"Remind me to bring an extra jacket next time we go out yeah?"

Turning from where he stood, leaned against a frigid railing, Danny Ru flashed a smile at the short blonde woman who he'd been dating for about a year and a half. "If I remember correctly," he mused. "I told you twice to grab another one."

"Yeah well," Tessa Devi shrugged and handed him his cup of hot chocolate before taking a sip from her own. "You know i'm forgetful. I could've sworn the news said the temperatures were letting up."

Truth was, the temperatures never let up within the town of Belthrow. Thirty two degrees was a year round normal, but the towns people could never get used to it no matter how long they resided.

Danny slung an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders as they made their way down the icy street towards his parked car, a black Sedan. They had stopped at a late night donut shop on their way to a family celebration, and the streets, a snowy gloom, had become desolate.

Upon reaching his car, Tessa lagged by the passengers door. "So your brother really found his mate huh?"

Danny stopped, staring long at the woman the moon goddess had chosen as his fated pair. A mere human she was, but their connection was as strong as contrasting magnets. Inseparable.

"About damn time," he grinned, leaning his head down until they were eye level. "As the eldest, and next rightful Alpha of our pack, it was only a matter of time before he found his-"

He jerked upright as the hairs on the back of his neck stood, his cup of hot chocolate unconsciously slipping from his hand and falling at his feet. Intense danger. How had he not noticed the presence of the person standing across the street from them? Watching.

Lifting an arm up to push Tessa behind himself, wedging her between his back and the car, he let his eyes settle on the unannounced individual. It was a woman, the fact clear due to the outline of her breasts beneath her black hoodie, and from her smell, a wolf as well.

He strained his eyes, lowering his head slightly, "Hello?" he called out to her. "Can I help you with anything ma'am?"

Tessa's grip on the back of his jacket tightened, her small breaths helping ease his growing worry. But he was on edge. Why was he on edge? Something was off about this woman and every nerve in his body screamed threat. It screamed to run.

Gord. He mentally called to his wolf, but after seconds with no response, he knew something was definitely wrong.

"Tessa get in the car," he demanded quietly, reaching his hand back past her to open the passenger's door as he unlocked it with his car keys. She complied without hesitation and it was only when he pushed the door closed, did the lady's entire scent hit his nose.

Rogue, and a very bold one she seemed, because in turn, she began to move towards him in small even strides.

Is she trying to pick a fight? He thought, clicking his tongue as he watched her approaching figure.

She had a death wish if she thought fighting him would bring her any gain. He was a Beta after all, and that simple gene placed him above any rogue at heart. If it was a fight she wanted, he only hoped she was ready to lay down her life-

....What?!?

It happened before he could even process it. One moment she was mid stride across the street, and the next she was before him, her manicured hand palming his face back with a force beyond his comprehension. His head slammed through his car window, glass shattering and mixing down with snow, the force practically knocking him clean out.

Tessa's scream is what pulled him from his frenzied daze, and as he struggled against the woman's hold, the face he had seen plastered on so many signs grinned at him. It wasn't Mary's beauty that defined her, but rather, the reputation she had built for herself within the last two years. She was a killer, a traitor to her own kind, and a traitor to the moon goddess herself.

Why us? Danny's thoughts ran wild as he made way at trying to pry her grip from him. She was strong, far stronger than he had imagined, and that fact was evident in the way her free hand dented the frame of his car door. Her eyes, dark as night, stared into his soul, watching his scuffling as though he were her favorite show; he felt fear run down his spine, a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time.

"Danny!" Tessa's screams made way to his ears once more, and when she sent her fist through the broken window to hit Mary against the arm, his blood ran cold. "Get your fucking hands off him!"

Mary's eyes cut to her, a look of annoyance denting her slim brows, but her grip on him nonetheless loosening. Danny used the distraction to his advantage.

A sickening crack rang through the air as he snapped her hand away from his face, pushing her back before sending his foot slamming up against her chest. She flew back, her body shooting across the street and through the bus stop along the sidewalk.

He wasted no time getting around the car and into the driver's seat, speeding off within seconds. The car skid sideways only slightly as he reached a hand over to buckle Tessa's seatbelt across her body, before falling into straight acceleration.

"What the fuck just happened?!" Tessa exclaimed, the fear on her face evident. "Why did she attack you?!"

Danny laughed, despite the burning pain throbbing against the back of his head. "It seems she's chosen us for her fucked up games," he ran a hand through his tousled hair, and his other shook against the steering wheel. "I can't fight her Tes...every warning in my body is telling me to run. Gord isn't responding to me. I can't.. I can't risk-"

"It's okay," she placed a hand on his right one, and immediately, it felt like a weight had lifted off his shoulders. "I understand."

The car went quiet, only the sound of whipping wind and crushed snow filling the space around them. Tessa's touch was always enough to calm his nerves. He breathed out a strained breath.

"I'm going to get us as far away from here as-" the words caught in his throat and his eyes widened as he caught sight of a figure outside Tessa's window just before something slammed against the car.

The slam sent the car skidding sideways off course, and as Tessa let out a blood curdling scream, the tires caught snow and flipped. The world went bare in those seconds. Metal crushed and dented, glass smashing from all directions as the car tumbled and rolled along the street.

When Danny finally regained stable consciousness, he found himself laying limp in the middle of the street. The cold snow beneath him burned through his clothes and brought a steady numbness to his skin. He groaned, the pain beating through his limbs shooting through the roof as he tried to sit up, only to fall back flat on his back.

"Danny!" Tessa's voice seemed so far. How long had she been calling him?

"Tes.." he breathed, his chilly breath puffing into the air as he strained his neck towards her yells.

His blurry gaze focused in on his car about 20 feet away from him. It was an upside down mess, wedged against a street pole, but he could faintly make out Tessa's figure still in the passenger's seat, hanging by her seatbelt. Another figure stood facing him, and upon realizing it was Mary, Danny's brain began sobering up rather quickly.

"Danny get up!" Tessa's wheezed cries came more prominent, her bloody tear stained face becoming clear as day. "Please!"

He couldn't feel his legs. It was no secret something severe had happened to him during the crash, rendering him crippled from the chest down. Am I going to die here? He thought helplessly. Please don't hurt Tessa.

"We don't kill humans." Mary spoke as if reading his thoughts, her voice smooth like honey.

We?

Now stood above him, Danny's quivering gaze locked with her blackened one. She was visibly blushing, grinning from ear to ear like a maniac. Her canines grit, pooling with soft drool. "You're freed from your fate."

And as her leg rose, snow falling from her booted foot onto his face, he bathed in Tessa's screams, letting his mate's voice fill him with comfort before the world went blank.