Chapter One
Harper
I smile at the man and the woman as I serve them their drinks. The bar isn’t particularly busy tonight, given that it’s mid-week. Just a few business-type people, popping in for a quick drink after a busy day and then making an evening of it. Most are wearing suits or smart work attire, except for one.
I glance down the other end of the bar. He sits there with a beer in his hand. There’s something about him that seems a bit off. He just doesn’t fit in. He’s not like the rest of the customers. They’re dressed smartly and are obviously office workers; he wears dark coloured jeans, is very muscular and wears a leather jacket. Whereas the other customers are small, he’s huge, both tall and broad, and he sticks out like a sore thumb.
That’s not the only thing. Every time I glance in his direction, his eyes seem to be following my every move. Eyes that are dark and dangerous and send a shiver down my spine.
I shrug it off. It’s probably because he looks a bit different. Besides, we’ll be closing soon, then I can head home and forget about strange customers until my next shift.
Sometimes I hate where I work. The long hours, being on my feet all night, but one of the benefits is that I live close by, so it’s only a short walk.
As I head towards my house, I have an un-nerving feeling of being watched. A shiver runs down my spine, but every time I turn to look behind me, there’s nothing there. Just the darkness barely lit by the guttering streetlamps.
I walk faster, because the sooner I reach home, the sooner this feeling will leave me. Once I’m safe inside my nice warm house, everything will be ok.
I almost breathe a sigh of relief when I reach my front door.
I fumble in my bag for my door keys. I should have left the front light on, so at least I could see what I’m doing. My fingers finally wrap around my keys, but before I have a chance to pull them out and unlock the door, a hand wraps around my nose and mouth, and a strong arm encircles my body. I try to scream, but no sound comes out, and as I run out of air, my body weakens, not enough energy to fight whoever it is that seems to be trying to kill me. Spots cloud my vision, and oblivion beckons me.
I gasp and gulp in a lungful of air as I wake. The last thing I remember is not being able to breathe.
My eyes snap open when I realise I can’t move my arms. That’s when I see him. The man from the bar.
“You,” I hiss.
I look at my wrists and realise why I can’t move them. They are handcuffed to the metal-framed bed that I’m currently lying on.
The man walks slowly towards the bed.
“Ahh, my lovely mate is finally awake.”
I glare at him, and then the realisation hits me. That word mate. Doesn’t mean the same as it would if I were talking to a friend. Everything starts to add up. The way he seemed different. The fact that he didn’t seem to fit in at the bar.
This man is a damn shifter. He shouldn’t have even been at the bar. They’re supposed to stick to their own territory, not be in human towns. At least that’s what the government tells us.
“I’m not your mate,” I hiss.
He narrows his eyes; a look of displeasure masks his face.
“No, you aren’t, but you soon will be. I don’t see why those bastard dragon shifters should be the only ones who can steal a human and take her for their mate. They think that they’re better than everyone else. That will soon change once I’ve marked you and made you mine, little human.”
Dragon shifters? What the hell is he talking about? They told us there were just wolves, not dragons. But he seems to hate them, so he’s definitely not a dragon, which is a cause for relief.
He stalks slowly towards the bed.
What the hell did he mean? Mark me?
I pull at the handcuffs, but they won’t come free.
“Get away,” I scream, “You can’t do this.”
He just smirks, ignoring my screams.
He’s close now. Close enough to grab a handful of my hair and yank my head back, tilting it slightly to the side so that my neck is exposed.
I lift my leg and jam the heel of my foot straight at his balls.
I kick hard. Hard enough to incapacitate him if he were human. But he’s not. Still, the kick is hard enough to make him grimace, and he roars. A sound unlike anything I ever heard before.
I scream as his nails morph into claws, and he slashes my face.
Pain erupts from my cheek, and blood oozes out from the cuts in my face, and it trickles down my skin.
He takes a step back, and his claws retract so his hand looks normal again, but the fury in his face is still there.
“You will be my mate, whether you like it or not.”
He turns and walks towards the door before he roars.
“Omega, get in here.”
A small young woman wearing threadbare clothes runs in and bows to the vicious bastard who just sliced my face.
“Tend to her face.”
The woman glances at me.
“I think she needs to go to the hospital, alpha.”
Another growl escapes his lips, and he glares at the small woman.
“Are you defying your alpha?”
She drops to her knees and covers her head with her arms.
“No, Alpha. Sorry, Alpha.”
He storms towards the door, barely looking back.
“Then do as I command, or I’ll rip your throat out and that of your family.”
I stare in horror. Did he just threaten her?
Her face pales. She must have thought he meant it.
She runs out of the room, and a few minutes later she returns, carrying a tray with medical supplies.
She walks over to the bed.
“My name is Daisy. You should try not to anger him. He’s very dangerous when he becomes angry.”
I look at her face, and she looks terrified.
“Is he a dragon?”
She looks more panicked than when he threatened to kill her family.
“Sshh. You’re not supposed to know about dragons. No human is. Is that what he said?”
I shake my head.
“He said some dragon-shifter had kidnapped a human, and made her his mate, so why shouldn’t he?”
She sighs but says nothing more, and begins to bathe my face. I can’t help but flinch at the sting.
Daisy shakes her head.
“These cuts really need to be stitched, but he won’t allow it, and I don’t have the skill.”
She glances towards the door every so often as she puts a dressing over my cheek.
“I can help you,” She whispers, but you need to do everything I say.”
Daisy lifts up a cloth that covers half of the tray to reveal a key and a dagger.
She unlocks one of the cuffs.
“When he comes back, you must pretend to still be handcuffed to the bed.”
She slides the dagger and the key under the pillow.
“When he’s close enough, use the dagger and then run for your life. There’s a small cottage at the end of the path; I’ll meet you there.”
I stare at her. Shocked that she would help me after what he threatened her with.
“What about you? They’ll know it was you that helped me.”
She shakes her head.
“I can’t live like this anymore. I’m going to go rogue.”
I look at her with confusion.
She sighs.
“You’re human. You don’t understand.”
She looks towards the door once more.
“Shifters live in packs. If you choose to live without a pack, you’re considered a rogue. But some alphas shouldn’t be in charge of a pack. Alphas like Gryph Stoneblood. He thinks nothing of killing his pack members if they displease him. He’s a fucking psychopath. Everyone knows it, but no one is brave enough to challenge him. They just let him get away with murder. The life of a rogue is dangerous, but not as dangerous as having Gryph Stoneblood as an alpha.”
She picks up the tray and heads towards the door.
“Remember, use the dagger when he gets close.”
