Ever since Scout Wylde could remember, he’d had an incredible sense of sight. He could spot a small rabbit from nearly ten miles away without even trying. His older brothers refused to play ‘I spy’ with him because he always won instantly, much to their frustration.

He also had a keen sense of direction, and his mother had always said that he carried the map of the world in the palm of his hand, which was fairly accurate. Not only were his eyes sharp and accurate, but they were also mesmerizing to look at, especially when he looked at someone with the intensity only he seemed to be able to pull off.

Being more than five-hundred years old and the alpha of his pack in Colorado, Scout had not only perfected his abilities; he had managed to grow one of the largest and fiercest packs in the west as well.

After he had separated from his family almost seventy years ago, he had started his own pack, and it had thrived above his wildest expectations. Although Scout craved the company of his brothers, he still recalled why he had left in the first place. His father, Luther Wylde, had been close to hanging up his collar and appointing a new alpha of their pack, but could never seem to make up his mind as to who his successor would be. Naturally, the position would be bestowed onto the eldest son, Cole. Scout, though, felt that he was not deserving of the honor.

Cole was reckless and self-righteous, and Scout felt it was unfair to allow the pack to be left in the hands of someone like him. It could certainly mean the end of not only their father’s pack, but also the end of their species. After a terrible accident in which their home in Minnesota had been burned to the ground, killing their parents in the process, Cole had decided they should all split up, further tearing their family apart. Despite their attempts to change his mind, one by one, they had all distanced themselves from each other.

Scout still carried a lot of anger and resentment in his heart towards Cole for pushing them to do something like that, but he had never regretted his decision to leave. He only hoped that the rest of his brothers were doing well, wherever they may be.

Scout stared out into the distance as he allowed his mind to wander as far as his eyes could see. It was his way of relaxing, and not even the sound of Onyx’s phone ringing could distract him.

Onyx Stark was one of his betas, as well as his best friend. They had met about five years ago in Yosemite National Park, after Scout had left Minnesota. He had been making his way towards the west, until he had stumbled—quite literally—upon an injured Onyx. He and his father had been separated from the rest of their family, and they had been hunted down by an unknown pack and left for dead. Onyx had been barely alive when Scout had found him, but Onyx’s father hadn’t been so lucky.

From that day, Onyx had never left Scout’s side, becoming his right-hand man, his second-in-command, and his best friend.

Scout saw Onyx enter the room through his peripheral vision, his face looking a little paler than usual. Onyx—who was five-foot-seven, with broad shoulders, tanned skin, dark brown eyes, and dark brown hair—turned to glance at Scout, clutching his phone in his hand.

Scout’s brow furrowed, and he cocked his head, not saying a word. Onyx was known for not speaking unless it was of absolute importance to do so, and Scout simply waited until he was ready. Perhaps his near-death experiences’ scars ran deeper than Scout had initially thought. Not that Onyx ever talked about them, and Scout knew better than to ask him.

“I just got a call from the Silverthorne police department,” Onyx said quietly, which immediately caused Scout to sit upright in his chair. Judging by the expression on Onyx’s face, whatever the call had been about was serious.

“What happened? Is everything okay?” Scout asked.

“I don’t even know how to answer that,” Onyx answered. “It was my sister.”

“Your sister?” Scout repeated, and Onyx nodded wordlessly. “I thought she was dead.”

“So did I,” Onyx said with a frown, approaching him. “She needs my help. She is in trouble for a murder she didn’t commit.”

“She killed a human?” Scout asked.

“No, she would never do that. She hates the smell of their blood. Always has,” Onyx explained. “I remember this one time when we were kids, a human got hurt on the playground, and Rayven vomited behind the swings. Of course, no one thought the two incidents were related, but it wasn’t very pleasant to watch.”

Scout shuddered slightly. She wasn’t wrong. Not all wolves favored humans as their snack of choice, and some of them had a pretty terrible stench to them. Most of them did, actually.

“How are you planning on helping her?” Scout asked.

“I don’t know,” Onyx said, crossing his arms, “but I have to get her out of there. Who knows what those guards are doing to her in that place.”

“They’re doing their jobs,” Scout answered.

“You can be a real jerk sometimes; you know that?”

Scout glared at Onyx. Being the alpha of the pack, he didn’t tolerate any kind of defiance, especially not from his betas. Scout narrowed his eyes and took a few breaths to calm himself before saying, “I’m going to pretend that I didn’t hear you say that, but I suggest you back off right now. Before I do something I might regret.”

“There’s a Crescent working at the department, Scout. He knows about her, about our entire family.”

Scout stood from his chair. The fact that a Crescent knew about Onyx’s family couldn’t be good, much less if that same Crescent was part of the people who were keeping his sister prisoner for a crime she hadn’t committed.

“If I knew the deal with your family,” Scout said, “then I might be able to help.”

“I do not have the time or the energy to talk about that right now, Scout,” Onyx argued.

“You never do.”

“Look, I’ve said I’ll tell you when I’m ready, and I’m not ready yet,” Onyx muttered, his jaw clenching. “Right now, I could really use your help getting my sister out of there.”

“Okay, I don’t want to seem insensitive about this,” Scout began. “I understand she’s your sister and that you want to help her, but there’s nothing you can really do here. Not to mention the fact that you thought she was dead—”

“She’s still my sister, Scout! I have to do something!” Onyx ran his fingers through his dark hair. “Besides, if the Crescent knows about her, he’s probably the one who set this whole thing up.”

Scout raised his eyebrows and waited for Onyx to elaborate. When he didn’t say anything else, Scout asked, “Why would he?”

“Do you even know how dangerous the Crescents are, Scout?”

Scout lowered his gaze and pursed his lips. Three years after their family home had been burned to the ground and he and his brothers had gone their separate ways, Scout had returned to their family’s land, trying to find answers or closure. He wasn’t sure which one he thought he’d find. In the end, it hadn’t mattered, since he had sadly found neither—or so he had thought.

He walked along the dried-up marsh, where he and his brothers had hidden away from the people who had set their house on fire, and he saw something reflecting in the mud: a coin. He bent down to pick it up and rub the mud away. Once he had cleaned the coin, he realized that it was the currency of the Crescents.

Disbelief and horror ran through his veins. His parents had not been involved with the Crescents in any way, not as far as he and his brothers had been concerned. Yet, the presence of the coin meant that the infamous Crescent pack had been responsible for the fire that had killed his parents and torn the five of their children apart. They had probably paid a few of their zetas and omegas with their stupid coins, a promise of promotion if they took out the entire Wylde family as their reward.

Scout still had the coin in his possession. It was his reminder that no one could be trusted.

How did Scout know Onyx’s sister wasn’t a Crescent herself? That she wasn’t posing as a hopeless victim asking to be saved from a punishment she did not deserve? What if Scout had to endure another attack from the Crescents? He might not be as lucky as he had been the last time.

“I know exactly how dangerous the Crescents are,” Scout told Onyx. “And you’ll have to forgive my skepticism—”

“She’s not a Crescent,” Onyx said before Scout could even finish his sentence. “I know what you’re thinking. I can see the distrust on your face. She’s not one of them, Scout. She won’t ever be one of them.”

“And I’m supposed to take your word for this?”

“I’m insulted that you even have to ask,” Onyx answered.

“You know how I feel about trusting strangers,” Scout said, and Onyx nodded.

“I know, but she called me, Scout. She was scared, I could hear it in her voice. I’m her brother!” Onyx’s own voice sounded frantic and scared now, despite his obvious efforts to keep himself cool and collected. “We have to get her out of there.”

“We?” Scout demanded exasperatedly. “I think you’re confused. We don’t have to do anything.”

“Scout, please,” Onyx begged. “I can’t just let her be a sitting duck for those Crescent bastards. They’re going to kill her, or worse!” Onyx shuddered at the thought and rolled his shoulders. “Wouldn’t you do the same for your brothers?”

Scout pointed his finger angrily at Onyx, his eyes thick with warning and disapproval. “Don’t you ever talk about them.”

“You know it’s true, Scout! Even though you willingly left them all those years ago, I can see that it kills you. You forget that I know you better than anyone, sometimes better than you know yourself,” Onyx said bitterly.

Scout lowered his gaze and turned away.

Onyx let out a frustrated sigh, probably realizing that he wouldn’t get anywhere with this approach. “Scout, please. You’re the only one who can help me save Rayven.”

“If you want to break your sister out of jail,” Scout said, glancing at his beta, “where there are more than a dozen police officers with pistols in the buildings, go right ahead. But I will not be a part of this in any way. I’m not going to risk exposing myself, you, or anyone of this pack to break your criminal sister out of prison.”

“She didn’t do it, Scout!” Onyx insisted.

“How do you know that?” Scout asked, closing the distance between them. “I spent more than four hundred years with my brothers. I thought I knew them. Then something happened, and I saw my brothers, who I thought were the epiphany of braveness and strength and loyalty, walk away from each other one by one. I learned that they were nothing but cowards who only had their own interests at heart. You never know someone, not even when you think you do. I’m sorry, Onyx, but I can’t be a part of this.”

Scout turned around and headed towards the long hallway, walking away from Onyx as his beta called out to him.

“Scout!”

He didn’t look back once.

Much later that night, Scout lay in bed and watched as the light of the moon shone through his window, casting a soothing glow inside his bedroom. When he had first settled into his new home here in Silverthorne, it had taken him a while to grow used to the idea of living alone, as he had been used to having either his brothers or Onyx with him.

He understood Onyx’s need for space. Onyx was a hunter, as well as the best damn tracker Scout had ever known, which meant that he would sometimes stay away for extended periods of time. Although he was too proud to admit it, Scout always felt lonely during those time spans.

His father had taught them that admitting defeat was a sign of weakness, and Scout had vowed to never allow weakness to grab hold of him, not even under the worst circumstances. He was as proud as he was strong, and even more stubborn.

He did feel bad for refusing to help Onyx, of course, but he had to look at the bigger picture. If he went with Onyx to break his sister out and they were seen, it would mean the end of him, Onyx, and his sister, not to mention the rest of the pack.

Scout had spent most of his childhood running from people who were out to kill him and his family. He would rather not have to do it again.

He frowned to himself. What had his father and mother done that had enraged the Crescents to the point of wanting to kill them all?

Whatever the answer was, it had died along with Luther and Skye Wylde.

There were many times when Scout had considered going to a clairvoyant who could see into the past, but he knew all too well that most of them were frauds. And even if he did manage to find one who was actually legitimate, he didn’t want them to know what he so desperately wished he did. Some things were better left in the past, dead and buried.

Scout glanced over at his wristwatch, at the shiny silver coin he had embedded into the face of the watch, and his jaw clenched again.

Those bastards are going to pay one day, he vowed to himself, and he stared up at the ceiling again.

Scout begrudgingly admitted that he was worried about Onyx. The look of desperation in his eyes after he had spoken to his sister was a sure sign that he was going to do something stupid.

The last time Scout had seen that look on his face, Onyx had imprinted on a human girl, convinced that the only way for them to be together was for him to turn her. Unfortunately, nothing had gone according to plan; Onyx had ended up attracting real mountain wolves to where the girl lay bleeding in the snow. Even though he had fobbed it off like it was nothing, Scout had been able to see how clearly torn up about it Onyx really was. He just didn’t say anything. It wasn’t his place to.

Scout had also found the concept of imprinting to be highly illogical. How could there be only one person out there for each one? What happened in Onyx’s case? After he had made a foolish mistake, which had caused the love of his life to perish, was he doomed to spend the rest of his life alone, without someone to love? Was he now crossed off the list, never to receive an opportunity like that again? That seemed unfair.

Just like it had been unfair of him to assume that she had wanted to be like him. Just like it was unfair of him to assume that Scout would help him with his sister. If only Onyx bothered to think things through before he acted instead of assuming other people would simply go along with his plans, it would certainly help to keep him and Scout from disagreeing as much as they did.

Who needs brothers when you’ve got a friend like Onyx, Scout thought to himself.

A noise coming from outside caused him to sit upright in bed, and he looked around him, noticing two figures walking around the back of his house. As quietly as he could, he slipped out of bed. He grabbed his trusty aluminum baseball bat from under his bed and gripped it tightly in both hands as he slowly made his way down the hallway. He thought about getting one of the two canisters of butane he kept hidden away in the basement, but he decided against it. The bat would be more than enough, and he could always shift to his powerful wolf form if the intruders were a real threat.

Silverthorne was not famous for its crime, but one could never be too careful, especially since Scout lived out the outskirts of town. He heard the back door opening and made his way to the living area, ready to swing the bat at whoever had decided to grace him with their presence after two in the morning. As soon as he spotted Onyx, however, he lowered the bat and sighed to himself. He reached for the light switch, and the shock on his beta’s face told him that Onyx hadn’t been expecting him to still be awake.

“Hey, Scout,” Onyx said casually. “I didn’t think you were still up.”

“I wasn’t,” Scout muttered, motioning to his aluminum weapon, “hence the bat. What are you doing here? You do realize it’s after two in the morning, right? And why are you coming in through the back door? You almost gave me a heart attack! I could have killed you with this thing!”

“Killed me? With that thing?” Onyx scoffed. “Oh, please. Give me a little more credit than that.”

“What are you doing here, then?” Scout repeated.

“Well,” Onyx said hesitantly, and he lowered his head.

Scout heard someone whisper something outside, and he glanced at the door. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Onyx questioned.

“I might not have perfect hearing, but I heard that,” Scout muttered, approaching the door. “Who’s out there?”

“It’s no one,” Onyx said. He stepped away from the door. “Can we talk for a minute?”

At the nod of Scout’s head, Onyx walked towards the living area, while Scout briefly glanced suspiciously at the door. Someone was right outside, he could feel it, but he turned to Onyx and dropped the bat to the floor, placing his hands on his hips.

“You’re probably wondering what I’m doing sneaking in through the back door in the middle of the night, right?” Onyx asked sheepishly.

“The thought did cross my mind, yes,” Scout answered stiffly.

“And I’ll tell you,” Onyx said, “but you have to promise me that you won’t get mad.”

“What did you do?” Scout sighed and shook his head in disapproval. “If this is about you wanting to break your sister out of jail, my answer is still no. I am not getting involved in this! It could expose the entire pack, and then the Crescents will open fire on us all. Do you want them to come after us?”

“Do not question my loyalty to you or to the pack!” Onyx replied, his voice rising slightly before he lowered it to its usual volume. He ran his fingers through his hair. “You should know that I would follow you anywhere. It’s what I have done every single day since you found me in Yosemite. But this is my family, Scout. She’s the only blood I have left.”

“And that blood will be the death of you,” Scout said.

“Maybe,” Onyx agreed, “but I had no other choice.”

Scout narrowed his eyes at him. “You had no other choice?” he repeated. “You didn’t do what I think you did, what I advised you not to do, did you?”

Instead of answering him, Onyx walked to the back door, stretching his hand to open it. Before he could do so, Scout reached out and pressed him up against the wall, his arm to Onyx’s neck to keep him in place.

“Scout!” Onyx screamed, his eyes widening in panic. “Scout, stop it!”

Scout immediately pulled Onyx away from the wall, but he still held his shirt in one hand. It had escaped his mind for a moment, but he was aware that Onyx hated being pinned down by the throat. Scout figured it had something to do with what had happened to him at Yosemite, or that it was related to the events leading up to it. He hadn’t needed to ask—he had only made sure not to do it.

“I told you that I didn’t want any part of this, Onyx!”

“I didn’t know what else to do!” Onyx cried. “Would you just let me go, please?”

Scout held him in place for a few seconds before letting go. Onyx straightened his shoulders as Scout backed away from him.

“Please, just hear me out,” Onyx pleaded, his hands raised defensively in front of him. Scout crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at him in disapproval. It didn’t seem to deter Onyx, who continued. “I need a place for her to stay.”

“You brought her here?” Scout hissed.

“Your place is much more secluded! And I know...” Onyx paused for a moment, and then he let out a deep sigh. “I know that she’ll be safe here. I know that if there is one person who can protect her, it is you.”

“I am not going to babysit your criminal sister!” Scout growled. He couldn’t believe Onyx had disobeyed his orders like this, that he had broken his sister out of jail and brought her to Scout’s home. It was no surprise Onyx hadn’t wanted him to get close to the door; she must be waiting outside.

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.