Finding Shadow BOOK ONE
Dreams made flesh.

The young man sitting on the bench seat was so achingly familiar, his unruly black hair tousled every which way, that body...she was way too familiar with the carnal pleasures that body could provide, it was the man who visited her in her dreams! The closer Isabella got, the stronger the pull became and Mazlyn fought to break free..'MATE MINE!'

But that wasn't what hit her the most, that wasn't what bought the pack trainer to her knees...

His unique scent wrapped around Isabella, memories of racing through the woods as children making her eyes water as she breathed it in, this smell that she had spent the last seven years grieving for, trying to recreate that no amount of artificial scents could duplicate..it surrounded her, entering her nostrils and drowning Isabella with an impossible joy....Shadow?

Shadow stood, his grey eyes wide, heart thundering as he locked eyes with the woman staring back at him.

Even if he was blind he would know the owner of that scent anywhere, underneath the mate pull it was still there. He had some of her clothing with that same scent in his drawers, mixing with his own clothes, and at night when things got so bad that Shadow couldn't breathe, he would take out Isabella's shirt and bring it to bed. He'd lost count of the nights he'd spent cuddled up to that shirt, wishing Bella was there instead.

Praying to the Moon Goddess that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him he began to move, noticing that Bella's cap had come off and her sunglasses fell from her face as she bolted towards him, feeling the same need to see if this was real as he did. And then she was in his arms, her strong legs wrapped around his waist just like when they were kids his little wolf clung to him, putting her nose into the crook of his neck and breathing deeply of his scent.

Bella's body was trembling with the million emotions running through it, and she couldn't bear to let the smallest of gaps separate them. Isabella had fallen into his arms because they were the safest place she had ever been, and now his muscular form felt so much like home she didn't know if she would ever be able to let him go.

The explanations would come later, right now they needed this, to live here in this moment, two childhood soulmates finding their way back to each other.

Eventually, Isabella could feel Shadow loosening his grip and she slowly slid to the ground looking up into his beautiful eyes, full of love and glistening with tears he looked back at her, and one large hand framed her face, tracing her jawline as he whispered: "Can I keep you...?"

Maybe if they weren't so wrapped up in each other, caught in their reunion they would have sensed his presence before it was too late. But they didn't and they were caught completely by surprise when a giant black wolf pounced on Isabella, letting out a vicious growl as he snatched her from Shadows arms, flying through the air with the speed that only an Alpha possessed.

Tarakona had tracked the mate killers scent all morning until it had finally led him to this place, a place his human skin used to spend so much time in, and then he saw it.

A small figure, wrapped in the arms of his pup, obviously lulling him into the same trap the rogue had set for his mate, but Tarakona vowed no one else of his bloodline would fall victim to the rogue's foul ways.

He used their preoccupation with each other to close the distance stealthily, masking his scent until he was almost upon them, and then he leaped through the air and grabbed the she-wolf unawares. Tarakona knew that today, vengeance would be his.

SHADOW

The shock was clear on Bella's face as the wolf latched onto her throat, using Shadows' own body to push his hind legs off, causing gouge marks as he grabbed Bella.

With a sickening thud, Bella was thrown against the stone retaining wall, her head making a squelching sound as it hit the hard rocks full force, the pain in her violet eyes barely registered as she lost consciousness and Shadow tore through his clothes phasing into Malik his own giant wolf.

Father faced son, Alpha versus Alpha as the giant wolves squared off against each other; Tarakona had blocked the mind link preventing Shadow from trying to reason with him, he was in full fight mode, and instinctively Shadow knew there would be no coming back from this. Tarakonas hackles rose and the growl he issued was unmistakable in its intention, back down pup!

Today only one of them would emerge alive, and for Isabella's sake, Shadow vowed it would be him. Clearly, his Dad had lost his senses completely and as the packs Alpha, Shadow should have contained him a long time ago, he only hoped he hadn't left it too late.

Ridwan, his father's wolf slowly circled, feinting back and forth, snapping at Shadows heels, and Malik spoke through their link, something he hardly ever did.

'You must let me handle this battle human, Ridwan will kill us if you try to stay in control, and the little wolf is slowly bleeding out.'

A quick glance at Bella's form told Shadow that his wolf was telling the truth, she was hunched over, bleeding from her ears and not responding to the snarls of two Alpha wolves, Bella was in bad shape.

Trusting Malik, Shadow relinquished control, and his huge wolf leaped, giant maw latching onto the older wolf's snout as he caught Ridwan by surprise, and then the battle of the Alpha's began.

RIDWAN

He knew by the look in his pup's eyes that he intended to fight for the rogue she-wolf and that Malik was lost to him. As the younger wolf leaped at him and bit onto his snout, Ridwan roared in outrage and shook him off, retaliating with a swift swipe across Malik's own snout, drawing blood.

The two wolves were evenly matched and Ridwan wasted no time in engaging his opponent, using his size to tackle Malik's own large form, rolling them both onto the ground as he savagely bit into the young wolf's shoulder, earning a yelp from him before Malik twisted in his grasp, causing a chunk of his flesh to rip off, the taste of copper in Ridwan's mouth letting him know that he had caused a significant wound as Malik managed to get to his feet.

But Malik had no intention of going down so easily, and he led his own charge into Ridwans ribs, hearing a satisfying crunch of broken bone for his efforts. Both wolves launched themselves at each other in a mess of fur, canines, and skin as they savaged each other, turning Abigails garden into a blood bath they gave each other no quarter; the small opening came when Ridwan overstepped slightly, exposing his neck to the younger Alpha and Malik used the last of his strength to latch on in a death grip. His body was spent, he had nothing left in the tank and if Ridwan managed to shake him off now, Malik knew it would be all over for him.

Slowly the older wolfs thrashing became clumsy, and Malik could hear the telltale sounds of blood in his throat. He had managed to puncture Ridwan's jugular, and he was too wounded to heal.

Slowly Ridwan phased back into his human skin, something he hadn't done in months and Malik knew that this was the end, he let Shadow back in the driver's seat, phasing back as well so he could hold his father's dying body in his arms.

"Aw, Dad why?" Shadow whispered brokenly, cradling Tarakonas head as his father looked up at him; his eyes were pale, the light in them fading as he smiled at his son. He couldn't speak with the blood choking him, but Tarakona hoped Shadow knew how proud he was of his eldest son. He could pass on knowing the pack was in good hands.

Slowly he took one of Shadow's hands in his own, managing to remove the ring from his finger and fold it into Shadows palm. The Alpha's ring, it's crest was the final thing that marked the true Alpha, and then Tarakona Stalker closed his eyes forever.

Wolves began pouring into the gardens, alerted by the passing of power, and Shadow handed his father's body over to his Beta, knowing Camille would know what to do.

He raced over to where Isabella lay, surrounded by wolves of his pack as well as hers, and they reluctantly stepped aside as he shouldered his way through.

Her beautiful fiery hair was matted with blood, sticking strands to her scalp, and there was a small trickle of crimson coming from one of her ears, but that wasn't what made the young Alpha's heart stop. The sound of her shallow breathing whistling through the gaping hole in her throat was what caused Shadow to start screaming,

"SOMEONE GET THE DOCTOR!!!"

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