Instead of walking back to the house to hole up in my room I strode purposely into the forest. My chest rose and fell with each deep emotional breath. Thoughts whirled around in my head making it difficult to concentrate on only one.

I don’t know how far into the forest I got before I stopped and twirled around, feeling a heaviness on my chest making it more difficult to breathe.

I wasn’t an orphan, I had a family. It was mind blowing. A family my aunt had tried to protect me from. It wasn’t the loving mother and caring father I had always hoped for. And I had brothers. Half brothers. Brothers who would have gone along with my parents to marry me to a man who wasn’t my mate for power.

I had never imagined for a second that if I found out where I had come from, it would be anything as grave and dangerous as the position I found myself in now. Putting my hand to my throat I felt like I was on the verge of hyperventilating. I didn’t know how to handle the build up of emotions inside me.

Usually when things got too complicated I ran but running would only be a temporary solution. If they had found me once, they would find me again. I didn’t know what to do, I felt so conflicted and afraid. It was a feeling I hated, it made me feel vulnerable and weak.

I wanted to be strong.

I inhaled sharply and exhaled slowly to try and ease the panic but nothing seemed to help.

My wolf called to me and I closed my eyes. There was a momentary pain as I shifted into my wolf. In my animal form I felt free. Free to run as far as I could, I could escape anything. It was instinct.

I began to run, having no specific destination in mind. Just a need to outrun the demons from my past. I ran as far as I could until my legs ached. It was only then I stopped and howled, expressing all my pain and angst in the sound that echoed in the quiet air.

The sun shone brightly against my fur and I closed my eyes trying to push everything from my mind, concentrating on the feel of the warmth on me.

It was the scent of something strange that caused me to open my eyes. I was picking up a smell I didn’t recognize. Feeling unsettled in the middle of my melt down I shifted back to my human.

The forest was silent, I couldn’t hear anything as I strained my ears. Had I temporarily imagined the foreign scent?

I looked around the forest trying to figure which was the best way back when a large black wolf which was growling at me appeared.

It wasn’t Maverick. Even though it was the same color as Maverick I knew straight away by the eyes, it was a stranger.

Then it dawned on me, I had no idea where I was.

I took a cautionary step back from the wolf who was joined by another one. The second wolf was a dark brown with sharp teeth that growled.

This wasn’t good. Real fear sent in.

I was outnumbered by two large wolves. Even shifting into my wolf wouldn’t help as they were both far bigger than me. They were male and stronger.

I breathed slowly trying to figure out what to do when I took another step back and the black wolf growled louder so I halted my retreat.

“I don’t want any trouble,” I murmured, holding my hands up.

Could they be bounty hunters who had tracked me down? It was possible.

The black wolf shifted and a tall dark man stood in its place. He scowled at me. He was strikingly handsome with dark eyes, dressed in all black.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, roughly.

I swallowed. “I think I wondered a little too far out.”

“You are trespassing.” The brown wolf beside the man with the dark eyes growled again.

“I didn’t mean to.”

The man seemed to inhale in my direction.

“You’re from Maverick’s pack.”

I nodded.

“You’re new.” He frowned.

I nodded again.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I’m Victoria James,” I murmured.

I didn’t used the name from the orphanage and I dared not use my real name. It wasn’t the fact of what it represented but it still didn’t feel like it was mine.

The man stepped forward and studied me with a deep long look.

“You Maverick’s bitch?”

I was taken aback by the distaste in his voice. It didn’t take much to determine that whoever this man was he wasn’t a fan of Maverick.

I wasn’t sure if it was best to confirm what he had asked. If he detested Maverick that much, it would put me in a very precarious situation by association.

When I didn’t immediately answer he moved closer.

“I can smell him all over you, Victoria.” He looked me up and down like I had crawled out of the gutter.

“If you just let me go, I’ll leave and you’ll never see me again.”

He gave a humorless smile as he crossed his arms. Then he shook his head.

“You’ve trespassed onto our territory, you will have to be punished. As a werewolf you know this.”

“But I don’t…” I swallowed as he studied me. “Know.”

“What do you mean?” he asked reluctantly.

“I didn’t know I was a werewolf until a few days ago.”

He gave me a look of disbelief before he shook his head. Than his features hardened, his jaw twitched.

“Do you take me for a fool?”

I shook my head quickly. “It’s true.”

I debated whether it would benefit me to share more from my past to convince him I was telling the truth.

“I was given up as a baby.”

The man sent a shiver of fear through me. His eyes cold.

“Then this will be a steep learning curve for you.”

“What kind of punishment?” I asked, needing to know what was in store for me.

“The kind that will ensure you never trespass again.”

He nodded his head at the brown wolf who transformed into a bulky blonde guy who looked just as mean. He closed the distance to me and grabbed my arm.

“You will come with us,” the dark haired man commanded.

“Who are you?” I asked, wincing as the blond man’s hand tightened painfully around my arm.

“Kane,” he murmured. “I’m the alpha of this territory.”

An alpha like Maverick. But I hadn’t feared Maverick like I feared this man. There was something cruel about him. It radiated from him.

I tried to pull my arm from the blonde man’s hold but he refused to release me.

“This will go a lot smoother for you if you do as you’re told. If you make this more difficult, the punishment you will be subjected to will be far worse. Do you understand?” His eyes held mine.

I felt real fear in that moment, it was the same I had experience with the bounty hunter.

In my blind panic I had put myself into a dangerous situation I had no idea how I was going to get out of.

And Maverick. When he realized I was missing, he would look for me. And that meant he would find me with these guys.

“Maverick will come for me,” I declared, knowing that deep in my bones.

The dark haired man stopped. “I’m counting on it.”

I didn’t know what I had gotten myself into. This was a real life example of if I had been able to deal with my emotions I would not have made this mistake. I hated that my emotional response to my cousins revelations from my past had sent me spiraling into a situation where I had put Maverick in danger.

Against my will I was led deeper into the forest. I kept looking over my shoulder expecting Maverick to burst through to save me but it didn’t happen.

It wasn’t long before I was walking into a vast compound. The pack members studied me with glares as they paraded me to a building where they led me to a bare room that held a mattress. The blond guy shoved me inside and I stumbled to my knees.

I turned back to watch them close the door and lock it.

Damn it. I was in trouble now.