Chapter 1

40 years ago

Sonja woke up in a cold sweat. With a shaking hand she turned to wake her husband.

Present Day

The rest stop was empty when Tera had parked the truck in a secluded corner the night before. She hadn't slept in almost three days and it was finally catching up to her. The grey light of dawn was just beginning to show as she jerked awake. She had been dreaming again. Tera never used to dream; at least if she did she couldn't remember. The dreams she had been having since her mothers' death were vivid and cryptic. If the fates were actually letting her see visions she thought it would be nice if they made sense. These dreams were like snap shots, frozen in time, not really giving her a complete picture of what was going on. She had distinct impressions of emotions though; some of the feelings left her almost too scared to sleep.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she searched the parking lot for trouble. She noticed a couple of eighteen wheelers idling in the next parking lot, their orange lights hazy in the morning gloom. She wondered if she should get rid of the truck, maybe one of the drivers would be willing to give her a ride. She slid out of the truck, pulling her backpack with her.

After going to the rest stops bathroom to wash the sleep out, she plastered a smile onto her face and walked over to talk to the truck drivers. She found that she was stuck with the truck, for now. Neither of the trucks were going her way, not that she really cared where she ended up, she just wanted to see home one more time. It had been such a long time since she had even been near the place where she grew up and it was starting to eat at her. She would have to do something about the truck though or it would only be a matter of time before she was caught. 'Oh well', she thought. 'I can dump the truck in Taylorsville, there are probably some chop shops that would pay good.'

The cold wind coming from the open window of the truck pushed threw Teras' brown hair. She had been on the road for so many hours she was almost in a daze. Miles upon miles of empty flat land had finally given way to the rolling green and lush forests of the mountains. She only had about an hour or so until she reached Taylorsville. Her spirits lifted at the thought. As she started up yet another long incline, the truck started slowing down, she glanced at the speedometer and the check engine light came on. Tera started easing the truck to the side of the road, she got stopped and turned off the engine; she saw the tale tale sign of steam coming from under the hood. She wearily got out to investigate.

"Stupid truck", Tera mumbled as she slammed the hood of the Dodge hard enough to leave dents. She started walking. 'Of all the places on this Godforsaken earth I had to break down in Pines. I don't even know why I thought it was a good idea to even travel through here. So stupid, so, so stupid. This has to be the most idiotic thing I have ever done, I know better damnit! Suck it up and stop your moaning Tera, nothing to be done about it now except to deal.' Tired and angry she kept walking, wrapping her scarred black leather duster to her closely trying to keep out the cold.

As Tera crested the last hill, she paused to look down onto the small town of Pines, it seemed that nothing had changed in the years that she had been gone. The small spattering of houses on the highway gave way to the tiny town. As the road melted into Main Street, it suddenly seemed to get wider with rows of shops on either side, the bright lanes of sidewalk in front of the shops were shaded by maples that would turn red and gold in the fall, but now at the very end of winter, stood with their buds swollen, only a few bright green sprouts bravely announcing springs arrival. She had to admit the place was beautiful. Tera trudged the rest of the way down the hill into town and entered an alley. The alley opened up onto a chain link fence woven with faded green strips of wood that protected the back of the garage she remembered. Walking around the fence brought her to the front of the building that was on one of the little side streets that littered the town. The garage had one bay with roll up doors on either end with a small office space on one side, large trees stood in front of the structure, effectively keeping out the humid heat of summer, but now their skeletal branches swayed lightly in the breeze. There were several vehicles out front but she didn't see anyone outside.

"Hello?" Tera said as she walked into the bay. She didn't see anyone so she headed toward the office.

"Hello?" She said again as she knocked on the half open door. She walked into the room and looked around for a second. The scent hit her then, pack. She stood there for just a moment, to her the smell of pack always made her think of home. With a shake of her head she turned to leave.

Quinlan walked into the garage and saw someone standing on the other end of the bay. He scowled, he didn't have time for distractions, he had a deadline to meet, he needed to change and get back to the office, play time was over for the day. The woman turned and Quinlans scowl deepened, he knew her didn't he? The woman wore a long black duster, and a black shirt that stopped at the edge of her jeans, the black boots she had on looked scuffed and worn as did most of her attire, she had her hair stuffed under a battered black cowboy hat that was pulled low over her eyes.

"What do you want?" Quinlan barked into the silence.

"My truck broke down about three miles out of town." She was about to ask for the parts she needed when he interrupted. Tera eyed this stranger; she was in trouble, the scent of pack had already warned her, but now she was too late. She sniffed the air, he was pack no doubt there, but there was something more, something that made her heat speed up.

"You need a tow, then. Quinlan didn't have time for this; he was just about to tell her she would have to wait until his brother got back, when he caught her scent. Lycan, that's interesting, loner, no smell of pack on her. That was really interesting, they had loners come through there from time to time but almost never a woman, she would have to be insane. Without the protection of pack, she was fair game for anyone of their kind.

"No, I need a radiator hose."

Quinlan smirked, "We don't sell parts, if you want to fix yourself you need to go down the street to RJs'." He saw the look of fear that flickered over her face to be replaced almost immediately with her disinterested mask. That's interesting too.

"Is there any other place?" Tera knew that RJ's was a pack business, she avoided the chain parts outlet like the plague in any place that she was, but this place, in this place she knew that it was RJ's home territory.

RJ was alpha of the Rèalta, and he was always thirsty for blood, especially her blood. The Rèalta were a pack of lycans, werewolves or shapeshifters to the human population, who for the most part, had no idea that lycans existed much less thrived. The Rèalta had a den that was based about thirty miles away, but RJ had set up business in her home town. Tera was starting to feel that this sentimental streak she had been having was going to be her downfall. She had just wanted to smell home, the smell of the trees, the river. She had lived long enough on the run to know that this wasn't like her, and would get her killed. This mechanic guy was lycan, she didn't want to fight, but it was just something she was going to have to do especially if she wanted to save her own hide. RJ's lackeys had almost disappeared for the last five years, but that didn't mean he wasn't coming after her anymore, she knew better, that power hungry lycan would never let her go. She was trapped in the wolf's den, and she didn't like it at all.

The quiet quality of the woman's voice made Quinlan take a closer look at her. The woman was staring through him, as though lost in her thoughts. Quinlan just stood and studied her, she was tall, but he was taller. His eyes narrowed as her scent came toward him again. She had a really weird smell, Quinlan walked closer to her, there was something there that had his interest, it wasn't her looks, she was pretty, with blue-gray eyes and skin tanned to an almost gold color that set off her high check bones and full lips. But not his type, he liked his women small and soft. This one was built like a fighter. There was just something that he couldn't put his finger on, that he found almost irresistible.

When the man walked toward her Tara snapped out of her thoughts, what the hell is wrong with me, he could have taken me out right there and here I stand like a untrained pup, maybe I have a death wish or something. "Tow it" Tera snapped. She didn't like the way he was looking at her. He hadn't acknowledged the fact that they were both lycan, which put a little worry into her. Maybe if he just towed the truck in she could fix it, after she took care of him. She figured one on one she could take him, he was big, but she had taken down bigger.

Quinlan went into the office and came back with a set of keys. When he got to the truck to get in she was still standing in the bay, "Coming?" was all he said. She walked over and got in the back of the truck. So she didn't trust him at all, well he supposed he wouldn't trust anybody either if he was a lone she-wolf. He smiled at that, maybe he could take the rest of the day off; she didn't need to know who he was as far as she knew he was just a mechanic. It had been a while and she was ... interesting.