Then, it had happened. She’d come upon a scent that had made her stop. When she turned, it had been there, the presence.

Pulling out of the sick memory, she glared at Lucas. “You stay away from me.”

“God damn it, Mabel. This isn’t the time for games.”

She burst out laughing. “Games? You think that’s what I’m playing right now? I’m already healing and I’m going home.”

“You don’t want to stay and talk about this?”

Mabel glared at him. “I don’t want to have anything to do with you. I hate you.”

“That’s not true.”

She shook her head. “Believe me, it’s true. I want nothing to do with you. Ever.”

He grabbed her arm, pulling her close, forcing her to stare into his eyes. “You feel this.”

“No matter what I feel, do you really think I would ever succumb to it? To allow myself to be mated to you? You’re an asshole and the biggest bully there is.” She shoved him away and whimpered, grasping her side. “Whatever this is, it’s a cruel trick, and I want nothing to do with you.”

“Mabel, you’re my mate. You can’t run from me forever. You can’t deny this.”

She turned to look at the man who’d made her life miserable for as long as she could remember. “Watch me.”

Chapter One

Three years later

Mabel was tired. This always happened after she’d spent a prolonged period of time in the city. As she rubbed at her temples, her skin no longer felt like her own. The need to unleash her wolf was so strong, but the disaster of what happened on her initiation into the pack had led her to make the decision to continue her education as far away from the Naul pack as possible.

The small town where they lived was rife with sordid rumors about what happened that night. Her parents had even tried to stop her from leaving, but she’d ignored them. Leaving town not long after your first change wasn’t heard of. You usually needed the pack, and the truth was, she did. She wanted them desperately, but not at the cost they wanted her to pay.

Being mated was considered the best thing to happen to wolves. To find each other at a young age, a true gift. She didn’t see it as a gift. Far from it.

It was nothing short of a curse. One she didn’t thank anyone for and didn’t care to either. She wanted to be as far away from it all as was possible.