Page 34 of Soul

Yes, my brothers were stupid as I saw Wyvern, Thunderbird, and a couple of others exchanged awkward glances.

Noble slowly released his bubbles, and I relaxed back.

“Is the cookout still on?” Iona demanded into the silence asCécile shrugged.

“Yeah,” Warden snarled. “But no whores.”

Soul

I’d clearly missed drama because everyone was a little subdued when I came down several hours later.

“What did I miss?” I asked Dare, who giggled.

“Oh, it was bad! Whores are riddled with diseases, which they passed on to half the club. Warden schooled them all in hygiene and let Slasher heal the brothers but sent the sluts away until tomorrow. There’s going to be a meeting. They also have a week to get a medical and clean test certificate to us or they’re gone,” Dare explained.

Riley walked by, and I raised an eyebrow.

“Male sluts are tested every two weeks, which means they care about themselves, us, and our health. Our sluts are good sluts,” Dare crowed, and I flinched.

“I’m going to head out to the cabin after this. I need to destress,” I said.

Dare nodded. “You’re looking peaky, brother.”

“Dare, I feel shit.” I rubbed my arm and winced. Dare reached out and snagged my long-sleeved top and yanked the arm up.

“Fuck!” she hissed. “Slasher!” she shouted as her eyes took in the jagged nail marks and raw flesh. “Soul, you should have said.”

“I’m no burden,” I replied and tugged my sleeve down. Moments later, it was pulled back up as Slasher studied me.

“Just your arms or all over?” Slasher demanded.

“All over,” I admitted.

The shower hadn’t helped, and I’d torn my skin to shreds trying to alleviate the pain. A cool sensation flooded my body, starting with my head and heading over my neck and shoulders before sweeping the length of me.

An eased sigh escaped me as Dare patted my hand.

“You’re an idiot,” she chided, and I nodded. Who the hell was I to argue? I felt relief at last. Slasher finished and slapped the back of my head.

“Don’t mess with my zen,” I warned, and he laughed.

“Whatever, dude. Don’t get in that state again.”

Slasher was right. It wasn’t just me alone. I had brothers and sisters around me, and I needed to remember that.

I waited until Cécile’s name, Seeker, and Etienne’s, Craft, was announced and their patches given to them, and then I headed out.

The cabin awaited me.

Bryony

Strange. Now I wanted to speak to Soul, he’d not been home. It had been four days since I’d last seen him, and I didn’t know whether to be concerned or not. I was dithering over contacting Priest or Blue when I heard pipes, and looking outside, I saw Soul pull in. Quickly, I headed out to talk to him.

“Hi. I wondered if you had a moment?” I asked.

Soul turned and faced me with a smile as a second bike pulled up behind him. I felt awkward as a beautiful woman straddled her Harley and stared straight at me.

“Sorry, you’ve got company,” I said and began backing hurriedly down the drive. Of course he did; he was a young man. Any woman would love to be with him. And she was totally stunning, and I hated her drop-dead gorgeous looks.

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