Page 44 of Soul

“That shut them up. Can you imagine my brother with a girl? She’d never move without half the club behind her,” Rosalea asked, sitting down next to me. She had a huge grin on her face.

“Would it matter if it was a girl or boy?” I questioned.

“No. We have female officers, whatever it is, it would be in line to be president one day. If they pass it over, it would go to the next eldest,” Lindy said.

“And what if none of Warden’s children wanted it?”

“Then it would fall to Rosalea’s kids. And if no one in the bloodline joined, then Undertaker’s kids would be next,” Lindy explained.

“I see. So, the club is always protected. Can it vote for someone other than the designated successor?” I inquired.

“Yeah. But usually, the Legacy would inherit because they’d been trained to run it. Why upset the apple cart?” Lissy said.

“Which means you could join?” I asked Lissy.

Lissy looked surprised. “I’ve never considered it, but yes, if I wanted to. Dad would be pleased because my brothers don’t show an interest.”

“One of them will,” Lindy added rather confidently.

“Do you know something I don’t?” Lissy questioned.

“I always do, that’s why I’m Mom,” Lindy retorted, and I laughed. It was an answer I’d used plenty of times.

I spun around and looked for Maci and Ham and found them near Soul. They were talking to Wisecrack. His ability was hard to understand. Wisecrack explained he could sense emotional distress, and he also could soothe a physical pain and deliver it, too. He couldn’t heal people, though.

When I asked what he meant by delivering pain, he sent me a little shock, which made me jump. Scarily, he said that was a fraction of what he could do. I was shocked, to say the least. Some of the abilities here were out of this world and didn’t even have a name!

???

A while later, as it got to around nine in the evening, Warden approached me. He held his hand out and sat down beside me.

“You’re Soul’s anchor,” he said.

“So Storm and Soul claim. I’m not sure if I believe them or what to make of that, to be honest,” I replied.

“We had no clue anchors existed until recently,” Warden added.

“Yeah, he told me.”

“Soul has suffered agony. People automatically lie without meaning to. It was tearing him up. Soul’s been a lot better since you came around. Even apart from you, Soul will still feel some pain but nowhere near as much,” Warden mused.

“Are you heading somewhere with this?” I asked because that’s what it felt like.

“How much would it cost to make you stay and not strain this new bond?” Warden questioned.

I fell silent, and Warden watched me carefully. “Do you think I can be bought?”

“Everyone has a price, Bryony,” Warden countered.

“Not me. I’ve already told Soul I was prepared to hang about for a bit and see what happens. The children need to be around special people like them. But with your insulting offer, I’m not sure I wish to. Why would I want my kids growing up thinking they can buy people?”

“That’s blunt,” Warden replied.

“And your proposal was ill-considered!”

“Ah, I’m not going to lie. If it makes life easier and less painful for my brothers and sisters, I don’t give a fuck who I insult or what I have to do,” Warden stated honestly.

“That is obvious. But I’m not interested in anything you have to offer. I’m here for my kids, but if that comes with ties, then forget it. We’ll move away and start anew, and I’ll manage somehow. Perhaps you want to think about that. Excuse me,” I said, getting to my feet.

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