Chapter 1 - Sonnet
“You’ve Got Mail.”
Okay, that was a great movie, but when the message popped up on my screen, I broke out into a rather evil grin. For thirty-two hours, I have been staring at five screens, fingers flying over keys, trying to ferret out the mole in the Silver Star Pack. It’s times like these that I really want to strangle my best friend, Smoke. I was supposed to be on vacation, taking time off from the high-pressure world of cybersecurity.
The message delivered wasn’t some cute, flirty sentiment from a secret admirer. No, it was cold, precise, and filled with fury. It made me chuckle.
I know who you are. I’m coming for you and will destroy you.
Drawing in a deep breath, I reached for the can of Red Bull I opened this morning – or maybe last night. Swallowing the last of it, I rubbed my tired eyes and shot off a message to Smoke.
Mole’s about cooked. Keep pressure until dinner is served.
I was the bait. While I flitted in and out of the Silver Star Pack’s security network, leaving just enough information behind to catch the mole’s attention and draw him out, Smoke and Emery – my other bestie – worked on following the bastard’s cyber trail. The mole was getting sloppy, but not sloppy enough.
I fired off another message.
Need backup. Mole’s not digging deep enough.
As I moved through another portal of the security network, I heard a ding and glanced at the message.
Check the flytrap. Sometimes moles have wings.
Hmm. That was an interesting concept. I switched gears and moved back through the code I scoured five hours ago. Blinking, I see the digital thumbprint I’ve been searching for. Thank you, Volt, for being an evil genius!
Mole can fly. Circle to flytrap.
I watched the screen on my left closely and could see the tiny change in the security system telling me Smoke was moving. The screen on the right showed Emery was coming from a different angle. Sighing, I sat back and shoved a chocolate and mint cookie into my mouth.
Package left. Mole’s wings have been clipped.
That was the message I had been waiting for since Smoke took the assignment on the dark web. Alpha Knox Iverson of the Silver Star Pack should be pleased with his head of security. Jonas was thorough, but he hadn’t been able to find the one leaking information to rogues.
Thirty-two hours, forty-eight minutes, and sixteen seconds after Jonas paid half the required fee, his mole had been found. Shooting a message to him, complete with package details – except the name – I wait for Emery to send me the final report and for Jonas to deposit the other five million into my overseas account.
When my phone chimed, I verified payment and then sent the completed report. Sighing, I raised my arms over my head and stretched. Grimacing as my muscles and joints protested, I really needed a shower, food, and sleep. Preferably in that order.
Transferring Smoke and Emery’s share of the payment into their accounts, I placed an order with the local Mexican restaurant and hobbled into the shower. An old thigh injury made doing anything more impossible after sitting for so long. As I was slipping into a pair of sweats and a hoodie, my phone chimed. Food was here.
Sitting down to my rather lonely meal, I checked the whereabouts of my estranged father. I have never met the man, but I have spent the last twelve years keeping tabs on him. When I was thirteen, my mom decided she didn’t want to be my mom and sold me on the black market. That was the day I learned my father’s name.
Five years later, I learned she had another kid. She had been pregnant when she sold me. When I tracked her down, she looked at me like I was an alien. Then, she unleashed fury on my ass and told me she got rid of me because I was useless to her – her exact words.
You see, my mom was supposed to be an elemental wolf. Although, in my first thirteen years of life, I never witnessed any of her powers or even her shifting into her wolf. I suppose she was a weak elemental wolf. There are not many of us in existence, even fewer that were documented with the Alpha King.
She thought I was useless; without a wolf or having any elemental capabilities whatsoever. The joke is actually on her. My wolf, Zaia, came to me when I was almost fifteen, and my dragon, Sia, emerged a few short months later. My dad is a full-blooded dragon shifter. Not just any dragon, mind you, but THE dragon of all dragons. Drake Rose, the Dragon King himself.
I have seen photos of Drake, and I realized I am basically a very feminine version of him, except I have deep purple eyes that many mistake as being black. I have the same dark hair with auburn highlights, the same full lips, wide eyes, and stubborn chin. If we were to stand side-by-side, I doubt anyone could deny that his blood coursed through my veins.
But, back to my wolf. Zaia is pure silver and has deep purple eyes that can change depending on her mood. My eyes can also change when I’m tapping into her powers. Zaia is an elemental wolf, just like my mom’s wolf. The ironic thing, though, is that Sia, my dragon, is an elemental dragon.
After hacking into the dragons’ royal archives, I have only found one other elemental dragon. That one was a male. The dragons saw him as a threat, a freak of nature – which is rich coming from any shifter – and he was executed.
So, as far as I knew, Sia was the only one of her kind. She preferred to stay hidden, cloaking herself when Zaia became too much for her to handle. I swear my wolf has ADHD. She rarely settles, is constantly filled with nervous energy, and sometimes it feels like I’m crawling out of my skin when she gets antsy.
The only time she truly settles is when Smoke is near and his wolf, Vapor, comes forward and soothes her. I think Zaia is a little bit in love with Vapor. When I am apart from Smoke, she paces and constantly asks where they are. It can be frustrating since I usually only see Smoke and Emery sporadically – maybe six to eight times a year.
Although I did spend a year with Smoke in South America, that was when we really connected and solidified our friendship. He has helped me out of some pretty tight spots and never asked questions. Zaia may be in love with Vapor, but I am in love with Smoke.
He is insanely hot with a chiseled jaw, a lean body that is all muscle, startling light blue eyes, and sandy brown hair that is adorable when he first rolls out of bed, all tousled and sexy. However, he is strictly my best friend – nothing more. He didn’t want me after we slept together, and that hurt, but I am grateful he is still in my life, just not in the way I wanted him to be.
Tossing my food containers in the trash, I flopped onto the bed. Hotel beds give me the creeps, but I haven’t been home in months. Home was a small cabin at the base of the Smoky Mountains, far away from everyone. Being a lone wolf, I don’t crave a pack or even a colony for Sia. I prefer being alone. My best friends understand that and don’t push me to join a pack.
I’m pretty sure I would rather lick hot lava than join Emery’s pack. The Blood Warrior Pack is home to my dad’s mate. It’s a super weird situation and one I’m curious about but not so curious I want to see it in person. His mate, Echo St. Claire, is also an elemental wolf and apparently has a collection of mates panting after her.
She’s a beautiful she-wolf, with kind, emerald green eyes and a soft smile. If things were different, I might even think I would want to befriend her. But, through the years, I have learned you don’t open yourself up. You stay in the shadows in my line of work. Especially since the Mooncrest Pack and the Alpha King still have warrants out for my head.
When my mom sold me, I was bought by the alpha of the Mooncrest Pack. He was a nasty wolf with sick, depraved desires. For a thirteen-year-old kid, he was positively terrifying. The scars on my body are a constant reminder of why I don’t need a pack. The Mooncrest Pack knew what that bastard was doing to me and let it happen – hell, they even helped.
During their special ‘Moon Celebrations’ when I was paraded out naked for the pack to beat, all for the sake of appeasing the moon goddess, I dreamed that my dad would swoop in and save me – a stupid fantasy.
When Zaia emerged and then Sia, I was strong enough to break free from that pack. I ripped the alpha’s heart right out of his chest while he was rutting into me.
Sleep is still elusive because of that bastard, and I’ve been on the run ever since, never staying in one place too long. Even my cabin in the mountains is only visited once every six months. Aside from being a freak with two beasts battling for control, I also come from a prehistoric bloodline – thanks, Mom, by the way.
I am one of only a handful of weirdos in the werewolf community that gets to experience the joys of a heat. I’m not talking about the Omegaverse smut book version either, where the sweet omega has all these hot alphas panting after her, and they engage in a week-long sex-fest. While I enjoy a good smutty book to escape from reality, that is not the kind of heat I experience.
Maybe it would be different if I had actual mates to help me through it. But the pain that radiates through my body leaves me gasping for breath. I turn into the most feral, horniest monster known to man, and can also become violent if I don’t get laid. My first heat hit when I was eighteen years old and poor Smoke got a front row seat – something we never talk about.
Since then, I have been paying a witch for special pills that keep me from going into a full-blown heat. Every six months I hide in my cabin for two weeks as my body tries to force biology to take effect. I have a collection of special friends and a drawer full of batteries to help me through the more intense moments. Needless to say, my life has been a train wreck since conception.
You would think that, being violated at thirteen and abused for two years, I would hate all things sexual. Zaia and Sia have helped a great deal in that respect. While I probably would freak out if I were restrained, when I was with Smoke it had been intense and enjoyable. Although he claims he’s never been the same since – did I mention I turn into a horny beast?
Sighing deeply, I rolled off the bed. Sleep was not coming anytime soon. Packing my equipment, I did a sweep of the room to ensure no evidence of me existed except the empty food and Red Bull containers in the trash. Heading to the front desk after stowing my bags and equipment in my Range Rover, I checked out and headed to my next location. Life really sucks sometimes.
