by Jenika Snow
The woman stayed back, but Drevin could tell she was invested in the conversation. She might dress scantily, but she was smart. That was clear in the way she kept her focus on the guys, and listened to everything they said.
Finally, the old man turned and started talking to the woman. They moved back a few feet, but even the distance couldn’t dim out Drevin’s animal senses. He heard everything they said, and knew all the Grizzlies were listening very closely.
“Granddad, you sure you want to sell?” The woman said.
“Darlin’, I’m getting too old to tend to the land anymore, and we still have a few dozen left for the family. I think this is the best route.” The old man’s voice was raspy with age.
“Okay, if this is what you want,” the woman said, and gave her grandfather a hug. The two of them faced the Grizzlies once more.
“I think we got ourselves a deal,” the older man said, and he and all of the members shook on it. And just like that, the Grizzlies had some work to do to make this place a second home.
****
Allie was washing the last dish when she heard a knock on Drevin’s front door. She’d agreed to stay at his place while he was gone, but the truth was she enjoyed being here, surrounded by his stuff. She set the rag down and headed toward the door. Glancing out the peephole, she saw it was a group of women, ones she didn’t recognize. Drevin had told her the club knew she was here, so maybe they were with them? Feeling a bit strange and uncomfortable, she pulled the door open, not about to be rude. Allie smiled, trying to be polite because these women were part of The Grizzly MC, or at least so she assumed.
“Allie?” the one closest to her said.
“Yes.” She glanced among the four women.
“I’m Sonya, Jagger’s old lady.” She smiled. “This is Darra, Brick’s old lady, Diesel’s old lady, Maggie,” she started pointing out each of the women. “Molly, Stinger’s old lady, and Court and Dallas’s old ladies, Hope and Lilly.”
The one named Lilly held up a six-pack of beer.
“We just figured you might want some company since Drevin is gone,” Sonya said and smiled. “And, well, we wanted to meet you. It’s been a long time for Drevin, and we’re happy he’s found someone.”
Allie felt so off kilter right now, and it was all because these women had thought about her, and taken time out of their schedule to make sure she wasn’t alone.
Sonya held up a covered dish, and the rest of the women did the same. “We brought dinner, too, knowing you were here alone while some of the guys are on a run.”
“Oh, um, thank you.” Allie was surprised that they’d been kind enough to see her. “Come on in.” They all piled into the house, and Allie stepped back, feeling overwhelmed with the happiness inside of her. How in the hell had her life gotten this good and right? She was welcomed into this life, this unconventional family, and she felt like she really belonged somewhere.
“Come on and have a cold beer with us, Allie,” Lilly said and held up the bottle. “We can give you the dirty details about Drevin, and how to deal with these overbearing alpha bears.”
They all started laughing, and Allie shut the door, smiling and feeling this comfortableness fill her. God, it was good to feel like she belonged.
****
Drevin and Brick sat at the scarred counter in the only bar in a small town right outside of Steamboat. They were going to stay the night at a motel and head back at first light. He’d already called Allie, realized the whole Grizzly old lady crew was with her, and a semblance of calm had come over him at that knowledge. The Grizzly crew of old ladies was a fierce bunch, and protected their own as well as any male shifter.
“Your woman is taking care of mine,” Drevin said to Brick, and brought his beer to his mouth. The bar they were out was loud, playing an old country song at the moment, but housing a lot of older men that looked like they farmed for a living. They’d gotten a lot of looks when they entered, but when a group of women came in the younger guys had gravitated toward them instantly.
“The whole crew is over there, right?” Brick said, his focus on the TV in front of them.
Brick wasn’t very social, and sure as hell didn’t have small talk about females, even if he loved his woman Darra more than life itself. Drevin and the other males were the same way, but Drevin wasn’t used to worrying or caring about a woman. But with Allie that had been what he’d been doing on this trip. He just wanted to get back to Steel Corner and be with her, and he didn’t care if that meant he was a pussy whipped asshole.
The sound of the front door banging open sounded, and it was like all conversation ceased. Drevin and Brick turned around at the same time, and they stared at a group of men coming through. They were dressed in faded denim, dirty t-shirts, and black leather cuts. The one in front looked right at Drevin and Brick. His nostrils flared, and he turned and started saying something to the other men. The back of his cut said he was part of The Devil’s Crew MC.
“You boys watch your step. Them’s the Devil boys, and they are bad shit in this part of town,” the bartender said in a hushed vice. “They run shit here.” He turned and headed in the backroom.
The man that was leading the crew turned around, and Drevin looked at the front of his cut. He was the President, and the club was a one-percenter. They didn’t fuck around, but neither did the Grizzlies, and no one wanted shit started tonight. Apparently they were right in the middle of Devil territory. If they played it cool then they wouldn’t step on anyone’s toes.
The human bikers headed toward where Drevin and Brick were, and both Grizzlies stood to their full height. They towered over the humans, but these bikers were big motherfuckers. The younger Grizzlies moved away from the females, and toward where Drevin and Brick stood, probably thinking some shit was going down. Drevin didn’t know if it would, but the chances were pretty good given the proprietary and territorial scent of territorial rage burning through these Devils.
“You boys are a long ways from home,” the President of this club said, and eyed him and Brick up and down. He couldn’t be much older than forty. His blond hair was in a man bun, and the way his blue eyes regarded them was like Drevin and the boys were shit on his shoe.
“We bought some property in Steamboat, came here to unwind, and plan on heading back tomorrow,” Drevin said, not wanting to have to take these males down. They were shifters after all, stronger than even the biggest human. These men might have rights to this territory, and their club might control things over here, but it was common practice in the biker community that if things were set straight from the beginning there shouldn’t be any issues. That’s why Drevin had told them their business in the first place. Maybe these fuckers weren’t playing by the rules, and if that was the case then Drevin was ready to throw down.
The President of the club looked over all of them, had to realize they weren’t human by their patches, cuts, and the growls coming from the younger males, but either way the scent of strength came from him. He didn’t show any weakness, and didn’t stink like fear either. None of them did.
“Well, let me welcome you to our quaint little town.” The President grinned, a flash of straight white teeth. His blue eyes held no emotions though. “I’m Cal, and these are a few of my boys.” He pointed to the other men behind him. “Shooter, Reaper, and Striker.” Cal lost his smile and looked between him and Brick. Drevin scented how close Brick was to shifting, because no doubt the other man didn’t like the scents coming from the other bikers. They were still guarded, even if they were welcoming Drevin and the guys.
“Have a drink on us,” Cal said, looked at the younger generation, and flashed a grin again. But it looked predatory, menacing almost.
“Come on, guys,” Drevin said, and they all followed Cal and the other Devil members to a large booth in the corner of the bar. Once everyone was seated the tension in the room seemed to lessen from the patrons, but the Grizzlies were still on alert.
The bartender brought over a
tray fill of pitchers of beer, and another female came over with glasses for all of them. Before she left Cal wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. She was tense at first, but when he whispered something in her ear she glanced at Drevin and the other Grizzlies and swallowed. She was clearly uncomfortable, but she got down on her knees under the table. It didn’t take a genius to know what in the fuck Cal had told her to do. And that was affirmed when the sound of a zipper pulled down, and Cal grinning and leaning back in the booth. Cal started at Drevin, his eyes this strange blue color, almost non-human in shade, and a challenge clearly there. He was waiting for them to start shit, maybe hoping they would.
“I’m not sure what you’re trying to prove,” Drevin said, not going to play fucking games. He leaned forward, holding Cal’s gaze with his own. “You know if it went down you wouldn’t come out standing.” Drevin may not have wanted to start anything, but the vibes coming off of this male and his men were not sitting well with him. He also sensed the discomfort and tension with the rest of the Grizzlies.
Cal leaned forward, reached under the table, and when the woman gasped and her head hit the underside of the table, she scrambled from under it. No one stared at the female. The Grizzlies stared at the Devils, and vice versa.
“Listen up, boys, this is our town. We don’t want any outsiders, especially a club of biker shifters coming in here, setting up shop, and thinking they have claim to any of it.”
Drevin could have told him that they didn’t want any of that, but he was past all of that. His bear was pissed, his human wanting to punch this fucker and his club of bitches in the face, and watch as his human ass realized that no one fucked with a Grizzly. Cal stood, his other men following suit, and with one more flash of his teeth, he tucked his cock back in his pants and pulled his zipper up. He was a lewd fucker, trying to possibly scare them into submission. He was a human with a big set of balls to think anyone could intimidate them, but a part of Drevin respected that. But that part was small compared to the section that wanted to rip his throat out.
“Enjoy the drinks on us, boys,” Cal said, and the rest of the Devil crew made their way toward the entrance. Cal grabbed a woman in passing, and after she squealed a little in surprise, she molded to him and let him carry her out of there. The silence stretched out as everyone stared at Drevin and the other males.
“I say we go out there and beat their fucking asses for disrespecting us,” Mason said, the rage in the male’s voice evident. Hell, they were all pissed.
“No, we’ll let it go for right now. We brought the property, will finalize everything over the next few weeks, and when they come back to start this up again,” Drevin looked at all of them, “and they will, we’ll be ready to show them their place.”
Chapter Eight
Several days later
Allie held Drevin’s hand, and he felt like some kind of adolescent shifter getting his dick hard for the first time. But it wasn’t just about fucking her, but about so much more. He’d finally found something worth a hell of a lot in his life, and she was here with him.
They’d just finished eating at this new pub and grille that had opened up, and as he stood there waiting to check out, he couldn’t help but pull her close and inhale the sweetness that was all her. He three males coming closer, their voices loud, and the stench of alcohol pouring from them was intense. He pulled Allie closer to him when he looked over his shoulder and saw one of them looking at her, maybe innocently, but he was looking at Drevin’s woman, and that didn’t sit well with him. He didn’t like the look in the guy’s eyes, and when the human brought his mug of beer to his mouth and stared at Allie’s ass, and weaving slightly on his feet because he was drunk, Drevin forced himself not to walk over there and clock him in the fucking eye for his disrespect.
“Don’t worry about anyone but you and me,” she said softly.
He looked down at her, felt his bear rise up and growl in approval, and leaned down to kiss her on the lips.
“I can help you, sir.”
Drevin stepped forward, got his wallet out, and gave her a few twenties. Right when he reached out to take the receipt Allie was pushed forward and slammed into his back. He turned around and steadied her with a hand on her shoulders, glanced at the man behind her, the one that held the beer and had been eye fucking her, and he growled out loud enough everyone stilled around them. He looked down at Allie, saw the beer the male had spilled all over the back of her, and the rage that consumed Drevin was like nothing he’d ever felt. The man tried to reach out for her, maybe to help clean her up, but Drevin didn’t know or care. He’d already lost it, and his bear was in control now. He pushed Allie out toward the front doors, but turned and grabbed the man by the collar of the shirt and hauled his ass outside as well.
“You fucked with the wrong woman.” He lost it, hadn’t been thinking clearly since that shit with Cal and his Devil crew, and maybe he just needed an excuse to start something with another person. He was seething with anger and ready to shift and kill this asshole. The human glanced up at Drevin, clearly drunker than hell, and grinned.
“You mean that pretty redhead in there? Man, I was just looking.”
Drevin blinked a few times, shocked that this asshole was seriously going there. He curled his lip in anger and disgust. He was either fucking stupid for not showing any fear in the face of a shifter, and a Grizzly MC member to boot, or he was too drunk and arrogant to realize he wouldn’t win this. Drevin curled his hands into fists and turned his head to spit. He faced the human again.
“I’m all about sharing though.”
“God,” Allie said softly.
“She’s mine, and you tried to touch her. You looked at her, spoke to her, tried to fucking get with her.” Drevin was growing angrier by the second.
“Drevin, come on. He’s not worth it,” Allie said, and tried to pull him away. He shrugged off her hold and took a step closer. He couldn’t let this go. He was pissed about Cal, and pissed that this asshole was still staring at Allie.
“Maybe your girl was just giving off those vibes?” he said and looked behind him, maybe to get a little back-up, but his buddies hadn’t come out with him. Maybe Drevin should have felt some kind of control over himself because this dick was intoxicated, maybe given him a break, but he didn’t and still planned on kicking his ass. He took a step closer.
“You have some balls, boy.”
The human grabbed his dick and grinned. “Maybe big enough to go against you.”
Drevin shook his head, and his bear broke free without any warning. He charged forward and slammed his body into the human’s body. They slammed into the front of the building, the glass on the front window shattering. Screams came out from the people inside, but Drevin didn’t give any thought to them. The human tried to swing out, and Drevin let him have the hit. His fist slammed into Drevin’s jaw, and blood exploded in his mouth. Drevin grinned and slammed his fist into the human’s kidney. The other male stumbled back, but came forward again swinging, like he was fucking going to come out of this whole.
His actions were slow and sloppy, a result of him drinking all night and his arrogance that he could take Drevin. He brought his fist up, clipping the human in the jaw and feeling and hearing bone break. The human stumbled back again, blood immediately spilling from his mouth and nose. Drevin was pumped with adrenaline and endorphins, and his bear was excited over the blood being spilled. The beast snapped and growled, and clawed for more. The fight was half the fun, half the rush.
“Drevin, please stop,” Allie screamed out. “You’ll kill him.”
He was too far gone now though.
The bear inside of Drevin pushed forward even more. He wrapped his hand around the human’s neck and growled, hoping to have the little asshole piss himself. He lifted him easily off the ground, and in one hard, quick move, slammed his fist into the side of his head. The human immediately slumped forward, out cold and bleeding from his ear. Drevin dropped him t
o the ground, knowing the noises that left him were threatening, menacing.
“Oh my God,” Allie said from behind him. He turned, feeling feral right now. He knew he was partially changed, felt his canines and claws, knew his eyes were completely black, but he relished this freedom. He stared at Allie, watched the horror cross her face as she stared at him, then turned her gaze to the unconscious male on the ground.
“Drevin, he could die.”
“Someone call an ambulance,” someone inside called out, and Drevin moved into action.
He pulled Allie toward him and made his way toward the SUV. She tugged her arm out of his hold, but he didn’t have time to fuck around and explain why he’d done what he did. He needed to get them out of here before someone recognized him and the police came. He hadn’t been wearing his cut, and even if the cops found out who he was, the Grizzlies did have connections with the local PD. But that didn’t mean Drevin wanted to tempt those connections.
He got in the driver’s side and started the engine. Once they were out of the parking lot and headed toward the main square of Steel Corner, he breathed out and glanced at Allie. She hadn’t said anything since they’d gotten in the car, and he could sense that she was feeling a tumult of emotions: anger, hurt, frustration, confusion.
“You’re pissed about me not keeping my cool,” he said without emotions, without anger or annoyance that he was still fuming over that asshole, and that she didn’t understand that he couldn’t help it where she was concerned.
“I’m not pissed,” she said softly. “I’m … concerned.”
He didn’t respond after that, and ten minutes later he pulled into her driveway and cut the engine. Drevin turned toward her, not knowing how to act because he’d never been in a situation where he felt the need to explain his actions to a female. But the truth remained that for Allie he felt like he needed to, like in order for them to get through this. She needed to understand why he was like the way he was.