Prologue

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[This is Book One.]

~Prologue~

Cat?

The strong, musky scent is hard to miss. In fact, you would need a broken nose not to cringe at the strength of the odor from where he marked the trees with his scent. Even a human would smell the guy if they were paying attention. Though, to them, it might just seem like one of those many strange forest smells that they often ignore.

But it's not my problem.

I slip the phone out of my back pocket and flip it open, dialing the only number in my speed dial. The owner of the number answers after three rings, making me wonder if I woke the guy up. It is after midnight, and while I am a night person, he certainly is not. Sure enough, he asks, "What do you want at this ungodly hour, Cade?"

"You've got yourself a cat problem," I reply briskly, ready to snap the phone shut when he speaks up.

"Yeah, you're my problem."

I growl a little, annoyed that he is awake enough to sass me. "Not me, you idiot. From what I can tell, he's new in town and I don't think he intends to just pass through, Dylan. Get your ass into gear. From the claw marks on the trees, he's clearly bigger than me, so I won't win if he challenges me."

Before he can reply, I snap the phone closed with a resounding click. Since it is a cat, the pack will not feel any rush to deal with the trespasser, and Dylan might even wait a few days to send someone to check him out. That is what they did when I came around. Stupid werewolves.

If it was a wolf, he would be hauling ass over here with multiple pack fighters to make sure the wolf intruder knows he is not welcome. But a cat? The territory boundaries do not really apply to those outside the canine species. Now, if it was a lion, Dylan might be a little more concerned, but they are not very common on this side of the world. A few have moved over here in the past years to raise a pride of their own, but not this far west.

However, there is no way to tell by scent what kind of cat it is, only that he is male. The scratches on the trees indicate that he is claiming this territory as his, despite the fact that I have already declared this area as mine with permission from the wolves. If I wanted to know what kind of cat this guy is, I would have to track him down and see for myself after provoking him into shifting. But there is no way I am going to hunt down something that is nearly twice my size and weight and could kill me with ease. No, that is Dylan's job; I just give him the heads up when someone new is in town.

Taking one more deep breath, memorizing the strong scent for later recognition, I start back up the trail, longing to be curled up in front of a fire and sleeping off the late night chills. I might be mostly nocturnal, but I live on a normal college student's schedule. Spring break might be just around the corner, but I still have midterms to study for and no trespassing cat is going to distract me.

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