Farok, Alpha of the Diek people of Walik paced his bedroom. He was supposed to be working, planning out his strategy. It was a cold world out in werewolf territory, and the moment his tribe seemed weak, or a little uninformed, the neighborhood tribes would have a field day with them.

It was common in Walik, and even more common in Renak for tribes to be raided by other werewolf tribes. Everyone usually turned a blind eye to that, as long as the raided tribe did not have any allies. The thing was, once a tribe was raided, it encouraged other tribes to keep raiding them until all the packs left there were scattered about, killed off, destroyed. As Alpha of Diek, Farok owed it to his people to protect them from such a fate.

It was not as though the Diek was close to facing such a fate, they were the most powerful tribe in Walik, and arguably in Renak too, but Farok never for once believed it would be a good idea to loose his guard.

And yet, he had his books and maps and journals opened in front of him, and he could not concentrate. He was thinking of her.

Why had the moon goddess chosen a human of all things for him as a mate! Blast the moon goddess to the seven blazes of hell! He thought perversely. His tribe was faced constantly with war and threats of war. He needed allies, powerful allies. It was one thing to be the most powerful and influencial tribe, but then that also meant they were the center of other tribes attention, and envy.

For a few seconds, he wondered why the moon goddess chose mates for werewolves, even bringing mates from the human tribes and shapeshifters. He hated the shapeshifters, they were slimy creatures that could never be trusted, always changing form one thing to another, and the humans … he did not know what emotion he felt more, disgust for the shapeshifters treacherous ways, or anger at the pathetic form of humans, and the moon goddess had chosen him a human mate!!

He was twenty seven years old, had been mated once before, and now his mate was dead, he had learned that the moon goddess had a new mate for him, and what was worse, rumor had it this girl had been named his mate at her birth.

Had the moon goddess already known he would loose his mate, or had she planned to steal from him the only female he would ever love. Elena. Farok forced himself not to think of her, not to go down that memory lane. He had survived in the past by burying all thoughts of her, locking it up in a space in his heart that would remain forever for her.

He had bedded many other females, werewolves, humans, and even once, a shapeshifter. Filling the void in him that had been created by Elena’s death with hot wild, free pleasure with willing females, so why was he thinking of Elena now.

Elena had been a strong werewolf, a beta she had fought beside him in his many battles, her claws bared, her beautiful golden hair flying in the wind. She had been magnificent – and she had died.

She had not been killed in the many battles they fought, had not died all the times assassins sneaked up on her and tried to murder her. She had survived all this only to die of something as simple as a fever. Farok closed his eyes against the pain that tormented him. And then the moon goddess had seen it fit to give him a weak human as a second mate!

Farok could feel his muscles tighten as his heart started beating erratically. He could feel his wolf stir to life deep within him. There was powerful urge to protect – to protect …. His mate!

Farok immediately understood what his instinct was trying to tell him, his mate, his new human mate was in danger.