instinctively stepped away. His self-preservation instincts must have started kicking in. Maybe he wasn’t as dumb as he looked. However, he wasn’t going to get off that easily. He was in for far more than just a stern talking-to.

He cocked his head to the side as if studying David. He still couldn’t see what Madelyn saw in him. David was weak, pathetic, and no good for her. Not that he was any better. But between the two of them, he was by far the superior choice.

“You are going to stay the fuck away from her,” he stated casually. “You aren’t going to call her; you aren’t going to text her; you aren’t going to see her. You are going to disappear from her life altogether, starting right now.”

“What, are you, her boyfriend or something?” David asked, shaking his head. “Look, man, she told me she was single. I have no desire to get in between?—”

He chuckled darkly. “No, I’m not her boyfriend. Not yet anyway. But I don’t need someone like you getting in my way. Madelyn is mine.”

It was then that the little weasel seemed to grow some balls. After processing what he had said, David took a step toward him and looked as though he were going to poke him in the chest. He must have thought better of it though, which was good because he was at least three times David’s size. He would have bitten that finger off like it was a baby carrot.

“Now, wait just a damn minute,” he began. “You don’t get to break in here and tell me who I can and can’t see. It would be different if you were already with her, but the fact that?—”

He didn’t allow David to finish his statement before he reared back and clocked him hard in the jaw with his fist. Already, he was sick of listening to the guy talk because he clearly didn’t have anything important to say.

“I wasn’t fucking asking, David!” he roared angrily, making David flinch and tremble.

Now was not the time to push him as he was barely holding it together. His wolf wanted to feel the crunch of cartilage and bone as he tore his throat out with his powerful jaws. He wanted to feel the warm spray of his blood as he watched the life drain from his eyes. Being rogue meant having an insatiable bloodlust, and it would be all too easy to quench that desire right here, right now. But that wasn’t why he was here. He only wanted David to back off and stay away from Madelyn. He didn’t think that was too much to ask.

Even though he could clearly see how close to losing it he was, David didn’t seem to want to back down. He would have been impressed, if not for the guy’s lack of clothing.

“Who Madelyn dates isn’t up to you. It’s her choice,” David told him. He was obviously trying to appear confident, but the quiver in his voice gave him away. It always did. “And she chose me. So, you can take your petty-ass jealousy and get the hell out of my house before I call the police.”

He grinned menacingly. He had been hoping David would say something like that. It made the monster inside of him giddy with anticipation of what came next.

“Wrong answer,” he spat. Then, he struck as quick and precise as a viper.

He moved so quickly that David didn’t have time to react at all. He slammed the guy hard against the wall while simultaneously snatching up the first thing he could find on one of the shelves to use as a weapon. As they were in the basement, the only thing he found was a tool. A Phillips-head screwdriver to be exact.

In his own defense, he was restraining himself fairly well. Before he made the vow to himself to kill less, he would have ripped David’s chest open with his bare hands and crushed his heart in his palm. It wasn’t his fault that David decided to struggle against him. Otherwise, the screwdriver would have gone into his upper thigh where it was intended to go.

Instead, the weapon found its way to where the sun don’t shine, sliding into the soft flesh right between the guy’s ball sack and asshole as easily as a knife went into softened butter. He felt something snap, a tendon or nerve perhaps, and the warm trickle of blood and piss on his hand as David wet himself.

The wails that pierced the air were inhuman, and he almost felt bad for the guy. He may be a monster, but there were lines even he wouldn’t cross. Messing with another guy’s family jewels was one of them. David would be lucky if his dick ever worked right again. Whatever had snapped when he stabbed him sounded awfully important.

Even so, the beast inside of him let out a groan of appreciation. He had come to thrive off the pain of others, especially if he was the one to inflict it. He may have gone a little further than expected, but it would get his point across nonetheless.

He met David’s eyes, allowing his own to glow with his shifter power. His canines elongated as his monster began to emerge fully. He was reveling in the fear that now permeated the air around them.

David’s face was contorted in pain, streaked with snot and tears, and he also seemed to be fighting unconsciousness.

“I am only going to say this once, asshat. So, listen close,” he growled, his voice low. “Madelyn is mine. She will always be mine. And if I ever see you around her again, I won’t stop at mutilating your manhood. I will finish what I started and send you to whatever god you believe in. Do we understand each other?”

Once again, he had to give the guy credit where credit was due. He had to be in excruciating pain, but David still nodded rapidly. Or as much as he could with his arm pinning him against the wall by his throat.

He yanked the screwdriver out with a sickening yet satisfying sound, causing David to scream again. When he finally released him, David collapsed to the floor in a heap, trying to stem the bleeding with his hands while curling into the fetal position.

Moving to where David had dropped his cell phone, he kicked it back toward him and left the basement without another word. It was up to David to get himself some help—he didn’t care either way. Nor was he worried about the guy calling the police on him. He knew how to cover his tracks, and David never saw his face due to the hood he kept over his head.

The night air greeted him like an old friend as he emerged from the back door, a smile on his face. Now that he got David out of the way, Madelyn was his for the taking. He would give her time to get over the guy, of course, but then, all bets were off.