The Price of Loyalty

Blood And Chrome

​Chapter 2: Blood and Chrome

​The roar of the engines should have been the only thing I heard, but my ears were ringing with a different kind of noise. As Leo gripped my arm, his fingers firm but careful, he practically dragged me toward his bike. I stumbled, my boots scuffing the pavement, but my head was stuck on a swivel.

​I couldn't stop looking at them.

​It wasn't just gratitude. It was a deep, low thrum that started in the pit of my stomach and coiled tight, sending a sharp, demanding throb straight to my core. My breath hitched. I’d never felt anything like this—not even close.

​And then there was what Leo said. Different.

​As my inner wolf paced restlessly behind the cage of my ribs, the air around the three strangers seemed to shift, revealing what they really were. I didn't know how I knew, but I felt it. The Greek one with the lethal eyes? Vampire. The one who looked mixed? Hybrid. And the Spanish one with the gold-flash in his eyes? A Wolf, just like me.

​But it wasn't just their species. They felt like a Soldier, a Rich Nerd, and a Bodyguard. It was a weird-ass combination for guys wearing biker vests. Why the leather? Why the MC front?

​"Leo, stop! Can you stop dragging me?" I snapped, finally yanking my arm back as we reached the bikes.

​Leo turned on me, his honey-colored skin flushed with a mix of adrenaline and pure rage. "You’re lucky I’m only dragging you and not throwing you over my shoulder, Loyal."

​"We should be thanking them!" I shouted over the idle of the Harleys, pointing back toward the shadows. "They handled it. They saved me while you guys were still blocks away."

​"That’s enough, Loyal," Levi growled, swinging a leg over his bike. His jaw was set so tight I thought his teeth might c***k. "You know better. We warned you about this. We told you the streets aren't safe this close to a full moon, especially your first one."

​"I was at work!"

​"A job you shouldn't even have," Lucian chimed in, his voice calmer but just as stern. He was the 'thinker' of the brothers, but right now, his eyes were cold. "We told you we’d pay for your classes. We told you we’d take care of everything. You didn't have to be out here."

​"No," I defied them, crossing my arms over my chest. "I’m not a pet, and I’m not a princess. I’m a grown woman. Or I will be tomorrow."

​"Then start acting like one and get on the damn bike," Leo commanded, his President voice leaving no room for argument.

​I looked back one last time. The alley was empty. The three strangers had vanished into the night like they were never there, but the heat they’d sparked in my blood wasn't going anywhere. My brothers thought they were protecting me from the four thugs on the ground, but they had no idea.

​The "different" ones were already under my skin. And I had a feeling they weren't just passing through.

​Should we have Loyalty try to sneak out of the clubhouse later that night to find them, or should she wake up the next morning feeling the "fever" of her first shift starting?The ride back to the clubhouse was a blur of neon lights and the roar of the engines, but I wasn’t really there. My body was vibrating, and it wasn't just the bike.

​I could feel them. Even with miles of asphalt growing between us, I felt them waiting and watching. It was like an invisible thread was hooked into my skin, pulling me back toward that dark alley. My blood was boiling—not just warm, but a searing, liquid heat that felt like it was melting me from the inside out.

​I’d never heard any of the older wolves describe it like this. They talked about "the itch" or "the restlessness," but this? This was fire. For the past year, I’d been feeling a low-grade version of this heat, a constant simmer under my skin, but tonight it had boiled over.

​The cool spring breeze whipped against my face as I gripped Leo’s waist, and God, it helped. I leaned out slightly, letting the wind hit my neck, trying to douse the flames. I knew the second we hit the clubhouse, I was going to bolt for the shower. I needed ice-cold water to stop the throb that was pulsing through my entire body.

​But I knew my brothers. It wouldn’t be that easy. They were going to lock the doors and demand answers I didn't even have.

​I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, trying to catch my breath, and that’s when I saw him again in my mind’s eye. The Greek one. The Soldier. Even in the dark, his eyes had been piercing—hungry in a way that made my stomach flip. He hadn't looked at me like a girl who needed saving; he looked at me like I was something he’d been tracking for a lifetime.

​"Almost there, Loyal!" Leo shouted over his shoulder, his voice tight with lingering protective rage.

​I didn't answer. I couldn't. I was too busy trying to keep my soul from screaming. As the gates of the MC clubhouse creaked open, the heavy scent of motor oil and old wood hit me, but it didn't feel like home tonight. It felt like a cage.

​The bikes cut out, the sudden silence ringing in my ears. I went to hop off, but my legs felt like lead, and the fire in my blood took a sharp, demanding turn.

​"You're shaking," Lucian said, appearing at my side before I could even steady myself. He reached out, his light-skinned hand catching my arm, but he flinched the second he touched me. "Loyalty, you're burning up. This isn't just adrenaline."

​I looked at him, my vision blurring at the edges. "I just... I need a shower, Luce. Please."

​Leo was already off his bike, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the two of us. He looked toward the entrance of the clubhouse where the rest of the brothers were starting to spill out, then back at me. "The shower can wait. We need to talk about those men. They didn't have a patch I recognized, but they had power. Too much power."

​I didn't care about power. I didn't care about patches. I just cared about the fact that if I didn't get under cold water soon, I was going to lose my mind—or worse, shift right here on the gravel in front of everyone.

I didn't wait for Leo to finish his sentence. Using every bit of the kickboxing footwork my brothers had paid for, I twisted out of Lucian’s grip and bolted. My heart was a drum in my ears, and the shower was the only finish line that mattered. If I could just get to the water, maybe I could wash away the scent of those three men and the fire they’d lit in my blood.

​But my brothers weren't just men; they were predators, and they were faster.

​I didn't even make it three steps before a wall of muscle blocked my path. It was Levi. He had moved with a blur of speed I couldn't match, his broad shoulders blocking the clubhouse entrance. I tried to pivot, to dive under his arm, but Leo was already behind me, his hand catching the back of my jacket.

​"Let! Me! Go!" I snarled, the word vibrating in my throat with a low, animalistic gravel.

​Around the yard, the rest of the MC—men I’d grown up with, men who were like uncles and cousins—stopped what they were doing. The clinking of beer bottles and the low murmur of conversation died instantly. Their eyes were on us, sharp and on edge. They were wolves, and they could smell the chaos coming off me. They could smell the strangers on me, too.

​"Loyalty, look at me!" Leo commanded, his voice vibrating with the authority of a President. He stepped into my space, his golden-tan skin flushed with the same heat I was feeling. "You’re vibrating. Your eyes... they’re already turning gold, Loyal. It’s too early."

​"I said I need a shower!" I screamed, my body arching as a fresh wave of that agonizing, beautiful heat spiked from the pit of my stomach straight down to my core. I felt a heavy throb between my legs that made me lightheaded. My body was screaming for a release I didn't understand, a hunger that had been triggered the moment those three strangers stepped out of the shadows.

​"Something's wrong," Lucian muttered, his sharp eyes scanning my face. He looked at the rest of the brothers in the yard, his voice dropping. "She’s peaking twenty-four hours early. And that scent... it’s all over her. It’s not just wolf. It’s something older. Something darker."

​"Who were they, Loyal?" Leo’s grip tightened on my arms, grounding me even as I tried to thrash away. "Tell me exactly who they were. Did they touch you? Did they mark you?"

​I squeezed my eyes shut, the image of the Greek vampire's piercing, hungry eyes flashing behind my lids. I could still feel the phantom weight of his gaze on my skin. I wanted to tell Leo to go to hell. I wanted to run back into the night and find the three of them—the soldier, the nerd, and the bodyguard—and demand they put out the fire they started.

​"Nobody touched me," I hissed through clenched teeth, my nails digging into my palms so hard I could feel the sting of my own blood. "But if you don't get out of my way and let me get to that water, I’m going to tear this clubhouse apart."

​Leo looked at Lucian and Levi, a silent, weighted conversation passing between the three of them. I saw the flash of worry in their eyes, the protective instinct of the pack fighting against the reality that their little sister was changing into something they couldn't control.​I threw my head back and looked up at them. I didn't need a mirror to know my eyes had changed; I could see the world differently, everything sharper, tinted with a strange, glowing aura.

​A deep, chest-rattling growl tore from my throat. The sound was so violent, so primal, that for a split second, my human mind wondered if it had actually come from me. It didn’t just feel like a wolf waking up. It felt like raw, crackling magic welded directly to my wolf’s spirit, and they were both fighting to tear their way out of my skin.

​My knees finally buckled. The edges of my vision began to tunnel, turning a fuzzy black. As much as my burning skin crawled at the thought of anyone touching me, I realized with a wave of panic that I wasn't going to make it to the shower on my own. It was too early. The fever was too high. I was holding on by a frayed, snapping thread, and the darkness was pulling me under.

​I needed my brothers.

​Leo caught me before I hit the dirt, his strong arms wrapping tight around my waist. The shock of his touch sent a jolt of pain through me, but I gripped his leather vest like it was a lifeline.

​"L...e...o..." I gasped, the words tasting like copper on my tongue. I could barely force the breath out of my burning lungs. "I need... my mates."

​Silence slammed down over the clubhouse yard.

​"What did you just say?" Levi whispered, stepping closer, the blood draining from his face beneath his golden-tan skin.

​"They're... the three," I choked out, a rogue tear of pure agony slipping down my cheek. "Please... I need them."

​Lucian stared at me, his sharp eyes wide with absolute disbelief. Mates were rare enough in our world. But three? Three strangers who weren't even part of our MC?

​"How did I know?" I whimpered to myself, the realization crashing over me even as I faded. The pull, the heat, the instant connection in that alley—it all made terrifying sense now.

​My three brothers just stood there, looking at me, completely paralyzed by what I had just confessed. Leo's grip on me tightened, his protective instincts warring with the sacred, undeniable law of the mate bond. Before he could say another word, the fire inside me flared one last time, and my world went completely black.