To Be Claimed

✙ Chapter 1 ✙

All Rights Reserved.

**I recommend reading my other book, The Alpha's Possession, before reading this one to prevent confusion**

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Squeezing my suitcases into the back of my battered sedan, I felt tingles shoot through my entire body, warning me. I sensed him, before I saw him - I stiffened and took a deep breath, hearing his sneakers against the concrete pavement. My eyes flickered towards my pistol packed in the side pocket of one of my heavy bags; there wasn't enough time for me to snatch it, not without him seeing it coming. His approaching footsteps matched the beat of my hammering heart in my chest; I hadn't faced him in a week to avoid this conversation. Now, I was caught for trying to skip town, something I had been planning to do since the beginning of the month. Reluctantly, I released my hold on the suitcase in front of me and turned around, looking at him.

"Daniel," I forced through gritted teeth, narrowing my eyes. He smirked, stopping in front of me. He shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced around me at the suitcases piled in the back of my sedan. His brown hair was chopped short, but long enough for him to continuously run his fingers through. The sleeves of his black shirt were shoved up to his elbows, revealing his dark tattoos. His green eyes were sparked with mischief as cockiness rolled off him in waves. Glaring at him, I stayed pressed against the back of my sedan. "Now, where do you think you're going? Tell me you aren't trying to skip town, Emma."

"So, what if I am?"

"You aren't going anywhere," he responded, harshly. "You're going to drag your things back into that house and unpack, understand?"

I frowned. "I'm not staying here for the full moon."

"Yes, you are," he argued, moving closer. "You can't escape the Chase - wherever you're thinking about going, it won't be safe for you." His eyes flickered towards my suitcases again, narrowing on my pistol in the side pocket of one of my bags. Sh*t, I thought, swearing in my head, repeatedly. His jaw tightened as he folded his arms across his chest, cocking an eyebrow. "Since when do you carry a gun? Does your brother know? Ha, that petty gun won't protect you from any of us, Sweetness."

"It will if the bullets are silver," I shot back, hating his stupid nickname for me. Despite my many requests for him to stop calling me it, he refused to listen. Just because he was Alpha of the pack, he thought he was able to do whatever he pleased, including annoying me. At the mention of silver, he stepped forward and snatched my wrist, gripping it tightly. He pulled me into his chest and with a grunt, I struggled to free myself from his grasp. Glaring down at me, he whispered, "I suggest you get your a*s back into that house and prepare for tonight."

He dragged his index finger along my cheekbone, before releasing my wrist. I stumbled away, scowling at him. "I'm not participating in the Chase."

"You will," he commanded, frustrated. "And, you better pray some b*stard claims you as his." He touched my neck, right where werewolves claimed their mates. I slapped his hand away, earning a murderous scowl. "You show me some respect, Emma. Just because your brother is my third-in-command, doesn't mean your attitude will fly, understand? As your Alpha, I'm commanding you to march back into that house and participate in the Chase tonight - disobeying me will result in punishment."

The authority in his voice sent chills down my spine.

"You're not my Alpha," I responded, bravely. "I'm not one of you - I don't have to listen to you at all."

The only reason I was dragged into this werewolf business was because my brother was turned six months ago on a full moon. For his safety, he joined Daniel's pack and surprisingly, became his third-in-command. Since he was the only family I had left, I stuck around, eventually being considered a member of Daniel's pack, somehow. Now, he was wanting me to participate in the Chase, a run held every six full moons for werewolves to discover their mates. It was the only time werewolves were able to venture into other territories. Few humans were involved in it and I happened to be one of those unlucky ones.

Angry, he shoved me backwards, causing me to fall into the suitcases behind me. I flinched at the pain behind my knees from hitting the bumper of my sedan. "For the sake of your brother's position in my pack, you will do as I say! You're going to participate in the Chase tonight - don't push me on this anymore, Emma. You're going to get all pretty and run through those trees, just like the rest of the females." He pointed towards the trees of the forest across the street, taunting me with their shadows. "And, you're going to keep running until some unlucky werewolf claims you as his, understand?"

I pinched my lips together, before a dangerous smirk came across my face. Confusion filled his green eyes as my fingers wrapped around the handle of my pistol. Thankfully, he didn't see it coming - I whipped my gun out, pointing the barrel his direction. Swearing under his breath, he stumbled a step backwards, releasing a growl. The gun didn't shake in my hands; for months, I had been waiting for this moment. My fingers rested on the trigger, taunting him as I applied a little bit of pressure. "If you shoot me, I will end you, Emma," he threatened, his eyes fixated on my finger resting on the trigger. "I will rip your throat out with my teeth."

"I'm leaving," I spoke, seriously. "And, you aren't going to stop me. I want nothing to do with the Chase, got it?" He released another growl, his eyes flashing gold. "Now, get the hell off my property."

He took a step backwards. "This isn't over." He pointed his finger at me in an accusing way, before whirling around. I stared at his muscular back as he walked away down my driveway, glancing over his shoulder at me with hard eyes. When he jogged across the street and disappeared into the trees, I exhaled loudly in relief. I was crazy; I was asking for a death wish. Shoving the pistol into the waistband of my jeans, I closed the back of my sedan with a click! Then, sparing another glance at my two-story house, I hopped into the driver's seat. I didn't want to leave my brother, Ethan, behind - but it seemed I didn't have a choice. I was tired of being involved with these werewolves; this wasn't my life. This was my brother's.

I backed out of my driveway and floored it down the highway, seeing the faint moon lingering in the sky.