Hunting His Prey (Excerpt Whole Book On Amazon)

Chapter 1

Penny

The dream always begins the same way. I'm running in the woods, breathing heavily, the fear that is working its way through my body is paralyzing. I'm afraid I may just pass out. I know who is chasing me, or should I use the correct term, who is hunting me? Even though I am a Werewolf, Alpha's daughter to be exact, he has always made my body squirm. My insides feel like they may very well explode.

Of course, that is the curse, of teenage hormones, human and werewolf alike, the hormones are alive and very real. Although, in my kind they're stronger, so much stronger. The feelings I have for him, the ones I have had since we were young pups together, have always been electrifying. Whenever he would touch me, it always felt like an electrical current was running through my veins. Making my body come alive in ways I never fully understood.

I haven't seen him, nor anyone in my pack, in close to two years now. Not since I took off in the dead of night. While all the adults in our pack were out hunting for food, I was still a pup and unable to turn into my wolf form, knew it was now or never to leave. I was only a girl of sixteen, not a fully grown werewolf in our world. At seventeen, girls and boys alike become full-fledge werewolves, and turn for the first time. Right at midnight, on our seventeenth birthday.

I couldn't have known how powerful the magic in my blood would feel when it happened, nor how painful the first change is. My father never told me a thing about the process. Trying to protect me, he kept me in the dark about our world all my life. Pointless I think anyway. As did he, when he was a young pup, he was the only one in the pack not afraid to tell my father how he felt about things. It got him in trouble with his own parents a lot when we were little.

I idolized him even then, for when my father was around, I was quiet and shy, barely speaking unless spoken to. What can I say? Out of everyone in the pack, he was the one I feared the most. My father has always been a strict and idolized man. He has always done everything by the book of our ancestors. His own younger brother, who may I say is completely different from his older brother, would always try to get him to relax more. Not take life so seriously as he would put it.

My father would reprimand him or ignore him completely, causing my uncle to disregard him right back and to walk away. My uncle, Daneth, was the only blood relative I liked while growing up. His personality is one of a goof ball, never taking life too seriously, and always joking around. Whenever he is around it's hard not to laugh. I miss him even now. He was the one that helped me escape that night, I will always love him so much for that.

See in our pack, once we hit seventeen and become fully matured, there is a ceremony. One, that consists of not only the celebration, but of the rest of your life. Your alpha chooses your mate, the one he feels will make a good partner for you, and that will bring powerful offspring. Well, I couldn't allow my father to choose that kind of life for me.

I've always been unique, or as everyone in our village had called me peculiar. While most girls dream about their future mate and bringing baby pups into the world, I had bigger dreams. I wanted to see the world, experience things that I missed my whole life, and to see what the real world was about. Given the opportunity, I took it, and I know I should feel guilty about that, but I have a tough time with that, being I got exactly what I wanted all along.

I have real friends for the first time since I was ten years old. Actual girls that are friends, not just him, the only other pup that was secluded in our village. We weren't allowed to interact with any of the other children in the pack. Because my father is the Alpha and his being my father's best friend. So, it was the two of us, being thick as thieves, until I even had him taken away from me.

When the boys reach twelve years of age they are taken to training, it's tradition. That way they can become strong and powerful fully grown werewolves when the time comes. Protecting our people from the outside world, and other packs around the area.

With him gone, I had no one to talk to during the day, other than the maids of the house and my own personal teachers. Having a lonely existence, I turned to books as my friends. Once I became free, my uncle had a friend out here, Lilly Hart, that he met when he was a teenager. She's a sweet woman that runs a local bookstore, and the best part is she knows all about our kind. It's our little secret as she says. She's like the aunt I never had, and I love the woman as though she's my own blood.

I don't know how she and my uncle met, nor do I care for that information, I only know Lilly has stood by me these last two years. Introducing me to her niece, and my new best friend, Claudette, as well as given me a place to live and food in my belly. She's the best human I have ever known. They aren't the scary monsters as all the elders' stories have convicted humanity to be.

All my thoughts go out the window as a black paw shoots out and trips me by my ankle. Forcing me to the ground, I land with my hands firmly in the dirt, the side of my face scratched from the stones mixed in beneath me. I want to cry out, but I can't, it's as though my body is frozen in fear. I feel him flip my body over with barely any effort, as he stalks up my body. His wolf is beautiful, black with grey mixed throughout, and he's big. I mean monstrous! Within moments, his form changes, and I'm looking into the same brown eyes I have had since we were little. Only now, he's a man, and his extremely muscled physique shows.

"Always did love me chasing you." He says as his hand raises up, moving my hair away from my face. The softness of his touch hurts, not physically, but emotionally as I know he's only going to drag me back to my Hell. His brows furrow above his eyes, as he studies me. Turning his head to the side, he gives me a panty melting smile, before bringing his face so close to mine our lips are almost touching. "You're mine!" His words come out forcefully, they paralyze any little movement I once had.

I stop breathing all together. I want to tell him how I wish that were true. How, all my life I have wanted nothing more, but no words will come out. It takes a minute for my mouth to open, but when it does my body is shaken, and before long my eyes pop open. I'm awake, my sight is blurry with sleep, and it takes me a minute to focus.

Looking around, I see I'm sitting on the stool at the register. A book beneath my head, telling me I've fallen asleep once more while reading. I hear a throat being cleared, and when I look up there stands my best friend Claudette, a huge smile on her face, "Wake up sleepy head. Lunch break is almost over, and we haven't discussed our plans for tonight yet." Her words cause me to smile. That's right she wants to discuss going to a club tonight.

Her close friend got us some fake ID's, with us only being eighteen, and the new club about twenty minutes away had just opened. It's supposed to be the hot new place everyone is going to. The only reason I'm so hesitant is It's closer to where my old pack lives. I know not much, as I'm a whole state away, but to me closer is closer. I like being right where I am, so I don't have to worry about them finding me.

"Oh no you don't." Her words caused me to sit back and look up at her. I feel drool on the corner of my mouth, so I wipe it away. "That's attractive." She laughs and rolls her eyes at me in a fun way. "You are not cancelling this time. You deserve a little fun, we are both young, and I promise you the ID's will hold up." She walks around the counter to stand beside me. Grabbing my shoulders, she shakes me calmly all while whining, "Please don't make me go alone." Her lower lip pouts out. Causing a smile to form on mine.

I roll my eyes at her, "Okay, okay. I'll go if you stop shaking me." I concede. The next moment she screeches in glee, as she does her little happy dance. This girl makes life so much better; I couldn't picture my life without her. The last thought causes me pain, thinking about the dreams I've been having lately. She continues talking, telling me all about the club we will be going to, while I daze out the window into the afternoon light. Watching as people walk by the large window, I hope with all my heart it isn't a vision I'm having of what's to come.