It was an hour before sunrise when Scout opened his eyes, still hazy from the deep sleep he had just woken from. He felt rested for the first time in longer than he was willing to admit.

Scout glanced over at Rayven sleeping beside him, and he noticed the curve of her body as she lay on her side. He felt the need to embrace her, to pull her close, to feel her body pressed to his, to kiss her and drown in the taste of her mouth.

Scout shook his head to himself. Rayven wasn’t even doing anything; she was just lying there, sleeping. Funnily enough, though, she didn’t look as vulnerable as one often did when they were asleep; instead, Rayven seemed… calm. Comfortable, like she would be capable of sleeping the entire day if Scout let her.

Perhaps he should. The last thirty hours or so hadn’t been gentle to her. First, she had been framed and arrested for a crime she hadn’t committed. Then she had found out her twin brother was alive after years of thinking he might be dead. Then said brother had broken her out of prison, and she had met and imprinted on her mate. Finally, she had discovered that the people who were trying to pin a murder on her were most likely the same people who had torn her family apart.

Scout gently caressed her hair. He would make sure she never had to endure so much suffering again.

He slid out of bed, and as he was about to leave the room, Rayven groaned.

“Where are you going?” she asked, her voice groggy and thick with sleep.

“To shower,” Scout answered.

Rayven sat up and smiled a little sheepishly at him, a blush overtaking her cheeks. “Want some company?”

Scout stared at Rayven in disbelief. He would love for her to join him, but he didn’t want to make her think that she was obligated to do so.

“Are you sure?”

Her eager nod was more than enough answer for him. Scout held out his hand to her, and her palm fit against his as though they were two pieces of a puzzle clicking together.

They waited as the water of the shower heated up, enveloping both of them, but before they could step inside the shower, Scout turned to Rayven and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her as he pressed his lips to hers like he had wanted to do since he had first seen her. Rayven kissed him back hungrily, letting out a soft moan that reverberated throughout Scout’s entire body, and he was overwhelmed by an insatiable need for her.

They undressed each other under the hot water; their clothes left a soggy pile on the shower floor. Scout kissed Rayven again and again, running his hands over her body as her hands did the same with his. She was perfect in every single way, and she responded to his every touch with one of her own, slowly building up their desire for each other.

When he slid inside her, it was in one fluid motion, with Rayven’s arms around his neck and her legs around his hips while Scout pressed her back up against the tile wall. Rayven pushed her mouth against his, gasping her pleasure into their kiss, her fingernails digging into his back, her body tensing against his, and Scout couldn’t hold himself back any longer. He plunged into her with one quick thrust and felt Rayven’s heated core tighten around his erection as she mewled in pleasure, her orgasm overtaking her body. Scout climaxed with her, releasing his own moans of ecstasy as he released into her.

Afterward, they remained intertwined beneath the hot water still wetting their spent bodies, trying to catch their breaths. Rayven continued to kiss him, her hands cupping his face, and as Scout’s arms encircled her and brought her closer to himself, the only thought running through his mind was that he never wanted to let go of her.

After drying off from the shower, Scout walked into the kitchen, only to find that Rayven had made breakfast for the two of them. She had stepped out of the shower before him, saying she wanted to grab something to eat, but he hadn’t expected to be greeted with a cup of coffee and a plate full of mouthwatering pancakes.

“Rayven, you didn’t have to do all this,” Scout said with a smile.

“Oh, please,” Rayven replied with a nonchalant wave of her hand. She was leaning on the other side of the countertop, holding her own cup of coffee. “It was the least I could do.”

Scout noticed that her long dark hair was still damp from the shower. She was dressed in a pair of black sweatpants and a grey sweater of his—which was only normal, as his clothes were the only ones around—that somehow brought out her eyes, despite being at least a couple of sizes too big on her.

He couldn’t believe how incredibly breathtaking she looked.

“What?” Rayven asked, bringing him out of his thoughts. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No reason,” Scout lied, shrugging his shoulders. He could picture this becoming somewhat of a morning routine from now on. To his surprise, he found himself looking forward to it.

Rayven playfully narrowed her eyes at him. “No, no. I can see the gears turning in your head. What are you thinking about?”

Scout let out a scoff that turned into a chuckle midway. “Just… I was just thinking about how nice this is. Having you here has been great, and I…”

“What?” she prompted after he had paused for a moment.

“I don’t really want you to leave,” he admitted.

“Are you… asking me to move in with you?” Rayven asked a little hesitantly. Scout could see her considering the idea, and it was almost embarrassing, how much he wished she would stay. “I mean, I’m already kind of living here—”

“When this is all over,” Scout clarified. “After we’ve dealt with the Crescents and cleared your name.” He saw a soft smile starting to play at the corners of her mouth, but she bit down her lower lip before it could manifest entirely.

“Are you sure?” she asked, echoing his earlier question.

“I’m sure,” he said, reaching out to place his hand on top of hers.

Rayven walked over to him and kissed him, sending all his senses into what he could only describe as overdrive. Under any other circumstances, he might have been alarmed, but whenever he was around Rayven, it just felt right.

The front door burst open, and Scout could hear two voices arguing about something or other. He sighed to himself. He didn’t need to see them to know that Kala and Onyx had just entered through the front door, since their bickering was enough for him to recognize them.

Rayven leaned slightly out of the kitchen doorway, and she turned back to Scout with a smile. “Don’t they seem a bit like an old married couple?”

“Something like that,” Scout confirmed, “but don’t let them hear you say it.”

“Don’t let us hear you say what?” Kala’s voice asked. Scout glanced at the kitchen doorway just in time to see her and Onyx walking in. Rayven immediately went to her brother and pulled him into a hug.

“Hey, you,” Onyx greeted her.

“Hey,” she said, her smile widening.

“Seriously, what was it that you didn’t want us to hear?” Kala demanded.

“That you two bicker like an old married couple,” said Rayven, which made Scout throw his head back and groan playfully.

“You’ve gone and done it now,” he murmured.

“First of all,” Kala said. She approached Rayven and held out her hand. “I’m Kala! You must be Rayven.”

“Nice to meet you, Kala.” Rayven shook her hand.

Kala looked at Scout out of the corner of her eye. “You know, when I heard you say she was beautiful, I didn’t think you’d be so right.”

“Kala!” Scout nearly screeched as Rayven glanced at him, a confused expression on her face.

“Thank you, I guess?” she asked, though she was still staring at Scout.

“She’s a mind-reader,” Scout mumbled, blood rushing to his cheeks in embarrassment. Although Kala was slightly older than most members of the pack, sometimes she acted like she was one of the youngest.

Rayven’s jaw dropped, and she turned to Kala. “Really? That’s amazing!”

“I know, right?” Kala smiled proudly. “Anyway, second of all, Onyx and I just had a difference of opinions this morning.” Scout was about to mention that they always seemed to have a difference of opinions, but Kala held a finger up to stop him from talking. She had probably already heard what he thought of the matter. “Don’t make me tell Ray your dirty little secrets, Scout!”

She turned to Rayven. “You don’t mind if I call you Ray, do you?”

“Not at all,” Rayven answered, and she sounded way too excited about the prospect of having a nickname from someone else in the pack. Scout found it endearing. He caught sight of Kala smirking at him, and he glared at her in response.

“Any reason why you’re here so early?” he asked instead, wanting to change the subject to more important matters.

“Oh, right!” Kala elbowed Onyx in the ribs, receiving a pained yelp from him. “Tell them!”

“We found something,” Onyx said.

Scout immediately turned to look at Rayven, who was looking back at him. Their hands reached out for each other’s seemingly of their own volition, tightly gripping each other, preparing themselves for what they might hear next.

“So, I was out clubbing last night,” Kala began, “and I heard someone thinking about the Crescents and a ‘plan of action,’” she said, air-quoting the words plan of action.

“A plan of action?” Rayven asked. “To do what?”

“To kill you, it sounded like.”

Scout glared at Kala again. He really wished she was less straightforward sometimes, especially when it came to her saying other people’s thoughts out loud.

“Why do the Crescents want me dead?” Rayven questioned. She glanced briefly at her brother. “Why do they want us dead?”

“As far as I could tell, you both have something they want,” Kala explained. “They want both of your abilities, and to get them, they need to kill you.”

Rayven frowned. “The numbers thing?”

“What numbers thing?” Scout asked, turning to her.

“I can guess any kind of number,” she answered. “Phone number, address, social security number, credit cards...”

“And Onyx here can track,” Kala continued, and she crossed her arms. “Imagine what the Crescents would be able to do with a combination like that.”

“But then why go through the ordeal of having Rayven arrested?” Scout pointed out, his mind whirling to try to find the answer to every new question that arose. “If they wanted her dead, why not kill her in the alley, when they had the chance?”

Kala pushed her long blonde hair behind her shoulder, nervously scratching the back of her neck. “Because that’s not how the process works, if I understood correctly? See, the Crescents have these people called ‘extractors,’ and while they don’t actually kill you, they literally extract your ability out of your body, and that is what kills you. Really horrific death, by the way, like, it makes your abdomen explode and—”

“Kala!” Scout growled. “That’s enough!” His tone, for once, was apparently enough to make Kala realize there were some thoughts she didn’t need to say aloud. She lowered her gaze, again crossing her arms.

Next to him, Scout felt Rayven tense. He turned to look at her, and he instantly panicked at the sight of her eyes wide open, her gaze distant, like she wasn’t in the kitchen with them. “Rayven?”

“Mom,” she whispered.

Onyx inhaled sharply through his nose. It didn’t take Scout long to figure out that was how Rayven and Onyx’s mother had been killed: the Crescents had extracted her ability, whatever it might have been, and now they wanted to do the same to her children.

Rayven seemed to come back, because she screwed her eyes shut and then opened them again. “So what do we do now?”

“I personally suggest taking you to the Vault,” Kala replied.

“No,” Scout said immediately. “The Vault is too risky, especially if it means she has to leave the house.”

“What vault?” Rayven asked. “You guys have a vault?”

“Not a vault,” answered Kala. “The Vault. Capital ‘v.’ It’s our safehouse! The walls are lined with moon opals, and no one can get in or out without authorization.”

Rayven turned her attention to Scout. “And where is this Vault?”

“At the foot of the Buffalo Mountain,” Scout told her, running a hand through his hair. “But it’s too risky. It could end up putting you in danger rather than keep you safe.” The Vault did have more security than his home could offer, but it wasn’t as close to the house as Scout would like it to be, and he didn’t want to risk Rayven making the journey.

For a moment, no one in the room spoke. Rayven stared at each of them then let out a deep sigh.

“An extractor is coming for me and Onyx, right?” Kala nodded. “Do you know what he looks like? More importantly, do you know how we can stop him?”

“It’s… it’s not that simple, Ray,” Kala said, shaking her head.

“I don’t care about simple!” Rayven yelled, causing everyone in the room, even Scout, to jump slightly. “I can’t sit around waiting for someone to show up and kill me! I don’t want to end up like my parents, and I don’t want Onyx to end up like that, either!”

“Rayven—” Onyx started to say.

“No,” she interrupted him. “There must be a way to stop this extractor.”

If Kala’s silence was any indication, she had no idea of who the extractor was supposed to be. Without knowing his identity, they had no chance of stopping him.

“I’ll ask Creek to find out what he can about the Crescents’ extractors,” Scout finally offered, holding back a sigh.

“I’ll go get the Type Book from the basement,” Kala said. At the inquiring frown from Rayven, she went on, “Type Book, capital letters. It’s a bit of a guidebook, has records of all the types of abilities wolves can have—you’ll see.” Then she disappeared down the hallway.

Onyx looked at Rayven. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

“Absolutely.”

Scout crossed his arms and shook his head in disapproval. “I don’t like that you’re putting yourselves at risk Both of you.”

“What do you suggest we do, then?” Rayven asked him, approaching him. “I think it’s better that we’re prepared for whatever might come our way.”

“If anything were to happen to either of you—”

“Hey,” she interjected. She reached out to hold Scout’s other hand, his two palms tightly held in hers. “We’ll be fine.”

“We’re Starks,” Onyx added, smiling proudly at his sister. “And Starks are fearless—even more so when there’s more than one of them.”

“Besides,” Rayven continued. “If anything goes wrong, I know our alpha will back us up.”

Scout focused on the hope and trust in her eyes, on the fact that she believed they could do this. He might not have suggested this plan as his course of action, but he didn’t want to make Rayven’s decisions for her. He had been the one to assure Onyx only yesterday that she could take care of herself, after all. Rayven trusted him and his ability to keep them safe as their alpha.

And she was right.

Scout would always have their backs.