Page 135 of Soul of the Chaos

“There he was, at the bar, with some skank in his lap. I stood there, frozen to the spot, as his eyes pegged me from across the room. Slowly—deliberately, even—he grabbed this chick by the hips and dumped her on some other brother’s lap. She huffed but got right to it, sticking her tongue down the guy's throat. Never got her name and never saw her again. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes though. He was feral, his wolf looked like he wanted to tackle me on the spot.”

I bit my lip, remembering the look of absolute rage on that sweetbutt’s face when Mongrel all but dumped her ass as soon as I’d walked into the room. Priceless. It had made my wolf sit up and preen like a show pony to be noticed by a big old dominant like that.

“Mongrel always had a chick hanging off his arm. You know. ‘Oh Mongrel, you’re so funny.’ Or ‘Oh Mongrel you’re such a big boy.’ That kind of shit.”

I sighed and chuckled again, despite the possessive despair that curled inside me—even now—at the thought of anyone but Sasha touching my mate like that. We’d all come a long way since then.

Sasha’s breathing hadn’t changed, her face still peaceful in sleep. Not even a twitch or a peep. However, it felt like some part of her was listening. My wolf whined and wagged his tail impatiently, needing his mate.

“Well, anyway. Mongrel’s beast made me bold that night. So I looked that chick dead in the eye, slipped up onto Mongrel’s lap and said, ‘Bet I can get this asshole to take me to his den. I mean he did just dump your skanky ass on a fellow brother. For me. Wanna take that bet, sweetcheeks?’”

I shook my head at the memory. Not my finest hour but I was just a kid with a heart that wouldn’t stop racing around one man. All I knew was that I wanted Mongrel. More than anything. I wanted him to be mine.

“Spoiler alert, Mongrel did not take the skank up to his room that night. She was passed around a few more laps and ended up against a wall in the parking lot before she was sent home. To be fair, our burly beta didn’t fuck me that night, either. But he did take me up to his den. And he did get the best damn blow job of his life ‘cause if there was one thing my old pack taught me, it was how to suck cock.” Shit. “Sash, if you’re listening, just—forget I said that, yeah?”

The battle with the Bone Crushers had stirred shit up all right. I was a fucking mess.

Dark memories and feelings were getting all jumbled up with the horrors of this day, crushing in on that awful moment when our mate had fallen still on that cot. I thought for sure we’d lost her. Then my wolf had lunged, forcing his way through the magic of our pack bond to latch onto his mate and pull her through the eye of the needle.

“Less than a month later, Mongrel claimed me. Not like Chaos claimed, but club claim. Grimm smirked and made him go to Church, saying the Executive Committee would get to decide. Well, Mongrel went to Church, all right. Pissed. And told every one of them to fuck right off.”

I laughed at that thought. Many of the old bastards were still in play in those days. It took time to work in the new guard.

“Now you should know that several members had claims but they were properly mated. Been through the Chaos and had their marks and everything. So what Mongrel was trying to do just wasn’t done. No one claimed another wolf without a mark. You could have an old lady, but wolves saved their claims for the Chaos. Well, Mongrel didn’t want to wait.”

Fuck, I’d forgotten how it had all gone down. Nothing had been smooth. I’d been shoved in my room at gunpoint while they had the hearing and everything. Grimm, the fucking political mastermind behind the rough and ready alpha, had seen an opportunity. He was gonna ride his friend’s rage and turn it into a wave of change the Soul Reapers so desperately needed.

“Mongrel got his ass beat and was busted back to prospect. They told him that if he wanted me so bad that he’d defy their authority, then he could earn it by scrubbing the fucking toilets with his so-called mate.” My mate had been pissed. More than pissed. But he sucked it up and scrubbed toilets with me for like a month before I got patched in. “But you know what? He fucking did it. He scrubbed those toilets until they sparkled. Then he fucked me in each stall until I was hoarse from screaming his name. Telling me in actions, not words, that I was worth climbing through the muck for.”

He’d carried me—princess style—through the clubhouse bar. Ignoring every hoot and holler, every dirty glare from the old guard. Took me straight up to his den then fucked me some more.

Mongrel didn’t give a shit about their opinion. He’d decided I was his. End of story.

“As soon as our beta was patched back in, Bulletproof brought a motion to vote him in. Mongrel took Sgt. at Arms from the bastard who’d had it before. The same one who’d told him to scrub shit from our clubhouse stalls. Poetic, am I right?”

Yeah, Grimm had known his brother well. Seen he was ready to fight for what was right and positioned him to take the role he was destined for. While kicking another of the old guard to the curb.

“So, what was Grimm’s deal?” Sasha, eyes bright and still heavy with sleep, was smiling at me softly. “Mongrel didn’t even have the Chaos and he wanted you. Why did Grimm push me away? He just didn’t want me?”

“Oh, kitten, he wanted you plenty.” I cupped her face with my hands and pressed my lips reverently against hers. “He wanted you so much he couldn’t even let himself touch you with the Chaos beating down on him.”

I nibbled on my lip, wondering how much to say, but she was staring at me. So trusting, so open. I knew I had to give her everything.

“Things weren’t so simple for him growing up, baby. Grimm’s dad,” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. She reached up to brush a lock of fringe away that was falling in my eyes. “Well, he was a grade A asshole. And when I say asshole, I mean epic asshole. He was our Chains.”

Sashs shivered in understanding, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Here? In the Soul Reapers? You had an alpha like Chains?”

My mate scooted closer, resting her head on my chest.

“Yeah, we did. What you see today? That’s all Grimm, Bulletproof and Mongrel, baby. Newcomers to the Executive Committee like Carbon, too. Old gen brothers like Doc, Granite, and his old lady, Checkers. They’re all born and bred. But the ones that stayed, they had to want the change. And way, way too many didn’t. This version of the Soul Reapers was born from wolves’ blood, sweat and tears.” I rubbed my face against her hair, luxuriating in the way her new scent clung to my skin. “Grimm’s dad wasn’t a good man. But, from what I hear, his mom? She was an angel. And she’s the only reason we get to have the alpha we deserve today.”

“Did you ever meet her?”

I shook my head, heart heavy.

“Nah, she died before I found the MC.” I wished I’d had the chance. From what Mongrel had told me, she was a force of good in a world of pain. Much like Sasha. “She was the old Prez’s mate but not by choice. Not all pairings are like ours, kitten. Sometimes, the two pieces don’t fit. She wanted nothing to do with his dad but he had the Chaos behind him. So he took her by force. Then kept her under his thumb for the rest of her life.”

“Like Winter.”

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