Prologue

There was a time when Claire Gribbald’s life felt ordinary; or at least as ordinary as was possible. She had a good job working as a graphic designer, though she longed to spend more time painting. She had friends like Shondra McKay, who had been in her life since art school and who worked with her still. She had a family that was more than a little bit of a mess, who constantly judged her and found her wanting, but in spite of that, she was still happy.

Then she met Liam Docherty. Liam was wild and spontaneous and came into Claire’s life like a whirlwind of music, passion, and excitement. His brilliant blue eyes looked at her in a way that nobody had before, making her feel important and loved. He was creative, charming, and handsome. He was all of those things… until he wasn’t. Until the night she found him cheating on her; when she decided that enough was enough.

That was the night everything changed. That night, when his smile turned into gritted teeth of rage, and eyes of brilliant sapphire turned to coldest ice. That night, when he transformed into a monster.

Literally.

Before meeting Liam, Claire never believed in things like vampires or werewolves. To her, they were the things of cheesy movies and gothic horror. They were make-believe things that went bump in the night. But now, she knew the truth…ever since that night, one year ago, when one attacked her, leaving her for worse than dead. Leaving her just like him.

All of this ran through her mind as she looked deeply at her reflection in the bathroom mirror of her small Tampa apartment. Sighing, she brushed a lock of her curly brown hair out of her eyes and looked for any signs of what she knew was always there. The tiniest flecks of vivid amber rimmed her normally hazel eyes, a reminder of what she could become if she let herself get out of control.

But losing control was what she wanted to do more than anything in the world. She wanted to dance and laugh and live her life again as she had before. She wanted to not worry about the wolf under the surface. But as Claire stared into the reflection of her face, still human for the moment, she remembered what had happened to her one year ago that night. And as she remembered, what she really wanted more than anything else was to forget Liam Docherty.

That, and a drink. Or twelve.