1 Chapter 1: The New Alpha

‘Thank you for sending money,’ the note began. ‘Bought ribbons for my hair and a new dress. The solstice dance was wonderful! I love you, Cara.’

Chirrup… chirrup…

Desiree Sweetkane’s teary smile brightened as Bluebell’s tweeting called from inside her windowsill. She rolled up the tiny epistle written by her sister and sent by way of the blue-winged fire hawk, tied to her talon with a beautiful yellow ribbon. Desiree quickly replied her pleasure in hearing that all was well with her younger sister.

She braided a length of her custom-dyed yarn and used that to tie her response to Bluebell before setting her free once again through the window.

Desiree then returned to her uncomfortable perch on the stool at her makeshift quilting table in the corner of her tiny room. She hummed a light song as she pulled a small needle and thread through the silver and gold quilt pattern that had become popular among the Blackstone pack during the early winter season.

She smiled despite the discomfort of sharing nearly half of her domicile with the equipment she needed to earn money by moonlight after completing a full day in the cook house. Her daily chores included smoking one thing or canning another, peeling this, or chopping that. She was also proficient at roasting, stewing, baking, and making enough food to feed the pack every day.

She took in a deep breath, enjoying the lavender fragrance that permeated this particular quilt ordered for a bride-to-be by her mate. She smiled at the thought knowing one day, despite her current circumstances, she would one day earn her freedom from the Blackstone pack and one day be with her own true mate. Even though she thought of him constantly in the five years since they’d been together, she’d only ever been with him in her dreams.

His wolf was large with silky black fur. As a man, he was at least head and shoulders taller than her and three times her body size. He had large emerald eyes and a broad kind smile. His voice soothing, hummed like a song. And his touch was achingly smooth, beginning as a caress soft as a gentle breeze that gradually became crashing waves.

Before she fell asleep, she wrapped the wedding gift in fine paper, setting it high on a shelf before securing a jewelry box etched with the Sweetkane moniker she’d inherited from her mother and filled with the coin she earned under her bed.

***

Desiree looked to the setting sun as she piled the last trays of roasted potatoes onto the wagon headed for the mansion. She was late. The spread would already be on the serving table.

“I’ll try not to hit too many stones,” the driver promised as she sat with the trays on the back of that wagon to make sure they got into Missy’s hands safely.

“Thank the goddess!” Missy, a busty brunette with large blue eyes, had been looking out for the wagon, ready to run down to the cook house herself. She grabbed the stacks of roasted potatoes and hurried them to the serving table which had a very noticeable gaping hole.

Desiree trailed inside behind Missy. Mesmerized by the opulence of the house around her. In her memory, she could picture the house she’d lived in when her mother was alive before her father squandered all she’d left behind. It had been very close to what the Blackstone mansion was. They ate well and dined with respected shifters.

She was drawn by a cozy burst of heat as it brushed past the serving room table. The warmth led her to peek into an expansive sitting hall where the elites gathered before dinner. Her eyes were taken directly to the roaring fire in the fireplace and several brooding men posed around it. She looked curiously to the majority of the ladies who were seated just beyond the fireplace, no doubt to avoid any soot on fine fabrics.

They seemed so quiet and subdued. Desiree imagined that if she ever were invited to dinner in that room and was able to wear such fine clothes she would be too full of excitement to sit and look bored.

A clamoring behind her stole her attention. A trail of Blackstone soldiers descended the staircase and

bypassed her and the other servants without so much as a glance. A few moments later, two hulking figures hurried down the stairs, little more than a blur as they whisked past the serving room. The larger of the two, the new alpha, nearly the spitting image of his father, with dark eyes hooded beneath a furrowed brow, shifted his gaze from his pathway to the sitting hall towards her. A shocking flash of emerald locked onto her, sending a rush of adrenaline from her core and through her limbs. He held her transfixed in his gaze until he crossed the threshold of the sitting room, leaving behind a scent of sea and spice that fell over Desiree like a welcoming hug.

“So, that’s the new alpha,” Desiree commented still feeling electric from the brief gaze they shared.

“Declan,” Missy supplied. “Alpha Waylon’s youngest and last remaining son. The other is Declan’s beta, Malcolm.”

Waylon Blackstone and his two eldest sons perished in a shipping accident two months prior. There had been rumors about the remaining heir apparent once he rose up to top rank in succession, mainly that he’d be too soft to lead as alpha.

Other than the basic facts, Desiree hadn’t listened much to speculation and gossip of the pack. Only ever wanting to gain her freedom, get back to her sister and find the mate she’d dreamed about all those years ago. But with that shock wave of adrenaline, she wondered if her true mate had been within reach this whole time. But, he couldn’t be. He would have stopped if he had felt the same. And she’d heard the pulling towards a fated mate was instant and permanent, not the fleeting rush that vanished once he was out of sight.

With her main task complete, she shook off her confusion and shifted into a run back to the worker village. The scent of sea and spice lingered until it became a memory that traveled with her that night into her dreams.

“You are getting closer to me,” his soothing voice danced in her ears. His green eyes blazed but his features were hazy.

She was in his arms. They were both naked and in human form. Unable to tell if they were lying down, standing up, or floating in the air, Desiree realized it was, of course, a dream. He kissed her throat as he traced a scent of sea and spice over the curve of her hips and up her spine.

This was different. The words. The scent. Even the placement of his hands.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I am yours,” he answered, holding her close.

“I’m saving money to buy my way out,” she moaned against his chest as she buried her face into the soft patch of fur that began to grow and continued until he was completely in wolf form. She let her hands roam over the beauty of his mane. Enjoying his sudden playfulness as he rolled her over onto his back and then took off running along what looked like the shoreline of Blackstone beach.

“Where are we going?” she asked, resting her head in the space between his neck and the haunch of his shoulder.

“Wherever you want,” he promised.

Then, suddenly, A bucket of ice water hit Desiree full in the face, waking her up with gasps and squeals as the cold liquid spread over her body and soaked through to the mattress beneath her.

“Why are you stealing my money!?!” she demanded.