Page 9 of Arch
“Call it what you want,” I say, unfazed. “I see potential in you, boy. The Wolf Riders could use someone like you—fast, smart, fearless. But you’d need to learn to follow orders. Tosubmit.”
The word hangs between us, heavy with intent, and I see the way it lands, the way Keegan’s pupils dilate just a fraction.
“Submit?” Keegan scoffs, but his voice is rougher now, like he’s fighting something. “I don’t do well with rules,Daddy. Thought you’d have figured that out by now.”
That word again, thrown like a gauntlet.
My patience snaps, and before I think it through, I’ve got him backed against the garage wall, my hand fisted in his shirt, pinning him in place.
The boy’s lean but solid under my grip, his chest heaving, his eyes blazing with defiance and something hotter.
The air crackles, every nerve in me alive with the feel of him, the scent of him, the challenge of him.
“Keep pushing, boy,” I growl, my face inches from his, “Keep pushing and I’ll show you what happens when you don’t play nice.”
My other hand braces against the wall beside his head, caging him in, and I feel the shift—the way his body tenses, not to fight but tofeelthis, to test how far I’ll go.
Keegan doesn’t back down.
Instead, the boy leans into it, his breath warm against my jaw, his smirk sharper now.
“Maybe I want to see what you’ve got,” Keegan murmurs, low and taunting, and fuck if that doesn’t light me up like gasoline on a spark.
For a second, I’m close to losing it—close to closing the gap, crushing my mouth to his, wiping that smirk off his face with something rawer.
His lips are parted, his eyes locked on mine, and I can feel the heat rolling off him, the want that matches my own.
But I don’t.
Not yet.
The boy needs to earn it, and I need to keep my head on straight.
I tighten my grip on his shirt, just enough to make him gasp, then lean in, my voice a low rumble.
“You want in with the Wolf Riders, you play by my rules” I warn. “No fights, no mouthing off, no bullshit. You prove you can handle it, and maybe—maybe—I’ll let you ride with us.”
I let go, stepping back, and he sags against the wall, his chest rising and falling fast.
Keegan’s eyes are still on me, dark and hungry, but there’s something else now—uncertainty, like he’s weighing what I’m offering against his instinct to run.
“Why me?” Keegan asks, quieter now, the bravado dialed back. “You don’t even like me.”
I don’t answer right away.
Truth is, I don’t know if I like him or want to throttle him.
But I see something in him—a fire that could burn bright if it’s shaped, not snuffed out.
And yeah… I want him, body and soul. But that’s a complication I’m not ready to admit.
“Because you’ve got something,” I say finally. “Something worth saving. But you’re on a path to burn out, Keegan, and I don’t waste time on lost causes. The Wolf Riders are the best for a reason. We don’t carry passengers. We only ride with the real ones.”
The boy laughs, but it’s softer, almost bitter.
“You sound like my old CO,” Keegan says. “He thought he could fix me too. Tried to sell me on a heap of all together bullshit.”
“I’m not your CO,” I snap, stepping close again, my voice hard. “I’m not here to fix you. I’m offering you a chance to be part of something bigger. The Wolf Riders aren’t just a club—we’refamily. But you step into our world, you need to know the stakes.”
