CLAIMED BY THE BLACK RIDGE ALPHAS

Chapter 3. First Ride, First Crack

Ryder showed up at six with an extra helmet hanging off the handlebar. “Short run. Just us. Test the repairs the right way.”

I kept wiping the same wrench. “I test them here.”

“Road’s different. Weight shifts. Wind. Real conditions.”

“I know how bikes work.”

“Then prove it.”

Damien stood near the open bay doors. “It’s an offer. You can say no.”

Knox stayed by his own bike, arms crossed, watching me the way he always did.

I looked at the helmet. “How short?”

Ryder’s mouth tilted. “Long enough to feel it. Not long enough to get lost.”

I took the helmet. The weight of it felt familiar and wrong at the same time.

We rolled out with Damien in front, Knox on my left, Ryder slightly behind. The engines settled into the same low rhythm. Night air hit my face and for the first time in months the bills and the bank calls fell quiet inside my head.

Ryder’s voice came through the headset, low. “You ride like you never stopped.”

“I didn’t.”

“Most people get careful after a while. You didn’t.”

“Careful doesn’t pay the lights.”

Damien’s voice cut in, even. “Keep the line tight. Curves get sharp up here.”

Knox said nothing. He just stayed close enough that I could feel the heat off his bike.

We climbed into the hills. The city lights dropped away. When we pulled into the lookout the engines cut one after another. I killed mine and sat for a second longer than I needed to.

Ryder was already off his bike. He stepped in close and reached for the strap under my chin. “Helmet’s loose.”

“I had it.”

“Now you have it better.” His fingers brushed the side of my neck while he fixed the buckle. They stayed a second too long. I didn’t pull away fast enough.

Damien watched from a few feet off, arms crossed. “You held the pace.”

“I told you I know how to ride.”

“Knowing and doing under pressure are different.”

Knox finally spoke. “She did fine.”

I looked at him. “Thanks for the approval.”

“Wasn’t approval. Was fact.”

Ryder laughed under his breath. “He’s soft on you already.”

Knox’s jaw tightened. “I’m accurate.”

I took the helmet off and ran a hand through my hair. The night wind caught it. Ryder’s eyes followed the movement.

“You always this quiet after a run?” he asked.

“I’m thinking.”

“About the bikes or about us?”

“About how long before you three stop hovering.”

Damien stepped closer. “Hovering keeps people breathing.”

“I breathed fine before you showed up.”

“Did you?”

The question sat between us. I didn’t answer.

Knox moved in on my other side. He took the helmet from my hands without asking. His fingers brushed mine again. This time neither of us pretended it was an accident.

“You shouldn’t be on the road with us yet,” he said.

“Then why did you let me come?”

“Because saying no felt worse.”

Ryder leaned against his bike. “He’s not wrong. Something about you on a bike next to us feels right. Dangerous. But right.”

I crossed my arms. “You always talk like that?”

“Only when it’s true.”

Damien’s voice stayed low. “The road isn’t safe for you yet. Not fully.”

“Safe from what?”

“Things you don’t know about.”

“Then tell me.”

“Not tonight.”

Knox handed the helmet back. His fingers lingered at the edge of my throat for half a second. Heat stayed after he pulled away.

“We should head back,” Damien said.

Ryder straightened. “Or we could stay longer.”

“No.”

The single word from Damien ended it. We mounted up again. The ride down felt tighter. Knox stayed closer than before. Every time I glanced left I caught the shape of him in the dark.

At the garage we parked in the same line. I killed the engine and swung off. My legs still hummed from the road.

Ryder was first to speak. “You felt it. Don’t say you didn’t.”

“Felt what?”

“The way the four of us moved. Like the bikes already knew the pattern.”

Damien’s eyes stayed on me. “He’s not wrong. But it doesn’t change the warning. You’re not ready for longer runs.”

“I’ll decide what I’m ready for.”

Knox stepped in close to take the helmet one last time. His voice dropped. “You always fight this hard when something feels good?”

“Who said it felt good?”

“Your hands on the bars. The way you leaned into the curves. You stopped thinking about the bills for an hour. That felt good.”

I had no clean answer for that.

Ryder’s grin came back, softer. “We’ll see you tomorrow. Same time. Same bikes.”

Damien nodded once. “Get some sleep, Faith.”

They started their engines. Knox was the last to move. He looked at me over his shoulder. The moonlight caught his eyes.

For a split second they flashed pure gold. Bright. Wrong. Inhuman.

My breath caught.

He turned away before I could speak and rolled into the dark. Damien and Ryder followed. The sound of the three bikes faded together until the street went quiet again.

I stood in the open bay with the helmet still warm in my hands and my pulse beating too hard in my throat. The gold stayed behind my eyes even after he was gone.

Something was wrong with these men.

Something was wrong with the way my body already answered to them.

And I had the clear, sharp feeling that the next ride would only pull me deeper into whatever they were.