Twenty Six year old Blake Hunter is the Alpha of the largest pack in the region. Finding his mate is the last thing on his mind.
But, in the midst of dealing with uninvited relations, aspiring future Lunas and increasing rogue attacks on his easter...
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The air froze her lungs as the girl sucked in each ragged breath; a sharp contrast to the numbness spreading across the soles of her bare feet as snow crunched beneath each fleeting step.
A flash of water appeared through the canopy of trees as she ran past. A splash of blue in the corner of her eye. Then another, giving her a glimpse of the delicate ice forming on the still surface. The sense of urgency propelling her forward increased; she was nearly there.
Impatient to reach her final destination she grew careless, her bare arms brushing past evergreen branches heavy with snow. The sudden movement freed them from their burdens with a dull thud and she flinched; skidding to a halt and turning towards the sound as though something had jumped out of the nearby bushes towards her.
Nothing moved. The forest around her remained still and silent in the pale morning light.
The brief pause gave the chill time to settle into her bones. Ripples of pain ran through her tense muscles, reminding her small frame that she wasn't dressed appropriately for such weather. She forced herself to keep moving.
Without warning the canopy cleared, opening up onto the rocky shore of the loch. As she left the safety of the tree line behind, her feet protested the change between the soft carpet of pine needles on the forest floor and the smooth, icy solidity of the stones. In the early morning light, the overnight snowfall glimmered across the pebbles, trespassing over the edges of the ice. It was the first snow of the season, and it camouflaged the water's edge so perfectly that it would be easy to step out onto the loch without realising the ground beneath her was no longer firm.
She allowed herself to slow to a stop, scanning the loch for signs of life. There was no evidence that either man or wolf had set foot in the fresh snow. Eleanor was the first to arrive. All she had to do now was wait for the others. For her parents. For her pack.
This was the meeting point. Where her parents had taught her to run in times of danger. Startled from her sleep, she'd followed her father's urgent cry without question: "Run, Eleanor! We'll be right behind you."
Her heart hammered in her chest as she crouched down by one of the larger boulders, her thin night dress doing nothing to shield her from the elements.
The faint smell of smoke drifted across the frozen water, and her eyes were drawn to the other side of the loch where the tall chimney stacks in their village poked up between the trees...
"Hannah?" A familiar voice drew her back to the warmth of the study; the ice and snow replaced by a roaring fire and dancing shadows.
As her vision began to clear, she blinked, trying to clear her head of the brief flash of memory. Just like before, she experienced a blissful moment of release, the pain in her head reluctantly receding.
"Just breathe, Hannah." The rich tones of Blake's voice warmed her deep inside and she attempted a reassuring smile, though she suspected it came out more like a grimace.
