[One]

February 15th, 2014

*Lana*

February 15th. It's my birthday. I'm finally eighteen and all I can think about is how I am finally able to leave. At the age of eighteen, female wolves are able to sense their mates. I can leave this awful pack in search for my mate. And when I find him, Alpha Castor Vang will have no claim on me. He will no longer be able to touch me or hit me. I will be free and I will be safe.

I pack my bags. Everyone is asleep. Castor is too wrapped up in the she-wolf in his bed to be paying attention to the stirring on the first floor. My father is a deep sleeper. He wouldn't even wake during an earthquake. I will not miss him or my mother. They don't deserve a second thought. They have allowed Alpha Castor to beat on me. That's the price of being an Omega, I guess.

I grab an apple from the kitchen table and put it in my bag before I exit the house in haste. I get to the edge of the Cossitt Pack territory where my brother pulls me into a hug. "Be careful." He whispers. Trent volunteered to take up patrol tonight so I could flee. He had always looked out for me and this has been a day we've been looking forward to for a long time. "Never come back."

Even after years of begging, Trent still refuses to join me. He felt it was his duty to protect all the other victims of Castor's rage. After losing his wife and daughter, Alpha Castor turned brutal and abusive. Trent has always been the hero.

I sling the bag over my shoulder and morph into my muddy brown wolf. I wasn't the most beautiful wolf, that much was certain. Being an Omega, my wolf is small and my fur coat is a less than admirable color. However, being small does grant me the skill of being sly and quick.

I run from my old home without a glance back. I run until I can no longer run.

Days pass, all I do is run. I stop occasionally to catch food or take a quick rest. But my breaks never last more than twenty minutes. If I don't keep running, I risk Castor catching up with me and I can't allow that to happen.

It isn't until starvation and exhaustion get the best of me when I make the mistake of stepping into the Shadow Pack's land. I knew of this pack. Their story was sad, gut-wrenching.

Alpha Caleb Matthews lost his mate and in blind rage, he took his pack to their death. He lost most of his warriors. If it wasn't for his Beta, there wouldn't be a Shadow Pack. Cole took a group of warriors and fled the fight. They returned to the women and children and were able to replenish the Shadow Pack.

That isn't the sad part, however. Alpha Landon Matthews, Caleb's son, was brutally wounded. He left the fight with his life, but not his sight. His loss turned him cold, vicious. He didn't care for anyone.

That's why I knew I was royally screwed when two wolves stepped into my path. They look at me with mournful expressions. They know my fate as do I.

They shift to their human forms and I bow my head to avoid eye contact with their nudity. I then hide behind a tree to shift and reach into my bag to pull on a simple sundress. I look at my muddy feet, frowning as I try to tame my wild hair.

I at least deserve to die looking my best.

"Come." I hear a low voice. I walk over to see two men. One with shaggy blonde hair and the other with buzzed brown hair. They were both dressed in black track pants, leaving their chest exposed to the warm sun. There was no mistaking their strength. They could easily snap me in half.

They take position at my sides, walking me to the Pack House. My stomach churns with my pending doom. I was going to die. I left one awful situation to enter another.

The Pack House is fairly larger than the Cossitt Pack's. I can sense the distress that takes place on this property. They still haven't recovered from the massacre. It's been four years. I guess no one would be able to recover from the loss of a loved one.

Blondie opens the door for me and I step into the back entrance of the house. I take in the newly installed kitchen, the nicely furnished living room and the grand staircase that leads to the upstairs. Shoulders nudge me and I continue onward until we are in front of oak French doors. Blondie knocks, "Landon. We found a trespasser." I grimace at the name. Yes, I did technically trespass. But I was running for my life... Doesn't that count for anything?

"Enter." Buzzed boy grabs the doors and pulls them open, nodding for me to go in.

"I got it from here, Zane." Blondie says, grabbing my bicep roughly. I hiss at the pain, glaring at him. Zane leaves while I am dragged into the office.

The office is large, with wooden floors and two rustic orange walls. One wall has floor to ceiling windows while the other has a built-in bookshelf. The office has a tray ceiling with an elegant, five arm chandelier that has a bronze finish. There is a rolled arm bench, with a warm brown wood finish and is topped with a comfortable cream cushion, that is placed in front of one set of the windows. There is a large, orange and red Persian rug underneath his wooden desk with two chairs that match the bench in front of the it. And then there is the man in the large brown leather chair.

I see Alpha Landon sitting at his desk, his head bowed down as he rests it in his hands.

"You know the protocol. Kill the rogue." Landon's voice is monotone, uncaring. He is willing to murder me off so easily. He doesn't even know who I am or what I've been through! "Why trouble me with this, Mason?"

"I'm not one to kill an innocent girl, Landon." The Alpha lifts his head, almost as if he was trying to get a look at me. And when he does, I gasp.

Not because of the scars that adorn his beautiful face or the way that his eyes are fogged. I don't gasp because I am horrified of this man in front of me. I gasp because as I look into his hazy eyes, I know only one thing. He is my mate. I have found him and I can't explain how incredibly happy it makes me feel. I have accomplished what it was I sought out to do.

Landon growls and snatches up his black Aviator sunglasses, covering his eyes. "No!" I don't stop from crying out. I didn't want him to hide from me. Not ever. He's beautiful.

Landon holds the features of a pure god. His skin is perfectly sun-kissed to create a bronze tan. His shoulders are broad with strength and power. His jaw line is sharp, yet his cheeks are smooth. His brown wavy locks rest carefully on his head, a simple curl falling onto his forehead. I want nothing more than to run my fingers through his hair.

I can tell, through the haze of his eyes that they used to be a soft blue.

Mason tightens his grip on me and I let out a cry. "Ow!" I glare at him, waiting for Landon to lash out at Mason for laying a hand on his mate. That never happens however. I look at Landon to see him glaring in my direction. "You're going to let him hurt me?!" I am completely shocked. After all I've heard, mates are very protective and would never let any harm come to them.

"Why should I care if he hurts you?" He snarls, getting to his feet. My wolf purrs with delight as I take in his sculpted body. The t-shirt he wears does a fabulous job at showing off his slim torso and every indent of his abs.

I gasp at what he says. Why should he care? Does that mean....? "You reject me?" I see Landon's shoulders go rigid.

"Reject you?"

"Reject our mating. I've heard it happen before but-"

"Enough! I don't know who you think you are, but you are not my mate. I would know if you were! Since Mason has a soft spot for killing women, I will give you rank of Omega and you will work around the pack. Stay out of my way and there will be no trouble. Got it?" He snaps. My eyes widen with what he says.

How could he not feel what I feel? It is so strong, so powerful. I know he's my mate. There is no mistaking it. I'd give my life for this man. So why doesn't he see me as I see him?

See... See. He can't see me! He can't see me, he can't look into my soul. Our soul's can't connect. No. That's not possible. How am I to prove to him that I am his mate?

Would a simple touch prove to him? Or would it have to be something more personal than that?

Tears roll down my cheeks as Mason takes me away from my newly founded mate.

No matter what it takes, I will prove to himthat what I say is true. I will take away his pain and show him what it is tolove again. I promise you this, my mate.