 by Sam Crescent.jpg)
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
In the Northern Forest Pack, humans are tolerated, but not exactly … loved. After her best friend is mated to the alpha, Layla doesn’t know where her place is anymore. She is aware the pack is in a lot of danger, certainly her best friend. Disaster of the Otherworld is a cult intent on destroying everyone and everything for power. She does have one little secret. Every night, she goes out to find him.
Alexander knows he shouldn’t be tempted by the little human. He is a very old vampire and he doesn’t know what it is about the young woman, but he can’t seem to get enough of her. He has extended his stay at the pack to help protect it. The cult is a danger to them all, and he is willing to offer his services to help destroy them.
Disaster of the Otherworld is after something important. The moment they harvest it, they can finally take complete power. There is only one problem—they don’t know who holds the power.
In the Northern Forest Pack there is a secret. One that has been kept for over twenty-one years. Layla is not all what she seems. Her true parents made the ultimate sacrifice to keep her safe. She is special. Will it be too late to save her?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
Layla stared up at the sky. It was dark and she saw the edge of the moon peeking out of a thick blanket of clouds. There were only a few days to go before the full moon. During that time, she’d help with all the festivities. Wrapping her arms around herself, she kept looking at the moon, wondering what the hell to do with her life.
Four months ago, her best friend, Elle Smith, had been mated to the Alpha of the pack, Brandon. She and Elle were not wolves. They were one of the few humans residing in the Northern Forest Pack in Grace Hill. Her family had moved here a long time ago. So long ago that it was even natural to her how the wolves treated them. The wolves liked to use the single, human women, not the ones that had a husband or family.
She was single, a virgin, and had a short time ago been in love with Lewis, one of the men who was close to Brandon. Not anymore, which was quite hilarious to her, considering Lewis now spent a great deal of time with her.
When her best friend mated with Brandon, a lot was going on in Grace Hill, including a meeting between all paranormal factions. There had been bears, witches, warlocks, vampires, and several other sectors.
She struggled to keep up with them all. She preferred her little bubble of humans and wolves, but if it hadn’t been for that meeting and the possible threat, she wouldn’t have met Alexander. He was the reason she came out late at night. The vampire hadn’t left like so many of the otherworld species had.
If Lewis knew she snuck out to enjoy some peace and quiet and to meet up with the other man, he’d go crazy. He told her it wasn’t safe for her to come out at night. For the first few weeks, she’d believed him, but then, little by little, she had started to rebel against his order.
Lewis didn’t care about her, and she was fine with that. More than fine. She didn’t want him, especially as she knew the moment he got what he wanted, he’d never want to see her again. She wasn’t interested in being a one-night stand, or some casual fling.
Wrapping her arms around herself, she stared up at the sky and took a deep breath. There was a time when thinking about Lewis brought her pain. She had known he would only use her, even before witnessing Brandon and Elle’s mating. Now, she felt at peace. She and Lewis were never going to happen. She wasn’t his mate and after seeing what Brandon was like with Elle, Layla knew she would never make that mistake.
It was probably silly, maybe even old-fashioned, but she didn’t want to give herself to just anyone. Her virginity was not going to be taken without it meaning something.
“I sense you’re in deep thought,” Alexander said.
This made her smile and she tilted her head just a little to the right, and there he was. He was tall but unlike most vampires she imagined, he wasn’t super thin, he was large and muscular. She had no idea how old he was, but according to Elle, he was old, possibly even ancient. He’d seen the world through many different times, decades, and eras.
“Not really.”
Alexander inhaled and then chuckled. “You don’t smell like the wolf.”
The other night he’d complained that she had a horrible scent of dog on her. She could only imagine that was Lewis.
“I remembered what you said.” She had a shower, being sure to use plenty of her scented shampoo. The last thing she wanted was for him to hate coming to see her.
She didn’t know if the vampires had a smell to the wolves, but she probably could guarantee it with the way they seemed disgusted with each other.
“You’re a sweet woman,” he said. “Tell me, what troubles you tonight?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you still having thoughts of leaving?” he asked.
She sighed.
“Yes?” he asked again before she could answer.
“I honestly don’t know. When Elle was talking about it before she accepted Brandon, I thought she was crazy to even think about leaving Grace Hill, but I don’t know if I can stay here.”
“Why?”
“There’s nothing for me here.”
“Your wolf is not satisfying you?”
She felt her cheeks heating. “No. Absolutely not. Lewis and I are not, like, together or anything. We’ve never been together. I haven’t slept with him. Crap, I don’t know what I’m saying.”
Alexander chuckled. “You’re still a virgin, Layla.”
She loved the way her name just seemed to roll off his tongue. How did he make everything so sensual?
She could barely think straight.
“Yes. How did you know?” she asked.
“I have my ways.”
“Is it smell?”
“No. Unlike the wolves, my sense of smell doesn’t include the scent of innocence.”
Layla frowned. “How do you know?”