Chapter One
Aiden
She smelled of orange blossoms and crisp winter winds. That was Aiden's first impression of her; this female who so suddenly encroached on his territory, his town. Digging his forepaws into the frozen earth, he recalls the image of her face as she had stepped out of the faded yellow cab: eyes the color of dark chocolate, hair a shade of auburn that turned red as the autumn leaves in sunlight, skin like smooth ivory. The alpha wolf had assumed that he would want absolutely nothing to do with the sibling that his understudy had begged him to let stay with their Pack for a while – but then again, he had also assumed said sibling would be male – but now he found himself reconsidering as her hips swayed seductively as she walked up the front steps of the modernized mansion shared by the Pack members, dragging along a suitcase almost as vibrant a shade of red as her hair. Woofing quietly under his breath, he turns tail and pads deeper into the forest, the only remainder of his presence being the two faint paw prints in the dirt.
BaiLee
BaiLee breathes a sigh of relief when she finally manages to get the suitcase up the front porch steps. Raising a hand, she knocks tentatively on the front door, taking in the polished mahogany wood adorned with two brass knockers. Oh mother… am I really supposed to call this place home now? Reaching up reflexively, she finds herself clutching the single wolf fang hanging from her neck, the only thing she had been able to salvage that could remind her of her mother. A necklace, and nothing more. Biting her lip, she tenses as the doors swing open, and a huge brute of a man glares down at her. His appearance was intimidating, yes, but he did not bear the distinct odor of an alpha… therefore she had no need to be nervous. Clearing her throat and trying not to focus on his military buzz cut, cold silver eyes, and tattoos covering his arms, she says with some nervousness, "I'm BaiLee… Rick's sister? I am supposedly staying here for a bit…" The man simply grunts and steps aside, ushering her into the room. She had hardly any time to take in the gleaming chandelier, delicate crystals gleaming and illuminating the room in soft hues of gold, or the hard wood floors that somehow made the place seem more open and welcoming, let along the elegant yet modern chairs and table forming a semi-circle around a warm and enticing fire place. Longing to curl up there with a book, she turns away and follows the man down a hallway and into an even larger room.
This room was obviously a training area of sorts. While there were indeed chairs in a corner of the room, the middle was completely cleared except for mats placed strategically to break a persons' fall. The walls were lined with swords and even some bows, and was that a spear? But it was all lost as her gaze finds the man standing in the center of the room.
His pants hung low on his hips. He was wearing no shoes, and was in the middle of buttoning up a plain white shirt, offering a torturous glance of a perfectly defined chest before it was concealed by the thin white cloth. The window was wide open, and she fights the urge to laugh breathlessly – he did climb through a window, after all. He had high cheekbones and piercing green eyes that saw all of her yet saw right through her, and they were all the more vibrant… he must have just finished shifting, she concludes. Soft brown curls fell around his face and the nape of his neck. He looked like the type of man that had women dropping their panties with a smirk and a beckoning finger. He looked like the type of man that she should avoid at all costs.
Oh, she was in trouble.
"So you're Rick's little sis." He spoke then, voice smooth as water over rocks. "Already an alpha female, and a rogue one, at that." His expression grew dangerous then, and there was an edge to his scent that showed her that he was just as much of an alpha as she was. If she was not assertive, he would crush her. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw your sorry ass right back on the streets." The alpha continued a steely glint in his eyes.
"Because I doubt you'd be lucky enough to even touch my sorry ass, pup." She muses. That was an insult, a low blow, meant to measure how much control this strange alpha male had over his anger. Apparently not much, because he then released a low growl that had her knees melting and the hairs on the back of her neck standing up in alarm all at once.
"Please, run that by me again." He snarled out through gritted teeth, expression growing sharper, a shudder running down his spine. Dear God Almighty and sweet Jesus above, he was going to attack her.
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