Prologue
Wherever I turned in the bed, I saw trembling bodies, wild s*x, and the woody scent that drove my wolf wild. I could still see limbs shifting back and forth under naked bodies in the forest. Mouths moaning, hands eagerly groping the flesh of others as rhythmic movements consumed the night, illuminated by the bonfire and the moon. The vivid image of the previous night when my wolf took control of my body and ran through the forest, panting, searching for something, finding whoever was summoning her into that chaos in the woods. Saying, "Join us, Madison... Come to us... revel with us, enjoy!" And the deeper I ventured into the forest, the more I watched my wolf as she ran, the darker and denser everything became. I wanted to scold my wolf for putting me in this situation, but I knew this wasn't the time or place to reprimand her. I would wait until we were free and far from this orgy to settle scores with her.
Some trees swayed ahead, while others made a low noise as they grabbed onto other branches. Entangling me. Chasing me as if there was something there with me. Something out there in the darkness, and it was cautiously watching me. Something supernatural, just like me. And its scent, its odor, was the worst aphrodisiac. The pleasurable moans from moments ago began to turn into distant screams and pleasure-filled growls, making it clear how grotesque the s****l chaos had become, not far away. Demonstrating that the situation had reached an animalistic level with the arrival of the festival, it was evident from the increasing drumbeats that the climax was near.
And I knew that at any moment, the darkness would catch me, that my greatest fear in this situation would come for me. It was only a matter of time before I couldn't control myself, before my wolf side invaded my consciousness and sealed our fates in one of those animalistic situations involving pure carnal s*x, where it would strangle me alive.
I tried to take a deep breath when I felt the tree root entangled around my ankle, tripped, and fell from a small dark ridge deep in the forest. "Damn!" I yelled, putting my hand on my face to soften the impact. And there, on the cold ground covered in dry leaves, I felt the throbbing in my arms as I sat down. And there was something there, a strange and different beat. The beat within me, coming from my abdomen, followed the same rhythm as the ceremony drums not far away. My days were numbered; I couldn't deny my wolf's desire for much longer. "We need this," she growled impatiently, scratching at my mental control. Not like this, not this way. I couldn't keep running forever. That was obvious. Especially now that I had turned twenty, my hormones were screaming for the pleasure that only our lycanthropic wildness provided.
And there, on the cold ground covered in dry leaves, I saw him. Or at least the shadow of him watching me from above the ridge, with his dark golden eyes assessing me attentively from head to toe. "Madson..." he whispered so softly that it was barely audible. A clear warning, crystal clear even in the forest's shadow. He was avidly hunting me. Someone desired my hunt. I was the prey.
