She was summoned.

And that only meant one thing. They knew she had left the realm. But to where?
They will never know unless she told them. And she wouldn't.

She couldn't.

Her ears felt warm as she sat in bed listening to Michael pace and chastise her for disappearing. Eyes downcast out of shame and fear, she could not look up into his eyes that were no doubt gleaming with disappointment and anger.

"You are not to leave this realm, Hannah." he ordered with finality.

She lifted her gaze then and watched as the formidable warrior and mentor paced more and spoke. His rules tightened her chest. Thinking of never seeing the human again left a dull ache in her chest. And she did not know why. But it left her intrigued, curious. More now than ever...since she has already seen him, touched him.....tasted him.

The rebellious notion of defying the archangel that stood powerfully before her, left her mind feeling fuzzy and light. 

"Am I clear, Hannah?" their gazes met.

Sadly her eyes rested there tugging at the thought. It would be madness to defy him. How she wanted to say no. And that terrified her. She has never been this conflicted. She has always followed orders. This sudden urge to go against it all left her feeling uneasy. Drained.

She lowered her head in defeat. "Yes," she whispered.

Satisfied, he turned to her door and left.

Gathering up her knees to her chest, she sat there trembling with what had happened.

The moment she materialized and landed in the Garden, guards slowly approached her and accompanied her to her room where Michael waited for her.

It was a long lecture she had endured as she quietly sat there still tingly from her encounter with the mortal and the kiss he gave her.

Slightly embarrassed with herself for not entirely listening to the Archangel vent his outrage of her leaving, she could think of nothing else but how the human stretched above her.

The rules forbade celestial beings to ever come into contact with a mortal. She broke that rule and many more as he caught her, then she ended up being trapped beneath him, only to shamefully enjoy his lips above hers.

At that moment she did not care. He is the first mortal male she has ever seen but what he did to her, she never witnessed it with the male angels on this plane. It left her confused. No such contact between her kind was ever like that.

Pressing their lips to one another. She shivered.

Then the low growl that escaped him, sent her heart into a frenzy. Those enchanting eyes of his glowed like nothing she has ever seen.  It left her with a sensation that coursed through her that she had never felt before.

The words he hissed possesively.
Mine!

Left her even more confused.

What did he mean by it???

********

Mine!!!

Mate! Mate! He shook his head furiously trying to calm his wolf. He refused to accept his words. He hissed and growled then began to pace. Find her.
I will not..Maddox insisted. Now was not the time.

That scent that plagued him days ago, was there last night and it still lingered on his sheets. It was potent and drove him insane. It stirred things in him.

It had his wolf Koda restless and going haywire. And him climbing up the walls.

He was no fool nor did he dream she was in his room last night. He had her in his grasp. He kissed her. His wolf felt the pull and so did he.

He sensed her before he saw her and his wolf nearly took over. He has never lost control like that not since he was a teen. The moment he grabbed her and pinned her beneath him, all sorts of ways to claim her crossed his mind. His fangs immediately itched under his gums ready to extend and sink into her flesh to claim her. She was lithe, petite and his.

None of it made sense.

She was...the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and he wanted her like nothing he has ever wanted before.

Then she disappeared.

And that confused him.

Who and what was she? She was not a wolf,  of that he was sure nor was she a rogue. That was clear.

So...
Why hide? And......Why this attraction?

He woke up with a mood that had his pack stepping on eggshells around him. He said nothing as he passed them on his way to his office all the while arguing with Koda. He remained silent, disconnected, lost in his thoughts through out most of their meetings.

His head was overwhelmed with all the chatter from his pack in his mindlink until he growled and yelled for them to be quiet.

He sighed. Finally silence....

Our mate is out there. You can not ignore it.

"I can and I will Koda." he shook his head.

"Why?"

"Because I don't need the distraction. In case you have forgotten we are at war. The vampires are on an uprising  and we need to be ready."

"You should have killed Dante when you had the chance. But you refuse to let me handle things," Koda paced impatiently.

He ignored the comment. Inhaling deeply, he sat forward in his chair resting his weary head in his hands.

Frustration had Maddox on the brink of lashing out. And when that happens he is hard to control.

Koda sensed it and retreated.

He made a point of remaining unattached to pack females or taking unmated ones to his bed. Their scents appealed to him for only a brief time before he set them aside. Yet they all vied for his affection. He could not bring himself to search for his mate, only to bring her in the middle of his problems and putting her in harm's way. His decision not to pull the trigger, so to speak, had become an increasing problem because for his pack to survive, he had to take and mark a mate.

With a curse he stood and walked to his window. Wondering eyes searched the expanse of his backyard beyond the wooded perimeter of his lands, searching...

The soft knock on the door pulled him back to the present. He turned to look over his shoulder. His keen sense of smell already knew it was Brody, his cousin. He spent many summers with him when he was growing up. Brody was one of his only other cousin who was near to his age. He trusted him with his life, god knows he and Brody got into enough trouble as teenagers. 

He looked over his shoulder and watched dark hair just like his pop through the door before ice blue eyes settled on his.

"Is it safe to come in?" he asked with a smirk.

Shaking his head, Maddox looked away. His brooding disposition didn't faze Brody. If anyone could deal with his foul humour it was Brody.

"The packs going haywire brother, what's wrong?" he walked over towards Maddox and sat on the window sill.

"That's the thing. I don't know." Maddox shook his head.

Brody frowned at Maddox's demeanor.

He hesitated before looking out the window. "I have been plagued by something...or someone."

Body's brow rose with interest.

"I don't know if I lost my mind. But a girl was in my room last night."

He watched Brody's lip curl up with a grin.

"No.. Not like that," Maddox corrected him.

He watched Maddox slowly become agitated and upset. "She appeared out of no where and just like that, she disappeared."

That got Brody's attention.

"Disappeared?" he frowned in confusion.

"Disappeared, Brody, into thin air." he exhaled deeply turning to lean against the window sill. His muscled arms crossed over his chest, aware of the erratic thumps of his now racing heart.

"Her scent was still in my sheets, Bro. I had her in my grasp...and poof...she was gone," he whispered shaking his head as if trying to make the tale convincing because he himself was still trying to come to grips with it all.

"Did you sense anything else about her? Could she be a rogue? Was she a threat?"

Maddox shook his head. The thought of a rogue getting past their guarded perimeter made him uneasy. That wasn't possible.

"What if she comes back? What are you going to do?"

A grudging thought swept through him, and he hesitated. What will he do exactly? Was a good question. One he could not answer right away. But only for a second his memory went back to her beneath him. Her lush soft curves, wide round eyes, pink sweet lips and alluring scent, sealed more than just her fate where he was concerned.
She could only bring trouble. He didn’t need the distraction, and he sure as hell didn’t want it.

"I will deal with her," he murmured looking away from Brody's questioning faze.

His decision was final...

He wanted no woman clouding his resolve. No woman for his enemy to use against him.

*******

Here we goooo!!!
Let's get rolling..
You know what to do...