Page 2 of Mate to the Alpha Predator

"I can smell you. Find me before I find you, female." Voice deep like the fiercest ocean filled the air.

"Go away!" Ismena squeaked from the bathroom, where she'd hidden herself. He's not close to her, but she can practically hear him like he's whispering to her ear.

Gosh, the man scares the very devils outta her. And that's saying something because she doesn't scare easily.

"I can hear the racing of your heart. The quick shaky breaths you take. The smell of your fear is choking." The predator in him loves it. Nothing smells better than a prey's fear.

No, there's one thing that does smell better.

"What do you want from me!?" She shouted behind the door's thick heavy barricades.

"Found you." His deep voice was hard, yet it caressed her skin. His face was too close to hers. And yet, he is still scowling at her.

A pause. A harder scowl. "Do you know what smells better than fear?"

She has no idea what he means, but she managed to squeak, "What...?"

"Lust. Desire." He spat the words like it tastes bad, "The scent of your wetness is driving me insane. I can practically taste your hunger for my cock."

But then, he shocked them both—hell, even the poor equipments in her bathroom.

With a savage growl, his head lowered completely and his mouth crashed down to hers.

PROLOGUE

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA.

The doctor stood beside Ismena's bed in his white scrubs and unruly gray hair. He has that look in his brown eyes that does NOT portray good news at all.

Ismena waited him out. No way in grand Hades is she gonna urge this man on when he's gonna give her bad news. He might as well take all the time in the world, she doesn't care.

Finally, he opened his mouth, "I'm sorry to say this, Ismena Cranes but you have something we call Coronary Heart Disease. Very complicated and tricky for only making itself known now that it's in the last stage. We have treatments that will keep you alive for a long time, but after running some tests, it turns out that you have strong allergies to the most important drugs among them. Your heart isn't responding to the other treatments we were hoping on."

"What are you saying, doctor?" Ismena doesn’t understand a thing at all.

He took a deep breath like he's preparing himself for the worst part before he opened his mouth again, "What I'm trying to explain is; you arein a very difficult situation. Heart diseases are very complicated, your heart can shut down any minute. I'm so sorry to say this to you, Miss Crane, but you have three months to live..."

All the other words and sounds that followed drowned out to her ears, except the ones that took root and refused to leave.

Three months...

Three months...!

Three months... THREE MONTHS!!!

She has three months to live.

Just three months. Three months...!

A week later, these words have become a mantra in her head, ringing like an abhorred tone that wouldn't change.

In the dark of the night, Ismena stood in front of her bedroom window, looking out to the full moon that dominated the night sky, making it more beautiful to gaze at.

She hasn't told her family about her visit to the doctor. Her poor mother will cry herself to the grave way before her three months is up. And her younger sister?

Valentina will be so depressed. Her sixteen-year-old sister—ten years younger than she is—might be very rebellious and annoying when she wants to be, but she's also a sweet girl that loves her older sister so much, even if she tries to hide it most of the time. Her father will be so sad and broken. Her father, who had to borrow from a lot of people to afford putting her through school and paying other bills.

Her poor family...

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