Chapter 1

Book 1: The She-Wolf Alpha

SAMANTHA

The bang on the door was so loud and sudden, I jumped and dropped the glass I’d been washing in the sink.

“Oh…dammit.” The blood poured through the fresh cut faster than I could wrap my finger in a wet cloth. “Lukey,” I called over my shoulder, “Pops is here. Bag and shoes.”

A groan echoed back at me. “Mom, can you just call me Luke? I’m fifteen, not five.”

I turned to look at him as he sauntered in, smirking before matching his dramatic eye roll. “As far as I’m concerned, you’ll always be five.”

He planted a quick kiss on my cheek before becoming suddenly alert and grabbing at my hand. “Jeez! Are you okay? You’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine.” I waved him away and nudged him toward the kitchen island. “Eat your breakfast while I let Pop in.”

“He’s early,” Luke said with a mouthful of toast and eggs.

“Got practice after school?” I called back from the hallway.

“Yeah. Matt’s giving me a lift. The guys want to grab burgers afterward.”

And there it was.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Luke. I did. He was mature beyond his years, kind-hearted, and always honest with me.

The issue was that he’d just started his sophomore year of high school and had been named the starting quarterback of the football team.

Suddenly, he was in a circle of friends much older than him, and I worried he’d feel the need to prove himself.

I stopped and turned back toward the kitchen. “Luke…”

“Mom, I need to hang out with these guys. They’re my teammates, and I need them to see me as an equal. Not some kid who lucked into a position I don’t deserve.”

He was right, of course.

I looked at my son and saw his father. His blue eyes mirrored mine. His stubborn jaw was set with determination.

At six feet tall, he towered over me and was still growing. He’d made the team because his determination was unmatched, but so were his strength and athleticism.

Not for the first time, I wished Luke’s dad was still here to help me navigate these situations. Travis had died five years earlier in a car accident, and a piece of me had gone with him.

There was another knock at the door, so loud that I worried the hinges weren’t going to hold. ~Okay, Dad, okay, I’m coming.~

“I know, Luke. I know.” I raised my voice as I headed back toward the front door: “Go, but please, make good decisions. Keep me updated on where you are. And be home by nine.”

I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. “Jeez, Dad, do you want to hit my door any harder…”

In front of me were two of the most formidable men I’d ever seen.

They were tall enough to block out the sunlight, but when I shifted to get a better look, I saw they were practically identical, made more obvious by their matching black shirts and tactical pants.

Both were muscular, with stern, dark eyes beneath their short hair.

“Oh, um, sorry. I thought you were someone else. Can I help you?”

“Samantha McClain?” the one on the left inquired.

~That’s odd. How do they know my maiden name?~ “Samantha Paulson,” I corrected.

“Are you not Elias McClain’s daughter?” Righty asked.

“What is this about?”

They exchanged a glance.

“You need to come with us,” Lefty said.

I started to inch away cautiously. “No, I don’t think I do. I asked you what this is about,” I shot back, ready to close the door on the two hulking guards.

Before I could shut the door, Righty stepped forward, blocking it with his foot.

I turned to run for my phone, but a large hand locked around my arm while another clamped over my mouth. I kicked and struggled, but their grip was like iron.

“I’ll be right there, Pops,” Luke cried out from the kitchen.

Lefty and Righty both peered through the doorway and over my shoulders—suddenly a lot less interested in me.

The hand over my mouth loosened, and I felt my blood run cold.

“Just what do you think you’re do—?”

“Is that Luke McClain?” Righty demanded.

“What…?” I cleared my throat. “What do you know about my son?”

“Ms. Paulson,” Righty said, looking me in the eye, “you can either come with us, or we can take him instead.”

I thought about screaming for help, but knew it would be pointless.

Travis and I had always loved the outdoors—especially with my affinity for the woods—so we’d built our home as far from any neighbors as possible.

For the first time, I was regretting the decision.

Even so, I knew I was running out of options. As I tried to summon the strength to shout, I found myself unable to do so. It was as if some unseen force was stilling my throat.

I stared at the men with wide eyes, wondering if they had somehow done something to make me incapable of speaking.

Suddenly, a car door slammed shut, and I heard footsteps padding up the paved walkway to my front door. A moment later, my father appeared over the huge shoulders of the twins.

~Oh, thank God. Dad.~

Had I not been so scared for Luke, I might not have been so relieved. My father was in great shape, but he would be no match for my wannabe abductors.

I just hoped his turning would be enough to scare the men off. Ever since Travis’s death, my dad had been my protector, as well as helping me to raise Luke.

“Erm, good morning, gentlemen,” Dad said in a strangely calm voice. “Can we help you?”

Lefty and Righty each took a step back in their relative directions, and I exhaled a sigh of relief.

“Dad, call the police,” I told him. My eyes darted between the men, and my muscles remained tense.

“Why, what’s going on?”

“These men are trying to make me go somewhere with them,” I said. Whatever had robbed me of my voice before was gone, and I felt more confident now with my dad there to support me.

I lowered my voice a little. “They’re threatening to take Luke if I refuse to go with them.”

Dad’s eyes flicked from me to the two giants. He still hadn’t removed his phone from his pocket, and I was starting to get nervous again.

“You know why we’re here, Elias,” Lefty said. “You’ve felt it too.”

“F-felt it?” I said, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. “Felt what? What are you talking about?”

My father came closer. The men made a little more room as he shouldered between them. He stared hard into my eyes, and it felt like a plea for forgiveness, which made me all the more perplexed.

“Stephen sent you?” Dad asked the men while still looking at me.

Lefty and Righty both nodded.

“Stephen?” I grabbed my father’s upper arm. I didn’t know whether to use him as a shield or pull him inside the door with me. “Who is Stephen?”

He ignored my question and turned to the twins. “This really wasn’t necessary. I could have brought her to him without you two scaring her first.”

My face fell with horror. ~What the hell is going on? What is he talking about?~

“Dad, do you k-know these men?”

“Stephen doesn’t trust you,” Righty said without blinking. “He said you’re just as likely to run off with them as you are to cooperate.”

I squeezed Dad’s arm even harder. “D-Dad? What’s going on? Who are these men?”

At last, my father turned back to face me. “I’m so sorry, Sam. I never thought it would come to this.”

“Come to what? What the hell is happening, and what do these men want with me and Luke?”

“Luke!” my dad said. In an instant, the worry evaporated from his brow as my son approached us with his backpack slung over his shoulder. “Ready to go?”

“Morning, Pops,” Luke said, eyeing the mountainous twins behind us.

“Just the morning trip today?” Dad asked. His sudden nonchalance left me completely baffled.

~I can’t believe he’s talking to Luke like nothing is seriously, seriously wrong!~

“Please. I’m going out with the team after school.” Luke frowned at the big men. “Erm, hello. Who are these guys?”

My eyes darted between all the men now crowding my entryway. My father shook his head ever so slightly.

“Oh, umm, they’re new hires at the estate agency,” I said quickly. “They offered to pick me up and drive me to my appointments today so I can train them on the job.”

It wasn’t even a believable lie, and Luke had always been able to read me like an open book.

“You’re sure, Mom?”

Before I could respond, Dad stepped between us.

“Why don’t you get in the truck, kid?” Dad said. “I’ll be there in just a second.”

Luke looked at me again, a heavy frown on his face. “Mom?”

There was that sensation in my throat again, stopping me from crying out for help. But I couldn’t let them take Luke.

I forced a shaky smile. “You should get going or you’ll be late.”

Luke glanced over at Lefty and Righty one more time before leaning in to kiss my cheek. “Okay, so long as you’re sure. I’ll see you later.”

“Mm-hm, love you,” I said.

“Love you more. To the moon and back.”

I watched through the space between the twins as my son rounded the corner and heard him open and close the door of Dad’s truck.

“D-Dad?” I said, still digging my nails into his tricep.

“Honey, I’m so sorry this is happening, but—”

“What? What is happening? Just tell me what the hell is going on!” I could hear the panic in my own voice.

“You need to go with these men, Sam.”

I felt my stomach drop to my toes.

Slowly, my dad pried my hand from his arm. “I wish I could explain it all to you. I really do. But you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Believe what? Who are these people? Please, Dad.” My voice was thick with emotion.

My father’s face contorted, and I could see he was fighting an internal battle.

“They won’t hurt you,” he said after a moment. “And Luke will be all right, I promise. I will make sure he gets to school.”

I realized then that I was fighting a losing battle. If my father was unable or unwilling to do anything to stop them, I didn’t have a choice but to concede to the men’s demands.

I could only trust my dad was on my side, even if it didn’t seem like it.

“Where are they taking me?” I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.

He shook his head and pursed his lips. “I’ll come to you when I can, Sammy.”

I offered my dad one last pleading gaze, but he turned away as if the sight was too painful to witness. My heart sank as the last of my hope was snuffed out.

Of their own accord, my hands lifted toward the twins, and they eased me out the front door.

“Wait for me to leave with the boy first,” Dad said to the men. “We don’t want to make him more suspicious than he already is.”

Lefty grunted. “Fine. Hurry up.”

My father pulled the front door shut and started off down the path. Just as he got to the end, he turned and looked back at me with the same sad expression. “I really am sorry, Sam. I love you.”