Rogue Mate, The Moltiare Collection: Bk1 (Sample)(Available on Amazon/SW)

Chapter 1 (Jessica)

I stared up at the now hiring sign, tightening the strap of my bag over my shoulder as I searched for the name of the small diner I stood in front of. It was a busy night, and people were bustling all around me on the sidewalk. The high school I passed was still filled with people as the night came to an end, the baseball field beside it was lit up with bright lights and students filled the stands. Friday night baseball, I had thought at first, maybe I would be able to avoid the crowd.

Instead I found myself in it, my attention momentarily captured by a cardboard sign while I became increasingly aware of how light my wallet was about to become. I had just enough in it to rent out a one bed motel room for a month or two, but after that I was on my own.

Before this town, it hadn’t been a problem. I had been on my own for years, sleeping, hunting, and living in the wilderness. I traveled into a town here or there to buy a few necessities such as clothing or to treat myself to a human meal once I became comfortable with the area, but past that I stayed away from people. I had snuck into libraries where ever I could and taught myself everything there was to learn on paper. If I found myself having to deal with people, I kept my head down as much as possible, kept to short conversations if I couldn’t avoid them entirely, anything to remain as insignificant as possible. The less people remembered about me, the better…but I wasn’t careful enough.

The last town had been too small, and I hadn’t taken into account how quickly people had taken note of my presence, or how quickly that word would spread. I had done what I could to hide my scent, both wolf and human, and I learned how to fight when I could, but nothing had prepared me for the storm that awaited me when I returned to my resting spot that night.

My body still ached and shivered as I remembered the way that Vlamir had laid his hands on me, beating into me until I had no more fight left and finally stripping me of my clothes. When I try to think of what he might have done to me if I had stayed, my body just goes numb. He had already left me feeling weak, vulnerable, and deserving of only the dirt beneath his shoe, but I was the only one that had openly defied him in front of others. For that…he thought I needed to pay.

My tongue ran across my bottom lip and over the broken skin that was still healing. It was the only mark he had left on me that I couldn’t cover with clothing or make-up, but not the only mark that pushed me to keep going. I wasn’t going to let him do that to me again.

So this time I had chosen a bigger town, and instead of living on the outskirts, I was going to live in the heart of it, blending in as much as I possibly could.

My theory was that it would help mask my human scent, allowing me to focus more on financial matters, or where I could go next if he were to find me again, and how I would get there. The only problem was the land the town was sitting on had been claimed by a Wolf pack, and though I didn’t know much about packs, I knew that most didn’t take kindly to visitors. Or rather they didn’t take kindly to rogues like me, but I couldn’t give myself much of a choice.

I had traveled a long way, both by foot and whatever rides I could hitch, but my body was still healing and I hadn’t slept decently in days. I was tired, in both body and mind, and I needed a break. My goal was to stay hidden in one location as long as possible, and I needed both the human and Wolf population to do so. The human population would keep my human scent undercover, while the Wolf population would either hide my scent completely, or deter Vlamir away from me and possibly buying me more time. This time however, I wasn’t going to be naive.

I knew that if Vlamir found a way, he come after me again, and I needed to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. This meant no attachments, little belongings, and the money to go where ever I needed when that time came.