The Alpha (Reaper’s Scythe MC #1)

Chapter 1

1

KELSIE

C oming back home felt like two different parts had come alive within me.

On one hand, it was like stepping into a past I wasn’t sure I wanted to relive. And on the other hand, it was like I was finally home after being lost for years.

The clubhouse for the Reaper’s Scythe MC loomed in front of me, the neon skull-and-scythe emblem casting an eerie glow in the darkness. I’d gotten off the bus twenty minutes before and decided to walk the rest of the way to the clubhouse.

It was dark and would be dangerous in any other city, but this was Reaper territory. Being the sister of the enforcer sure as hell meant I would be safe.

The rumble of bikes and the low thrum of deep classic rock thumped from the interior of the clubhouse, humming in my chest and sending a rush of nerves through me. I gripped the strap of my bag tighter and adjusted it on my shoulder, forcing myself to move forward.

I was admitted through the gates of the club’s property, because the men at the front recognized me. I realized I clearly hadn’t changed much in the years I’d been away.

Physically, I might look the same on the outside, but I wasn’t the same girl who had left this place. Not internally—mentally nor emotionally. I’d been running from a life I swore I wouldn’t lead, one that was ran by a motorcycle club that dealt with dangerous and illegal things. But here I was, back in the only place I’d ever really known.

I kept to the side and shadows as I walked toward the clubhouse. Men in denim and leather leaned against the brick walls of the building, smoking joints and cigarettes as they eyed me but left me alone.

Before I entered through the clubhouse’s front door, I stood and stared at the painted MC logo on the scarred wood. With one more long inhale, then a slow exhale, I pulled the door open and stepped inside.

For a second, no one noticed me as they drank, played pool, watched sports on a big screen TV, and got lap dances from the club girls. All too quickly though, the hair on my arms stood on end. I knew I was being watched. But not being watched in the way that a stranger glanced at me. No… this was personal.

And then I saw him.

Knox Richter.

He leaned against the bar like he owned the place—because, in a way, he did. He was one of the highest-ranking members of the club and held a hell of a lot of power.

He was also my brother’s closest friend and the last man I should be looking at, considering how things ended between us.

I had loved Knox with everything I was so long ago. He’d been the only man who made me feel that way. But loving him meant losing myself. I’d known the club would always come first. Before me. Before us.

My father had been a member, then my brother. I saw what it did to my mother and had seen the relationship between my parents grow more and more distant.

Even so, I’d gotten involved with Knox, because he made me feel things that made no sense. I tried to ignore the blood on his hands and the way danger followed him like a shadow.

But the breaking point for me had been when he came to me one night, eyes dark and knuckles raw and bloody. I knew immediately he had killed someone. It didn’t matter if it had been warranted. I’d been terrified of what that meant.

I knew I had to leave. Because if I stayed, I’d never leave at all.

Knox’s gaze was sharp, intense, tracking me as I walked through the haze of smoke, spilled whiskey, and the scent of stale booze and imminent sex. He looked the same—massive, broad, and made up of all hard muscle wrapped in leather and violence.

His dark-blond hair looked even darker now, with a sprinkling of gray at his temples. The strands were a little longer than I remembered too. He let his facial hair grow out, and now, his jaw was covered with a trimmed, dark beard.

His arms were bigger—huge even—and covered in tattoos. I was almost transfixed as I watched his inked arm flex when he lifted his beer bottle and tipped it back to take a long pull.

I swallowed hard, but I refused to look away. Before I knew what was happening, I stopped right in front of him. For long seconds, neither of us spoke. I stared up at him, his six-foot-four height towering over my five-seven frame.

“Didn’t think I’d see you again.” Knox’s voice cut through the noise and the thick tension between and all around us.

Before I could respond, I heard a voice I’d been hearing weekly over the phone since I left. My brother Carter.

My older sibling pushed club members out of the way as he stepped out from the back, a case of beer in his arms and shock on his face.

“Holy fucking shit. Kelsie? You’re really here?” He set the crate of beer down and gestured for a prospect to unload it. Carter walked around the bar and stood a foot from me, eyeing me up and down like he seriously couldn’t believe I was here.

His brows furrowing, his lips twisted as happiness broke through his rough and vicious exterior. He took another step forward, towering over me like the overprotective bastard he’d always been. And then he pulled me into a big bear hug, his arms thick and strong and wrapped around me like he thought I’d vanish.

I glanced at Knox around Carter’s arm, seeing him watching intently.

“Shit, it’s good to see you, little sis.” He squeezed me tighter, and I wheezed as his strength pushed the air from my lungs. I broke away and laughed.

“Nice to see you too, Carter,” I muttered with a grin, shifting my bag higher on my shoulder.

Confusion crossed his face. “I’m damn glad you’re here, so don’t get that twisted, but… you’re supposed to be hundreds of miles away. What the hell are you doing here?”

I let out a short laugh.

“Like, you’re supposed to be living a normal life,” he added.

I shrugged, still feeling Knox watching me, but I refused to look at him, because it unnerved me. It made me feel too many things.

“Well, I guess normal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” My attempt at humor fell flat, and Carter picked up on it.

His jaw ticked as if urging me to explain why I was leaving behind everything I’d built over the past few years. But before I could open my mouth, Knox’s voice cut in sharply.

“She’s staying.”

Carter and I turned just in time to see him push off from the bar, each movement slow, deliberate, and controlled. Knox had that same quiet dominance about him that I remembered, the kind that made everyone around take notice.

And it always made my pulse race in ways I wished it wouldn’t.

Carter glared at Knox before looking back at me. “You can stay at my place?—”

I shook my head, cutting him off. “The clubhouse is fine. It’s safe, and I’m tired.”

Carter and Knox seemed like they wanted to argue, but my resting bitch face had them keeping their mouths shut. I’d grown up in the motorcycle club world. I could handle myself. But also, no one would fuck with me in the first place, and they knew that.

Carter nodded, took my bag, and guided me through the corridors of the clubhouse, leading me to one of the empty rooms. It would be a small sanctuary away from the chaos just feet away.

He pushed open the door and let me enter first, and when he stepped in behind me, I immediately felt his protectiveness filling the space. He set my bag on the made bed and stood there watching me.

“You hungry?”

I shook my head. “No. I’m just exhausted.”

He stared at me again and grunted a response. But the look he fixed me with was one that said we’d soon talk about why I left. “Okay, well, get some rest. We’ll sort out your reasons for leaving later, Kels, when you’re ready,” he promised, his tone soft yet commanding.

I sighed, admitting softly, “I know. We will.” I rubbed my eyes before looking at my brother again. “I need to find work,” I blurted out, not wanting to admit I used the last of my money to get here.

Carter’s brows furrowed. Yeah, he really wanted me to talk about what was going on, but he sighed and said, “You can work the bar at the club. We only have rookies here—and believe me, they suck.” His words carried the weight of irritation, and I laughed softly.

“I can do that.” I remembered helping behind the bar when I was younger. Back then, it had been so fun. Now, it would be about making money to survive.

He gave me a nod, one more hug, then left me to settle in. But the quiet of the room was soon broken by Knox leaning against the doorframe. He still had that same alpha energy surrounding him—the same one that I’d fallen in love with.

I was too tired to hash out the past, but he surprised the hell out of me by pushing away from the entrance and walking up to me. I held my breath when he reached out and took my hand with a possessive tenderness that made my heart twist. It made me… remember so much.

“You’re safe here, Kelsie,” he murmured, his eyes dark with unspoken feelings.

In that moment, I sensed the hurt he kept hidden—his pride wounded by my choices. But his loyalty was unyielding.

I tipped my head back and met his gaze, and for a second, we shared a silent understanding. “I know I am.”

Though I had left everything behind, letting my fear control me instead of trying to work things out, Knox had always been at the forefront of my mind.

The world felt like it was crumbling before I made the decision to come home, but right here, right now, I felt like I was whole and that everything would be fine.