"Derrick? Markus, are you here," I asked taking hesitant steps into the forest. I shouldn't be here but I wanted to see my best friends in their new wolf forms. My adoptive human parents said I should have my wolf soon anyway.

When they found me as a baby they were overjoyed to have a child. "It was like our prayers were answered. You were just here," they said with bright smiles. They met Derrick's parents at the local daycare. They told my parents I couldn't be much older than five winters. Derrick, Markus, and I were too enthralled in building bricks to care. Once I was about eight years old, Alpha and Luna Warren told my parents about werewolves and that they could smell the dormant wolf inside my skin. Now I was fifteen and my best friend had just shifted into his wolf for the first time. I had given him six days, surely that was enough time to get him in control.

"Markus! Come out now," I called out for his twin. The howl that answered me chilled my spine as I climbed over a log. My long black hair kept getting caught in the twigs as I yelped in pain. "Markus. Please come out now," I barely whispered as a twig snapped in the darkness. "This was stupid," I mumbled and hit the ground on the other side of the log. My human eyes still had trouble adjusting to the dark. My eyes squinted in an attempt to see beyond the moonlight. My wolf would sometimes give me bursts of night vision, tonight wasn't one of those moments. "I'm scared now. You guys can stop playing," I said in a shaky voice. I was a juvenile female, without a wolf's strength I was not much of a threat for anything. I should have listened to the adults and waiting for them to come to me. "Derrick and Markus Warren show yourselves right now," I demanded with bravery I didn't feel.

A low growl had my head snap to the right. A rustle of leaves and a black wolf stepped out from the tree line. His snout drew in my scent in large huffs that stopped my breathing. He was quite lanky but tall. Eventually he would grow into himself as all wolves did once they reached adulthood. His puppy blue eyes met mine and my throat closed. Once he got older they would change to the regular gold that all wolves held. Even so. This juvenile male was daunting. I quickly diverted my eyes as his mother's words scolded me in my head. "Do not look a wolf in the eyes unless you intend to back up your challenge," she would say as she cleaned me up after another fight. The females on Mountain Rise took a particular liking to teaching me the ways of the wolf.

The sound of cracking bones brought me out of my stupor as I reached into the bag I brought with me. Covering my eyes with one hand, I offered a pair of shorts in the other. I could hear a soft laugh at my human-like modesty before the shorts were taken from my hand.

Derrick and Markus has been brought up by wolves, they had little need for modesty growing up. They loved making fun of my need for human decency. "I don't mind if you look, Quinn," he said. The sound of my name caused a shiver along my spine. His voice sounded different, deeper and more authoritative. I could hear a growl of approval from the wolf inside him. I gritted my teeth, not liking the feeling of being the weakest wolf here.

Derrick removed my hand from my eyes. I hesitantly looked up at the male before me. His blue eyes seemed to glow as they looked into my dark brown ones. "They're almost black," he would say with a smile he usually reserved for when he thought I wasn't looking. His moonlight colored hand pushed my raven black hair from my face. "You shouldn't have come here Quinn. I can't control him yet," he said in a raspy voice that had me shiver. The sound was animalistic and made me think of danger. Except for my name. My name sounds like honey from his mouth.

"I miss seeing you and Markus," I replied before he snarled. My knees buckled and I would have hit the ground if he hadn't caught me. His hands circled around my upper arms as I was lifted to my toes. I curled my shoulders as I was taught to do. As a pup, you need to submit to wolves, his father told me. "Do not submit to me Quinn Mason," he growled out as I shivered from the power in his voice. Never before had he held such power against me. Something inside me hated how easily I cowered. Another part of me knew this would only be temporary. I swallowed but kept my head down. I'd never been handled so roughly by the Warren twins.

I squealed as he pushed me against the fallen log. One hand gripped both wrists while the other grabbed my jaw in a painful vice. He harshly turned my face to the side and exposed my neck to him. "Derrick, that hurts! Stop," I cried out as I tried to twist away from his grip. His hands tightened and I could no longer speak. He felt much more solid and I made no progress in freeing myself. "Do not mention another male's name around me Quinn! Not now," he demanded as my heart raced. His voice sounded deadly and I couldn't help but squirm uncomfortably. I could see him struggle to restrain his wolf as his grip seemed to tighten further. I shouldn't have come here.

"I can't control him Quinn. He'll hurt you," he grumbled out. I cried out as best I could with a closed jaw as he forced my face the other way. Derrick bent down to my throat. He drew in my scent slowly through his nose that had my knees go weak. "Like a frightened rabbit, your heart is," he said as if to himself. To his wolf. I whimpered in pain. His nose flared as he took in deep breathes. His hand seemed to fight itself to loosen on my jaw. "We shouldn't scare you. You shouldn't smell like fear around us," he growled out as he released me. The bark dug into my back as I slid to my feet. I rubbed my jaw that was numb with pain, there would be a bruise there tomorrow. His thumb ran across my cheek and wiped away tears I didn't know were there. I slapped his hand away with a pointed glare. His wolf's eyes took me in. He wasn't allowed to touch me after hurting me. I flashed him my teeth briefly and he snorted in irritation. "You should go home Quinn. Now," he ordered before turning around. "I can't control him and I already hurt you," he said before shaking his head to clear it.

I should have known what was happening. I should have just let his arrogant behavior go. I shouldn't have gone into the forest alone. The rule was there for a reason. Wolves are animals and juvenile wolves need to learn control. I shouldn't have expected him to be able to control himself. Certainly not so soon after they had shifted when they were learning to control their animal side. Every wolf needed time to understand control. To distinguish right and wrong. It usually took weeks, I had barely even given them one. Everyone had warned me but like a child, I thought I knew better. I thought they would be different. Who was I kidding? I was a pup. I was a pup who was now mad and about to do something incredibly stupid.

"Markus is my friend," I interjected. That halted his movement. "I want to see him too," I added sealing my fate. His movement was too quick for me to react except cower to the ground. I screamed as he pulled me up harshly and I felt his full weight crush me against the tree again. My feet only touched air as I struggled. "I'm sorry," I managed before his grip returned to my jaw that I thought it might break. Derrick's easily turned my head to the side. My hands were useless as I hit him and tried to push him away. Flawed hands tore open the neck of my sweater to expose my shoulder. His nose breathed deep along my neck. Derrick's tongue was wet as he saturated the spot where my neck met my shoulder.

His teeth sank into my neck with a growl that left me frozen in place. I felt the beginnings of our bond form. Tears ran down my face as emotions ran in circles around me. Anger, confusion, crippling fear, and pleasure seemed to overfill me. I tried to lift my arms but they simply hung at my side now. His hand left my jaw and he just held me to him. His breathing labored as our souls intertwined. I couldn't even cry out as he bit deeper, grumbling in approval. I could only manage a small whimper as my eyes opened wide and unseeing. I was his. He was my mate. Our souls were to be bonded forever.