Prologue
Two years later…
The night was dark and maybe it was cold out but to her there was only a faint chill that left no bother. Her ears were trained on her surroundings waiting for the slightest sound of trouble to breakthrough the mundane Sunday night. She moved gracefully hidden within the night’s shadows far from the street lamps and small crowds.
A woman laughed as her date got frisky on the way to their car. A man ran down the sidewalk rushing to catch up to a group of friends. Two men argued down the far corner of the street. They too were hidden from the boring people. A punch was thrown. Bingo, she thought as she followed the action. While she got closer she learned the fight was right up her ally as the smell of wolves hit her nose. Her steps slowed as one of the scents rang familiar. Interesting. She kept going forward.
Marc was in for a surprise when he ran into Clive on the street. Clive had been apart of a clan of rogues that ultimately cost Andrew his mate. Marc was seeing red but still knew it was too much of a risk to fight in public where anyone could see too much.
Clive didn’t care and baited the alpha’s patience. When words didn’t work Clive threw a punch. It struck Marc as odd that Clive was the one pissed off here when all the trouble between them came from Clive’s own stupidly.
“Where’s that mutt of yours?” Clive asked about Andrew.
“Do you have a death wish?” Marc felt his eyes flash yellow as a warning of his fleeting control. “You should’ve stayed out of town.”
“And miss my chance for this?” Clive pulled a weapon free and aimed it at Marc’s chest.
Marc cursed and knew that gun contained silver bullets. He rushed to find a way out of this, to disarm the rogue before too much damage was done. Before neither Marc nor Clive could realize it their small party was crashed. With a hit of her hand across Clive’s neck and a kick at his knees she disarmed him in such a way that he kneeled in submission at her feet. “It’s rude not to play fair.” She was saying.
Marc’s heart stopped as he stared at the impossible. Her dark hair was much longer than he remembered to the tops of her hips. She wore tight jeans and a t-shirt that were equally as dark as her hair. Her eyes were gold, a bright burning yellowish gold making them several shades lighter than they had once been. “Ariana?”
She cocked her head to the side and peered at him. “Do I know you?”
Chapter 1
Ariana hadn’t expected the beautiful man to know her name and yet it made sense seeing as how she knew his scent. They must’ve known each other in a past life, she thought, one where the man she dreamt of lived. The man with blue eyes similar to his man's.
“Do I know you?”
He was looking at her strange with wide eyes. “Yes.”
She turned her attention back to the dog at her heels, she held his wrist back at an angle sure to snap the bone if he got out of line. “Leave before I change my mind about taking you out or about letting this man get a few licks in.” she released his wrist and pushed him away from her personal space. “Go.” The mutt was smarter than he was first given credit for as he quickly got out of dodge. She looked back at the tall man still looking at her like he had seen a ghost. “You know my name but I don’t know yours.”
“It’s Marc, you don’t remember anything?”
“That part seems obvious.” It looked like this guy was gorgeous but rather dim witted. “How do we know each other?” it had to have been some point before the last two years before she became someone different, someone dark. The last two years were all she remembered clearly and everything before that were faint images and puzzling dreams.
He glanced around. “Should we be talking in the middle of the street?” it wasn’t wise to conduct any discussion involving shifters out in the open.
“I like it here; it keeps you from trying anything stupid.” Trust was a meaningless word in her book.
“You may not remember me but you know you trust me. The animal inside of you knows me and who I am to you.” he boldly took a step closer. “I feared something happened and you were dead. I tried not to give up hope but everything pointed to the worse.” His hand came up and rested across her cheek. She hadn’t lashed out like she should’ve or how she intended. She was lost staring into those blue eyes. “Ariana.” He said her name like a plea.
She gasped, and wanting to get away from the strong reaction she stepped back until she hit something hard. A damn wall. “I don’t understand and I don’t like that.”
“I’d never hurt you and you have no reason to fear me.”
Anger snapped in the place of confusion. “Look Casanova, you got the wrong girl. We might’ve known each other but that’s over. You’re welcome for saving your life. Now move.” He heeded the warning of a promised threat behind her eyes and stepped back.
He tried a new attempt to get her to listen to what he had to say. “How long have you been in town?”
Ariana saw a challenge and never ran from one. “About two weeks, why?”
“It’s not safe for a lone animal in a new city.”
“Is that a threat?”
“A warning.”
“Don’t worry your pretty little head Casanova I can take care of myself.” with that parting line she turned and walked away.
Marc was flabbergasted as he watched her go. If he hadn’t known her inside and out he never would’ve thought that woman and the girl he once knew were one in the same. Her scent couldn’t lie and while it didn’t seem like it, she was Ariana Ellis; his mate.
Ariana, who had been very brainy and dressed as such with loose fitting modest clothing, wore polite smiles and used her manners. Now she was bold, spoke her mind and didn’t care if you liked it. It wasn’t all bad though as he watched her go; her ass looked fantastic in those black jeans.
When she turned the corner out of sight he left his thoughts drift to Jax and what he would tell him. Jax was his nephew, loyal pack member, and the man Ariana loved with her whole heart and soul once upon a time until it was all ripped away by a hunter with ideas of grandeur.
Jax had been a wreck trying to find Ariana and bring her back to his arms. In the mist of all of that he found his true mate, a fellow werewolf named Christina who knew exactly what was installed between her and Jax when they first met nearly two years ago. She, like the whole pack, knew of the hell Jax was living with having lost his chosen mate and unborn child all in the same night.
She managed to help Jax off a dangerous path and find a way to heal some of the wounds Ariana had left behind. They were happy now, committed and in love, as much love as Jax could give with a piece of his heart missing with Ariana.
Now after they had all feared and accepted the worst she was back.
Marc didn’t want to throw a wrench in Jax’s life after it had taken long and dangerous nights for him breathe again. Ariana was back but she wasn’t the same girl Jax remembered, missed, and ached for. Telling him a shell of her former self was in town would only trouble he and Christina didn’t deserve.
Between a rock and a hard place, sometimes it felt like that’s where Marc lived on a day to day basis. This wasn’t an easy choice by any means and it fell on him to make.