Crossing Enemy Lines

Prologue - Jasper

The dream begins the way it always does . . .

My heart is pounding behind my ears as I jump through the trees. Partly because of the adrenaline of being chased and partly because I know she’s waiting for me. She’ll be sitting on the edge of the dock, her feet barely tapping the freezing water. Her amber yellow eyes will be focused on the ripples of the water or whichever book she’s reading right now. Or, maybe, she’ll be lying on her back, watching the clouds move across the moonlit sky. Her dark hair will be fanned out around her like a blanket.

I hear their howls coming from just behind me, below me, and stop. My body clings to the tree as I wait for them to pass. They’ll give up soon enough. I’m surprised that they’ve followed me for this long. Maybe they’re following me for a different reason, the thought comes unwanted into my mind. Did they catch her scent and mine together? Do they know?

I stay as still as possible as they pause below me. They look around before one of them barks. The four with him crouch low with their heads touching the ground. He’s giving them orders, I realize. They stay like this for a minute before huffing and turning around. Grinning, I begin to move through the trees. She’s still waiting.

When I finally slide down the tree that I am currently clinging to, the stairs to the docks gleam at me triumphantly. I smile as I walk down them. My heart races now for only one reason. Whenever I’m near her, I react this way. Maybe because she’s part of me, maybe because I haven’t seen her in what feels like forever.

She’s sitting where she always does, on the edge of the dock, bouncing her feet on top of the water. I grin and walk to her slowly. She turns as I approach her, and a sweet smile spreads across her face. She, like most of her pack, has deep copper skin with pale yellow eyes that glow in the moonlight. Her eyes bear the wisdom of all her ancestors, but her face is nothing but the youth of her own life. Her nose is long, but button-shaped, a trait of her mixed heritage. Her lips are dark pink and full and cloak brilliantly white teeth.

I don’t realize until she stands that I have stopped moving. Sometimes, she just catches me by surprise. Her beauty, her grace. She walks lightly, almost as if gravity doesn’t pull her down like it does the rest of us. It probably doesn’t. She’s too powerful for even gravity. I smile as I wrap her in my arms and bury my face in her hair. She smells like those scented pinecones that they sell around autumn time.

“You’ve kept me waiting,” she murmurs into my neck. I smile and sigh before pulling back to look into her eyes.

“It wasn’t my intention, your majesty. After all, what man in his right mind would keep the holy Healer waiting?” She rolls her eyes at me before gently tugging on my shirt. My lips meet hers softly, at first. But soon, it’s as if flames are licking at my body, and it’s difficult to be gentle. Our lips meet in a panic as if this is the last time we’ll kiss. Her slender hands knot in my hair as she pulls me closer. I groan and slowly push her away.

“Arty,” I coo, “We can’t lose control. Once we’re marked, they’ll know. It’ll be obvious.” Her face shows a gentle blush and she nods in understanding. She sighs and buries her face in my chest. I can feel her breathing against my skin and chuckle.

“This is difficult,” she tells me as if I don’t know. I kiss the top of her head.

“I know, Arty, I know. But it’s too risky.” I close my eyes before nuzzling her neck. She shivers and I immediately begin to shrug off my jacket. She grins as I wrap it around her. It’s far too big for her, but she looks adorable in it anyways. That’s when I hear the howls. But something about them is different than before. They’re close, what sounds like right behind us. I turn around and begin pushing her behind me. She resists, but I’m stronger.

“Don’t, Jas, they won’t hurt me. You need to go,” she begs. I shake my head as I push her. I back up until we’re on the very edge of the dock.

“You don’t know that. When they catch you with me, you don’t know what they’ll do. Please, when you know what I want you to do, do it.” I hear the scraping of their claws on the almost rotten boards. I turned and rest my forehead on hers for the briefest moment. I memorize every feature of her face. I knew we would destroy one another, that she and I would be the deaths of one another. Tears run freely down her cheeks, and I wish to kiss them away, but we don’t have time.

“Remember that I love you. They can’t take that away from you.” She hiccups out a sob and her nails begin to dig into my arms.

“They’ll come at you straight forward. If you can run, do it. They’ll split up, but you’re fast.” I nod and press my lips to hers in a bittersweet kiss salted by her tears.

I turn to face my approaching death. The one in front is her brother. If I were one of them, he’d love me as he loves his other brothers. But I’m not one of them. And it’s his job to destroy me. The recognition is in his eyes. He knows me. He knows that mine is the scent that wraps around his sister, he knows that it’s to me she’s bound to.

“Please, brother,” she pleads, “Brothers don’t do this. It is forbidden to kill another’s mate.” Her voice breaks me. They all pause, turn their massive heads to their leader. He barks out what I assume is an order. They begin to press closer. And closer. I take a breath and turn, using speed faster than theirs. Artemis’ eyes are wide with fear as I grasp her by her forearms.

“Grab onto the tree and run.” She doesn’t argue. She knows what I’m going to do. I throw her up into the air, back towards the woods.

Their teeth sink into my flesh, tearing my skin and muscle from the bone. Before I can scream, a pair of jaws crush my throat. As I’m choking on the blood filling my throat, everything goes black.

This is when I always wake up: on the brink of my own death.