I shut the truck off and hopped out. I stood perfectly still for a moment and bowed my head to acknowledge his authority and power over us mere unworthy subjects. The whole thing made me snort in derision—at least mentally. I wasn’t brave enough to defy Adam like I wanted to, my wolf wouldn’t allow it, it cowered in his presence—the pansy.

When a deep rumbling echoed in Adam’s throat, a sign to carry on, I turned and got to work unloading his supply of firewood. I spared a glance in his direction and immediately looked away when my gaze found his. It was a common occurrence for him to reprimand me for something, but he didn’t punish for admiration, luckily. It was pure instinct I found him attractive, all the female wolves did—perks of being the alpha. The gleam in his aqua eyes and the smirk on his full lips said he loved the attention. I heard stories about him, gossip that traveled on the lips of admiring females. They say he takes what he wants, if you know what I mean, one girl said with an anticipating smile. He chooses a new mistress every month, another claimed. That particular piece of gossip got my carnal juices flowing and fleeing. There were only nine women in our pack, how long before he got tired of sampling the same tail and came searching for something new? I was the newbie, the untouched wolf. The fact I might interest my alpha caused a frenzy of emotions. It’s hard to find someone attractive when you both resented and admired them. Adam took me in when I was lost, but he’d also shown me just how much of an ass he could be. None of the woman in our pack would confirm whether or not Adam had sampled their goods. I figured the reason for their silence was either: smart, mandatory, or it was just plain gossip.

None of it mattered though. If Adam so much as sniffed in my direction, Evelyn, or Eve as she preferred, would take care of me. Behind every alpha was an alpha female waiting to rip your head off should you even think about stealing her place of power. When I first learned my alphas were named Adam and Eve, I thought it was some sick way of paying tribute to them, like a bad nick name or something. It wasn’t. I was told there used to be twenty-eight members of the pack before Eve killed three females for moving in on her territory. With only nine women left, I was surprised the men weren’t chomping at the bit to raid our panties. Some were married, but most weren’t, including Adam and Eve. There were hookups from time to time, but only two couples in the entire pack were actually dating. If I had hopes of finding love, it wouldn’t be here. Ninety percent of human males were dogs; throw in a group of actual wolves and the pickings for a faithful, loving mate were slim to none.

I finished unloading Adam’s supply and was ready to jump in my truck and hightail it as far away from his lingering gaze as possible when he called my name.

“Anna, a moment,” he said.

What did I do now? Did I not stack the firewood to his liking? Was he going to make me move it around the house and watch me sweat while he sipped lemonade? Keeping my eyes to the ground, I walked over to where he stood and waited. I swear the man got off on making me uncomfortable. A minute passed while I stood in front of him, and he didn’t say one word. I didn’t dare shift my eyes from the gravel driveway or grumble like I wanted to, which I suspected was what he waited for. I also had the suspicion he liked disciplining me.

“Follow me,” his deep baritone ordered. I hated to admit it, but the wolf inside me quivered from the sound of his masculine voice.

The crunching of his footsteps headed towards the house, and I followed obediently. I’d been delivering wood for three months and not once had Adam invited me into his house. All of the gossip floated through my mind, and my heart beat harder with each step. Was he planning on ravishing me? Could I say no? Would I say no? How long before Eve ripped my throat out?

“Sit,” Adam ordered once we were standing in the kitchen.

I took a seat at the table and focused on my shoes rather than him. Being this close was like breathing underwater. Everything about him from his broad chest to his shoulder length blond hair, sculpted muscles, piercing blue eyes, and cocky attitude screamed alpha male. He knew what he was and how the woman perceived him. All he had to say was “open sesame” and legs would spread. It was barbaric, misogynist, and hot as hell—at least the beast within me thought so. The human part of me, the part I tried to white knuckle and hold onto like my life depended on it, thought it was as far from sexy as one could get.

“Sawyer is looking for a female to settle down with,” he began, and I could see the walls of my world crumbling. “I do not force relationships, but seeing as there are more men than women in our pack, I do ask you to at least go on a couple dates. The future of the pack depends on its successors, Anna.”

Was he asking me to have children? Before I even talked to the man? Oh he said it nicely, but what he meant was, “You will date Sawyer whether you want to or not.” Women fought for equality for years, and I was lucky enough to be born in a time of their success. Unfortunately, that didn’t matter in a werewolf pack. Men ruled while their mates supported. Adam wanted to turn me into a shadow of my former self, and he thought he’d break me into submission. Boy, did I have news for him.

“And if I decline?” I asked nervously. No one ever refused his orders or even questioned his judgment. I was treading on thin ice and about to be submerged in the frigid depths. I waited for him to growl in warning, a sign to remember my place. I waited for him to scream his demands as if raising his voice would help the order sink into my stubborn brain. I waited for him to show me exactly where my spot was on the proverbial ladder through threats, violence, and teeth wrapped around my throat. When none of my worst fears happened, I glanced up and into the eyes of my alpha.

For a few moments, I stared into the eyes of the most powerful man, and my wolf devoured the sensation—strength, bravery and equality. My human side stomped down her fascination and I averted my gaze, but for that speck of time I stared down Adam, and he didn’t show the slightest inclination in correcting my discourtesy.

Chapter Two

I sulked in my bedroom for the rest of the day. When I questioned what would happen if I didn’t want to date Sawyer, Adam threatened to pair me with Luke. No woman in her right mind would want the title of being mated to that man. He was savage and had a fascination with using and abusing women. As if the thought of being black and blue for the rest of my life wasn’t scary enough, Luke was also in his mid-sixties. Not that his age was worse than his bite, but bile rose in my throat at the thought of his hands on my body.

Luke was old and crazy enough that the pack pretty much left him alone. He didn’t partake in our evening meals or monthly hunts, and I was happy for that. The one time I’d seen him he raked his eyes over my entire twenty-three year old body and left me feeling dirty. Even though he hadn’t touched me, I showered, scrubbed, and repeated twice.

In the end, I agreed to go on one date with Sawyer, but Adam countered with at least five dates. The alternative was more horrifying than a handful of bad dates, so I tucked my tail between my legs and didn’t put up a fight. I didn’t know much about Sawyer other than: he was around my age, had spiky dirty blond hair, green eyes, five o’clock shadow, and enjoyed fishing. He was cute, and for all intents and purposes, seemed like a nice guy.

“Dinner’s ready,” Elle called from my door.

Every night the pack gathered, sans Luke the kook as I called him, and ate together. The house where I lived was considered the main house. Everyone congregated here for dinners and meetings. Elle was a few years older than me in age and superiority. She had been the last wolf made before I showed up. Climbing out of bed, I made my way towards the kitchen. Elle was labeled the cook of the pack, but I helped her with setting the table and washing the dishes. A pack of twenty-five wolves could cause quite a mess.

Members arrived while I set plates, cups, and silverware on the counter. We always ate buffet style, but not a crumb of food would be touched until Adam and Eve made their plates.

Adam made sure the main house was large enough to accommodate his pack. Like everyone else’s house, it was log cabin style. The main floor was open and spacious. The kitchen was in the back corner while a large living room sat adjacent. A bathroom, three bedrooms, laundry room, and library were also housed on this floor. On the second floor, a balcony made of knobby wood looked over the main floor and housed four more bedrooms, an office, and another large bathroom. Only Elle and I occupied the large home, but as the pack arrived, the space filled up quickly.

All of the men were stocky, broad, or just plain muscular—traits of a male wolf. Most kept their hair a little long and their apparel tended to resemble that of blue collar workers and cowboys: jeans, t-shirts, boots, flannel. The women were just as casual. Where the men had chiseled valleys that made up their strong bodies, the women were toned and cut—lithe. Both genders could and would hand out an ass whooping if they had to.

Sawyer walked into my line of sight, and I wondered if Adam told him the news, that for the next five nights he’d have a date on his arm. I hoped he wouldn’t find out how against it I had been. Another thought occurred to me. Did Sawyer request me or did Adam think we’d pair up well? It wasn’t that I didn’t think I was worthy of getting a male’s attention. I was pretty enough, but I’d never call myself beautiful. I was too awkward and mouthy. My hair is blonde and hits just below my shoulders. My eyes are the color of cinnamon, and my size six body had curves in all the appropriate places. I wasn’t tall, but I wasn’t short either—five-foot-six. My skin was smooth and bronzed thanks to all the time I spent in the sun and my bosom filled out my C cup nicely. Still, it made me uneasy to think Sawyer singled me out. There may have been a shortage of women, but there were far prettier females than me in our pack, Elle for example. She had long red hair that looked like molten copper in the sun, a sprinkle of freckles along the bridge of her nose that only added to her beauty, large green eyes that looked like emeralds, and a tiny waist that led to long, toned legs she often showcased in diminutive denim shorts. If she had a superpower, it’d be causing men to break their necks to get one more look at her.