Finding your partner in bed with another woman is bad, but watching him surrender completely to her wild beast is a nightmare.

I clutched the warm takeaway bags tight against my stomach as I pushed through the front entrance of Daniel's apartment building. The government exemption forms were folded carefully inside my jacket pocket, waiting for his signature. Midnight was coming fast. In less than three hours, I would turn twenty one, and if these forms were not uploaded to the online registry before then, the government would force me into a trial marriage with a werewolf stranger.

I rode the elevator up to the fourth floor, taking a deep breath to steady my nerves. We had spent three years together. Tonight was the night we were supposed to claim our freedom.

I walked down the quiet hallway toward Apartment 4B. I pulled my keys out, but I froze before putting key to lock. The heavy wooden door was already resting slightly open.

"Daniel?" I called out, using my foot to nudge the door inward. "I brought dinner early!"

Silence greeted me, followed by a thick scent in the air. It smelled like deep pine and intense heat. Then I heard a heavy groan coming from the bedroom down the hall, followed by the loud rhythm of creaking bed springs.

My heart hammered against my chest. I set the food bags on the small entrance table and walked quietly toward the open bedroom door.

I stood in the doorway, and my breath hitched completely.

Daniel was flat on his back on our bed. Straddling his waist was a woman with bronze skin and wild silver hair, her sharp nails digging deep into his shoulders as her hips moved against him in a fast, relentless rhythm. It was Natasha, the aggressive she wolf assigned to him by the government system last week.

She was completely bare, riding him with intense power. Daniel had his eyes squeezed shut, his mouth open as he let out low, helpless groans of pure pleasure. He was completely trapped in her heat.

"God, Natasha, please," Daniel gasped out, his hands holding onto her hips as he pulled her down closer to thrust up into her.

Natasha let out a sharp, throaty laugh. She bent down, biting into the side of his neck while keeping her hips moving against his without stopping.

I stood there, feeling like someone had kicked me right in the throat. "Daniel?" I managed to choke out.

Natasha turned her head first. Her glowing yellow eyes locked right onto mine. She did not stop moving on top of him. Instead, she smirked at me, letting out a loud, heavy moan as she drove her hips down harder against his body.

"Well, look who decided to join us," Natasha said, her voice heavy with satisfaction.

Daniel opened his eyes, and the color drained out of his face instantly. He tried to push her off him, but Natasha pinned his wrists to the mattress with one hand, laughing at his feeble strength.

"Elizabeth!" Daniel yelled, his voice shaking. "Wait! Do not look at this!"

"What are you doing?" I shouted, my voice breaking in the room. "What is this, Daniel?"

"It is not what it looks like, I swear!" Daniel panicked, finally shoving Natasha off to the side. She laughed and rolled onto the pillows, making no effort to cover herself. Daniel scrambled off the bed, grabbing a pair of pants off the floor and pulling them on frantically. "She came over without calling! Her wolf scent... it was too strong, Elizabeth! I could not control my mind!"

"You could not control your mind?" I screamed, taking a step backward as he tried to approach me. "We were supposed to sign our exemption papers tonight! You promised me!"

"I know, I know!" Daniel begged, holding his hands out toward me. His chest was marked with red scratches and her heavy scent. "I made a mistake! It was just human weakness! Her pheromones messed up my head! I do not love her, Elizabeth! I love you!"

"You love me?" I shouted, laughing bitterly as tears burned down my face. "You let her into our bed! You let her touch you like that!"

"Listen to yourself, little girl," Natasha chimed in from the bed, sitting up and resting her head on her hand. "He is a real man, and a soft human girl like you can never satisfy what a man really needs during a wolf heat. Look at him. He enjoyed every single second of it."

"Shut up, Natasha!" Daniel snapped at her, turning his frantic eyes back to me. "Elizabeth, please listen to me! She trapped me! It was purely physical! It meant nothing to me!"

"It meant everything to me, Daniel!" I yelled, my chest burning with pure pain. "You threw away our whole future for a few minutes of pleasure with a wolf!"

"We can still fix this!" Daniel pleaded, taking another step closer to me. "Give me the papers! I will sign them right now! We can upload them before midnight!"

"Get away from me!" I screamed.

I reached down to my finger, ripped off the silver promise ring he had given me two years ago, and threw it with all my strength right at his chest. The metal struck him hard and dropped onto the floor, rolling away under the bed.

"Elizabeth, no!" Daniel cried out as I turned on my heel and ran.

"Elizabeth, stop!" he shouted, his bare feet slapping against the floor as he chased me down the hallway.

I reached the front door, slammed it shut right in his face, and locked it from the outside with my key. I heard him beating his fists against the heavy wood, calling my name over and over again.

I ran down the stairs, ignoring the elevator completely. Tears filled my eyes, making everything a blur. I pushed through the heavy lobby doors and burst out into the dark night.

The sky had completely broken open. A freezing downpour slammed down on the city streets. Lightning flashed across the dark clouds, followed by a loud clap of thunder that shook the ground under my shoes.

I did not care about getting wet. I ran straight to my car, yanked the door open, and threw myself inside. I slammed the door shut, locking it instantly.

The rain pounded against the roof like a hundred hammers. I collapsed over the steering wheel, letting out a loud sob that tore through my chest. Three years of my life had vanished in a few minutes. All his promises were complete lies. He had traded me away the moment another woman offered him her body.

"Why?" I shouted into the empty car, hitting my palms against the steering wheel. "How could you do this to me?"

I looked at the dashboard clock. It read eleven forty five PM.

Fifteen minutes until my twenty first birthday.

Without those signed exemption forms, I had no legal defense left. The government pairing system would claim me the second the clock hit midnight. I was completely trapped.

I turned the key in the ignition, and the engine roared to life. I shifted the car into drive and slammed my foot down on the gas pedal. The tires screeched against the wet street as I sped away from Daniel's building.

The windshield wipers worked back and forth, but they could barely keep up with the heavy rain. The city streetlights stretched out into long yellow blurs. I drove fast, turning down random streets without knowing where I was going. I just wanted to get far away from that apartment.

My hands were shaking violently on the wheel. Every time I blinked, I saw Natasha on top of him. I heard her mocking laughter. He had let her mark him. He had chosen her over our freedom.

Suddenly, a sharp, loud siren burst through the car speakers.

It was an electronic emergency tone that cut straight through the dark, making me gasp in surprise.

I hit the brakes hard, and the car skidded slightly on the slick road before straightening out.

The main dashboard screen flickered violently. The navigation map vanished, replaced by a dark red background. Large letters began to flash across the display.

System notice. System notice.

"No, no, no," I whispered, my voice trembling as I stared at the screen.

A cold, synthetic female voice read the text aloud through the speakers, drowning out the sound of the rain outside.

Attention Citizen Elizabeth Vance. Your twenty first birthday registration period has officially started. No signed exemption forms were uploaded to the state database.

"Please, no!" I sobbed, slapping the screen with my wet hand, trying to make it stop. "Turn off!"

The system did not stop. The red light on the dashboard flashed faster.

Exemption status denied. Automatic pairing protocol initiated. Pursuant to federal law, you have been assigned a mandatory trial marriage partner.

I held my breath, my chest so tight I felt like I was suffocating inside the small car.

The screen flashed one last time, locking all the car controls as a single name appeared across the display in bold letters.

Partner Name: James Cole.

Status: Alpha Prime. CEO of Apex Enterprises.

Reporting Location: Cole Manor, Sector One.

Mandatory Arrival Time: Eight o'clock AM.

I stared at the screen in pure terror. James Cole. Everyone in the city knew that name. He was a cold, ruthless man who ruled the business world and the wolf packs with zero mercy.

The red light cast a terrifying glow over my face inside the car, and I knew my nightmare was just beginning.

Running away from your own fate is terrifying, but running from a man like James Cole feels like racing against death itself.

I slammed my hands on the steering wheel, my heart pounding against my ribs like a trapped bird. The red glow from the dashboard screen filled the small car, lighting up the name that made every human and wolf in this city tremble with fear.

James Cole.

"I cannot do this," I whispered, my voice shaking in the dark. "I will not let them give me to a monster."

My hands trembled violently as I grabbed my phone from the passenger seat. The screen lit up with the same high priority government alert.

*Mandatory Integration Notice: Citizen Elizabeth Vance is to report to Cole Manor, Sector One, by 08:00 AM for immediate trial marriage processing.*

A cold wave of panic washed over me. I pulled my car over to the side of the rain slicked road, slamming the gear stick into park. Tears blurred my eyes as I read the detailed text message attached below the main notice.

"Three months," I read aloud, my voice breaking on a sob. "They want me to live as his wife for three whole months."

James Cole was infamous. He was the cold, ruthless head of Apex Enterprises, a dominant alpha prime who ruled the corporate world with an iron fist and crushed his rivals without a shred of mercy. Stories about his cruelty were whispered in every corner of the city. Humans who were assigned to high ranking alpha wolves often vanished from public view, stripped of their freedom and forced into submission.

"No," I said, wiping my wet cheeks with the back of my hand. "I am not going to Cole Manor."

I looked out the driver's side window. Down the street, a metallic black government drone hovered silently under the streetlights, its blue scanner lens sweeping across the wet pavement. They were already monitoring the roads. The second the clock hit midnight, every automated police scanner in Sector One was activated to track unassigned humans.

If a scanner caught my license plate, government agents would drag me straight to James Cole's front door in handcuffs.

"Think, Elizabeth, think," I muttered to myself, shifting the car back into drive.

I took a sharp left turn, cutting through a dark alleyway to avoid the main boulevard. The tires splashed through deep puddles of rainwater. Up ahead, a overhead police scanner flashed red at the intersection, searching for rogue vehicles.

My heart jumped into my throat. I stomped on the brakes, ducked my head low, and turned my headlights off completely.

I waited in the shadows, my lungs burning as I held my breath. The scanner sweep moved past my hood, missing my car by a few inches. The moment the red light moved away, I slammed my foot on the gas, shooting through the dark intersection and heading toward the outer edge of the city.

I drove for thirty minutes through twisty, unlit back roads, turning every few miles to throw off any tracking signals. The bright city lights faded in my rearview mirror, replaced by the dense, shadow filled forest surrounding Sector Four.

Finally, I pulled into the gravel parking lot of a rundown, two story motel hidden behind a row of tall pine trees. A flickering neon sign above the office read: Starlight Inn. It was an old, off the grid building that did not use state digital check in systems. It was the perfect place to hide and buy time.

I stepped out of the car into the light drizzle, pulling my jacket hood over my head. My legs felt like lead as I walked into the small, dusty lobby.

An old human man with thick glasses sat behind the front desk, looking up from a newspaper.

"Need a room, girl?" he asked, his voice rough and dry.

"Yes, please," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Just for one night. I want to pay in cash."

The old man raised an eyebrow, looking at my soaked clothes and nervous eyes, but he did not ask any questions. Money talked louder than words out here on the outskirts. He slid a heavy metal key across the wooden counter.

"Room 114. Down the hall on the right," he said, taking the cash bill from my hand. "No loud noise, no trouble."

"Thank you," I murmured, taking the key and turning around instantly.

I walked down the dark, carpeted hallway. The smell of old wood and damp air filled my nose. I found Room 114 at the very end of the corridor, unlocked the door, and slipped inside, pushing the door shut and locking every deadbolt on the frame.

The room was small and simple, containing only a queen bed, a wooden nightstand, and a small bathroom door.

I leaned my back against the heavy wooden door and slid down to the floor. The moment my knees hit the carpet, the wall I had built around my emotions completely collapsed.

I buried my face in my hands and let out a long, painful sob.

The weight of the entire night hit me all at once. Three years of my life with Daniel had been tossed into the trash in a single hour. I had spent hours cooking dinner, ironing my clothes, and dreaming about our quiet future together, only to catch him naked in our bed, surrendering to a she wolf's heat.

"How could you do it?" I sobbed into the empty room, my voice echoing off the walls. "How could you let her touch you like that?"

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Natasha's hands on his skin. I heard Daniel's helpless groans of pleasure as she rode him. The image burned in my mind like hot acid. He had traded my love, my loyalty, and my future for a few moments of raw, primal sensation.

And now, because of his betrayal, I was trapped in a nightmare.

"I have nothing left," I whispered, staring at my bare left hand where my ring used to sit. "Nothing."

At eight o'clock tomorrow morning, the government would consider me a fugitive. James Cole's private security team would hunt me down. A man like him would not tolerate a human woman disobeying an official state order. He would break me. He would force me onto my knees and make me obey his every command.

I pulled myself up from the floor, my whole body shaking with fatigue and fear. I walked over to the small bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress, wrapping my arms tight around my waist.

The rain tapped softly against the window glass. The room was deathly quiet, save for the sound of my own ragged breathing.

I looked at the small digital clock on the nightstand. It read 01:15 AM.

Seven hours until the deadline. Seven hours until my life was completely over.

"I will figure something out," I whispered to myself, trying to find a shred of hope in the dark. "I can cross the border into Sector Five. I can change my name. I can hide."

Suddenly, the floorboards in the hallway outside let out a soft creak.

I froze. Every muscle in my body snapped tight.

I held my breath, turning my head toward the locked wooden door.

At first, I thought it was just another motel guest walking past. But the footsteps were heavy, slow, and deliberate. They were not the steps of an old man or a tired traveler. Each thump against the floor sounded like a heavy combat boot pressing into the wood with terrifying weight.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The footsteps slowed down as they reached the end of the hall.

Then, right outside Room 114, they stopped completely.

My heart stopped beating in my chest. Cold sweat broke out across the back of my neck.

Silence stretched across the room, heavy and suffocating. No one knocked. No one spoke.

Through the thin gap at the bottom of the door frame, a thick shadow blocked out the hallway light. Someone massive was standing right on the other side of the wood, separated from me by a single metal latch.

And then, a deep, heavy scent drifted through the crack beneath the door.

It was not the smell of the old motel. It was the rich, intoxicating scent of crushed cedar, winter snow, and lethal alpha power.

My eyes went wide with pure terror as a low, deep growl vibrated right through the heavy wooden door, shaking the key in the lock.

In my line of work, showing a single second of weakness is the same thing as begging your enemies to slit your throat.

I stood in the center of the grand ballroom, swirling the dark amber liquid in my crystal glass. Surrounding me were the most powerful businessmen, politicians, and pack leaders in the entire city. Soft violin music played from the balcony, but every eyes in the room was locked onto me.

"Mr. Cole, you are looking as formidable as ever," Madison said, stepping into my personal space with a slick, practiced smile.

Madison was a corrupt government official who controlled the species integration board, and I hated every bone in his body.

"Get straight to the point, Madison," I said, my voice low and flat. "I do not come to these galas to waste time on small talk."

"Always so direct, James," Madison laughed softly, taking a slow sip from his own champagne flute. "I was simply wondering how Apex Enterprises plans to handle the new government integration quotas. The board expects full compliance from your pack."

"Apex Enterprises operates strictly within the law," I replied, staring down at him with cold eyes. "The board receives its reports every month. You have no reason to question my pack."

"Of course, of course," Madison said, raising a hand in defense. "No offense intended. But rumors say you are personally resisting the automatic pairing system. Turning twenty eight without a partner sets a bad example for the younger wolves, would you not agree?"

"My personal life is none of your concern, Madison," I warned him, my jaw tightening. "Step out of line, and I will freeze your department funding before midnight."

"Is that a threat, Cole?" Liam's arrogant voice cut in from my right side.

I turned my head slightly to glare at Liam. He was my primary corporate rival, a snake who spent every waking hour trying to find a crack in my armor so he could steal control of Apex Enterprises.

"It is a promise, Liam," I said, turning my full attention toward him. "Did your board finally give you permission to speak directly to me, or are you still running errands for smaller packs?"

Liam laughed, though his eyes flashed with pure hatred. He held a small silver tray with two fresh glasses of high end whiskey.

"Always the arrogant alpha," Liam sneered, stepping closer. "I came to offer a truce, James. We have been at each other's throats for five years. Why not toast to a profitable new quarter?"

"I do not drink with snakes," I snapped.

"Come now, Cole," Madison urged, stepping between us with an annoying grin. "We are all businessmen here. Refusing a simple toast in front of the entire press core will make you look petty. Look at the cameras over there."

I glanced toward the far corner of the hall. Flashbulbs were going off as reporters watched our every move. Showing hostility right now would ruin weeks of public relations work.

"Fine," I said coldly.

Liam handed me a heavy glass filled with aged whiskey, taking the other glass for himself. He raised his drink in the air.

"To the future of Apex Enterprises," Liam said, his smile looking entirely too fake. "May you get exactly what you deserve tonight."

I raised my glass, took a deep drink, and swallowed the smooth liquid in one gulp.

"Satisfied?" I asked, setting the empty glass down on a passing waiter's tray.

"More than satisfied, Cole," Liam murmured, his smile turning wicked as he backed away into the crowd.

Madison let out a dry chuckle and stepped back as well. "Enjoy the rest of the evening, Mr. Cole."

I frowned, watching the two of them vanish into the sea of guests. A strange, metallic taste lingered on the back of my tongue.

Within ten seconds, a sudden spark of intense heat flared up in the pit of my stomach.

My heart skipped a violent beat. My throat felt like someone had poured liquid fire directly down my windpipe. A harsh wave of dizzy paralysis rushed through my veins, making my knees buckle slightly.

"What..." I gasped out, clutching the edge of a high table to steady myself.

My blood was suddenly boiling. The room began to spin in dizzy circles. The cheerful chatter of the ballroom distorted into a deafening, painful roar.

I looked across the room. Liam stood near the entrance, holding a dark glass bottle, watching me with a triumph smile.

They had poisoned my drink. It was not a normal assassin drug. It was a dark, synthetic wolf potion, a heavy toxin designed to strip away an alpha's sanity and force his body straight into an uncontrollable, violent rut.

If I lost control here, in front of two hundred wealthy investors and fifty news cameras, my reputation would be ruined forever. The government would declare me unfit to rule my pack, and Apex Enterprises would fall right into Liam's hands.

"No," I growled through clenched teeth.

"Mr. Cole?" a young female reporter asked, stepping toward me with a microphone. "Are you feeling alright? You look very pale."

"Get away from me," I choked out, my voice sounding rough and metallic as my inner wolf clawed at the walls of my mind.

My vision flared a brilliant, blood red color. My body temperature soared past normal human limits, burning my skin from the inside out. Sweat broke out across my forehead as my claws tried to tear through the tips of my fingers.

I pushed past the reporter, shoving through a cluster of rich executives who gasped in surprise.

"Hey! Watch where you are going, Cole!" a man shouted.

I ignored him completely, my vision darkening around the edges as I forced my paralyzed legs to move. Every step felt like walking through wet cement while lit matches burned under my skin.

"Stop him!" I heard Liam's voice yell from behind me, far away. "Mr. Cole is having a medical emergency! Someone call the guards!"

He wanted to trap me. He wanted security to restrain me so the media could watch me transform into a wild, raving beast.

"Out of my way!" I roared, throwing open the heavy glass exit doors with enough force to shatter the frame.

Cold night rain hit my face, bringing a brief second of relief, but the poison inside my blood was spreading too fast. My wolf was screaming for a mate, demanding raw, wild release to burn away the fever.

I stumbled down the concrete stairs toward my dark sports car. I pulled the driver door open, threw myself inside, and slammed the engine start button.

The engine roared to life. I threw the car into gear and slammed my foot onto the gas pedal, tearing out of the parking lot just as two security guards ran out into the rain shouting my name.

The sports car shot down the highway like an arrow. Rain slammed against the windshield, but my eyes could barely focus on the road. The red glow in my vision was growing thicker by the second.

"Focus, damn it!" I screamed at myself, slamming my fist against the leather steering wheel. "Control it!"

My inner wolf growled back, snapping at my mind. The drug was overriding my brain, erasing my human logic, replacing every thought with a desperate, primal drive to mate.

I could not go home to Cole Manor. Liam's spies were probably already watching my estate, waiting for me to arrive in a helpless state. I needed an isolated place, somewhere off the grid where I could lock myself in a dark room until the toxin burned out of my system.

I yanked the steering wheel to the right, taking the exit toward Sector Four.

My hands gripped the wheel so hard the leather began to rip under my fingers. My breath came in hot, ragged gasps. Sweat soaked through my expensive tailored suit. The burning fire in my blood was becoming unbearable, eating away at my willpower.

Ten minutes later, I slammed the brakes in front of a rundown, dark motel tucked deep behind a wall of tall pine trees. The sign outside flickered faintly in the storm: Starlight Inn.

I killed the engine, tore off my tie, and stumbled out of the car into the mud.

The rain did nothing to cool the burning fire in my veins. My chest heaved as I staggered into the dark side door of the building, avoiding the front office completely.

The carpeted corridor smelled of old dust and damp wood, but as I took five heavy steps down the hallway, a sudden shockwave hit my senses.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

My inner wolf went completely silent, dropping its wild rage in a single instant.

A scent drifted through the dark hallway. It was an intoxicating, heavenly smell of sweet rain, fresh vanilla, and warm, pure human flesh.

It cut straight through the poison in my blood. It called to every deep, primal instinct hidden inside my soul.

My head snapped toward the end of the corridor. My feet moved on their own, completely out of my control. I staggered forward, drawn like a powerful magnet toward the door at the end of the hall.

Room 114.

I stood directly outside the wooden frame, my heart hammering like a war drum against my ribs. The sweet, irresistible scent was pouring through the cracks beneath the wood, driving my wolf into a complete frenzy.

She was inside. The woman my soul had been waiting for my entire life was sitting right behind that door.