Chapter 1
*** Two years ago ***
Jasmine
Rules.Iwasgoodat following rules. Rules like always bring home report cards with a vertical line of As; go to temple to worship the Moon Goddess, Artemis, every week; prepare dinner for the family on weeknights; help keep the house clean. My parents had lots of rules, and I followed them, the number one being: never ever date anyone who isn’t your mate.
I liked rules. They kept my life simple. If I followed the rules, my parents would be pleased, and I’d be rewarded with future success and happiness. At least that was what I believed for a long time. Looking back, I could pinpoint the day my feelings began to change—exactly a month before my eighteenth birthday.
It was one of those perfect days at the end of August where the sun didn’t scorch you, and the breeze was cool on your skin. Engrossed in a book, I had lost track of time when the loud drumming of a woodpecker broke my concentration, and I realized—shit!—I was late meeting my best friend, Lucy.
Wasting no time, I hopped on my bike and sped through the woods to meet her at what was dubbed the “party lake,” where we had made plans to decorate for her boyfriend Luke’s goodbye party happening later that night. I was in good shape, so pedaling quickly wasn’t a problem.
The scent of damp wood, pine sap, and decomposing leaves surrounded me as I pedaled through the lush Vermont forest—thick with trees, ferns, and pine needles littering the ground. Years of traveling these paths had made me confident in my ability to dodge rocks and tree roots on the uneven terrain. Maybe too confident.
Changing gears, I pushed my legs harder, racing downhill along a path through the woods. I was well on my way when suddenly I lost balance, my bike shaking underneath me. I stretched my leg out to steady myself, only to step on a slippery leaf on a rock, and—shit, that hurt!My ankle contorted all wrong, bent sideways, crushed by the weight of my body.
I crawled out from under my bicycle and stood, hobbling a bit, searing pain shooting up my leg.
Damn, I must have fractured my ankle.
I picked up my bike and limped beside it to get to my destination. I wasn’t going anywhere fast now. My ankle would take a good few hours to heal, possibly the whole night depending on the severity of the fracture. I’d have to live with the pain until then.
A twig snapped nearby. Instinctively, my head turned in that direction, taking my attention from the throbbing pain pulsing up my leg. That was when I saw him. Well, I didn’t see his face exactly, because it was partially obscured by a branch and a ray of sunlight directly in front of me, but I couldn’t have concentrated on his face at that moment anyway. Without even realizing it, I stopped dead in my tracks. I lost all sense of my surroundings, time—I could only stare at this tanned Greek god standing before me. My gaze slowly made its way down his body, from his broad shoulders and picture-perfect pecs to his six-pack abs.
Oh my Goddess!I was completely in awe. My gaze continued down his rock-hard stomach to where his body made a chiseled V, directing my attention farther south, a place my eyes had never gone before.
Shit, it was hot! Where had the breeze gone? My whole body was overheating, revealing feelings I’d never felt before. My stomach quivered, flames engulfed my skin, and a tingling sensation sparked between my thighs. My injured ankle was now long forgotten as I stared at the golden-brown Greek statue that had come to life before me.
He ducked his head under the tree branch, coming forward, blocking out the rays of the sun. And when he looked up, our gazes locked; my lips parted.
“Oh my Goddess!” I actually said it out loud, yet it had a different meaning this time. I instantly recognized that it was Luke! Lucy’s boyfriend. I had been ogling my best friend’s boyfriend! Both our faces reddened in recognition. And just like that, Luke quickly shifted. He was a huge wolf with gray, black, and brown fur on top and white fur on his bottom half. I was stunned and beyond embarrassed. Before I had a chance to look away in shame, he glanced at me for a moment, then used his mouth to pick up his shorts from the ground and broke into a run, heading back through the woods from where I had come.
Afterspendingthedayhelping Lucy string up lights, streamers, and balloons into trees by the party lake, we now stood together admiring our work. The small gleaming bulbs contrasted against the dark forest created the ambience of an enchanted forest hideout with fairies twinkling above us.
“Thanks for your help today.” Lucy threw her arms around me. “Goddess, I’m so heartbroken about Luke leaving. But at least we put together a pretty awesome party for him, right?” My cheeks burned at the mention of his name, recalling what I’d seen earlier that day. The reminder evoked a fluttering in my stomach and a pang of guilt for having unintentionally lusted after my best friend’s boyfriend.
“How’d you get away with it anyway?” I asked, pushing the image from my mind. “Don’t they normally have warriors patrolling the area, especially with all the recent safety concerns?”
“I talked to Luke’s dad, and he agreed to turn a blind eye to tonight’s party. There are perks to him being the beta’s son!” Lucy gave one of her winning smiles. Above all things, Lucy was beautiful, with a supermodel stature, long blonde hair, and sapphire eyes. And she was persuasive—very, very persuasive—and not someone that took no for an answer.
Lucy was always getting away with things—for example, dating. She was the only person my age that openly had a boyfriend. Our pack was very religious, and we were all taught from a young age to wait for our mate, a gift granted to us by the Moon Goddess, a person we’d innately be able to sense beginning at dusk on our eighteenth birthday. So long as our mate was also of age. Dating anyone other than your mate was looked down upon, but Lucy didn’t care. She was convinced that she and Luke were mates anyway. While Luke was nineteen and old enough to recognize his mate now, Lucy was still seventeen like me, so they had yet to confirm the bond.
Luke arrived at his party not long after we did. After greeting his buddies, he made his way toward Lucy and me. Lucy jumped into his arms, pulling his face against hers, zealously kissing him. Although I tried to look away, for the most part, I caught a glimpse of Lucy gently biting down on his bottom lip just as they separated. The scene in front of me awakened the feelings from earlier that day—my body overheated, and my breathing turned erratic. Before I could stop myself, I was imagining what his solid muscles would feel like under my fingertips.
No!I pushed the thoughts from my mind. Girls like me didn’t have thoughts like the ones going through my head right then! I didn’t date or even think about dating anyone that wasn’t my mate. Especially not when the person in question was my best friend’s boyfriend!
After they pulled apart, their eyes fell on me awkwardly staring back at the two of them. Luke gave me a big smile and said, “Glad you could make it tonight, Jasmine.”
I smiled back at him, hoping he couldn’t tell I was blushing in the dark.
“How about I go get you ladies something to drink?” he asked.
“Yesss!” Lucy cheered.
“Sure, I’ll have a Coke, thank y—”
Lucy cut me off and said, “Don’t listen to PJ. Get us some real drinks and fill them to the top!”