Chapter One
Daniel Brennan ran through the forest inhaling all the delicious scents and listening to all the sounds that surrounded him during a run. He needed to clear his head before he headed toward his BDSM club. Some of his pack was following him, being the loyal guards they craved to be, while others were at the club. None of his pack lived with him. He’d never been one of those Alphas who demanded the pack’s presence at all times. They were free to roam within his area, and the only rule he demanded they all follow was that the secret of the wolf be kept at all times. Obviously, if one of the men or women were to find their mate, he wouldn’t mind that secret being divulged. Serious shit happened between mated couples, and secrets were easily kept.
He rounded the forest and took off at a run with the others following behind him. Being the Alpha of the pack made him faster and stronger than anyone else. Daniel loved the power even though he never used it against any member. He’d never been into cruelty or demeaning others. They were his pack, and he loved them like he would his children. Daniel had heard of other packs where cruelty occurred, but he’d yet to meet any of them.
Once he ran off the burst of energy, he stood looking over his property. His family came from old money, and so his house was large, big enough to contain a pack.
“Okay, you’re fast, we get that,” Jake said, taking several deep breaths. “Shit, did you have to prove to us how great and powerful you are?”
Chuckling, Daniel glanced at his friend, who also happened to be one of the guards who assigned himself to taking care of him. “You’re the one, along with Dave and Bill, who sticks around to protect me. I don’t need protecting, Jake.”
“We all know this, and none of us care what you say. We’re going to stick beside you no matter what.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. He wasn’t being a pain in the ass and truly believed he didn’t need help protecting himself. In all the years he’d been alpha he’d not once had any conflict with any outsiders. Any pack that entered his territory presented themselves and requested permission to stay within his area for a few days or weeks. Not once had he encountered a rogue wolf or someone of any threat. They were all peaceful, and he worked with them to ease life for his pack. He heard of other Alphas who did nothing but fight, argue, and cause problems trying to overtake other territories.
“Are you going to see her?” Jake asked.
The smile on Daniel’s face disappeared. The her being his very stubborn, pain in the ass mate who didn’t acknowledge him as a mate or anything other than a Master.
“I’m going to see her. I’ve got no choice.” He gritted his teeth, fisting his hands as the anger and longing combined together. Daniel couldn’t have the woman he wanted as she held herself away from him.
“You’re going to Kinkster’s then?”
He nodded. Kinkster’s was the local BDSM club that he helped to run. They catered to the wolves with a taste for the rougher, kinkier side of sex. Some of the members were human as mates were not restricted to their own kind. Daniel didn’t mind. He wasn’t against mates in whatever form they came in. The world, at times, was extremely cruel. For a wolf to find their one true mate was a gift that few enjoyed. Some men stopped looking for their mates and settled down with the next best thing. The only problem with settling down for the next best thing was when they finally stumbled upon the woman destined to be theirs.
“I’ve got no choice. She’ll be there, and I know my wolf will not allow me to lose her because I hate what’s going on between us.” There was nothing going on. Dawn Weldon had entered his life one year ago and taken to screwing with his head. She didn’t know how she screwed with him, but she was stubborn.
Dawn wasn’t part of his pack, but, however, she’d approached him for permission to be allowed inside Kinkster’s. She was a submissive inside, craving whatever his men could dish out, whether it be from a hand or a cane. The moment she entered his house he’d scented the need to mate, to claim, to possess. Those feelings only intensified while she’d been in his company dressed in a simple black pencil skirt and white blouse. The conservative clothes didn’t repel him. He scented the darker cravings within her. The submissive wolf begged for some help, his help to tame the fire within. Not one word left her lips as they’d stared at each other, assessing, waiting.
He sensed her wolf, could see it as if she changed in front of him. The dark black wolf with hints of brown needed a strong hand, a firm hand. For the first time in his life, he’d sensed what true submission was all about, and Dawn had it all locked up in her dark skinned body. Her hazel eyes shot fire at him while her curvy body begged for him to take her and f**k her. Dawn was all woman with large tits, full rounded hips, and a curving stomach. To him, she would take a f**king without any fear of hurting her. Her legs were thick and strong as well. Her body was pure perfection, and always had him hard as rock. Even as her wolf wanted to lie down in submission, the woman in front of him put up a fight. Dawn and her wolf were together as one, but she was determined not to put her future in the hands of a person she didn’t trust. For as much as she was submissive, she wasn’t stupid either. Daniel respected her.
His mate didn’t crave any kind of submission at the hands of a cruel man. She wanted to be submissive for the right man who’d take care of her and treat her right, not like some animal.
The scars inside her ran deep, and yet, she boxed them away as if there was not a care in the world. She wouldn’t acknowledge his claiming. They’d never f**ked, and he’d not met her pack alpha.
Her one and only request was that her presence remain a secret. She didn’t want him to approach her pack alpha, and as her mate and Dom, he couldn’t do what she asked him not to. With every day that passed he tried to prove to her over and over again that she could trust him.
She allowed him to touch her, but only in punishment never in intimacy.
Their relationship was pitiful, but it’s what he needed. His wolf calmed a little when he was with her and now refused to lose that just because of her being difficult.
“You could find someone else, Daniel. You don’t have to put up with this crap.” Jake placed a hand on his shoulder.
“I’ve got no choice. She’s my other half. My only reason for going to Kinkster’s now.” From the moment Dawn entered his life, she’d destroyed him for any other woman. He used to take pleasure in training submissives and sharing a unique lifestyle with other women. Now, he depended on Dawn. She didn’t have the first clue of the power she held over him. He saw it in her eyes when they were together. She didn’t trust her responses or her senses. Had her senses let her down in the past? He didn’t know. There was so much he didn’t know about his woman. She was a mystery he wanted to solve.