Raking my gaze over Kade, he had platinum blond hair, striking blue eyes, and a body that even I hadn’t seen on the men in my pack. He was much larger, in more ways than one, and one of the youngest alphas in the country, most likely in his late twenties by the looks of him. Fortunately, when his gaze found mine, I didn’t see my future mate in those eyes.

Crossing my arms at my chest, I stood stock-still, waiting on my father to get done talking to him. I only wished he’d take heed of my loathing and leave. I wasn’t going to go with him. Everyone else got the choice of who they mated with and I’ll be damned if I didn’t get the same luxury.

Back and forth the men conversed heatedly, the tension filling the cool night air. The moment my father’s blue eyes met mine, I knew something was wrong. Please, don’t let it be so. He clutched my face in his hands and kissed me on the head. “Say goodbye to the pack. By sunrise, you’ll be on your way with Kade to your new home.”

“What?” I shouted, pulling away. “You’re supposed to be our alpha! Are you really so spineless?”

Our pack sucked in a collective breath at my daring words. Kade smirked and I made sure he could feel every ounce of my hatred. I pushed my power so hard at him, he stumbled back.

My dad was working hard on biting his tongue. “To ensure the survival of our packs, and to keep you safe, there’s no other way. We have to honor our promise.”

“Fuck your promise, and fuck you,” I hissed. “It was yours, not mine.”

“It was the packs, Bailey. There’s no way around it.”

There’s a way around everything. My power roiled but I couldn’t unleash it . . . yet. It wasn’t the right time. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and huffed. “I’d like to speak to my intended for a moment, alone. I’ll say my goodbyes to everyone once we’re done.”

My father nodded in agreement and walked away, looking back at me once before turning his back. My pack followed close behind him, along with my mother who had tears streaming down her cheeks. The Yukon pack, however . . .

“Your people need to go,” I demanded.

Glancing over his shoulder, Kade nodded to his second in command and they disappeared through the trees.

When they were out of earshot, I pursed my lips and spat, “Out of every single pack in the world, you came to this one to claim me. Surely you could find someone who’d be glad to take you.”

“True, but I wanted you.”

“What makes you think I’m going to leave with you tomorrow?”

Kade laughed and sauntered over, leaning close so he could smell me; I stood my ground and didn’t waver, even when he brushed up against me. I could rip his heart out in the blink of an eye. He moaned and grew hard between his legs. “You’re mine, Bailey,” he growled, circling around behind me. “You were promised to me, and I’m not leaving without you.”

“You don’t even know me.”

Pushing his cock against my ass, he reached around and placed his large hands on my thighs, holding me to him. Wolves were physical creatures and we loved touch, but I didn’t want him touching me.

“So help me God, if you don’t back up, I’m going to rip out your goddamned throat.”

Instead of letting me go, he held me tighter and chuckled in my ear, rubbing his scent all over my body. His hands gripped my breasts, and then one slid down into my pants so he could cup me with his palm. “I’d like to see you try, sweetheart. I love a good fight. The more you resist, the harder I’m going to fuck you.”

His pheromones were extremely high, choking me, and with that I could smell his need to mate, to claim me. I needed to do something fast without unleashing my power. I struggled in his hold, but the more I moved against him, the wilder his scent grew. He wanted the fight, and I couldn’t give him what he wanted.

Taking a deep breath, I swallowed back the bile and leaned into his touch, putting one of my hands over the one he had down my pants. I had to make him believe I didn’t want to fight. All I needed was a little bit of time.

Rubbing my ass against his cock, I took hold of his fingers and pushed one inside me, and then another. I gasped as his growl deepened and he bit down hard on my neck, drawing blood. Fucking bastard. Biting your mate was an intimate act only to be done when you’re actually mated.

“Now everyone will know you’re mine,” he whispered gruffly in my ear. “I’m going to fuck you until you scream. I’ve waited long enough to get you, and now that I have you, there’s no escape.”

“I tell you what,” I rasped, slowly trying to pull away, “why don’t I go tell my family goodbye, and then you can do whatever you want with me.”

Gripping my arms, he turned me around and ripped my shirt off my body, making me gasp. He lowered his mouth to one of my nipples and sucked hard while pushing his fingers back inside of me. “Actually, I have a better idea. How about you put that mouth of yours around my cock and then you can say goodbye. You need to start acting like my mate and do as I say.”

Gripping me around the waist, he forced my pants down and knocked me backward onto the ground. The breath whooshed out of my lungs and I choked, struggling to suck in a breath as he put his weight on top of me. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, you’ll enjoy it.”

Immediately, I could feel my fangs lengthen behind my lips and my body temperature rise. I was so close to shifting. As alpha, my fangs were longer, sharper. I could be in human form and still rip someone to shreds with my teeth.

I refused to be a victim for the sake of my pack.

“Kade,” I moaned, opening my legs for him. “Take me now.” All I needed was a clear shot to his neck. I had been with human men before, but never another wolf. I’d heard it was the best sex ever, and I planned on experiencing it one day . . . but not yet.

Chuckling, Kade lifted his head and I hid my fangs behind my closed lips. “Begging me already? I’m disappointed, little wolf. I thought you would put up more of a fight.”

When he lowered his mouth to my breasts, I could feel the tip of his cock pushing on my opening. The tension in his body elevated and I knew I needed to act fast. Before he could thrust inside, I opened my mouth wide and locked them on the inside of his neck. In one quick move, I ripped out as much flesh as I could. His blood ran warm down my throat, making me gag. I spit it out, along with a giant mound of flesh from his body.

Falling over to the side, he grabbed his throat and gurgled, choking on his own blood. I refused to be a slave to him when I was more powerful. Holding the wound on his neck, he growled as his eyes started to change into that of his wolf. He tried to shift, but it wasn’t working.

As I jumped to my feet, Kade grabbed a hold of my ankle and I fell to the ground.

“You’re going . . . to pay . . . bitch.”

I needed to get away before the packs could hear our struggle. Luckily, I wriggled out of his hold and kicked his hand away. Knowing he would be dead in a matter of minutes, I summoned my magic and let the force shimmer around my body. Kade’s eyes went wide in disbelief. Letting the magic overtake me, I shifted into my wolf form and took off. I never once looked back. I didn’t want to leave everyone behind, but they left me no choice.

I would never see my family again.

Bailey

For days, I traveled through the wilderness, keeping to the forests as I crossed the border from Canada to the United States. I had never been that far south, and I didn’t know where to go or what to do, considering I had no clothes or money. I would rather be a lone wolf than spend the rest of my eternity with an abusive jackass. I’d never seen any of our male wolves treat their mates like that, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let anyone be that way to me.