Chapter One
Absentmindedly, Mairiscratched her arm and glanced up at the darkening sky.The forced need to shift steadily rose, and as the night progressed, she wouldn’t be able to resist the pull.
“Are you running with Rhodes tonight?”Keegan asked.
She glanced at her cousin, who was dressed similar to her in a plain white cotton chemise.They were deep in the forest, standing in a clearing as they waited for the High Luna’s calling for all her subjects to turn into their wolves.
“I don’t know.”Mairi sighed.“It’s wrong of me to lead him on because nothing can evolve between us.”
Keegan frowned.“Why?”
“You know why.”
“Why are you staying loyal to a man who’s not loyal to you?He basically told you to fuck off.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Mairi,” Keegan said with a sigh.“You can’t have a crush on a man you’ve never met.”
“Sure you can,” Mairi replied.“People crush on movie stars and athletes all the time.But that isn’t it.”
“Then what is it?”
“We were friends when we were children,” she murmured.“I always knew there was something about him.Something my wolf liked.I didn’t hesitate to marry him when our grans arranged it.”
“If he was your friend, why didn’t he want any part of you?Why stay married to him?”
“I ...I don’t know.”
Yet, she did know.She just didn’t want to talk about the husband who rejected her.After their so-called wedding, he sent a text saying he wanted to live separate lives.That he was coerced into their vows and didn’t want her.Explained his grandmother held the majority of shares in his company, and she would only turn them over upon their union.He’d even signed the marriage certificate by proxy.Apparently, when you’re the wealthiest man in Scotland, you can do just about anything.Now, he was the controlling shareholder in the business his grandfather had started, and she was his unwanted memory.
It wasn’t long before the change was upon them.Both slipped out of their gowns and embraced the wolf inside them.Bones snapped and reformed.Dichromatic vision took over.Where once two women stood, they now resided in their wolf forms.Keegan’s pelt was dark like her hair, with white paws and white fur running down her neck.Mairi’s own wolf was reddish-brown and leaned more on the smaller size.They howled at the moon, and an answering call reverberated back.They took off running through the forest, Mairi a little slower than her cousin.
Suddenly, another shifter joined them, and Mairi gave a little yip of recognition.The beast was large.Probably only slightly smaller than Alpha Jericho or Beta Ledger.Pitch-black, blending in with the night.Rhodes Madigan.As they all ran through the forest, he played with her, nipping at her heels and causing her to growl at him.Regardless of her situation, she was still a married woman.She liked Rhodes and knew he wanted more, but her heart belonged to the man who hadn’t even bothered to tell her face to face what she did to make him despise her.
****
The next day, Mairiwiped down tables while her cousin, Keegan, cleaned the coffee machines.They were due to open in a few minutes, and she already saw two people waiting patiently.She loved working with her cousin in the coffee shop.Loved coming up with different creations of flavors.This week the special was hot butterscotch coffee.
