Rayven glanced hesitantly at her brother, who stood about ten feet away from her in the basement of Scout’s house, and shook her head. “No.” The word was clear and firm, and there was no way to sway it.

Onyx, knowing this all too well, sighed in disapproval.

For the last few days, Kala had shown Rayven and Onyx how to effectively incapacitate, as well as kill, the Crescents’ extractor. Kala had them practice on her to ensure they used the right force and method. Neither of the twins had a problem with this, but when Kala told Rayven to attack Onyx, Rayven showed defiance. A lot of it.

It wasn’t because she thought that Onyx couldn’t handle it, or that she was stronger than her brother. Rayven didn’t want to have to pin her brother down to the floor with her arm to his neck because she knew how Onyx felt about being held in place like that.

Once, when they were children, she had seen a group of slightly older boys picking on Onyx. Her brother hadn’t reacted, not wanting to encourage them, and one of the boys had grabbed him by the shirt, pushed him up against the wall, and pressed his arm against Onyx’s throat. It was the only time Rayven had ever seen her brother completely lose his composure, and she knew he had only done it because he had been terrified. Rayven hadn’t been able to protect him back then, and so she had vowed that she would never allow anyone to make Onyx feel that afraid again—not even herself.

Onyx placed his hands on his hips, staring expectantly at her. Then he held his arms out to his sides, as if he were taunting her. Rayven stood firmly in place.

When it was clear to him that she wouldn’t be the first one to attack, Onyx sprinted towards her, and Rayven backed away in surprise, but she wasn’t fast enough. Onyx grabbed her from behind and pummeled her down onto the concrete floor. Rayven grabbed him by the leg and flung him to the ground as well.

“Is that the best you can do?” Her brother crouched beside her and balled his fist, pretending to stab her in the chest. “Because if it is, you’re dead.”

Rayven pushed herself to her feet and dusted herself off.

Onyx exhaled. “What’s wrong, little sister?”

“I’m older than you by three minutes,” Rayven muttered. Then she turned to look at Kala. “I’m done.”

Kala’s shoulders dropped. “Ray—”

“Listen, I—I just can’t, okay? Tell me to fight anyone in the world. Anyone at all.” Her eyes shifted to Onyx. “Just not my brother.”

“It’s just to better prepare you—”

“I’m already more prepared than I can be,” Rayven replied, walking towards the basement steps leading upstairs. She entered the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. She felt more than heard Scout walking into the kitchen,

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

Rayven turned to him and saw him leaning against the countertop, his brow furrowed in concern. “I’m fine.”

“She can’t fight me,” said Onyx as he entered the room, standing at the doorway. Kala followed behind him.

“I’m fine,” Rayven repeated, moving past them to go to the living room and sit next to Scout’s other beta, Creek, on the couch. She didn’t know what he and Scout had been discussing, but she was glad that at least Creek didn’t seem too interested in making pointless small talk with her. He simply smiled at her in greeting.

After a few minutes, in which Rayven assumed Kala, Scout, and Onyx discussed something or other in the kitchen, the three of them walked into the living room. Next to her, Rayven felt Creek tense, and she noticed the way his eyes focused on Kala, noticed the way his gaze hardened. She saw Kala try to ignore it.

I wonder what’s the story there, she thought. She had assumed that all of Scout’s pack members got along with each other, but maybe it was like in any other big family: sometimes you got along with some people more than with others.

“Kala,” Scout called. “How’s the search for the extractor going?”

Kala cleared her throat and began speaking. “So, the identity of the Crescents’ extractor, unfortunately, continues to remain unknown. However, there are a few things we’ve been able to find out, so be on the lookout for someone who dislikes water.”

“Water?” Creek repeated.

“Yes,” Kala clarified, and Rayven heard the way she intoned her answer, almost as if to say, Yes, Creek, that substance that is vital for most living organisms. “They can’t do the extraction in or near a large body of water.”

“How large are we talking about?” Onyx asked.

“Anything larger than a hot tub. They’ll avoid it like the plague and stay on high ground. And most importantly, their eyes will go bright yellow when they’re provoked,” Kala said. “So bright yellow eyes mean danger.”

Rayven shifted in the couch. She didn’t like the fact that one of the signs had to be seen at such short distance.

“Anything else?” Scout asked.

Kala shook her head. “Sadly, no. That’s all I’ve got.”

“I’ll ask around some more,” Creek said, standing up from the couch. “There must be more information about these extractors somewhere. I mean, someone has to know something.”

“Thanks, Creek,” said Scout. Rayven didn’t know if he had noticed the way Kala and Creek had interacted with one another. Perhaps he always did, and he had decided not to let it bother him unless it became a problem?

Later that evening, Scout and Rayven lay in bed together, enjoying their seething body heat as their skin pressed against one another’s. Rayven felt as if she was going to explode into a million glowing embers, heating up the entire world from only one touch from Scout.

“You’re awfully quiet over there,” Scout murmured. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Just… a little worried, I guess.”

“Glad I’m not the only one,” he said. Rayven playfully slapped his chest.

“I was talking about Onyx,” she said.

“And I was talking about both of you,” Scout added. “I don’t like that you guys are being prepared to face someone who wants to kill you.”

“What do you suppose I do with the extractor? Invite him for lunch?”

Scout wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “I just don’t want either of you to get hurt.”

Rayven nuzzled closer against his chest. “We’ll be fine. Kala’s been a huge help in our training. How long has she been a member of your pack?”

“Not as long as you might think, actually.” Scout paused slightly. “As a matter of fact, I can’t remember how she became a member. We’ve asked her a few things about her past, but she’s always been vague about her life before the pack.”

“Does Creek not like her or something?” Rayven asked, recalling how it had seemed to her like they were ready to shift and attack one another at the simplest mistake.

Scout let out a pensive hum. “You caught on to that, huh?”

Rayven almost sighed in relief. She was glad she hadn’t just imagined it. “So what’s the deal between them?”

“Creek doesn’t trust Kala,” Scout answered. “Not at all. He thinks she’s hiding something.”

“Well, what if she is?” Rayven asked. “Everyone’s got secrets.”

“Dangerous secrets,” Scout said. “I don’t know why Kala doesn’t like talking about her past, but I’ve never wanted to push too hard.”

“Yeah,” Rayven agreed. Maybe something traumatic had happened to Kala, and her way of coping with it was to pretend it hadn’t happened, the way she had pretended Creek hadn’t been trying to murder her with his eyes.

“You shouldn’t worry about that. They both know this pack would fall apart if their personal issues got the best of them.” Scout kissed the top of her head, and Rayven couldn’t help thinking back to the night Scout had told her about his family being split apart, how he had so fervently tried to assure her he didn’t care about his brothers or their whereabouts.

I’ve never wanted to push too hard, Scout had just said.

Maybe his way of dealing with his own past is to pretend it doesn’t bother him anymore, she thought.

Rayven pushed herself up to hover above him and kissed Scout on the mouth, hoping she could convey how much he meant to her, how much she wanted him to be okay, how much she wanted him to trust her and know she would never judge him. Scout grabbed her waist and kissed her back with a hungry intensity that made her shudder, their kisses growing heated between them. When Scout slipped between her legs, Rayven gasped his name against his lips, and all she wanted was to keep him exactly where he was forever.

A strange sound woke Rayven, and she glanced at her phone as she sat up in bed. It was just after midnight, and Scout was sound asleep beside her. She didn’t want to wake him, so she slipped out of bed and put on one of his long-sleeved shirts. She left the bedroom and walked along the long hallway, an icy chill running down her spine at the eerie darkness surrounding her. The kitchen felt a lot emptier than Rayven would’ve liked, and she rushed to grab a bottle of water from the fridge and turn back to return to the bedroom.

She heard the mysterious noise again. It came from the back door, the very same door through which she had entered Scout’s home for the first time, changing her life in more ways than one.

The sound echoed in the deafening silence once more, and Rayven thought it sounded like nails scraping on wood.

She ran through the living area towards the door, nearly launching herself at it, and yanked it open. The only thing she was able to see was the large scratch marks on the door…

Quite long and widely spaced.

A horrified gasp ripped its way out of her throat, despite her attempts to swallow it down, as she backed away from the door. “Scout! Scout!”

She heard the thumping of Scout’s footsteps throughout the house until they stopped, and she whirled around to find him standing behind her, rushing to her side.

“Rayven?” she heard him ask, his arms embracing her. “Rayven, what’s wrong?”

“Look.” Rayven gestured with her head to the door. Scout pulled away from her and stepped forward, narrowing his eyes at the scratch marks on the wood.

“They’re identical to the ones in the alley,” he murmured.

“He was here,” Rayven said as Scout slammed the door shut and locked it behind him. “He knows where I am.”

“We’ll take you to the Vault,” he said. “Kala and Onyx were right; it’s the only way to keep you safe.”

“I don’t want to hide,” she argued. “I want to take down whoever this person is, and I want to do it as soon as possible. I won’t let him taunt us like this!”

“That’s exactly what he wants,” Scout told her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “To lure you out so you’ll be an easy target.” Rayven looked away from him, knowing he was right. Still, she didn’t want to just hide in a safe house and do nothing else. It didn’t seem fair to her that Scout and Onyx were apparently fine with risking their lives while they expected her to stay out of danger.

Scout squeezed her shoulders reassuringly. “Listen, how about we deal with this in the morning? Creek, Onyx, and I will go get supplies tomorrow, just in case, and then we can talk about the Vault. Okay?”

“I don’t think a few hours of sleep will change my mind, Scout,” Rayven said. “What about Onyx? What about you? You two are the only family I have left. I can’t lose either of you, and if something were to happen—”

“Hey, hey.” Scout pulled her into his arms, comfortingly rubbing his hand on her back. “You’re not going to lose either of us, Rayven. I promise you that.”

Rayven hugged him with all her might. She nodded and inhaled, deeply breathing in the scent of him, unable to stand even the thought of losing him.

Even though there was no place where she felt safer than in Scout’s arms, dread and paranoia still crept up inside her, tainting the back of her mind with fear of what was to come. Despite knowing that she and Onyx were as prepared as they could possibly be, Rayven realized that things might not go according to plan. The upcoming confrontation with the extractor might not end well. Someone was bound to get hurt, and she didn’t want that person to be Onyx, or Scout, or god forbid, anyone else in the pack.

She couldn’t stand knowing that people who cared about her would get hurt because of her, and there was nothing she could do about it.

What she could do was keep the two most important people in her life alive and safe, even at the cost of her own wellbeing.