PROLOGUE
John grasped the commuter strap as the subway rocked back and forth. His heavy backpack, which he had looped casually onto one shoulder, swung wildly as they rounded a sharp curve.
"Ow!"
John looked down. A girl who was maybe 12 or 13 rubbed her cheek, glaring at him with large blue eyes. Her long blond hair tumbled back from her face in a mess of curls. John grimaced.
"Oh! Jeez!" he said, kneeling down. "Sorry!" He glanced around to see if anyone was with her. No one was about to tackle him, so he figured she was alone.
The girl shrugged and hugged her knees. "Whatever," she said quietly. She narrowed her eyes as a single tear rolled down her other cheek. She wiped it away quickly. "What's in that thing anyway? Bricks?"
John smiled slightly and shook his head. "Nah. Just books." He looked at her, his brown eyes soft. "Can I look at your cheek?"
She shrugged again. He gently moved her hand away, frowning at the jolt that went through his hand when he touched hers.
Mate!
John turned his head away from hers. "Shut up," he whispered.
But…
A low growl left John's throat as he turned back towards the girl.
Her cheek was red but didn't appear to be bruising. He sighed. "I don't think it will bruise," he said.
The girl snatched her hand away and put it on her cheek again. She stared at him. "It better not," she said, frowning.
"Hot date?" he asked.
The girl frowned. "What?"
"Nothing," he said quietly. "You sure you're ok?"
The girl shrugged again. "Yeah. I've had worse."
He smiled. "I'll bet. I'm glad I didn't hurt you too badly." He stood up again and looped his pack on both of his shoulders to keep it from swinging. He felt a tug at his t-shirt, and he turned toward the girl again as he hung onto the strap.
"Are you a firefighter?" the girl asked, pointing at the ball cap that was hanging off his pack.
He grinned. "In training, yep. 12th precinct, just like my old man," he said.
"Neat!" the girl said and smiled for the first time. Her front teeth had a slight space between them. She sat up excitedly, her cheek forgotten. "You're going to work with your dad?" she asked.
John frowned. "No. Not anymore, anyway," he said.
"Why not?" she asked.
"Um," John mumbled as he ran his fingers through his wavy black hair, "he died not so long ago."
Her eyes widened. "Oh, wow. I'm sorry," she said, and looked away.
He shrugged. "It's ok. Hey, what's your name anyway?"
The girl looked back and smiled again. "Rosalie," she said in a sing song voice. "But my friends call me Rosie." She looked down shyly. "You can call me Rosie, if you want."
John grinned again and held out his hand. "Rosie it is. I'm Johnathan. My friends call me John."
Rosie took his hand and shook it up and down a couple of times. John's grin widened.
"Nice to meet you, John," she said politely. "It's because I look like one, you know," she said.
"What?" John asked.
She dropped his hand and rolled her eyes. "A rose," she said sarcastically. "My uncle says I look like a rose, so everyone started calling me Rosie."
The subway stopped with a jerk.
John laughed. "Sure, kid. Anyway, this is my stop. Nice to meet you too, Rosie." He waved.
"Bye, John!" she called after him.
John stepped off the train onto the stone platform of the oddly empty station and looked back toward the subway car he had been riding in. He broke into a grin when he saw Rosie wildly waving goodbye to him from her seat. He waved back as the train lurched forward and sped out of the station, it's horn blaring into the tunnel.
"What was that all about, boss?"
John turned, and grimaced when he saw Nolan standing behind him, smirking.
"Nothing," John said. "Just some kid I met on the train."
"Right," said Nolan, grinning wickedly.
John punched him lightly in the shoulder. "She was 12," he said.
Nolan shrugged. "And? When you're mated, you're mated."
John glared at him. Nolan dropped his head submissively. "Ok, ok," he mumbled.
He's right, you know.
John sighed and shook his head to clear it. "The meeting starts in a few minutes. It wouldn't look good for me to be late to my first pack meeting as Alpha, would it?"
Nolan nodded solemnly. "Probably not, especially considering the tight ship your dad ran…" he trailed off. "Sorry," he said quietly.
John shrugged and sighed as Nolan clapped his shoulder and smiled tentatively.
Nolan gestured with his head towards a wall at the back of the train station. "Tunnel is over here, boss," he said.
John frowned and strode over to the wall.
To your left, dumbass.
John's frown deepened as he growled quietly.
Just trying to help.
Nolan looked at him. "Tenebris?" he asked.
John nodded and rolled his eyes.
Nolan frowned. "Haven't you two chilled yet?" he asked.
John glared at him. Nolan raised his hands and took a step back.
Thankfully, John quickly found what he was looking for. He placed his hand on a brick that looked like all the others except for a tiny crescent-moon symbol that had been etched onto the stone face. The wall shuddered as part of it appeared to collapse inward then slide open silently. A dark tunnel came into view as the opening widened. Nolan and John entered the opening, which immediately began to close once they entered. Nolan had already begun removing his clothing and had stuffed them in the bag he had been carrying. As John began to undress, he heard Nolan's bones cracking as he shifted. Nolan's huge brown and grey wolf, Fuscus, smiled at him, his long tongue lolling out the side of his long mouth.
Shall we? Tenebris asked.
John gritted his teeth as Tenebris took over and he began to shift. It was painful, but swift. Looking through Tenebris's golden eyes, he could now see down the tunnel. Tenebris and Fuscus picked up their bags in their mouth and shot at full speed down the tunnel, their padded feet barely making a sound on the smooth stone.
