Training to become an elite warrior after her soulmate brutally rejects her, Violet Caldwell meets the king of all wolves-and joins him in his quest for justice on the brink of a surging war.
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How long had I been in my animal form?
I woke to the sounds of the forest singing a symphony in my human ears with countless scratches and blood smeared all over the once clear and smooth skin of my stomach.
A curtain of my black hair covered my eyes as I raised them to inspect the damage I'd done.
Deer and rabbit carcasses were strewn all around me as I vaguely recalled my memories of hunting until I grew weary.
There was something else niggling at the back of my brain, but I couldn't focus on it.
The crack of twigs and crunches of footsteps alerted me to the fact that I was not, in fact, alone just as I'd assumed.
"Violet Caldwell?"
I flinched at the sound of my name falling off unfamiliar lips.
"Who's asking?"
"Beta Thorne from Moon Valley Bane."
Oh shit.
Bright sprays of daylight coated my fresh kills in illuminating, gruesome detail and I cringed as I curled myself into a ball at the feet of the second most powerful wolf of Moon Valley Bane.
"Well, what are you still doing down there? Stand up and claim your prize."
Prize? What the hell was he talking about?
I didn't have long until I was gifted the answer to that question in the form of the dizzying view of wolves whimpering and whining in bloodied pain on the ground in front of me; each and every wolf straining their necks in submission, cowering in fear.
Why had the Beta from Moon Valley Bane done this?
"Shift, wolves, and return to your homes for the morning. See if you have what it takes to wash yourselves up and prepare to face our champion."
As one, the wolves followed his command and I stared dumbfounded as wolf after wolf shrank back into their human forms; whimpering whines of pain turning into shrieks of agony and cries of torture.
None of them would look me in the eye, which was fine by me. I didn't want to look anywhere near their naked bodies.
Jackson was lurking on the edges of the forest, watching the display with his father at his side and a longing pull dared me to stand and walk toward him, but I did no such thing. I would never go to him again, no matter how damned hard that bond would pull.
