Chapter 1 CAUGHT IN THE BOX

Ariana shivered slightly. She was out alone in the woods and it was collection night. Her mother who had always shielded her from her wicked step father had died a week earlier, leaving her to the mercy of her heartless step father who had just decided that the best thing to do with her was to give her up at collection.

The humans had been slaves to the Werewolves for so long, and every werewolf had the right to command whichever human was close by, saying no to a Werewolf was punishable by death. Yet, every full moon, at midnight, more slaves were collected at human villages to serve the Alpha. Ariana had heard terrible things about all the humans that had been taken. She even heard that some women where forced to make love to the Alpha whenever he wanted.

She hugged herself as the nights cold bit into her tender flesh. The weather was just good for werewolves, but Ariana was a human. It was too cold for her. Her clothes were also torn, the material worn thin, they were not fit enough to keep the cold away, but they did nothing to dim her obvious beauty.

Everyone always said she looked nothing like her mother, and of course, nothing like her step father. While her mother was quite tall for a woman, Ariana was small, barely up to five feet, with small bones and petit features. Her small heart-shaped face was framed by the wildest of curls that managed to add a fragile vulnerability to her beauty. The full pout on her lips that sat naturally suggested a bit of sauciness and seduction, but when the males that were tempted to pull her into the nearest corner and kiss those lips sore looked into her eyes, they saw an innocent, frightened female who had no idea of hauntingly beautiful she was.

She stood now, praying to the moon that no one would notice her and pick her for service at the Alpha's home. She just couldn't bare it if he . . .

They were coming now the Werewolves who rounded up humans for work. Ari breathed a sigh of relief, they seemed to be picking only strong able bodied males . . . till she heard one of them say "Now we've picked all we need to work in the woods, I need just one female . . ." the rest of the werewolf makes with him burst out laughing.

"You never need only one," one of them said.

"And you never need humans," another chipped in. "From what I gather, these humans are so weak, they can't handle the strength of a Werewolf in bed."

The first man nodded. "I know, but this night, I just need a human – a petite, beautiful human female to cuddle with this night, to take my mind off the nightmares."

They started discussing something about nightmares, but Ari could barely hear them. They wanted a petite human female!!! She was a petit human female.

Her heart slammed in her chest, as a fear she had never known before slammed against her heart. She had never known what it was like to sleep next to a male before, let alone a Werewolf male. She had never even been kissed before!

Tears stung her eyes at an awful thought . . . what if he forced himself on her.

There was no time to think, Ari galvanized into action. She needed a place to hide – a little to her left were some boxes that the Werewolves had come with, it was easy. All she had to do was creep inside one and hide till they had finished with their selection, then she'd creep out before they pack up the boxes and head out.

She felt relieved as she creeped in without being detected, but her relief soon turned to dismay as the Werewolves suddenly decided to pack up and go.

She suppressed a sneeze, trying to breathe inside the box that was filled with what looked to be very old papers, as she felt the box she was in being lifted from the floor.

She tried to count the minutes – or hours she spent scrounged up in the box filled with expired papers, but in spite of her awkward position, Ari soon fell asleep. When she woke up, the box she was in was still, she had a feeling it had been placed on the floor. Everywhere was silent, then she heard "Alpha Jared, these are the documents we recovered from the traitor."

Alpha Jared! Ari's heart slammed against her chest for the second time that day as her pulse quickened. Alpha Jared was the most powerful and ruthless Werewolf of all, the Alpha of the entire Werewolf pack. She had tried escaping mere cuddling with an unknown Werewolf, only to be brought before the Alpha Jared himself. She shivered violently, even though the inside of the box was stuffy and hot. Ariana soon found it was impossible for her to breathe.

She suddenly missed her Mother so badly. Her mother who had died of a simple cold and left her all alone to face the dangerous cruel world. Even facing her step father's brutality each day was far better than being the only human, trapped in a box in the midst of Werewolves – and Alpha Jared!

Tears slipped from her clear green eyes as she had the box get unlatched, and then it was thrown open.

Ariana tried to adjust her eyes to the lights in the room, but when she did, she wished she had gone blind instead. Sitting directly opposite her was Alpha Jared himself, and he seemed very angry.

For some reason, Ari's fear was not enough to take her eyes off the Alpha. Something about him was so magnetic, it seemed to pull her in. He was by far the most handsome male she had ever seen. His features seemed so handsome, he appeared to have been sculpted. He was dressed only in black, black leather pants, black boots, and a black shirt that was only half buttoned, displaying a very powerful steel – like chest. The black only seemed to enhance his ruthlessness, add more to his already dangerously handsome look, and Ari couldn't help but wonder if that was the way he always dressed, or he just happened to be wearing black today.