Chapter One

Luna Rock, Minnesota

June 3^rd, 2015

Brody

As my Pixie walked toward me, her long blonde hair seemed nearly silver in the moonlight, the beautiful waves swaying side to side with each step. “I’m yours, Brody.”

My lips started to turn up in a rakish grin, just before the sound of laughter reached my ears. A chill raced up my spine, a feeling of foreboding filling my soul. As quickly as possible, I rolled from my bed and grabbed the great sword. “No,” I shout, but it’s already too late. 

My Pixie was fading. All that was left of her was her ghostly figure, tears streaming down her face. “Remember me, Brody. Remember me.”

A pounding on the door brings me out of my dream, causing me to jump from the bed and grab the sword that still rests beside it. This same sword has been at my side since the day my father gave it to me. As soon as my hand touches the cool metal, I’m brought back to reality. My Pixie is gone. No, she’s not even real. 

Placing my sword back in its resting spot, I sit down on the bed and pull in a deep breath. Just as I’m regaining my breath, a hand touches my back. My wolf immediately goes on alert, and I twirl around, nearly jerking the arm off the person who dared touch me. “What are you doing in my bed?”

The redhead I met at the bar last night lets out a pitiful little squeak. “You brought me here… last night. Don’t you remember how hot we were together?”

I must have been drunker than I thought. I never let my one-night stands stay the night. I fuck them and then send them on their way. It doesn’t matter to them anyway.  They don’t give a damn if it’s me or not.  They all just want a piece of the Balfour pack.

These bitches may not know what I am—none of them would ever guess that I’m a shifter—but they know there’s something different about me and the other Balfour men. They hang around the pack bar, The Den, just waiting for one us to choose them for the night. Something dark in us must catch their attention, and they want a taste of the dark. The only taste they’ll ever get with me is a bit of dick, but that seems to be enough to keep them happy. Being a wolf has its perks, and the women seem to appreciate them.    

Letting go of her arm, I open my mouth just enough to let her get a glimpse of my canines. “I was done with you within minutes of getting your ass in my bed. You all know the rules. Once I’m done, you’re gone.”

She immediately rolls from the bed and grabs her dress from the floor. Without even bothering to put on her bra or panties, she shimmies her fake ass plastic body into the dress and heads for the door. As she opens it, she looks back at me. “I’ll be at The Den tonight, if you want me again.”

How desperate does this bitch think I am? I can happily get any pussy I want. Going for repeats is not something I tend to do… ever. “Yeah, right.”

My cousin, Knox, steps in as she’s walking out. A cocky grin is plastered on his face as he says, “Guess we’re hanging at The Den tonight?”

“No,” I growl out as let my chin drop to my chest. Closing my eyes, I think back to my dream. It’s the same dream, or at least a variation of it, that I’ve been having for hundreds of years. 

In the beginning, it would just be the sounds a woman’s laughter. Something about that laughter always made my entire body coil for a fight. Then there would be the sound of a woman’s lyrical voice saying my name. Just the sound of her voice created an intense yearning within me unlike anything I have ever experienced before. For years, I heard her but never caught a glimpse of her. Still, I knew she was important to me. She was a part of me, and without her, I’d never be whole. Don’t ask me how I knew, I just did. It was always this feeling I had that went deep, all the way to the very core of who I am.

Finally, a few months ago, I saw her face. The face of an angel haunted me, both in my sleep and my waking hours alike. Then, I dreamed of having her under me, being inside her, claiming her. Never in my life have I felt such pleasure as I have when dreaming of her. If I were to explain it to any other guy, they would look at me like I had grown a pussy. That being said, a week ago, everything changed, when the evil laughter got louder and my Pixie started to fade away. Even though my dreams are more frequent, my time with her is limited to watching her fade from my sight, causing me to become more and more desperate to be able to get her to stay. Every time I watch her fade, it’s like someone is tearing my heart from my chest, and each time the feeling is worse than the last.

“Her again, huh?”

My head jerks up, and my eyes lock onto Knox’s. “What?”

Without answering, he bends over and grabs the redhead’s lace panties. He brings them to his face and snarls before tossing them toward the trash can. “Could you not pick a woman who hasn’t been used by every member of the pack? Fuck, dude that is just nasty.”

Ignoring his question, I get back to my own. “Her, who?”

He walks to the wall and leans one hip against it. “Your dream woman, the woman who’s turning you into a beast. We know you’re Alpha, and we expect you to snarl, but you damn near tore Caleb’s throat out yesterday for no reason at all.”

The taste of my brother’s blood still lingers on my tongue, but I can’t seem to find even an ounce of guilt in my body. “The little bastard should have kept his mouth shut. You know he deserved it.”

Knox lets out a chuckle, but I can hear a bit of a snarl in it. “Brody, all he did was ask when you were going to find your mate, something you’ve been asked a million times.”

Meeting his eyes again, I let my canines drop down. “Yeah, but it was the million and one time that got on my nerves.”

The longer my dreams last, the less control I have over the creature within me. He emerges with a ferocious rage I am unable to tamper, and then he disappears. There are days I can hardly feel my wolf at all. The once powerful beast inside me has become almost dormant. The only time I can feel him is when I’m in a rage. In these quiet moments though? It's like he is a shadow of what he once was.

My beta pushes off the wall and walks to the dresser. Picking up a half-empty bottle of Single Malt, he brings it to his lips and takes a long drink, letting out a satisfied breath. “Uisce beatha. Nothing quite like good whiskey in the morning.”

I raise my hand to him. A second later, it’s holding the bottle, and then the fiery liquid is streaming down my throat. Setting the bottle on the table, I look over to him. “I can’t get her out of my head. She means something to me, something important. I just don’t know what yet. I swear it’s driving me insane.”

Knox stares at me for a second before finally looking toward the window. “Maybe it’s some kind of mate thing. Maybe you’re dreaming of her so you’ll know her when you meet.”

“No,” I reply automatically, sure that I’m right. “There’s more to it. There’s danger. I can feel it to my bones.”

“What kind of danger?” he asks, finally bringing his gaze back to mine. 

“I’m not sure, but there’s something or someone hurting her. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do. Something or someone is taking her away from me.” I know what I feel but have no idea how to explain it. After centuries of being a warrior, I know when danger is stalking me or one of mine. “She needs me. I have to protect her.”

“It’s hard to protect a dream, Brody. As far as you know, this chick doesn’t even exist outside of your own head. Right now, you have to be thinking of the pack.” He takes in a deep breath, and I know he’s about to lay into me. 

At this moment, I just don’t have the energy for it. “I know what I have to do. You don’t need to remind me.”

“As your beta, I have to remind you. You’re our alpha. Colin is making plans. The rogues are coming after us.”

Colin was once a trusted friend, a member of our clan, and part of our pack. In 1803, his mate died in a fire at Castle Balfour. After her death, he changed. My once trusted friend became more of a stranger. He completed his duty and nothing more. 

“That’s not gonna happen,” I growl out, letting him see my anger. 

Knox doesn’t back down. “It will if we don’t do something. Colin isn’t just going to go away.”

When I decided to move the pack to America, Colin and a few of his followers decided to stay behind. When they left Scotland, they never rejoined us, instead choosing a home of their own not far from us. As time passed, they formed their own pack, pulling in outcasts from other packs. Colin is their Alpha, and they follow him blindly. 

“I’ll deal with him,” I say, rubbing my temples.

We live near each other, though we hadn’t seen much of the other pack for years. Suddenly, everything changed. One of his pack attacked a mate to one of my pack members. I killed the bastard, and that led to more problems. Colin wants to retaliate for his man’s death, but he hasn’t made his move yet. I know he will have to be dealt with eventually, but I haven’t quite figured out what I want to do yet. 

Knox shakes his head. “If you don’t get off your ass, it’s going to be too late. You’re going to be dead, and we’re all gonna go down with your ass.”

“Fuck you!” I shout with a growl, jumping from the bed, my wolf finally emerging. “I will never let Colin or his pack get close to my people. You should know that.”

“If you don’t forget your dream lover, they’ll be here and you won’t even know it!” he shouts back, showing his teeth. Without another word, he turns around and walks out of the room. 

It takes every bit of willpower I have not to allow my other half to take over, chase him down, and tear out his throat. Instead, I walk over to the wall, place a hand against it, and draw in a deep breath. Letting out the breath, I ask my phantom pixie a question. “How can I be alpha and protect my pack, when I’m hollow inside?”