Finding Shadow BOOK ONE
Past decisions

The rogues he paid were in place. In ten minutes, all hell would break loose, and at the end of it all, the woman Beta Romano loved and leadership of the Howling Warrior pack would be his.

Luna Abigail Stalker was heavy with his child, the Alpha completely unaware of his mate's infidelity, but Santos felt no guilt. His own mate had given birth to three of his pups whom he loved dearly, but Maria Romano was a weak wolf, and he craved Abigail's touch. How she made him feel when they lay together was unmatched, and all he needed to do was get rid of her husband and the two brats, then everything he had ever wanted would be his.

Santos made sure that his eldest daughter Isabella would be safe in her hideaway with the Alpha's son, knowing Shadow would join the battle, ordering his young friend to stay hidden; he would be no match for the thirsty rogues brimming with blood lust, and he felt a brief flash of guilt for what that would mean for his daughter, but Santos quickly pushed the pesky feelings aside, he had waited so long for this day and Isabella would get over it in time.

His other two pups were at home with Maria, and the rogues were given strict orders to kill his mate but leave the two pups alone.

As the Beta rounded the corner to the Alphas home, Abigail was waiting on the verandah, minus her bags, and, looking at his watch in concern, Santos hurried towards her.

Abigail Stalker was a stunning woman, tall and statuesque she stood proudly, one hand cradling her belly and the other supporting her back as the pup inside her kicked vigorously.

Her jet black hair fell in waves to her hips like slick oil, and piercing grey eyes looked out from high cheekbones staring at him as he strode down the driveway. She was breathtakingly beautiful, especially when she graced the world with her smile; she wasn't smiling today.

"Where are your bags, my love?" Santos queried, noticing her tense shoulders and shut-off expression.

After sniffing to make sure the Alpha wasn't home, Santos went to pull her into his embrace, but Abigail resisted putting more distance between them as she replied

"I can't do this Santos, I thought I could, but Tarakona is a good man, and I can't leave my babies behind to be with you. I'm sorry."

Santos couldn't believe it. The rogues were already in position just outside the pack borders, the attack was imminent, mere minutes away, and here she had cold feet.

"But I love you, and you love me! And what about our pup? Does Tarakona know it's my baby you're carrying? How do you think he will react to that? You’ll be stripped of your title, and I'll be strung up!"

Abigail stared off down the street, silently contemplating what she was about to tell her long-time lover, the Luna had no other choice but, to tell the truth, and she needed Santos to call off the attack on her people. What had she been thinking?

"The baby isn't yours, I had a blood test done privately just to make sure, and the doctor delivered the results a little while ago; the baby is Tarakona's, and my place is by his side, not yours..call off the attack Santos, go back to your mate, this was a foolish idea, and now it's time to grow up."

A blazing coil of rage whipped through the beta wolf, the sense of betrayal overwhelming Santos with its intensity. Blood red hazed his vision, making a mockery of his devotion to the woman in front of him. How dare she?

Santos's canines elongated, his claws breaking free from the confines of his skin as he blacked out from the sheer force of his rage at the woman denying him.

When he regained control of his senses and his vision cleared, the distant sounds of snarling and fighting could be heard further in the village. In front of him, the verandah was painted a deep red, torn clothes scattered everywhere, and a body was at his feet. Abigail's body was barely recognizable; deep gashes ran the length of her once beautiful face, limbs ripped from her human torso, stomach a gaping hole of meat and blood.

Her expression would forever hold the face of horror as the once vibrant woman lay dead on the ground, the remains of her unborn pup lying next to her, beheaded ruthlessly.

Santos looked down at his hands covered in gore and registered the metallic taste present in his mouth. He had done this!

A horrified glance at his naked torso confirmed Santos’s suspicions as his chest and arms bore deep scratches, indicating the Luna tried to defend herself in human form, unable to shift without causing harm to the baby.

And as Santos stood there, processing what he’d done, the sounds of fighting drew closer; 'MARIA!' the Beta wolf remembered, he had to get to his wife before the very rogues he'd paid murdered his mate. If he was quick enough, maybe he could salvage this mess and let the rogues take the blame for the Luna's death.

Santos ran down the driveway towards the battle raging, phasing into his large brown wolf once he hit the road, and thundered towards his home two blocks over, he could still execute part of his plan, but instead of taking Abigail to the Shadow Moon pack, where he had accepted a job as the Beta in case something went wrong today, Santos would bring Maria and his pups instead. After all, he had never given the Alpha of Shadow Moon the name of his beloved. No one would ever know.

They could slip away while the battle was raging, in the dead of night, a fresh start for the Romano family in a new pack where no one knew them. All Santos had to do was reach Maria in time.

MARIA

The rogues surrounded their home. At least twenty of the filthy castaways were sniffing around, searching for their scent, and the Beta female hoped she was strong enough to continue masking them until help could arrive.

Mikhail's big eyes were filled with tears as he hid in the small crawl space with his Mama and younger sister Raeann; Papa was in the village somewhere, and Izzy was in her hideaway, so the nine-year-old knew he would have to be brave and take care of Mama and Raeann on his own.

The sounds of wolves entering their family home, ransacking their belongings, scared the little boy, and without meaning to, he clung to his Mama, frightened that the evil rogues would find their hiding place.

The sound of a tracker taking in big sniffs of air made Mikhail hold his breath, terrified that Mama wouldn't be able to mask them all. And when the sounds of pawprints halted, directly above them, the young boy closed his eyes tightly, praying to the Moon Goddess to help his Mom.

Slowly the steps retreated back to where the others came from, and Mikhail heard male voices talking.

"Something is blocking the she-wolf's scent. I can trace it to a certain area, but then it disappears, and I pick up faint remnants of it further into the home, but I can't seem to narrow it down, sorry, Alpha."

Another man's voice joined the first, replying in a deep husky tone, "You need to find that scent and the wolf James, that's what we are being paid for. Failure is not an option."

The rogue Alpha muttered to his men that he was needed in the town square, and they were to finish this task before joining him—the sound of rapid footsteps announcing his departure to the hidden trio.

"Yes, Alpha." the first voice conceded, and Mikhail worried that the hiding place under the floorboards would soon be discovered.

Maria was beginning to weaken. Masking the scents of three wolves was taxing her system, and she’d been doing it for the past fifteen minutes. Where are the reinforcements? Surely the Beta's house would be one of the first things the pack would check? With dismay, Maria realized that she could either stay put, where her strength would ebb to nothing, and they would eventually suffer a drawn-out death because of their place within pack ranks, or she could fight and tell her pups to stay hidden. As she made her decision, a loud roar sounded from their front yard, and Maria almost fainted in relief; Santos had returned home!

The rabid wolves in her home raced outside in response to Santos's ferocious challenge, and Maria quickly left her hiding place, telling her pups to stay quiet and be brave until she returned.

To her son Mikhail, she whispered, "Look after your sister; Mama loves you both."

And the young boy nodded, embracing Raeanne as Maria closed the hatch and covered it with the sheepskin rug, helping to mask their scents.

Vicious snarls were coming from outside, and Maria quickly fazed into Rosa, her dark grey wolf. If they wanted a fight, she would damn well give them a fight, Rosa thought grimly, pushing her human skin to the far recesses of her mind as she raced out the front door to fight alongside her mate.

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