Alpha's Loyalty

by Lola Gabriel

  A criminal.

  “She is not a criminal,” Onyx insisted. “She didn’t do it!”

  “Criminal or not, now she’s escaped from a holding cell,” Scout said. “She’s a fugitive, and those officers are going to come looking for her.”

  The door suddenly opened, and a young woman stepped into the room, her head obscured by the black hoodie she wore.

  “Not unless we prove my innocence,” she said, pushing the hood off her face.

  Scout turned his head to scowl at her, but the scowl faded when his eyes registered what they were seeing. Her long dark brown hair tumbled down her shoulders like silk, and her dark brown eyes were both alluring and mesmerizing.

  Scout had never seen anyone as beautiful as her in his entire life. He felt completely at peace, and everything seemed to fade into the background. Onyx’s impatient retorts, the anger Scout felt at his disobedience, even the desperation in the young woman’s eyes. It didn’t matter that Onyx had helped her escape, or that the police might or might not be on their way to his house at that very minute. It didn’t matter that Onyx had possibly put the entire pack at risk of exposure.

  Nothing mattered except him and her.

  Scout had heard tales of imprinting and what it felt like, mostly from his mother when he and his brothers were little, but nothing came even close to what he felt right then. His anger and rage melted away, revealing a certain urge to protect that he had experienced only once before; the night of the fire.

  This was the woman, the woman he was meant to be with. It was a concept that felt righter than anything else ever had, despite the ridiculousness of it. It was so right that it made everything else seem wrong.

  “Scout?” he heard Onyx call him, bringing him back to the present. His voice was strained and irritated, as if this wasn’t the first nor the second time Onyx had tried to get his attention.

  Scout looked back at him, the euphoria he had felt vanishing almost immediately.

  “This is my sister, Rayven,” Onyx said.

  “Scout Wylde,” Scout said.

  “I know who you are. Onyx has told me a lot about you,” Rayven said.

  “I find that hard to believe,” Scout chuckled. “Your brother is a man of few words.”

  Rayven shrugged slightly and glanced at Onyx. The resemblance between the two siblings was amazing, and Scout simply stared at her, unable to look away.

  She and Onyx were almost identical to one another—twins, after all. Dark hair, golden skin, dark eyes. They were even exactly the same height.

  Scout immediately wondered whether her wolf form would resemble Onyx’s as well. Onyx, true to his name, was a pitch-black wolf with dark eyes, and it was safe to think Rayven would look similar. Scout would be surprised if she looked different, but he would have to wait and see.

  He turned his attention to Onyx. “She can stay here.”

  His beta looked both relieved and surprised by his sudden change of heart. And judging by the look on Onyx’s face, there would be a lot of questions regarding his decision to let Rayven stay after he had been so adamantly against it.

  “Thank you,” Rayven said with a smile, her eyes incredibly grateful. “You won’t even notice I’m here!”

  I highly doubt that, Scout thought to himself. “You’re welcome.”

  “Where’s your bathroom?” Rayven asked.

  “Down the hall, to the left,” Scout answered.

  Rayven gave him a grateful nod and hurried out of the room, giving the two men the much-needed privacy they needed to discuss what had just happened and what would follow.

  “What made you change your mind?” Onyx asked.

  Scout lowered his gaze for a second. “You know what.”

  Onyx raised an eyebrow at him, his mouth twitching like he was holding himself back from cringing. “Seriously? My sister?”

  “I didn’t plan on this happening!” Scout replied. “Trust me; I was ready to kick you both out of my house!” Then he sighed, shrugging his shoulders. “But you know what they say. You can’t fight it.”

  “I suppose.” This time, Onyx did cringe, and Scout narrowed his eyes at him.

  “Would you rather she had imprinted on some low-life punk?”

  Onyx thought for a while and said with a joking smirk, “Actually, yeah.”

  Scout chuckled briefly before he glanced in the direction Rayven had gone off to, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Truth be told, the entire imprinting experience had been quite overwhelming for him. He had never thought of himself as the kind of wolf who would find someone to imprint on. Then again, it wasn’t up to him. Like he had reminded Onyx, they had no control over who they imprinted on—it was merely nature’s way of giving them their perfect mate.

  It hadn’t been just the imprinting, though. Scout was so used to seeing things coming before they were even nearby, before they reached his home turf. It gave him time to prepare and plan ahead. Now, however, he had felt completely out of his depth. This had taken him completely by surprise. He never saw this imprinting coming.

  He never saw Rayven coming.

  3

  Rayven splashed her face with cold water and glanced at herself in the mirror, almost not recognizing the person who stared back at her. Even though she had only been in a prison cell for a little over a day, she could still feel the terror and the helplessness of being locked up like that, unable to do anything but wait.

  She had never imagined that Onyx would rush to her aid as fast as he had. She had never even imagined that she would ever see him again.

  They had been separated for such a long time now that she was surprised he still remembered her. She remembered him very well; his voice, his scent, and his presence. While she didn’t believe that twins had the ability to sense one another, or read each other’s minds, or feel their pain, she did know that her memories of her brother were perfectly clear in her mind, even after all these years. He may physically look different, and his voice may have changed, but his scent was everlasting.

  Rayven felt whole inside herself, despite being consumed with fear. She had been terrified the night she had spent alone in her cell—she had been afraid of Detective Morris and whatever other Crescents might be working with him. She still was. Rayven was usually fearless, as her mother had taught her to be, but when it came to the Crescents, it was an entirely different can of worms. They were lethal, and anyone who crossed them would pay with their lives and those of their families.

  Rayven felt a tingle on her skin that ran through her veins—the feeling of warmth and satisfaction drowning out the fear inside her. It also pulled a much deeper feeling to the surface. Desire, love, and passion that she had never felt before.

  As soon as she had laid eyes on Scout Wylde, alpha of the Colorado pack, she knew she was a goner. He was like something out of a movie, perfect in every single way. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a strong jaw. His eyes were intense, and she was pretty sure that if he stared at her long enough, her clothes would melt right off her body. His dark brown hair had been all over the place, but it was around two in the morning. Besides, she preferred it messy. The white t-shirt he wore was tight enough for her to notice his bulging muscles, as well as a perfect set of abs, yet also loose enough for her to want to slip her hands underneath and feel her way down.

  She shook her head to herself, trying to keep her urges under control. Otherwise, she would march out the door, rip Scout’s clothes off, and take him right there in the living area, whether Onyx was still there or not.

  Rayven, what the hell? Control yourself, she thought, once more splashing her face with cold water.

  She had heard so many stories of the process of imprinting, but she had never experienced it or even seen it happen. Was that what that had been? Somehow, thinking of the prospect of imprinting created a glowing effect from within her, radiating from every pore in her body. She had never been in love—truly in love—but she imagined that this was exactly wha
t it felt like, only stronger.

  Rayven wondered if Scout had felt it, too, if he still felt this intensity inside him as she did. Of all the wolves to imprint on, now she had him all to herself.

  Scout Wylde.

  A strange and unusual name, but those often came with the territory. Rayven had never met a wolf with a name like James, or Kathy, or Paul. It was always something to do with nature, as their entire existence was interwoven with the forces of nature. Especially the moon.

  A slow smile formed on her lips, and she lowered her gaze. She couldn’t look at her reflection while wearing such a stupid grin on her face. She didn’t have time to act like a lovestruck teenager. She needed to focus. She had to figure out a way to prove to the police, and to Onyx and Scout, that she was not to blame for the murder of the man in the alley.

  For a moment, Rayven couldn’t even remember the poor guy’s name, and she ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh. In times of stress, her mind was notorious for its unreliability, and she already felt the fogginess setting in. Or was that because Scout was nearby?

  A sudden knock on the bathroom door made her jump, and she let out a yelp.

  “Are you okay in there?” Onyx asked.

  “Yes, I’ll be right out!” Rayven called out, giving herself an encouraging look in the mirror. She turned away, opened the door, and walked down the long hallway to the living area, where her brother and Scout stood.

  Scout seemed more agitated than usual, and Rayven imagined he and her brother had had words while she was in the bathroom. Either that, or Scout wanted both of them to get the hell out of his house. She certainly hoped it was the former.

  “I have to go,” Onyx said, and Rayven glanced at him in disbelief. “I have a few things I need to take care of.”

  “What?” she asked. “You’re going to leave me here all by myself?”

  “You won’t be by yourself,” Scout said to her.

  Rayven looked at Scout. That hadn’t been exactly what she had meant. Of course she wouldn’t be alone, but she didn’t know how to feel about the fact that she would be alone with Scout. She’d rather have Onyx around.

  “What are you going to do?” Rayven asked Onyx, turning her attention back to him.

  “I need to clear our trail and get rid of our scents. You should get rid of yours,” Onyx suggested.

  “How do I do that?”

  “Go take a bath or something,” Onyx answered. “Lay in the water for a while. Use a different shampoo. Anything like that. “I really have to go now.”

  Rayven nodded wordlessly. She walked towards her brother, put her arms around him, and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you, Onyx.”

  “You’re my sister,” he told her. “You’re my family, and I’d do anything for you.”

  “Please be careful,” she pleaded, letting go of him and stepping back.

  “Always,” Onyx answered. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Rayven watched as her brother left through the back door. It was harder than she thought it would be. After being reunited with him, she had hoped they would stick together a lot longer than just a couple of hours. At least he would be back. After years of trying not to imagine the worst had happened to him, she could handle this.

  “Thank you for letting me stay here,” Rayven said, turning to Scout. He made an inquisitive noise, like he was surprised she had spoken to him, and then nodded his head. He didn’t say anything else. “Are you… not going to talk to me?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

  “You should probably get out of those clothes,” Scout said suddenly.

  Rayven raised her eyebrows and stared at him in surprise. She hadn’t expected Scout to be so straightforward, and she had certainly not expected him to echo the exact thoughts she’d had about him while she was in the bathroom.

  “I meant—” Scout seemed to notice her surprise, and he quickly continued. “I meant that you should get rid of them to stop your scent from being tracked here.”

  “Oh,” Rayven mumbled. “Right.”

  “You should probably take Onyx’s advice, too. The bath would definitely help,” Scout pointed out.

  “Right. Of course,” she said with a forced smile.

  “I’ll go get you some new clothes and towels,” Scout said. “You already know where the bathroom is. Everything you need should be there.”

  “Thank you, Scout.”

  Scout nodded his head in response. He turned away to, presumably, go get the clothes and towels he was going to lend Rayven, and she took the chance to study him for a brief moment before he was gone from her sight. Why was he so withdrawn? Why did he look so uncomfortable? She had noticed it immediately, but she hadn’t dared to ask. She had hoped talking to him would be the solution. Perhaps he was just being careful. The only things he knew about her were that she was Onyx’s sister, and she had been arrested.

  She was a criminal.

  Rayven decided not to let it bother her too much and walked to the bathroom. She ran herself a bath, and soon, the room filled up with steam, creating an ethereal dream world. She took off her boots, and she was about to unbutton her shirt when Scout knocked on the door. At her “Come in!”, he entered the bathroom.

  “Here’s everything,” he said, placing a neatly folded stack of clothes and two towels on the counter beside the sink.

  “Thank you, Scout,” Rayven said again. “I know this must be an inconvenience for you, and I’m sorry that I am intruding.”

  “Onyx is my brother, too,” Scout replied. “Not by blood, but by the moon, and that’s important to me.” Without another word, and without waiting for her to say anything else, he left her to her bath.

  Rayven was slightly taken aback by his comment, but she brushed it off. She closed the door, peeled off her clothes, and climbed into the hot water. She almost completely submerged herself under the water, feeling her muscles relax for the first time this week. She closed her eyes for a short while, allowing the heat of the water to soak into her body, replenishing her soul and her mind.

  Rayven wasn’t sure how long she was in the bath, but when the water started to cool down and make her shiver, she knew it was time to get out. The towels Scout had brought her were warm and fluffy, and she wrapped herself in one and her hair in the other one. When she put on the clothes Scout had picked out for her, she noticed they were a little too big on her, but they were comfortable and perfect for bed.

  That night, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Her dreams filled with Scout and his intense, beautiful eyes.

  The following morning, Rayven quickly got dressed in clothes that Scout had left on the end of the guest bed, and walked out to the living area. She found Scout in the kitchen, looking for something in the fridge.

  “You must be hungry,” he said.

  “I could eat, sure,” she agreed, walking over to the countertop. “Thank you for the clothes.”

  “Sorry that they’re too big for you.”

  “No, that’s okay,” she said. “They’re fine.”

  Scout took out some ingredients from the fridge and a plate and put everything on the other side of the countertop. He started to prepare what looked like sandwiches without making eye contact with Rayven or even acknowledging she was there.

  The silence was starting to drive her crazy.

  “Are you upset that I’m here?” Rayven asked, unable to stop herself. “Or are you just careful and cautious by nature?”

  Scout, his head still lowered towards the sandwiches he was making, looked at her with a frown, his jaw clenched. “A little bit of both.”

  “Right,” Rayven said, letting out a quiet sigh. “Of course. You don’t know me at all. I might really be a criminal.” She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, though the motion was mostly to convince herself she wasn’t hurt that Scout really thought she had murdered someone.

  Scout placed both of his hands on the countertop. “Did you kill that man in the alley?”
/>   “No,” she answered.

  “Then why were you there?” he demanded. Rayven shifted her weight, leaning her arms on the countertop. “What happened that night?”

  She exhaled deeply. If she was going to stay here, she might as well tell him why.

  “I was in a club,” she began, “and the music became too loud, and the place started to feel suffocating, so I left. I was walking to my car when I saw a guy running towards me. He yelled that something was after him, but I didn’t see anything or anyone chasing him. I figured he was drunk or high or something else.”

  Rayven closed her eyes for a moment. She could still hear his desperate cry in her mind. “Then I heard him screaming, like he was being attacked. I headed towards where the screams had come from, and…”

  She took a deep breath before continuing, swallowing back the tears burning behind her eyes.

  “I went into the alley and found him lying on the ground,” she said. “I knelt down beside him to check for a pulse, but he was dead, and so I tried looking for some sort of identification. I found his wallet and an ID with his name. I could hear the police sirens getting closer, but it was like I couldn’t move fast enough. The officers saw me there, my hands covered in the man’s blood. I guess I can see why they didn’t believe me when I said I had only found him there.”

  Rayven held her head between her hands.

  “There was so much blood,” she mumbled, her eyes shut tight. “And the smell…” She shook her head in an attempt to forget how awful the man’s blood had smelled in the alley. “I hate the smell of human blood, especially male blood. They’re just…”

  “I know,” Scout said, and she felt slightly better just hearing him say that. “And I believe you.”

  That made her feel even better. Perhaps now, Scout wouldn’t be so uncomfortable and withdrawn around her.

  “So, what happens now?” Rayven asked, leaning her arms back against the countertop.