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PROLOGUE

When the Wolf first emerged from the criminal underworld on Earth and clawed his way to the top of the heap, the wealthy families who had relocated to the first-class living installations on the Moon didn’t pay much attention. Those who had dealings with Earth were used to the changing regimes of the crime families that now reigned supreme behind the politicians left there. For the Moon Families, their planet of origin was no longer of much concern. They considered it a teaching tool—an entire planet-sized museum of the past—but their focus was on the future and the stars.

Then the Wolf became a household name, and Earth a testing ground, for a certain generation among the Moon Families. They wanted the taste of danger, the thrill of escape, for the Wolf would occasionally select one or two of the young men and women who would visit Earth for schooling or leisure, and they would disappear. Those who spent the shortest amount of time with the Wolf returned with wild stories of orgies and incredible sex, of pain and pleasure, and the adrenaline rush that could only come with the fear of death.

Perhaps not surprisingly, their peers immediately began to make trips to Earth in droves, secure in the knowledge they most likely would not be taken… but wanting to tempt fate. Their entire lives had been safe, stale… and so far, none of those the Wolf had taken had ever failed to return.

Of course, there were those who disappeared for months. When they were returned to their families they never spoke of their ordeal. The only way it was known they had spent time with the Wolf was when they were recognized by those who had returned after only a matter of days and were bragging about the experience.

The Wolf’s following and power were such that the press was only able to obtain a few photos and little information. Most knowledge of the Wolf came through those few he’d taken or the intermediaries on Earth who transacted other business with the Moon.

The tourist trade on Earth swelled as the wealthy denizens of the Moon continued to court danger, never knowing who might be taken next.