Twenty four year old, Asher 'Ash' Hunter has a reputation as an Alpha who never loses. But by deciding to choose his mate for him, his father has just challenged him to the biggest game of his life.
Plagued by rogue attacks, secret plots, and the s...
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Eight months earlier...
A late spring squall had brought a diagonal and persistent rain to the coastal roads, driving the locals back into their squat little cottages and encouraging the wildlife to seek shelter further inland.
At the very top of the cliffs, an isolated, narrow road followed the coastline tightly for several miles. Winding past wetlands, woodland and wild, open heath, it never strayed more than a few metres from the blue backdrop of the sea.
Down below, waves battered the jagged cliffs in a flurry of white spray, smashing against the rocks with increasing fury as though competing to see which could soak the highest ledge. Seabirds protested noisily, their nests tucked snug against the cliff face, soaring high above the colony, only to dive down towards the raging water with reckless abandon, their wingtips grazing the waves that attempted to snatch them clean from the sky.
A solitary car appeared from between the hedgerows, its sudden exposure to the elements making it rock violently from side to side. Its driver, well aware of the precarious nature of her chosen route, would have happily avoided it if given any other choice, but somehow it remained the only road in, or out of her destination.
Katherine hated the rain. She hated travelling, she hated these roads, she hated the guilt that had forced her to leave everything behind... and right now, she was very close to hating the sea, the sand and the countryside in general.
Steel grey clouds cloaked what had only that morning been a vivid blue sky, and a stiff sea breeze blew salty water across her windscreen, obscuring her view. The wipers swatted ineffectually at the deluge - the one on the passenger side moving at half the speed of its companion as if determined to thwart her efforts. It half-heatedly pushed most of the water straight back into her line of sight.
The turning weather was a sign the temperamental coast regarded her return with as little enthusiasm as Katherine did herself. In fact, if she believed in that sort of thing, she'd almost swear the village she was aiming for was actively trying to keep her out.
Accompanying the rain, gusts of wind rolled in from the sea to batter at her passenger door, rocking the tiny car on its axis as though trying to beat it into submission. As the road veered sharply around a crumbling cliff face, she gripped the wheel with increasingly white knuckles.
Praying the threadbare tires would keep their grip on the road, she no longer had time to question why she'd been foolish enough to leave her comfortable city life and travel to a place she'd sworn never to return to. Regret had dogged every mile of her journey, eating away at her resolve with every round of what the hell am I doing?
Only a constant stream of cheery pop anthems blocked out the urge to perform a violent U-turn and flee back to the safety of tall buildings and a world where the supernatural was nothing more than fairy tales and flights of fancy.
