Page 3

That she would still fight against what’s between us after everything I’ve shown her pushes me to the very edge.

Reflecting my emotions, the sky begins to darken and fills with clouds.

“I assure you, it’s very possible,” I growl.

More fear flows through the bond and she thinks,How can I possibly escape him? How can I be free?

She wants to escape me?

The beast inside me strains against his chains, and dangerous tendrils of dark mist begin to swirl around my vision.

Thunder cracks in the distance.

“You can’t escape me, Alena,” I rasp as the air crackles and pops with the smell of ozone. “We are bound for eternity.”

A raindrop falls on her forehead as she demands, “I want you out of my headnow.”

Lightning streaks across the horizon. Then a loud boom of thunder rattles the ground beneath our feet.

I loathe the darkness as much as my beast relishes the chance to show his demonic head. He doesn’t care what she wants. He doesn’t care about her control or free will.

He only knows completion is at hand, and that the void that’s drowned us in agony for centuries can be filled.

“No,” I snarl. “Never.”

The clouds above us release a downpour, drenching us both.

And she screams, “Get out of me!”

This woman, this soul that’s been destined for us, still denies us!

When I speak, it’s not only me speaking. “You aremine,Alena.”

My lips pull away from my fangs and my beast declares with finality, “Now that I’ve found you and I’m where I’ve always belonged, I’m never letting you go!”

TWO

ALENA

The Past

10 years ago

Boston

My eyes burn and swim with tears as I stare into the mirror connected to my white vanity. Holding my hair up in a ponytail with my left hand, I drag my pink brush through it, smoothing out the small bump of hair in the middle.

Only to create a new bump on the side when I relax my fingers around the ponytail to pull the brush through.

Desperate to get this right, I smooth out the bump that popped up and create a new one going down the middle again.

Frustration bubbles up inside me, urging me to give up.

It’s hopeless. I’m too stupid to get this right.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to get everything smooth. I don’t know the magic trick to this.

But if I don’t…