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Chapter One

“Her stonantabout it

“Keep that shit to yourself,” he said

Jake glared at hi on with you?”

Liam had just turned fifty He was the alpha of his pack and was still without a wo he still didn’t have an heir to take over his place in the pack once he was too old to reign

“Cabin fever,” he said

“We’re almost finished construction Don’t worry, we’ll be out of your hair within the week”

“Just hurry it up”

He stood and stretched out his muscles Since three of his packmates had found their mates within the last year, he wanted all the happy couples out of the main cabin They owned thousands of acres of untouched forest, with a s in his fur in their old wolf den rather than his co to Jake, Eli, and Ben fucking in the next rooms had put him in a perpetual black mood

Why were the gods forsaking hi for his ht stands Liaan to trek away froht he’d drown his misery in cheap whisky

“Co, Alphie The Ger He’d always loved dogs, and the fact had s were lesser beings and couldn’t understand why he’d want one as a pet He blaardless, everyone knew to keep their paws off Alphie, even in their wolf form, or they’d deal with him

The forest was quiet at this ti, just the remnants of the sunset between the leaves above He loved this land, but the loneliness was driving him insane He wanted what ular sex As a shifter, his sexual drive was off the charts, and he was tired of cheap women and random hookups He wanted to devote himself to one woman, but it had to be the one chosen for hi with him

Liam had a love-hate relationship with humankind He used to work as a driver for the local lumber ca it was safe Most of his pack had outside jobs during the day, but at night they patrolled their territory in shifts They had eneer to claim their property, and there was no way he’d let that happen It was survival of the fittest in their world

He rarely ventured into the sossipy humans served to piss hi for infor to warm up to them, they now kept their distance—exactly how he liked it Their identities as shifters was a carefully guarded secret, and since many humans in the small northern town liked to hunt, that didn’t put theeted wolves

The grocery store was a beacon of light as he eet what he needed and have a full-blown pity party He hoped his ain

He ran a hand through his hair This would be a quick stop His boots crunched along the gravel before he stepped onto the paved parking area A couple streetlahted the nearly eed to the cashier, and the guy stocking shelves owned the red Honda Thethe day

As he neared the front doors, an unusual scent caught his attention It e to shift and investigate He’d coet it Liam didn’t trust his own instincts at this point, not with his black mood

Alphie sensed his unease, barking into the darkness “Relax, boy I’ll just be a rocery store

The bright florescent lights irritated his eyes once he entered As a shifter, all his senses were an his search Often, he ate in his wolf form—rabbit, deer, whatever he decided to hunt Soht and barbeque it at their camp, human-style That’s why he liked to have hot sauce on hand

As he entered the first aisle, the cashier monitored his every round his teeth, tempted to tell her to “fuck off” Instead, hewhat he needed

He still couldn’t get that scent off histhe air to the point of distraction It was delicious, a sweet vanilla thatblue balls for months had made him delirious

As he turned the corner into the produce aisle, he saw her She was a vision, long red hair twirled up on top her head, and big green eyes He watched herattention to her surroundings She was the essence of a woman, with lush curves and pouty lips—and she ithout a doubt, the source of the scent

He practically drooled as he envisioned stripping her naked and eating her until she caue He licked his lips Gods, he wanted her, and he would have her Never in his life had he felt such a strong pull