The Alpha Who Burned the World to Claim His Mate

Luna's hands gripped the steering wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. The engine made that sound again a grinding sound that meant nothing good. She pressed harder on the gas pedal but the car jerked instead of speeding up.

"No no no. Not now."

The dashboard lit up. Oil pressure. Engine temperature. Check engine. Every warning light she'd been ignoring for the past hundred miles now screamed at her all at once.

She glanced in the rearview mirror. Empty highway stretched behind her for miles. Dark asphalt cutting through darker desert. No headlights yet but they were coming. They were always coming.

Three days. She'd been running for three days straight.

The flash drive in her jacket pocket felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. Such a small thing to get people killed over. Just data. Just proof. Just evidence that Marcus Blackwood was a monster who tortured people in his facilities and called it research.

Steam started pouring from under the hood.

"Come on baby. Just a few more miles. Please."

The car didn't care about her pleading. It jerked once then twice then the engine cut out completely. Luna guided it to the shoulder as momentum died. The sound of the tires stop.

The desert was dead silent like there was no living being around.

She sat there for a moment staring at the useless dashboard. Her phone had died six hours ago. No charger. No signal out here anyway. The last town she'd passed was fifty miles back.

Luna got out of the car and popped the hood. Smoke came out. She waved it away but she already knew this was bad. Oil dripped onto the ground in a steady rhythm. The radiator made a sound at her.

She pulled out her backpack from the passenger seat. Laptop. Water bottle half empty. Protein bars. Change of clothes. Everything she owned in the world fit in one bag now.

The desert stretched in every direction. Sand and scrub brush and rock formations that looked like giant fingers pointing at the sky. Beautiful in daylight maybe. Terrifying at night.

She started walking. There wasn't much else to do. Her sneakers kicked up dust with each step.

Fifteen minutes passed. Her legs already ached. Her throat felt dry even after drinking some water. She'd been running on adrenaline and coffee for so long her body didn't remember what rest felt like.

Then she heard it. The low rumble of engines in the distance.

Luna spun around. Headlights appeared on the horizon coming from the direction she'd fled. Two vehicles. Moving fast.

Her heart kicked was beating fast than usual adrenaline rushed through her body. She looked around for somewhere to hide but there was nothing. Just open desert and the useless car and

More engines. Different sounds. Deeper. Coming from ahead of her.

She froze right there in the middle of the highway caught between two threats. The headlights behind her were definitely Blackwood's men. She recognized the spacing. SUVs running in formation.

But the sound ahead got louder. Not cars. Motorcycles.

Seven bikes roared around the highway in coordinated manner. They moved together. All black motorcycle catching moonlight. The riders wore leather cuts vests with patches she couldn't recognize from this distance.

The lead bike slowed when the headlight caught her standing there. The others followed suit. They spread out across both lanes blocking the road.

Luna's brain screamed at her to run but her legs wouldn't move. Seven bikers or Blackwood's hired killers. Great options.

The lead rider cut his engine. The others kept theirs running. He swung off the bike in one smooth motion. Tall. Really tall. Broad shoulders under that leather vest. Tattoos covered his arms.

He walked toward her with the kind of confidence that said he'd never been afraid of anything in his life. The moonlight hit his face. Sharp jaw. Dark hair. Eyes that seemed to glow amber in the darkness.

"Car trouble?" His voice was rough like gravel.

"I…yes. It died. I was just.." Luna's mouth went dry. Up close he was even more intimidating. Scars marked his knuckles. A wolf's head with a crescent moon decorated the back of his vest.

He tilted his head studying her. His nostrils widen slightly like he was smelling something.

"You're bleeding." He pointed at her forehead.

Luna touched her temple. Her fingers came away sticky. She'd cut it when she crashed through Blackwood's facility window three nights ago. Hadn't bothered cleaning it properly.

"It's nothing."

"Are you running from something?"

Behind her the SUV engines grew louder. Maybe two miles back now. Maybe less.

"I have to go." She stepped around him.

His hand shot out, catching her wrist. Not hard but firm. His skin was hot like he had a fever.

"Those men are chasing you. What do they want?"

"How did you…"

"I can hear them. What do they want?"

Luna pulled against his grip but he didn't let go. She looked into those strange amber eyes and made a choice. Trust this dangerous stranger or definitely die when Blackwood's men caught up.

"I have something they want. Something I stole from them."

"What kind of something?"

"Proof. Evidence. That they're monsters who…" She stopped. How could she explain genetic experiments and torture chambers to a biker on a desert highway?

One of the other riders called out. "Reaper, we got company. Two vehicles closing fast."

The man holding her wrist Reaper apparently turned his head. She saw his jaw clench. When he looked back at her something had changed in his expression. Hunger maybe. Possessiveness. She couldn't name it but it made her skin sting and itchy.

"Get on the bike."

"What?"

"You want to live? Get on the bike. Now."

"I don't even know you. I don't…"

"Luna."

She blinked. "How do you know my name?"

"Your wallet's sticking out of your back pocket. I can see your driver's license. Now get on the damn bike before those men get close enough to shoot at us."

The SUVs crested a hill behind them. High beams flooded the highway with light.

Reaper grabbed her backpack and shoved it at another rider. Then he swung onto his motorcycle and looked back at her with those glowing eyes.

"Last chance sweetheart."

Luna didn't think. She threw her leg over the bike and wrapped her arms around his waist. His body was solid muscle. Hot even through his shirt.

The engine roared to life between her thighs.

"Hold on tight."

She barely had time to grip his leather vest before he gunned it. The bike shot forward so fast her stomach dropped. The other riders followed them like guards. Wind whipped her hair back. The desert blurred as they move out of the desert.

Behind them the SUVs kept chasing them but they couldn't match the bikes' speed on these curved highway. The motorcycles wove through turns like they knew every inch of this road.

Luna pressed her face against Reaper's back. His scent hit her leather and sage and something wild she couldn't name. Her heart beat fast against her ribs from fear and adrenaline and something else. Something that made her want to hold him tighter.

They rode for what felt like hours but was probably only twenty minutes. Finally he turned off onto a dirt road she never would have seen. The other bikes followed. They climbed into rocky hills leaving the highway behind.

Luna's arms ached from holding on. Her thighs burned from gripping the bike. But she didn't let go.

They moved towards a ridge and she saw lights below. Buildings surrounded by high walls. Guard towers. Flood lights.

This wasn't just some biker clubhouse. This was a compound.

Reaper slowed as they approached a gate. It opened automatically. They rode through into a courtyard where more people waited. Men. Women. All wearing the same leather vests with the wolf and moon patch.

He off the engine. The sudden silence felt loud in her ears.

"Where are we?" Luna asked.

Reaper turned to look at her over his shoulder. In the harsh lights his eyes definitely glowed gold. Not amber. Pure gold like an animal's.

"Home," he said. "Welcome to Iron Moon."

She started to slide off the bike but his hand caught her thigh keeping her in place.

"One more thing Luna Sinclair." His voice dropped lower. "What exactly did you steal from Blackwood Security?"

Luna's hand moved automatically to her jacket pocket where the flash drive sat. Every person in that courtyard watched her. Twenty sets of eyes. Maybe more. All focused on her with predatory intensity.

She swallowed hard. "Information. About his experiments. About what he's doing to.." She paused. "About what he's doing to people like you."

Reaper went very still. "People like me?"

"Werewolves," Luna whispered. "He's hunting werewolves."

The entire courtyard exploded into motion. Riders jumped off bikes. Hands went to weapons. Voices shouted over each other. But Reaper didn't move. He just stared at her with those impossible golden eyes while something that looked like recognition and hunger and terror flickered across his face.

Then he smiled showing teeth that seemed just a little too sharp.

"Well then," he said quietly. "I guess we need to talk.”