Chapter 1: No Place Is Home

Kayleigh’s POV

I ended my shift at Tony’s Diner and punched out my time card.

I jogged the backway home in a cozy neighborhood where not much happened. My earbuds were in my ears in case some jerk in a car passing by tried to yell something smart at me to get my attention.

I learned through two heartbreaks in a row that a boy dangling from the window of his car with cheap compliments was not the way to go. Especially when they found out I was an orphaned rogue with no Alpha or daddy to make them regret treating me badly.

I made it to my house, a home for orphaned rogues like me in ten minutes flat and heard the chaos of the younger children upstairs as our foster mother, Ms. Julie Crane, wrangled them all into bed. There was a mess downstairs that I began cleaning up to help out. I smiled as things got quieter and then heard her footfalls descending the stairs.

“Hey, Kayleigh, how was your day?”

I shrugged as I tossed the last of the toddler toys into the bin and fell onto the sofa.

“It was alright. I made good tips. Enough to get some cool things for my room at school or…”

She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Or what?”

“I was thinking that I could forget the Academy and stay here to help out.”

“Oh honey, that is such a sweet thought. But, no. That scholarship is an amazing opportunity for you. You worked so hard on the track team and that school has one of the best programs in the world.”

“Yeah, because it's a school for Alphas… I’m just a rogue.”

“No, sweety. You are more than ‘just a rogue’. You are one of the fastest, strongest, smartest kids in the entire country. That school for Alphas is lucky to have you. You’re going to do great and amazing things in this world.”

I smiled at her. Mom’s had to say that kind of stuff, right?

“Thank you,” I said and gave her a hug. “I will miss you.”

“I will miss you, too.” She smoothed a hand over my hair and squeezed me back. She had taken care of me since I was five, but I couldn’t remember a time before I came to live with her. She was the only mother I’d ever known.

“I know one thing you won’t miss,” she said as we pulled apart. “When it’s your turn to wash the dishes.”

“Oh, mom…” I pretended to whine as I hopped up to get to it.

“There are leftovers in the fridge if you want. Be in bed before midnight.” She stretched and then made her way to her bedroom on the bottom floor away from all the kids.

I put my earbuds back in and walked to the sink. I dumped the soap on top of the dishes and began washing to the beat of the music.

I was almost done with just a few spoons and forks at the bottom when an arm came out of nowhere and wrapped around my throat. I reached up to pull the arm away, the arm was thick and burly and immovable. I tried to scream but my wind pipe was cut off.

I saw the knife block from the corner of my eye and quickly swiped a cutting knife driving it into his leg. He released me and I gasped for air. I made to move but couldn’t recover fast enough and he punched me in the face. I stumbled backward and hit the floor hard. I was still gasping for air and couldn’t call for help.

He came at me and I tried to kick him away. He pulled my legs and then flipped me onto my stomach pressing his knees onto the back of my legs against the floor as he zip-tied my hands behind my back. I gasped for more and more air, each time getting a little louder as I tried to call for help.

Suddenly, he yanked my head back by my hair and shoved a gag in my mouth. He followed that up with slapping duct tape around my mouth. I tried to wiggle and buck under his weight and then he hopped off, pulling me up to my feet.

I slipped and stumbled as he forced me back to the sink and violently pressed my face into the water.

The movement was so fast and I was so stunned. I automatically closed my eyes and held my breath and continued to struggle against him. His hold on me was iron tight. I bucked and kicked trying to get free. He pressed his heavy body against me, keeping me in place.

As moments ticked by, I knew I was going to die. I began to feel my lungs burn. I began to feel my resolve weaken and my body went slack as I began to count down the last moments of my life. When I took that next breath, I would not find the delicious and refreshing air my lungs craved.

I would breathe in and swallow the dirty soapy dishwater and that would be the end of me. My life began to flash before my eyes. The track team and all the medals I won, getting through middle school taller than everyone else, and the first day I came to live with Ms. Julie all played out in a matter of seconds.

Then my mind flashed back to the time I had completely forgotten, me as a little girl in the arms of a beautiful woman that smelled like honeysuckle and vanilla. Her hair was raven black and curly, her skin was golden brown and warm. Her long eyelashes fluttered over her large hazel eyes. She laughed and her laughter was like music to my ears.

Then everything went dark and all I heard were screams. The screams were mine, I was alone and crying… there was fire all around.

Suddenly, the grip on me loosened and I dropped wet and exhausted to the floor, gasping for air through my nose and not getting enough. I turned over to see Julie standing over the fallen body of my attacker, a butcher knife in one hand dripping with blood.

The body was built strong and in all black with a ski mask covering their face. A pool of blood was growing under him.

Julie turned to me and then hurried to help me to my feet. She cut the zip-tie and removed the duct tape and gag from my mouth.

“Kayleigh, are you okay?” she asked. “I know you’re hurt, but you’re already healing.”

I shook my head, my breathing was haggard and the hammering of my heart was relentless.

“Who is that and why did they… Why did they try to kill me?”

Julie went back to the body and pulled the mask off. I sucked in a shocked breath. It was a boy. He couldn't have been much older than me. Julie searched his pockets and she found a list of names and addresses.

“These are scholarship winners…” Julie said and returned to searching the boy’s body. In his back pocket was a letter from the Alpha Academy Rogue Scholarship Board saying that he had been waitlisted and if a spot opened up, he would be contacted.

“So, he thought he should kill me?” I asked.

Julie hummed and kept searching. She found a burner phone and flipped it open. She scrolled through a stream of text messages with instructions to my house and a promise of not only getting the scholarship but also a 10 thousand dollar payment if he killed me.

“Someone hired him,” Julie said, horrified.

“We need to call the police," I whispered hoarsely.

‘Is it done?’ A text chimed in. ‘Is she dead? Do I need to send someone else?’

My blood ran cold.

“You need to get out of here,” Julie said firmly, pulling me along to her room and sitting me on the bed. I didn’t realize I was shaking until she held my hands in hers to steady them. “Breathe honey, breathe…”

She demonstrated by taking a breath in and letting it out.

“We don’t know how close this other person or backup might be.” I couldn’t believe how calm she was. “Our cover here is blown.”

“Our C…cover?” I repeated. “What are you talking about?”