by Jenika Snow
Trist started chucking. “Yeah, I knew right away you and I were going to get along just fine.”
****
Saya and Trist had to wait until they closed up the bookstore for the night before they could go to this wild and crazy thing that Trist wouldn’t tell her about exactly.
Saya looked out the passenger side window at the bar in front of them. They’d driven just twenty minutes, and were now on the outskirts of Steel Corner. Harleys lined the front of the parking lot, as well as some beat-up trucks. The bar seemed familiar, not because she’d ever been here before, but because it reminded her of her father and the club. The MC always had trucks and motorcycles lining the bar they owned and hung out at a lot.
“You ready?”
“I don’t know what to be ready for,” Saya said honestly, but was looking forward to whatever Trist wanted to show her. Saya hadn’t told Trist about her life, that her father was the president of an MC, that she knew wildness and intensity and had her whole life. But the way Trust had been talking about tonight, like this was something she’d never experienced, did have the interest in Saya rising to the point she couldn’t ignore it.
“Saya, this is something I doubt you’ve ever seen.”
Saya looked over at the other woman. Trist’s face looked extra white from all the makeup and the glow of the moon coming through the windshield. She smiled again and opened her car door.
“No time like the present,” Trist said and got out of the car.
Saya followed after her, and the two of them made their way toward the bar. But instead of going through the front door like she’d assumed, Trist led them around back. A guy with a cigarette hanging between his lips leaned against the back of the building. There was a beat to shit looking door beside him, and the sound of the music coming from inside was loud and slightly obnoxious.
“Kind of late for little girls to be out, isn’t it?” the guy said, and lifted his hand to remove the cigarette from between his lips.
“We’re here for the show,” Trist responded.
“The show?” the guy asked, took one more puff from his cigarette, and snubbed the butt out on the brick wall. “What show?”
Trist exhaled, as if annoyed. “Brinx told me what was going down.” There was a moment of silence. “So unless you want me to call him and say you’re giving me a hard fucking time…”
The guy held up his hands and turned to pull the rusty as hell door open for them. “No need to call Brinx.”
Saya followed Trist inside the back of the bar, and the sound of music and shooting, and the smell of spilled beer and the tang of old vomit surrounded her. She held her breath as she followed the other woman. They took a flight of stairs, the scent of age intensifying even more. The noise was intense, even more so than upstairs at the bar.
Yelling, curses, and the distinct sounds of animals had Saya’s heart racing.
They finally reached the bottom landing, and Trist grabbed her hand as she started shoving her way through the bodies of guys standing.
“Brinx is over here.”
Saya didn’t know who Brinx was, but he—or she—allowed them to get down here without that asshole upstairs giving them anymore shit.
Trist finally stopped, and Saya looked up to see a big ass guy standing in the corner, this dark trench coat doing nothing to hide the fact he was tall and muscular. Trist let go of Saya’s hand and rose on her toes to kiss him.
“Brinx, this is Saya. She started working at the store and is cool as fuck,” Trist said and looked over at Saya.
Saya lifted her hand in a greeting when Brinx tipped his chin. Not that Saya judged anyone, but she would have never thought Trist would go for a guy like Brinx. He seemed the total opposite of her, but then again maybe that’s why they clicked so much?
“You like shifter fights?” Brinx asked in a slightly accented voice.
Shifter fights?
“Um, I’ve never actually been to one.”
Trist grinned. “Brinx runs these fights, and if I didn’t feel your energy or genuine chemistry, I wouldn’t have brought you here.”
“They aren’t exactly legal, but then again I can find you if you tell anyone.”
Saya laughed a little nervously at the serious tone in his voice, but the sound died in her throat when he looked stoic. God, is he serious?
“Brinx.” Trist elbowed him. “You’re freaking her out,” Trist said seriously. “He’s kidding, although his sense of humor is shit.”
Saya smiled, but it was tight and felt unnatural.
Breaking, popping, even growls and heavy breathing, filled Saya’s head.
“Well, Saya, you came for a show,” Brinx said and pointed behind her. “Enjoy.”
She turned around, feeling her eyes widen as two men stood in the center of the room, one already shifting into a big black bear. The other guy had his back to her, but she couldn’t help the flash of heat that filled her at the sight of his back and bare ass. He was covered in tattoos, the broad expanse of his back covered in ink, and those designs moving over his biceps and forearms. His hair was short and dark, and as she felt her heart start to beat faster when he turned slightly toward her, this feeling of “knowing” him filled her. It was impossible though, right?
“Those are the Grizzlies,” Trist said by her ear, and lifted her hand to point at a group of bikers in leather cuts off to the side. They were focused on the guy still in his human form, and it was then that she realized she had seen the naked guy before. Although he’d been fully dressed, he’d been riding a Harley and she’d thought he’d been looking right at her.
She got a side look of his face, and it was then cemented that he was definitely the same guy she’d seen. His square jaw had a covering of dark facial hair, and his eyes looked hard, dead almost. This tightness started in her body, this heat following closely behind. He closed his eyes, rolled his head back and forth, and she knew that what she was about to see would rival everything else.
****
Jakob sensed his bear rise up, felt the power, excitement, and sensation of being alive wash through him. It was being reckless, getting into these fights, and allowing himself to just absorb the punches, the danger move through him, that had that spark of life filling every part of him.
Back in the day the Grizzlies owned a barn in the middle of the woods in Steel Corner. They’d held shifter fights and made money off of it, but that was long gone. They stopped that once the younger generation started taking over. They could still have the revenue rolling in with the fights, but they had bars, restaurants, and did back alley deals concerning protection that had them sitting good money-wise.
Jakob stood off to the side, leaning against the beam that supported the ceiling above them. This fight was currently in the cellar of a bar on the outskirts of town. All of these illegal fights moved around, for obvious reasons. No one wanted to be caught and thrown in jail for exchanging money for watching people beat the shit out of each other.
“You’re up.”
Jakob looked over at the guy dealing with the funds for this fight. He held a stack of cash, and several guys came up and placed their bets.
Jakob went into the center of the room, stripped out of his clothes, and started getting his muscles warmed up. He shook out his arms, focused on the bear shifter moving into the center of the room, and felt that rush of warmth and adrenaline move through him.
There were humans and shifters alike all around, ready to watch blood getting spilled and bones being broken. A few of the next generation Grizzly MC were in attendance, but Jakob didn’t need any moral support, and he knew they weren’t here to pat him on the back. They wanted to watch a little violence, too.
Cain, one of Jagger’s sons, stood beside Jakob’s brother, Bodhi. Maverick, Lucien’s other son and member of the Brothers of Menace MC, had also shown up, maybe to fight another human and get bloody. Even Havoc, one of the newly patched in Brothers of Menace members, pushed his way through to stand
beside the other Grizzlies.
Despite the Brothers being human and the Grizzlies bear shifters, the two clubs were tight. They were family, had been through a lot of shit together, and because of that they had each other’s backs, no matter what. Havoc might not be a Grizzly, but he’d been coming to the fights and hanging out, and a few times shit had started he’d had Jakob’s back.
Havoc was a big fucker, even rivaling the biggest Grizzly Patch they had in the club. With a head of short dirty-blond hair, light blue eyes that looked creepy as fuck, and an ugly scar that ran down his left cheek and to his jugular, Havoc wasn’t that pretty, but dammit if he couldn’t kick some fucking ass and take names.
At nearly fifty years old Havoc was a force to be reckoned with, and Jakob knew the man had been friends with Lucien, the Brothers of Menace club President, for nearly his whole life. But for whatever reason he’d only become an actual Patch within the last twelve months. Why he decided to leave everything behind and be a biker to the core wasn’t Jakob’s business. Havoc was here now, protected his club, and also the Grizzlies, with his blood, and that was all they cared about. They were all family, and if someone couldn’t fuck shit up, even losing their life in the process, to protect everyone else, they had no business being a Patch, no matter the club they were patched into.
Bodhi started saying something to Havoc, but the human just crossed his thick fucking arms over his chest and nodded. Havoc looked perpetually pissed off, like he needed to kill someone to feel anything. He hardly spoke to them, and most times just grunted and said what he needed to when he was pounding the shit out of someone.
Jakob brought his focus back to the opponent. He looked at the black bear shifter, his hair as dark as the night and his eyes like twin pieces of coal.
“Fuck him up,” one male shouted.
“Tear him apart,” another asshole yelled out from the back of the crowd.
Jakob kept his focus on the male in front of him. The black bear started undressing, his muscles impressive, but Jakob had no doubt he could take him. Hell, Jakob had enough anger and energy moving through him he probably could have taken down a brick house.
And then he let his grizzly out. Shifting into his animal always made him feel light, free, like he didn’t have to worry about anything. But it also had the effect of making him crave this primal need for blood, of violence. It was his bear that wanted to tear a man apart for sheer sport alone. And because he already had all this darkness inside of him, this almost lifelessness, it made him even hungrier for destruction.
The other man shifted into his bear as well, and they moved forward into the center of the circle. Jakob wasn’t about to fuck around. He wanted violence, and he was about to get it.
Their big bodies crashed together, claws tore into flesh, and they both latched their jaws onto each other’s bodies. The metallic flavor of the black bear’s blood filled Jakob’s mouth, but he fucking loved it, and craved more of it. He broke away and roared out from the power that the violence brought him. He felt high right now, and it had nothing to do with alcohol or weed. Pain followed his high from the scratches and bites from the black bear, but it just made Jakob want more.
The black bear ripped a piece of flesh and fur from Jakob’s side. His skin opened up, and the scent of Jakob’s blood filled the air, making him stronger. And it was that pain, that burning sensation, the blood that coated the air, that had something in Jakob snapping. He charged forward and slammed his shoulder into the other male. Jakob brought his claws down across the other male’s face and growled low in his throat when he saw the flesh part and scented blood.
The males went at it, with Jakob being supreme in his dominance and strength. They didn’t stop until blood covered the dirty floor, and the black bear was panting in pain. Pain blurred Jakob’s vision, but it also had his adrenaline moving like acid through his veins. His muscles grew thicker, and testosterone and aggression formed another entity inside of him. Jakob tuned out the noise and just focused on finishing this. There was his own self-hatred, his own reason for feeling like he was lost despite being around people that cared for him.
Roaring out, Jakob charged forward again for the final blow. In one final move he opened his massive jaw and clamped it around the throat of the black bear. He could have killed the other male, but he didn’t need to end a life to feel that surge of worthiness.
The other animal clashed against him, struggling for his life as Jakob wrapped his jaw around his throat, and then started to lessen his struggle. The bear finally surrendered, and Jakob let go of his throat. The black bear made sounds of pain, but that was music to Jakob’s ears.
There was no human in him at the moment, and his grizzly felt the surge of power and dominance that he’d defeated his opponent. Jakob took a step back, and he allowed the shift back into his human form take over. His flesh moved over his bones, replacing the fur. Bones and muscles stretched, bones broke and realigned, and he breathed out once back in his human form.
He still had that void inside of him, but physically he was exhausted, his body in pain, wounded. He looked down and saw the wounds that littered his side. Bite and claw marks made grooves in his body, but he’d heal in time, and with some stitching up, and he liked the reminder that they were there.
“Come on, Jakob,” Bodhi said and pulled him toward the small room that was set up to tend to the wounds. “We need to get that patched up.”
The room was broken down as shit, with only three walls, and the fourth being made up of a ratty and stained curtain. But there was a bench and a first aid supply station. Honestly, Jakob would have just gone back home or the club and said fuck it all, but Bodhi was always there, making sure his wounds were taken care of. Bodhi was always looking after Jakob, even if he was the “little brother”.
The feel of his blood moving slowly but steadily down his side and leg was a reminder of the violence that had just transpired, of the power that consumed him. That burning pain fueled him, made him feel alive, and he wanted more.
He’d always want more.
Chapter Four
Saya stood there a moment as she watched the bear shifter being pulled by another Grizzly MC member to what she could see was a makeshift first aid room. She found herself taking a step toward the room, not sure why she’d done that, but also knowing she couldn’t go and start talking to him. She didn’t know him, and aside from seeing him through the window of her apartment she’d never seen him before. He’d probably ask her what the fuck she wanted if she walked behind that curtain.
“Go on and talk to him,” Trist said from behind her, and Saya turned and looked at the other woman. Brinx had his arm around Trist as he spoke with another guy holding a wad of cash.
“No, probably not the brightest thing to do,” Saya said, but she found herself looking at the curtain again. She couldn’t stop herself from being pulled toward those bad boys, but then again she knew that following what she wanted had almost gotten her in deep shit.
It did get you in deep shit, and cost Dad a lot of years in prison.
Don’t go there.
Closing her eyes, she breathed out and shook her head to clear it. The sound of new guys going into the center of the room had her opening her eyes and looking at them.
“I always say go with your gut. If you want to talk to him, talk to him. What can it hurt?” Trist asked, sounding genuine. “It isn’t like I’m leaving you here, girl.”
Saya smiled and nodded. But what was she supposed to say to him? How would she even talk to him? The fact she had a desire to go talk to someone she didn’t know was weird.
But the truth was she’d never had this kind of reaction to a guy, human or shifter. Maybe that meant something good?
Or maybe it means something bad?
All she could think about was her father’s voice in her head telling her to stay safe. She’d just moved into her place not even that long ago, and already she wanted to play with fire?
Talking to him
isn’t playing with fire.
True.
But what in the hell am I going to say?
“It’s just a conversation,” Trist said again, and Saya felt herself nod.
But Saya didn’t say anything. She just found herself moving through the crush of bodies, pushing them out of her way as best she could so she wasn’t suffocated, and finally stopped right on the other side of the curtain. It was drawn, hiding the two bear shifters from anyone’s nosy eyes. She looked down, could see black boots moving back and forth before finally stopping. The low hum of conversation could barely be heard on the other side of the material, but with the shouting, growling, and yells all around her she couldn’t hear what was being said.
And then the curtain was pulled open and the guy that had pulled aside the bear shifter was standing in front of her, blocking her view. He was tall, over six feet easily, and had his big arms crossed. He stared down at her, his dark hair and eye color the same as the other guy’s. Were they related? They certainly looked similar.
“If you want some dick there’s a room full of it. Back the fuck off.”
Saya felt her eyes widen at the gruff, harsh words that came from the guy.
“Excuse me?” The fighting girl inside of her came forward. She’d grown up in an MC, knew how bikers acted, and she was taught never to put up with any shit or anyone talking down to her.
“You heard me, buttercup.”
“First off, I’m not your fucking buttercup.” The anger in her rose at the smirk the shifter gave her. He was cocky, that was for sure, and she supposed him jumping to the assumption she wanted some dick was natural given their surroundings, but still … fuck him. “And second if I wanted some dick yours would be last one I hit up. I’m not into arrogant bastards, and you scream of one.”
Okay, the truth was arrogant attitudes from bad boys kind of turned her on, but that wasn’t the point. She wanted this asshole to know she wasn’t going to put up with any shit.
“If you don’t want to get fucked then why are you here?”