Page 5 of Knot So Sweet

"I don’t know what to do about any of this, Candi," he admitted, his voice low, strained. "All I know is I don’t like the idea of trading one monster for another. The Serpents are unpredictable. They’re dangerous. Trusting them could be just as deadly as waiting for the Hounds to come knocking."

I swallowed, my throat tight as I snapped the band on my wrist again. He was right. The Serpents weren’t known for their mercy or their loyalty. They were a gang, same as the Hounds, just playing a different side of the same dirty game. But if we didn’t act soon, we’d be left defenseless.

"And if we don’t do something?" I pressed, my voice steadier than I felt. "What happens to the Den? To Kay? Creed? The Hounds won’t wait forever, Owen. We’re on borrowed time, and I’m not about to sit here and watch everything we’ve built burn to the ground."

His shoulders sagged, and for a second, the weight of leadership seemed to visibly crush him. "I don’t know," he repeated, quieter this time. "I don’t know how to keep you all safe."

The helplessness in his voice hit me like a punch to the gut. Owen had always been the one with answers, the one who stood tall and strong even when the rest of us faltered. Seeing him like this—uncertain, lost—made the gravity of our situation all too real.

"I know it’s risky," I said gently, my fingers tightening around his arm, trying to anchor him. "But we’re not going to make it alone. Vaughn’s family is strong. The Serpents have power. Theymight not be the heroes we want, but they might be the only ones willing to stand between us and the Hounds."

Owen stared down at the floor, silent for a long moment. His chest rose and fell with slow, deep breaths, like he was trying to pull himself back from the edge of something dark. Finally, he nodded, just once, the movement stiff.

"Alright," he said, voice barely audible. "I’ll talk to Vaughn. But this doesn’t mean I trust them, Candi. If we’re getting the Serpents involved, we need a backup plan. Something solid. Because if this blows up in our faces…"

His words trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid. We both knew what would happen if it all went wrong.

"I’ll come up with something," I promised, already thinking of contingencies. "We’ll be prepared. One way or another, we’ll make it through this."

Owen gave a small, tired smile, the kind that didn’t quite reach his eyes. "I hope you’re right."

I hoped I was too. But we needed to consider this option, and hopefully Vaughn could convince his uncle to help us. If we didn’t open The Den soon, we risked losing everything to Michelle Sterling.

I refused to let that bitch win.

Owen sighed as he watched the destruction on TV. The destruction the MC was responsible for. "I hope trusting the Serpents isn't a mistake."

I hummed in agreement. I wasn’t sure trusting them was the right choice either. They were a club of alphas after all. But at this point, what other choice did we have?

Chapter 3

Viper

The roar of thebikes echoed through the quiet streets of Sterling City. Pixie and Ghost flanked me on either side aswe raced through the streets. The Omega Den loomed ahead, its neon sign dark and uninviting.

The club had been closed down for months and was finally looking to reopen. Normally, I’d never set foot in this part of town. It was Hound territory, and just being here fueled the war that's been brewing.

But when my nephew called in a favor, asking for the Serpent’s protection, I couldn’t turn down family. Vaughn had grown up at the clubhouse, though he was never really one of us. He never patched in. I’d offered him a permanent place by my side, but he’d turned me down, choosing instead to carve out his own path and build his own pack here.

The Omega Den represented a safe space for omegas, and I agreed with Vaughn.

Sterling needed this place now more than ever.

But not only that. Vaughn was also family. Family meant everything, and when they needed backup, you stepped the fuck up and did what needed to be done.

Regardless of the risks.

Maybe it was my way of atoning for my past mistakes, a way to balance the scales of my conscience. Gears and I had started the Steel Serpent MC to unite alphas and protect our city. But the MC had been responsible for so many deaths, especially recently, and the aftermath of our actions was still haunting me.

Chaos’s death had hit us hard. He was one of our own, a dedicated member of the Serpents who had perished in the fire that consumed the docks. Chaos had tried to stop the bomb from detonating. But despite his bravery, he had been too late.

The innocent blood spilled that night was a stain on my soul, a constant reminder of my failures as president, and as an alpha. I'd made an oath to protect those who needed it, and I'd failed. The guilt gnawed at me, a persistent shadow of inadequacy that I couldn’t escape.

I took a deep breath, pushing away the shame that threatened to suffocate me. Vaughn’s plea for help had awakened something in me—a need to right wrongs, to offer protection where I could. The Omega Den wasn’t just a business, it was a lifeline for those who had nowhere else to turn, and it needed protection.

These omegas need the Serpents.

And if that meant stepping into Hound territory and facing Titus's wrath, then so fucking be it.

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