Chapter One Present day - England Anka MacTavish held her breath as the most beautiful man she’d ever seen stormed toward her, one heavy footstep after another. Lucan, her mate. Former mate, she reminded herself. He hated her now, with good reason. She could have blamed a number of people for that. She mostly blamed herself. His full mouth thinned into a grim line, blue eyes narrowing as he drew closer. At the sight of his obvious anger, she turned away toward the surprising warmth of the rare January sun, praying the golden rays would chase away the perpetual chill that had plagued her these last three months. It almost worked. Then Lucan grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him, dragging her so close to the familiar heat of his body. Suddenly, she didn’t need the sun at all. Finally, she was warm. Their gazes connected, and heat seeped into her veins. Her heart lurched in her chest. A jolt of connection grabbed her all the way to her soul. As quickly as he’d grabbed her, Lucan yanked his hand back. Sadly, the connection she felt was all one-sided now. “Are you out of your mind?” he growled. “No. The answer is absolutely no.” Anka let her lashes flutter down, breaking the pull of his furious stare, then forcing herself to