Chapter 1

Talia (9 years later Part 1)

I can’t believe it! I finally found him, my mate. It has been 3 years since I turned 18. I smelt him before he turned the corner. I was sitting at a coffee shop table outside, enjoying an ice caramel latte when it hit me. He smelled of caramel and chocolate. Oh, it was so delicious! I also smelled human on him. But was he human or a wolf masking his scent? I’ll just take it slow when I decide to approach him.

I watch him as he talks to his friends. He is laughing and having a good time. He is tall, big, a tattoo on his lower leg shows but I can’t make out what it is. He has no muscles, but is still strong. Like what humans call a dad bod. Oooo so hot! His hair is reddish brown, and it is cut short. You can tell if it was longer, it would be wavey or curly. He has a shadow where his mustache should be.

‘Go to mate you dumb bitch!’ my wolf Soteria demands. ‘Quite you! Do you want me to embarrass him in front of his friends?’ I reply. ‘My human is stupid! Why did I get you as a human? Ugh!’ She replies. I chuckle and roll my eyes. I get up and walk slowly towards the group. I just want to listen to what they are talking about.

“Yo, did you see that B? She was Hwat dog!” someone says. I never can understand how humans talk. I know not all talk like this, but the ones who do… how? “B she said to tap that bro. So he did!” another one says. I was concentrating so hard that I barely noticed that my mate was staring at us.

‘Bitch! Pay attention mate is watching!’ Soteria tells me. I immediately looked in his direction and knew he was human. He smiled at me and I swear I gushed in my pants. Thank god he cannot smell how turned on I am by that smile. His oblong smile was perfect in our eyes. He even had teal eyes like my mother. I miss her so much.

“Hi, my name is Shane. What’s yours?” He says to me. I internally scream! He don’t speak gibberish! Soteria is laughing in my head, ‘He would be perfect if he spoke another language and we had to learn it.’ As she lulls her head back and purrs. We both love the name Shane. “Hello, my name is Talia. I was just curious what was funny. I can go if I’m not allowed.” I tried to smile but I think it just looked like I had been caught. “It’s fine. So, Talia where you from?”

How do I respond to that? Do I tell him I’m a wolf? I mean, I know at some point he’s got to know we are mates. ‘Ugh! Can’t you do anything right human?!’ Soteria huffs out in annoyance. She doesn’t understand that its not safe for most humans to know. They could experiment on us, or force us to bite them so they can shift. It’s all illegal in our world, but the humans don’t care unless they are mated to someone like us. Or worse, someone from our world could target them. The fact that I am a trained assassin for my brother would put him as a target. Something I don’t wish for him.

“I’m from Texas, you?” I ask shyly. Soteria laughs, ‘How do I have a foolish human! He is clearly from California!’ Internally, I smack my head. Of course he would be from here. We are here on a mission for my brother. How could I be this dense? ‘That’s what I just said.’ Soteria mocks me. ‘I will block you if you don’t shut up Soteria!’ I tell her angrily. She just laughs. “Um, California that’s where I’m from. San Diego to be exact. What brings you here? Family?” Goddess he’s so hot! “Yeah.” I moan out. Oh, shit did I just do that!?! ‘Yes’ Soteria snickers. ‘Your welcome’

“Could I get your number?” he asks. I gave him my number without thinking and he messaged me his. “Bye!” He leaves with his friends. ‘What are you doing? Get him, mark him, he is ours!’ Soteria is panicking. ‘Relax, we’ll find him and mark him soon Soteria. We have his number. I’ll call him once the mission is done’ She pulls herself back into my mind and puts a block up. Yup, she’s pissed off. Oh well. Back to finding that sex ring. Then after, I’m coming for you Shane!

***

Once I find the location of the sex ring, I shift into Soteria. Her fur is white with black toes. She even has red eyes. Nothing on her matches me, with black hair and brown eyes. Our pack elders say its because I have a gifted wolf. I got her at 16, when I killed myself. Yeah, you heard that right, after everything I went through, I didn’t think I was enough. When I came back alive, I discovered I had Soteria. She has healing gifts. She also has a curse, immortality. Don’t get me wrong, eventually we will die, but not right now. When we shift, our clothes don’t rip apart, so we are never in the nude. Not that it would bother any wolves anyway. We are pretty much nudist.

As Soteria sniffs around for the pups and women she smells iron. ‘Blood!” I say. She just nods her head. She follows the scent and it takes us to a zombie bunker. Or so that’s what it looks like. In my wolf form humans don’t question what I’m doing around their area. It’s safer unless they know how to spot us.

Soteria moves around the bunker and finds the door, and the blood. ‘Looks like a trafficker got hurt.’ Soteria links me. ‘Mmhm’ I reply. ‘Soteria, I don’t like this.’ She doesn’t respond, instead we hear a loud bang and everything goes black.