Page 64 of Blood of Vengeance

“No, I think he can be impulsive but not in a way that would harm the club on purpose. And he’s got connections—he’d be a solid choice.”

Cutter nodded. “You in agreement, Zed?”

My taciturn brother nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Then the decisions are made. Once I get the vote, I name the two, and we go full bore against the vamps. Until then, we solidify our defenses. I don’t want to lose another brother to those lifeless fucks.”

That was something I thought we all could agree with.

Once club business had officially been called complete, I hurried to my bike to head home. I usually would have hung around, but I wanted to see my girl more than I wanted to spend additional hours at the clubhouse. I’d already been there all day, our early morning executive meeting turning into an afternoon full club one so Cutter could make his announcement about the vote. Then came the jibber-jabbering—the brothers wanting to talk over all things Cutter as prez and what it would mean. Fucking chatter, man. I hated it, but it was practically a part of the club culture. The brothers had to talk everything through, which meant I was leaving well past dinner time. I needed my girl.

I had made it halfway to my bike before I heard my name being called again. I wanted to ignore it, but that voice—the tone. Zed.

“What’s up?” I said as soon as he reached me.

“Heading home?”

“Trying to.”

“I won’t keep you, but I told you I would let you know if I heard any static about your mate.”

I stopped dead in my tracks, turning slowly to face him. Feeling my wolf waking up on the edge of my consciousness. “Yeah?”

“There’s chatter. They liked what they saw last night.” He stood back, arms crossed, entire body deep in shadow. “A couple have said they want a turn.”

There was no controlling my wolf in that moment. The pure fury coursing through my blood at the very idea of another man making a play for my mate had me losing all control. Zed caught my advance with a hard hand on my shoulder, not striking back but standing his ground as he kept me at arm’s length. Waiting me out as I half shifted and snarled his way.

Eventually, I was able to wrangle control from my wolf and return to my fully human form. I took a moment to just breathe, making sure my wolf had receded far enough to maintain my composure, before addressing my brother. “I’d say sorry, but?—”

“You’re not.” Zed stayed firm in his stance before me, not giving me an extra inch as he looked me up and down. “So the impassive Flinch does apparently flinch.”

“Not hardly.”

He smiled slightly, the shadows making the expression seem almost malevolent. An expression that dropped within two seconds. “You can’t lose control like that with them.”

“I know.”

“Until they know she’s your mate, they’ll talk shit about challenging for her. The dumb ones might continue after they know.”

“I know all that, too.”

“Claim her. Let the club know. Then take down anyone who dares challenge your claim on her.”

I sighed, knowing he was right. Feeling it in my bones. Wanting the taste of her skin and her blood in my mouth so bad. Needing it.

“I have to make sure she understands it all first.”

“So make her understand.” He turned and walked away, throwing one last bit of shit over his shoulder. “They talked about Zella, too. Don’t think Cutter’s going to like that any more than you like them talking about Locklyn.”

Fuck me, I hadn’t been paying attention to Cutter and Zella the night before, but he did stick awfully close to the bar. He had given her a ride back to the clubhouse and home at the end of the night, all without trying to hide it from the brothers. He had also sent Diesel over to my house to babysit without a moment of hesitation. The man hadn’t said a word, and yet I knew. I fucking knew, and obviously Zed did as well.

“Mated wolves are going to be the death of me,” I said to the empty parking lot, knowing that fact included myself.

Twenty-One

Locklyn

“Ready?”

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