I imagined that the front the Purch’ Furniture Store we were in was quiet and unassuming on this late Autumn night.

Looking up at the skylight up ahead, I could see that the waxing moon was nearly full. If I could fully trust my knowledge, it would be full in only 20 more hours. I could hear no voices beside the rogue’s, so it was clear that the owners of the store had gone home and were unaware of what was happening in the storage facility of the store.

The rogue that kidnapped us was yelling demands through the phone across the room while I sat on the cold, dusty floor. I couldn’t stop thinking about Levi – my sweet, adoring husband – whom I knew would come to rescue me once he’d gathered all the money the rogue wanted. I was praying that no harm would happen to my womb. I wanted nothing other than to give Levi a child.

The Vega Moon Wolf Pack, my husband’s pack, had been lacking a noble successor. The current leader’s destined mate perished before she had the chance to gift the leader an heir.

The lack of an heir created unrest within the pack, with members abandoning it and becoming rogues. There are rogues that wish to see the pack completely vanquished, and one of those rogues, our kidnapper, opted to kidnapping the female members of the dynasty to prevent them from bearing any heirs.

My back was pressed against Honey’s – my younger half-sister. The rough rope around our wrists and ankles cut into our flesh with every movement we made. Our mouths were covered by tape.

The rogue was sitting impatiently directly across from us. When the phone rang, he abruptly stood up, startling both Honey and me.

I was not scared because I had faith in my husband. I knew his love for me would give him the strength and courage to come and save us both.

The rogue walked up to Honey and crouched down directly in front of her. I heard the tone of him answering the call and heard Honey sobbing behind me.

The person who called was my husband, the Gamma of the Evans Family Dynasty, next in line to inherit the title of Alpha of the Vega Moon Wolf Pack.

“I know you’ve got connections with the police, but so do I,” I heard the rogue say, “If I catch a word that you even dialed 9-1-1, I’ll rip their flesh apart, limb from limb…”

Honey’s gasp filled my ears. She screamed into the tape, until the rogue forcibly ripped the tape away from her mouth, then her scream was no longer muffled.

“Levi! Save us! Please! Come save-”

The sound of the slap was as loud as her voice was in my ears. She fell to the ground. I stayed silent to avoid being hit, too. Levi would surely come to save us. He had to.

“You’re so lucky… having such beautiful women close to you,” I felt the rogue tug on a strand of my hair, “It’s not very fair, is it? Men like you steal all the pretty women from us. I’ll take what I’m owed from you. You bring the two million dollars to me, and I’ll let one of them go. But only one. I’ll keep the other one for myself.”

He put the call on loudspeaker and all I heard was a deafening silence for a few seconds.

Levi finally gave his answer:

“I’ll take Honey.”

Those words were a stab at my heart. It felt like I had been shot through the chest. My heart began to beat rapidly, and my throat tightened as hot tears welled in my eyes. I couldn’t believe what I heard. I had to have misheard him.

“I’m outside. Bring Honey out, unharmed, and I’ll give you your money.”

Why Honey? She was my half-sister and a result of my father’s infidelity with a woman named Elena. He claimed that my mother, Diana, was not his destined mate, and threw her out with me when I was only seven years old. I wasn’t close with Honey nor was she close with Levi, too. But after my wedding with Levi, he stated spending more time with Honey under the guise that he wanted to bond with his sister-in-law as family.

“Let me speak to Merryl,” Levi said. I thought his voice sounded strained. I wanted to believe that he had a reason for making that choice. The rogue came up in front of me and ripped the tape away from my mouth. I didn’t waste a second and shouted at the phone.

“Levi! How could you? I’m your wife! How could you choose Honey over me?”

Levi’s voice was low, and he sounded dejected, “Merryl, please listen to me. I love you-”

“You’re lying to me!” I interjected, “You’re cheating on me with Honey, aren’t you? I should have known! I thought we were happy together, Levi! You said you were madly in love with me!” I was sobbing and couldn’t see through the tears that had welled up in my eyes.

“I am in love with you. Believe me,” Levi said, “I… I had to choose Honey. Your father… he’s the one who gave me the money. He told me to save Honey and not you. You have to believe me. I really do love you.”

My father? It all made sense. My father, the Alpha leader of the Moon Altair Wolf Pack, never loved me. Before he threw my mother out, he told me that he was disowning me because my wolf form hadn’t awakened by the time I was 15. The latest anyone had awakened before was at 12 years of age. He had Honey with Elena because he lost all faith in me. Honey did awaken when she was 13 years old.

“Really?” I asked, desperate to believe that Levi still loved me. I knew he wouldn’t lie to me. I loved him more than life itself. Especially since he married me when no one else would have looked at me twice.

“Yes. Trust me. I’ll come and save you after I get Honey-”

The rogue hung up at that moment, “Save you? How foolish. I’ll kill you before he does.”

He grabbed Honey’s arm and forced her to stand up, then dragged her towards the entrance. It could have been my imagination, but I thought I saw a smirk on Honey’s lips.

Each second that the exchange took place was an excruciating wait for me. I tried to think of any way I could protect my womb if the rogue attacked me. Levi promised to save me, so I kept praying that he would make it before the rogue would get a chance to hurt me.

When the rogue returned, my body froze in fear and my heart beat quickened. I saw him place a briefcase near the entrance and assumed that was the money Levi gave him. Then where was my husband now, I thought.

The rogue pulled out a pocketknife and licked it along the sharp edge.

“I love to hear my food scream before I eat.”

Before I could even react, he ran up to me and kicked the side of my left arm. My body fell and my head struck the floor. I gasped from the pain and brought my knees up to try and cover my stomach. The next kick was on my thigh, and the next struck right under my ribs. I cried out in pain. Levi…

The rogue kicked my arm to make me lay on my back and sat on my stomach area. His body was heavy on mine. I feared that anymore pressure would harm my stomach.

“Please! Get off!”

He ignored my pleas and held the knife above his head. I stared at the sharp edge pointed down at my left eye.

“Your husband isn’t coming to save you. Do you want to know why?” He cackled, “Some man called and told him to abandon you.” He continued to cackle boisterously.

A bittersweet emotion washed over me. That man must have been my father. I was never deserving of his love, even when I’m about to die.

I was bleeding where I hit my head on the floor. The scent of my blood was intoxicating. Before I closed my eyes to accept my death, I saw the silhouette of a man above the skylight. He leapt and broke through the glass. I turned my head to avoid the shattered glass. Then a warm drop of something wet hit my cheek.

I looked up to see the rogue hovering over my body, His eyes were lifeless, and his blood was sticking out from the front of his neck. He was dead. A hand pulled the corpse away from above me and the man I saw entered my vision.

There was only one word I could use to describe him: magnificent. His straight black hair fell a little past his shoulders. His face was well-defined, and his skin glowed under the moonlight. I saw his eyes glow blood-red for a moment, then they settled back their normal emerald green. His being demanded attention, and I gave it to him because I couldn’t look away.