Broken Mates, 1
He found his mate. Now he has to save her.
Dane has waited his entire life for the mate destined for him. When the scent of lilies leads him to an injured hiker deep in the forest, he knows instantly that Layla is his.
Human and completely unaware of the supernatural world hidden around her, Layla never expected a simple hike to change her life. But the mysterious, protective Dane awakens feelings she can't ignore—and secrets she never imagined.
Just as their bond begins to grow, Layla is taken.
With time running out, Dane must risk everything to rescue the woman fate chose for him before she disappears forever. Because losing his mate would be devastating.
Losing her to his enemies could start a war.
Excerpt:
“Do you believe we are alone in the world? One human race, controlling the planet?” He smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant one. “No, my dear. There are monsters in the darkness, beings that have haunted the imagination of humans since immemorial times. I am one of those beings, and so is your boyfriend.”
Lily let out a noise of disbelief and John smiled.
“I know it's hard to imagine. So let me show you.”
He stood up and looked her in the eyes. He smiled and the first thing she noticed was that his teeth were getting bigger. She gasped when his face seemed to distort, his bones cracking, fur sprouting everywhere. Lily screamed when, instead of the man who was eating with her at the table, stood a giant black wolf.
She thought of running, but would only incite the creature to go after her. She stood there, petrified, unable to believe her eyes. In the blink of an eye, the wolf had disappeared and in its place was the man again, naked. She saw him putting on a pair of pants, looking more like a predator than ever.
“You didn’t run, good for you. It would only incite me to catch you.”
“What … are you?” she stuttered and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“I just showed you. But I guess you need more than that.” He sighed and served her more juice. For himself, he poured some coffee.
“We’re wolves in human form. The man’s spirit called us werewolves, but we’re much more than that. We share our body and mind with the wolf. We’re two in one, if you prefer. When we mate, we mate for life.”
“Mate?”
“Consider it a marriage. For life.”
“Some believe we have a soulmate out there, our better half. Our designated mate, the one chosen by the Moon Goddess herself for us.”
“You can’t possibly believe I’m your soulmate,” she uttered in disbelief, and he smiled.
“Of course not. I already found her. But she’s a weak little thing. A human! I kept her with me so that my wolf wouldn’t go nuts, but I’m not keeping her. For many moons now I’ve believed that you’re my prize!”
Surprise suddenly silenced her. When she finally found her voice, it was to stammer, “But … I’m as human as…”
He laughed. A cold, maniacal laugh.
“No. No, you’re not. But you don’t know because you allowed your feeble parents to control you.”
He raised his cup of coffee in a toast to her. Faced with her confusion, he sighed and began, “Some twenty something years ago, the king of all wolves had a child. A firstborn girl, taken in the night by some disgruntled wolves who used to serve them. Hunted down, they preferred to die than to reveal the child’s whereabouts. Human scavengers, the worst kind you could encounter, found the wailing baby and for some reason decided to keep her. The child disappeared in the human world up until twelve years ago. That child was you, Lily.”
“You’re mad. I never had a wolf.”
“No? Didn’t you get sick when you were ten? Haven’t you been taking some preventive medicine? What you’ve been getting is slowly killing your wolf, if it still lives, that is.”
“My parents…”
“Were handsomely paid to keep you under their thumb. Still, they tried to outsmart me. They moved around and stopped in Ossory, not knowing that the city is packed with wolves.”
“What?”
“A pack lives on the outskirts of the town; people mingle with us on a daily basis and have no idea what we are. I do believe that at some point the Winchesters did feel something about you—your father at least. You grew up to be a lovely lady, and Eleanor was green with jealousy. Thus, all the control she maintained over you and your life. Even the sugar she doesn’t allow you to put in your tea. But a deal had been made and last night, I came to collect.”
She was speechless. Her brain was trying to wrap around everything he was saying, but she just couldn’t.
“And … that … High King, or whatever…”
“Spread the lie that the child was sick and since he had another heir to the throne, resume the quests quite discreetly. I have people whispering in his ear, so he is looking in the wrong direction.”
He got up and walked to her. Her eyes, wide with astonishment and fear, were fixed on him.
“What do you want from me?”
“This.”
Quick as lightning, his hand shot toward her belly, squeezing tightly. She moaned in pain when she felt his nails dig into her soft skin, leaving marks.
“This womb will carry me many pups, building me an army stronger than ever.”
“No!”
“I wasn’t asking. I will have my royal blood pups by force, if necessary.”
With a flick of his wrist, a door opened and she saw, to her horror, a huge cage with a young woman huddled inside. Her clothes were in tatters, she had open wounds, and blood was running from the corner of her mouth. She was unconscious.
“This is my mate. Like I told you, I keep her around so that my wolf may have his piece of meat. If I can do this to my soulmate, what do you think I will do to you, my chosen mate?”
He smiled with cruelty. Another wave of his hand and the cage vanished. Shaking her head furiously, Lily felt her eyes fill with tears as she tried to get away from his touch.
“You have until tonight to consider the course of your actions, my dear. Afterward, whatever happens is on you.”
He took her hand and respectfully kissed her knuckles. Then he left, leaving her alone with her terror and her thoughts.
