Deator stands before the club and his voice is commanding when he starts talking. “Brothers, we’re here to take a vote. Should the New Law offer Bree McGuire our protection against the Eaters? We’ve had run-ins with the Eaters before and let’s just say our numbers are down since then. Should we take on a fight that isn’t ours? You know where I stand.” He looks in the eye of every man in the room. “You know where I stand.”
He sits down and the room is so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Already, I know I’ve lost. These men obviously respect their president and they’re not going to go against him.
Ronan stands up and addresses the room. “I don’t mean to disrespect my dad, but I don’t think we can back down from the Eaters. We need to show them we’re not afraid of them. Plus, we are not fighting a battle that is not ours. She is ours. She’s one of us. She is the cousin of a patched member.” He points to Bruin standing next to me. His eyes find mine for a split second and then he looks back at the men staring at him. “Plus, I’m claiming her. She’s one of us now. She’s mine.”
I gasp. I don’t know what it all means, but when he growls the words “She’s mine,” I feel it to the very core of my body. A commotion breaks out into the room. Everyone is talking at once and they’re all looking at me now. I’m still trying to make sense of what just happened when Deator stands back up and instantly the room is quiet. He looks at Ronan. But after I look closer, I realize he’s not looking at Ronan, he’s looking at Kass, his wife, or ol’ lady. She smiles at him, nodding her head. There’s a silent exchange between the two of them.
Deator tells the room, “Okay, we are taking a vote to protect Bree McGuire, Bruin’s cousin and my son’s—” He stops and looks at Ronan, almost questioningly. Ronan nods his head before Deator continues, “my son’s mate. This is to mean we would protect her against the Eaters and all others. Choose wisely, men.”
Ronan calls for the vote. “Everyone in favor?”
The room calls out, “Aye.”
His voice hardens. “Against?”
It’s as if he looks around the room, daring anyone to say a word. The room is silent.
He confirms to everyone, “The ayes have it. We will protect Bree with everything we have… or die trying.”
Ronan
Deator then appoints me to watch over Bree. I agree easily. There’s no one else I would trust.
When I walked into this room, I knew exactly what I was going to do. There’s no way I could turn my back on her or let my club, either. I wasn’t lying when I told them I was claiming her. I am. She was mine when I had her against me out in the forest.
Bree is looking around the room still trying to figure out what just happened. I don’t know if she fully understands what it means that I claimed her. But she’s about to find out.
I walk over to Bruin and shake his hand. I know he wants to say something to me, but he doesn’t. He just nods his head as if giving me a blessing. Not that I needed one, but it’s going to make this easier for sure.
I grab Bree’s hand and walk her out to my bike. I sit down and nod my head at her. “Get on.”
She doesn’t move. “Where are you taking me?”
“Home.”
She blinks her big brown eyes at me before getting onto the back of my bike. She gives me the address to her house and I realize she’s only a few miles down the road.
I grab on to her hands behind me and pull them around me, pressing them into my chest. “Hold on.”
She grips on to me and I take off down the road. When I pull into her house, I walk her in, checking everything inside and making sure it’s secure. “I’ll be right back. I want to check outside. Lock the door after me.”
She nods her head and I walk outside, checking the perimeter to make sure it’s clear. After I know everything is safe, I walk back to her cabin and knock on the door. She opens it and when she sees I’m about to argue with her for opening the door without asking who it was, she holds her hand up. “I knew it was you.”
I take off my vest and throw it across the back of a chair. Pulling off my shirt, I let it drop and then I start walking toward her.
Her eyes are big and she puts her hand on my chest, stopping me from coming any closer. “What about Lola?”