Chapter One
Misha Parks stared up at the full moon, wondering if any of the wolf guards were looking down on her, mocking her. Would they give her advice? Tell her what to do? She liked the idea of someone caring. Someone looking down at her and wishing her well. Everything in her life told her that she was so way off base. There was no one out there looking down on her.
From the time she was a baby, she’d been alone.
She had no idea who her parents were as she’d been abandoned in a forest after being alive for just a couple of weeks. The Masters pack had taken her in, and she’d been put in their special brand of a foster system.
The abandoned children shared a house, and each adult member of the pack took turns sharing the responsibility of caring for them. So noble. Some of the people were amazing. She couldn’t deny they tried to make them feel welcome. Of course, with all packs, there were also people who made them feel like scum and would rub it in that no one wanted them.
Growing up, she had more good memories than bad ones.
No one knew her parents. She possessed wolf DNA though, that was clear.
Running her fingers through her hair, she lifted her knees close to her chest and didn’t move from this spot.
At the age of eighteen, her life had changed forever, in some good ways and some not so good ways. The good ways, she got to finally feel her wolf. For so long, her beast had been close to the surface, randomly wanting to spill out. It was a rare case for a person’s inner wolf to come calling, but she had gotten it.
Finally feeling the full moon on her back as she ran out in the woods had been incredible. What happened during the following full moon when she happened to be near the alpha, Decker Masters, wasn’t so fun.
Her wolf had recognized him. She didn’t realize what it meant until he publicly rejected her.
Decker, the Masters Pack Alpha, had denied her, and in doing so, rejected her as a mate. He was twenty-four years older than her, but age didn’t matter to wolves. Rejecting a mate was unheard of, especially in the pack she was part of. She’d done some research and knew it was possible for mates to not … mesh well.
He’d never given her a reason. No one had asked why he didn’t want to be with her. She supposed to many within the pack, it was clear.
She wasn’t like other wolf females. From a young age, she’d been blessed with curves. To some, she was a fat wolf, but she loved her curves. She didn’t mind having large tits, full hips, a big ass, and thighs that sometimes rubbed together.
Misha had learned at a young age to accept herself for who she was. It helped that the pack’s healer, Blueberry, had been her mentor. The woman still was, and they were the best of friends.
Still, it sucked to see the moody alpha from time to time. She tried to avoid him at all costs. Every time she saw him, she had mixed feelings about him. Sometimes she wanted to be near him, to just feel that closeness her wolf needed. Packs were supposed to be close. Mates were inseparable. She’d seen how they worked. They were a bunch of sappy romantics, and horny as well.
It was why she liked to run off to the deepest, darkest part of the forest and stare naked up at the full moon. It helped to distract her from the way her body was pretty much humming to be fucked.
She was a virgin and craved her mate. Just because Decker had denied her didn’t mean she no longer felt this warped connection to him. Life was so unfair.
She hated him and wanted him with equal measure.
At least he hadn’t taken on any other female within the pack. There was no lover she had to compete with. Just the thought of him being with another woman was enough to make her stomach clench and to set her nerves on edge. She hated him for making her feel that way.
After a good four hours had passed, she knew it was the right time to leave the forest and to head back.
Getting to her feet, she looked up at the full moon and couldn’t help but feel like it was a traitor to her for some odd reason.
She didn’t bother to go back to her wolf form as she walked through the forest, aware of other members of the pack while they enjoyed the night together. No one had offered to keep her company.
At twenty-one years old, she was growing tired of being in the pack. Just because Decker had rejected her didn’t mean she had a choice in going without male company. Anyone could offer to be with her. He’d denied her and had no right to her at all.
She found her pile of clothes right where she left them. After slipping on her panties and bra, she worked her tank top into place, followed by her layered tan skirt. Then she stepped out into the main town square, staring at the place she’d called home, and wondered, not for the first time, if she should move on.
Some members of the pack thought she stayed to make Decker’s life hell. She stayed because this was her family. She loved it here.
Where Blueberry had found her place in the pack as being a healer, Misha flitted from place to place. She helped Blueberry heal. Took care of the foster kids. There were only three of them at the moment. Also, she worked in any of the shops that needed help, including as a waitress at the diner. She did her time at the library, even dealing with pack complaints as well.
She did everything and nothing. Her life was devoted to the pack, but with no real permanent place for her. She heard the whispers of her being too flighty. Some believed her parents were rogue wolves, which was why she’d been dumped there.
It didn’t matter.
As the months had turned into three long years of rejection, she was starting to feel like her place here didn’t exist.
She arrived at Blueberry’s place and stepped inside. Incense filled the air and made Misha smile.
“You’re back early,” Blueberry said, coming out of the back.
“I’m tired. Any incident tonight?”
“Not a damn thing.”
On the night of the full moon, Blueberry always kept her shop open and made herself available for the full twenty-four hours in case any of the pack needed her. It was rare, but sometimes pack members fought over a female, or they were just plain clumsy.
Blueberry moved toward her and held up her hands, not exactly touching her, but certainly getting a sense of her aura.
“You’re not happy tonight, sweet child.”
Misha rolled her eyes. “You say that every full moon.”
“This is different. I sense defeat and a need to move on.”
She sighed. “Blueberry, don’t.”
“You’re thinking of leaving the pack, aren’t you?”
Misha tucked some hair behind her ear and shrugged. “I don’t know. I think about it. The Owens pack visited a few months back. His son said they would feel lucky to have me.”
“The Owens pack is full of pig males who think they are gifts to women, and some of them treat their mates like slaves. You do not want to go there.”
“I know, but come on. Don’t you think it is time for me to move on? I avoid the alpha like the plague, and I hear what people say. I don’t need their pity. It’s bad enough my parents never wanted me. Now my own mate can’t stand to be around me.”
Blueberry touched her cheek. “Don’t think like that. No one pities you.”
“You’re lying.”
“Some may pity you, but that’s because they care about you.” Blueberry sighed. “I do not understand the alpha. He’s a good man, but with this decision, I think it makes him a bad alpha.”