A blood-thirsty Alpha. A cursed beast. A slain pack. And the girl who's being hunted to pay for it all. Lucinda Raven's ex-lover, a controlling shifter Alpha, is determined to perform a sacred mating ritual that will bind them together forever. Knowing nothing will keep him from carrying out his ruthless plan, Lucinda risks her life to seek refuge with another pack. Caiden Moone, cursed Alpha of the Blood Moone Pack, has a tortured history that haunts him daily. So when the arrival of this alluring nomad presents him a chance at redemption, he invites her to stay, despite the danger it poses to the entire pack. But as Caiden and Lucinda grow closer, the pair are forced to face the events of her dark past. Either Caiden's pack is next to be slain...or Lucinda must submit herself to a lifetime of breeding with a monster. Now they both must determine how far they are willing to go and what sacrifices they are willing to make. ©Missy De Graff 2017 | Inkitt ©Missy De Graff 2023 | Stone Phoenix Press ***Previously a FEATURED Wattpad story*** ***Previously titled: DEFINING LOVE***

"Oomph!" The sound rushed out of my mouth as the door opened before I could reach the handle and my body hit a wall. I took a step back and realized that it wasn't in fact a wall, but instead a very attractive male. I looked up at his head to see a very messy, but sexy, mop of black hair on top of his head. When I looked closer, I noticed that his hair was a very deep brown that was probably often mistaken for black. My gaze traveled downward to his eyes, where I found two deep, ocean blue eyes looking back at me. My gaze travelled farther down to his crooked nose, to which I assumed came from too many fights. My eyes finally found his pink, very plump lips, which were turned into a sneer. "You have got to be kidding me!" His pink lips said in a very offensive voice. My eyes turned questioning as I looked back up into his eyes. "Whatever, lets finish this. I, Ashton Carter, reject you, as my mate." He, or Ashton, said with venom lacing his voice. He quickly turned and walked down the now vacant hallway with no glance back. Rejection? On my first day? The first person I make eye contact with at this school, rejects me. I guess that's how this school works, if the hottest boy in school rejects you, you're a nobody. So much for making friends, or mates, or whatever they call people at this school. I shake those ocean blue eyes out of my head and continue into the office to start my new life.

Her enemy is her passion, her passion is her enemy… Lindsey Paxton was once the number one defense attorney in New York. She fought for those who were innocent, but charged. Her instincts were her lifeline, never failing her, as they guided her in her choices of who to defend. Or so she thought. Until she won a case she would forever wish to have lost. Her client, an accused rapist, kills and rapes a woman only a day after being set free. Destroyed by her role in the woman’s death, Lindsey blames her father’s controlling ways for what she has become, and runs from her career and life. Years later – the past becomes the present . . . Her father has cancer, and Lindsey is forced to leave her career with the Washington branch of the FBI. She finds herself facing the responsibility of running her father’s law firm with the reluctant help of hotshot attorney Mark Reeves, a man who sparks her temper while also managing to tempt her heart, while setting her body on fire! With his help she finds herself fighting the emotional battles of the past, tempted to trust both him and her instincts. Now, faced with a case inherited from her father so similar to her career-ending one, she now must decide if her instincts will lead her down the path to saving an innocent man or setting free another killer. But while she fights her own battles, someone watches, wanting from the past what he had failed to get the first time . . . Lindsey. ***Previously released as “Hidden Instincts.”*** --- Content Warning --- The story you are about to read is intended for mature readers due to its sexual content and language. It may not be appropriate for all audiences. Please read at your own discretion. ***There is also a free novella ONE DANGEROUS NIGHT in the same series already complete here on WATTPAD***