Chapter 1
“I love you. Why can’t you see that?” A platinum blonde bitch said, pressing her body against Dayne’s as he backed into the alley wall.
I grabbed the back of her shirt, unable to control the surge of anger in my veins. I ripped her away from him, baring my teeth as my wolf, Faye, snarled protectively in my head. “He said, beat it, bimbo of the year. Get lost before I beat the shit out of you myself.”
The girl whimpered in fear as Dayne wrapped an arm around my shoulder, spouting apologies as he pulled me in the opposite direction. His nose nuzzled the side of my head as he breathed a chuckle in my ear. “Oh, Kitten, I hate it when you interfere.”
I shoved him away, flipping him off as I stalked down the street. How dare he let that bitch touch him. Bite her head off.
According to my parents, I was too reactive. My teachers said I had an attitude problem. Most of my classmates thought I was a thug who would kill if given enough reason. I supposed they weren’t wrong, but I had never actually killed anyone.
“Why do you keep getting with these girls? They don’t even like you!” I snapped, throwing my hands in the air. “You’re the soon-to-be alpha of The Pack of Fire; of course, they want to jump your bones!”
Dayne jogged to keep up with my frantic steps. “I’m just having some fun before I’m forced to marry that water tribe daughter. Why? Are you jealous?”
I whirled around and punched him in the stomach, but he caught my wrist before I could do any real damage. We had been wrestling since we were five, and while he learned new moves, I still fought without thinking. It’s one of the reasons they wouldn’t let me train to be a warrior.
Dayne smoothed his fingers over my hand until I let him undo the fist and smirked. “Come on, Kitten. You know you’ll always be my number one girl.”
Except I wouldn’t. The minute he was married to the heiress of The Pack of Water, I wouldn’t be allowed near him. Dayne was an alpha, his future wife was an alpha, and I wasn’t. Alphas were made to protect and serve; they were the strongest and fastest and easily influenced their packs for the greater good.
The Fire and Water Packs had been at each other’s throats for decades, and the only solution was to marry the next alphas to each other. They were supposed to emulate a new era of peace, and while not all of us agreed with it, Dayne would do anything to please his dad. If anyone had daddy issues, he would get the first-place trophy for it.
“Dayne, when the packs merge, what’s your plan? A simple marriage won’t stop the hostilities,” I said, crossing my arms with a firm stare.
He shrugged and ran a hand through his black hair, trying not to make eye contact. “No, but the omegas will. Their job is to misdirect hostile natures. The betas will keep the peace and guard the group, and of course, the deltas will protect the territory.”
Deltas. Right. Because that was about to be my Moon Goddess given role. A delta. I groaned and began walking again. The job of a delta was surveillance, only partaking in a fight when absolutely necessary. The betas and alphas got to fight, but not me, no. I was on babysitting duty.
Faye snarled in my head, also not liking our given role. Mom and Dad had said it was for our protection. Protection for who? Us or the people we’d kill? Faye howled in laughter at her own joke, and I scoffed, waving her away until she quieted down.
Believe it or not, Faye was wilder. She was sometimes hard to handle, and when spurred to anger, I had a helluva time controlling her. My parents kept saying she would calm down as we age, but we were about to be ninety-one, and she still made my life difficult.
“What will you do if your mate appears?” I asked, looking back at Dayne as he followed quietly. “Keep the peace?”
He chuckled bitterly. “I’m hoping she never shows.”
“Or he?” I quirked a brow.
Dayne shoved my arm and shook his head. “Shut up, you know I prefer women.”
“Maybe only because the right man hasn’t wrapped his hand around your-”
“Dany!” My mom shrieked the moment we got close to my house.
I looked at her lined, weathered face and salt-and-pepper brown hair. Great, I forgot something again.
Mom’s eyes flicked to Dayne, and she gestured to the pack house. “Sweetie, go see your dad. It’s urgent.”
My pulse quickened, and I looked at Dayne. “What happened?”
His back went straight, and he shook his head, running off. “I don’t know! Call you later.”
I hurried to my mom, checking her over for injuries and immediately asking about Dad.
She grabbed my arms and stopped me from fussing, her bright orange eyes boring into mine. “You need to leave,” she said.
I frowned and looked toward the packhouse as howls tore through the air. Dayne.
My mother shook me until I looked back at her. “Stanton was killed,” she whispered urgently. “And they have your DNA.”
My heart plummeted.
