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CHAPTER ONE

Rosalie smiled shyly as her eyes darted to Jacqueline. He was by far the most handsome male she had ever seen. His dark hair, which always had a way of looking ruffled, like some female had run her hands through it, was surprisingly looking well combed today and put together, accentuated by the all–white clothes he had worn for the ceremony.

Today was the ceremony of his coronation as Alpha of the pack, and he was dressed for the occasion in white leather pants and a silk white shirt so thin, it molded to his masculine body each time the breeze ruffled it.

Jacqueline caught her eye and smiled, and Rosalie had to look away as a blush crept up her cheeks. They had been best friends since they were kids, and so she should have been used to him by now, but Rosalie found she couldn’t help feeling self-conscious in his presence.

Jacqueline had once saved her from bullies when she was just eight, and he was fourteen, and after that, both of them had become friends – or at least she had considered him her best friend, while he simply saw her as a little friend that needed his protection. He had protected her from all bullies and made sure no harm came to her, but Rosalie couldn’t help feeling miserable. It was his heart she wanted, not his mere protection like she was one of his kid sisters.

She had watched him become a very powerful male, the most handsome in the Werewolf tribe. All the females fought themselves over him, and he was always with one female or another, sleeping with them one day, and then forgetting their names the next day. Rosalie told herself she had something better, she had his friendship, but deep down at the bottom of her heart, she knew she would rather have his arms hold her in a lover’s embrace, have his full firm lips kiss her like she had seen him do with a countless number of females.

Rosalie sighed. It was her luck that the one male she had given her whole heart to would never see her as anything but a friend. He stood there now, giving a speech at his coronation, his golden head shining in the moonlight, and there she was, in the shadows, joining a thousand other females that had fallen in love with him.

Rosalie turned and left the coronation ground. She needed to do something, needed to clear her head of thoughts of Alpha Jacqueline once and for all.

Alpha Jacqueline! Even saying his name silently to herself sent tremors down her spine. There was a new power added to his already masculine form. He was an Alpha now. By Werewolf laws, he was her lord and could command her to do anything. She shivered . . . what if he commanded her to kiss him?

Smiling at her stupidity, Rosalie allowed her wolf to lead her. It took her down to a small river she had once picnicked beside Alpha Jacqueline. Without thinking, she stripped all her clothes and dived into the water. It was still and cool, just what she needed. Rosalie smiled and lifted her face to the moon. “If you can hear me, moon goddess, can you please make me forget Jacqueline? I want to forget everything about him, forget he ever existed.”

“And yet I cannot forget about you.”

Rosalie ’s heart thudded against her chest as she whipped around in the direction of the voice. She knew that voice anywhere, it was the voice of the one male that would always have her heart. It was Alpha Jacqueline.

He stood tall, the wind dancing in his gold hair, a smile playing at his lips. “You left the coronation early, I was looking for you.” He said ever so casually, but when Rosalie followed the direction of his eyes, a hot blush rose on her cheeks. He was staring at her exposed flesh. She brought up her hands and tried to cover herself, but it was no use. She only ended up making herself look more exposed.

Alpha Jacqueline laughed, but his eyes darkened. “Why do you want to forget me, Rosalie ?”

“Because I – I . . .” Rosalie started to say, but she found she could no longer talk. Alpha Jacqueline had started taking off his shirt.

She watched, spellbound as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt without taking his eyes off her, then he opened it, revealing his rock-hard tan chest with a fine sprinkle of hair. Rosalie touched the tip of her tongue to her parched lips as he finally slid the shirt off, and then she found she could no longer keep watching. Embarrassed, she stared at her hands instead.

She did not look up as Alpha Jacqueline took off the remainder of his clothes and got into the water with her. She did not move, standing rock still as he waded to where she was until he pressed a kiss to the hollow of her throat.

She shuddered then, from the force of her attraction to him, and would have fallen if he was not behind her. Her body slammed into his, and she trembled again from the impact.

With expert movement, he maneuvered so that he was in front of her. A finger hooked under her chin, lifting her head so that her soft brown eyes could search his dark gray ones, then he pressed his lips to hers.

Rosalie shuddered from the impact as her whole body trembled, but he held her till she was steady enough to focus on the sweetness of his kiss.

His lips teased hers. Firm, yet gentle. Passionate and ruthless, yet in a way slightly unsure, as though he knew what he was taking from her – her innocence, and he was a bit reluctant.

He pulled away from her, but her eyes were still closed. It took a whisper of her name from his lips before she opened them.

Jacqueline stared into the trusting eyes of Rosalie , his little friend who was little no more. “You have never been kissed before.”

It wasn’t a question, but Rosalie nodded.

“Why?” He asked, but his hands cupped her butt, drawing her closer to feel his need, the heat pulsing from his body.

“You know why.” Rosalie challenged, and her eyes told him what her heart knew, what her lips were too afraid to say. She loved him. She loved him like a female loves her fated mate. She loved him more than she had ever loved anyone in her entire life. He was the only male she loved, and she would never love another male except him.

Jacqueline sighed softly and shook his head. “I’m not what you think I am Rosalie . I would only end up hurting you – damaging you.” He turned to leave, but Rosalie blocked his path fiercely, shamelessly. The morning would come tomorrow and she would probably see the foolishness of her actions, but for this night, she was hers.

Jacqueline looked resigned as he drew her once again to himself, but it was with the hot and ardent passion that he kissed her. This time, he did not ask before he took it. This time, his mouth showed her, showed her what it meant to be loved by a male, by a very powerful male. His mouth showed her the love of an Alpha. His kisses got more fierce, bruising her tender lips, yet Rosalie only wished it would go on forever. His tongue stroked hers, thought hers lessons in passion, and marked her as his. And that was what she was. She would forever remain his after that night, no matter what happened next.

She could only breathe a sigh of relief as he carried her out of the water and onto the ground, then her sigh turned to a moan as he pressed his hot and ready masculine body against her.

Jacqueline was an ardent lover, his touches and kisses like that of a male who was trying to memorize something for life. ‘I’m gonna love you like I’m gonna lose you,’ it was at that moment that Rosalie understood the full meaning of that line.

She moaned softly as Jacqueline cupped her flesh in his hand, and then pressed a kiss to it. His tongue, lips, and teeth all worked together to drive her over the edge, and yet when she thought she was about to get over, he managed to bring her back.

“How badly have you wanted this?” He whispered against her ears, biting the tip.

Rosalie shuddered. “All my life – I’ve wanted you so much it hurt, but you’ve always seen me as your little friend.”

“You don’t seem so little now,” he mused, and then before she could speak again, he pressed another kiss to her throat and felt her tremble.

I love you Jacqueline . . . it was at the tip of her tongue to say, but Rosalie held herself back. What if this was mere sex to him, what if he treated her like the rest of the thousands of girls he had slept with in the past? For some unknown reason, tears clouded her eyes. Jacqueline saw them and seemed to know what had brought them. Carefully, gently, he kissed her eyes close, his fingers brushing away the wetness.

“You’re going to make me feel my love-making technique is so bad it made you cry.” He whispered, and Rosalie couldn’t help smiling, showing her cute dimples. He pressed a kiss to one of them.

Slowly, gently, his hands touched her. His fingers were already experts in bringing females to pleasure, till Rosalie begged him to end the slow torture, the painful pleasure by making her his, wholly and completely. He took her then, riding in the full force of his passion, and Rosalie winced at the initial pain, then all she could think of was the awe and pleasure of finally being one with him.

He rolled off her afterward and simply held her cuddled against his body, one arm holding her firmly, while the other pointed out patterns in the stars. “Do you see that?” He asked, pointing, “that’s a boy driving a car.”

Rosalie giggled. “No, it’s not silly. It’s a sheep eating some grass.” She had never been able to see the shapes in the stars as others saw them. To her, the many stars were just a mass of dots up in the sky, so she made up her shapes.

Jacqueline smiled knowingly. “And that’s a female up in the sky, the most beautiful female I have ever seen,” but he was looking at her.

“Again a lie – that’s an Alpha, the newest Alpha in all Werewolf tribe, and the most handsome too.” She did not even pretend she had seen the shape in the sky. She just focused instead on looking into his fathomless gray eyes

Jacqueline was silent for a while, then he raised her hand and placed a kiss on the inside of her wrist. His eyes seemed distant. “Some day you’d make a male lucky by becoming his mate.”

Rosalie forced a smile as her eyes moistened. “yeah.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

Alpha Jacqueline was so attentive to her as he brought her clothes, and even helped her put them on. Her body still felt tingly from her first time making love, hot passionate love at that. Her body felt satiated, and yet her heart felt torn, like she was at the brink of heartbreak, for while.

Jacqueline had been such a passionate lover, he had not told her he loved her. None of them had exchanged mating vows that bonded one to the person’s partner, and Rosalie ’s heart trembled at the thought that Alpha Jacqueline would soon hold another female in his arms as he held her. Those lips of his would kiss another, his eyes would look into another’s. Rosalie trembled at the thought of the hard truth, that she belonged to him, but the Alpha did not belong to her.