Daddy Bikers Box Set

by Sadie Savage

  “You aren’t mad?” I was dumbfounded. I hadn’t expected his reaction.

  “Mad? Why would I be mad? This is amazing fucking news! I’m going to have a baby with the woman I love.” Time came to a grinding halt.

  Love? Was it love between the two of us? I had been under the impression that it was lust. Well, mostly lust with a healthy amount of affection and respect sprinkled in. I wasn’t sure how to answer and judging by the look on Walker’s face, I thought he’d rather I forgot he said anything at all.

  Since I wasn’t sure about my feelings for him, I decided to drop the subject for the time being in favor of a much more pressing one. “Babies,” I announced pointing to the two dark spots on the ultrasound.

  “What?” Walker asked, snapping out of his daze.

  “Babies; as in plural. We are having twins, and apparently big ones. My doctor said I look like I’m about two months along, which is nuts.”

  Walker sighed and handed me back the photo. “We need to talk.”

  Shit. “Here it comes, the rejection.”

  “No! No, no. Are you kidding? I wasn’t planning on letting you go and considering the circumstances now, you’re stuck with me.” He grinned, an expression that quickly melted away. “You’re pregnancy is going to go by fast. Shifter babies develop especially quick.” He paused to weigh my reaction before continuing. “The Wraith’s aren’t just a club, we’re also able to shift from people to animals; specifically wolves.”

  I felt like someone dropped ice down my back. “Those are just stories! There is no such thing.” I’m having babies with a delusional crazy person.

  “Sure, but the stories are based in reality. They have to come from somewhere.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Look, I don’t want to discuss this here. Let’s go and I’ll explain everything when we’re around safe company.” He held his hand out to me.

  Of course, I hesitated. Walker just told me he was a goddamn werewolf. I should be running and screaming in the other direction, but my feet had become rooted to the spot. I wrestled with what I should do. This could be the part where the crazy man wanted to make me his bride or kill me. There were enough of those stories floating around in the world too.

  In the end, I decided to hear him out.

  Chapter 6

  Joker’s was quiet compared to the first night I was there. Walker dragged me over to a booth in the furthest corner away from the smoke and sensitive ears.

  “So now that we’re among ‘safe company’, are you going to tell me what this craziness is all about?” I demanded. Walker looked down at his hands. I couldn’t believe it. He actually looked nervous!

  “Have you ever heard the Native American stories about skin walkers? You know, animals that take on human form?”

  “No. Can’t say that I have.”

  “Okay. I’ll give you the short version. In the old legends, the skin walkers were the priests of the tribe that had gone astray down an evil path. They had killed a close family member so they were able to become animal at night.”

  I was skeptical, but told myself to keep an open mind. I always had the option to run away and change my name later.

  “Only part of that is true. You have to perform an evil deed, but you also have to have the bloodline to do it. Neither of my parents could shift, but I guess they had the ability to if they would have just killed.”

  “Wouldn’t they have had to kill their parents or one of their children to do that?”

  Walker shook his head and waved to the bartender. “No. That part of the legend is off too. I didn’t. I had been in a bar fight with the old president of the Wraiths actually. We both got loaded and I hit on his girlfriend.” I cocked an eyebrow at that salacious detail, but didn’t interrupt.

  “Naturally, he got pissed and things got physical. I had been in plenty of fights before, but something was different that night. I can’t really explain it since it was a feeling more than anything.” The bartender interrupted and took our drink orders.

  I was on the edge of my seat at that point and annoyed at her for the disruption. I didn’t want a drink; I wanted to hear the end. When the bartender left he continued, “I remember punching him in the nose and knocking him to the ground, there’s a big hole where I must have blacked out and then the next thing I know. I’m standing over him, his face looking like hamburger meat. I had beaten him to death.”

  I slouched back in my seat with an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. That was a lot of information to absorb and I wasn’t so sure I wanted to. The father of my twins was a murderer. Sure he claimed to not remember, but I couldn’t be sure of that.

  “There’s another thing you should know about the babies…”

  “Walker Lewis!” A voice boomed through the bar, jarring me out of my thoughts. “Get your sorry ass over here and pledge yourself to me.” Danny had arrived to make the evening even worse for me. Great.

  “Hell no. In fact,” Walker stood up and composed himself. An air of authority had settled around him, “You get on your knees and pledge yourself to me.”

  The two men closed the space between each other and stood toe to toe. Danny had about an inch on Walker’s height, but Walker had the advantage of being roughly fifteen years younger. I should have wanted to giggle at the absurdity of the tough guy standoff, but the tension between them tossed the silliness right out of the room.

  “I ain’t pledgin’ nothin’, Walker. I’m the leader of this club and you will accept that. On your knees, now,” Danny growled.

  “Go fuck yourself,” Walker said evenly, “there is no way you are allowed to be the leader anymore. Tell me something. What is it that a true alpha should be able to do that the others can’t?”

  Danny scoffed and took a step back. “Get a human girl pregnant. Why are you asking stupid questions?”

  Walker tilted his head, making sure he had the attention of every person in the bar. He had Danny on the ropes and needed everyone to know it. “And how is that going for you and your wife? She’s totally human, right?”

  Danny narrowed his eyes and snarled. “That is none of your business, you piece of shit.”

  “Temper temper, Danny. We’re just having a talk.” Walker leered at his soon to be former alpha. “It sounds like, no babies then. Am I right?”

  Danny refused to answer. His faces had broken out in red blotches and he kept opening and closing his fists at his side.

  “My lovely girl over here just happens to be pregnant with twins, my twins to be exact. So tell me then, who should kneel to whom?” Walker’s face lit up in epiphany. “Hang on. This explains everything. You knew. You knew I was the true alpha, didn’t you?”

  Danny sputtered an attempted explanation, but Walker cut him off, “You spent the last fifteen years busting me down and running me out because I was a threat to your title. Oh, you motherfucker. You are good.” Walker smiled and wagged a finger at Danny.

  “Tell you what. All will be forgiven if you just hit the floor and pledge your unwavering loyalty to me.” Something in the room had changed just then. I looked at the faces of the other men in the bar. Most were focused on Walker, some were on Danny waiting for him to do something, and a few were scrutinizing me for signs that Walker’s claim was true.

  Danny made a move that caught my eye. He shed his jacket and dropped to all fours on the floor in front of Walker. His skin rippled and popped. In a blink a grizzled wolf was lying where Danny used to be. Walker followed suit and turned into the most gorgeous sable wolf I had ever seen. Danny had rolled over onto his back, exposing his belly in a posture of submission. While staring into the face of the older wolf he put one paw on his rivals belly and growled.

  I rubbed my eyes thinking they had suddenly gone bad. There was no way the two arguing men had just turned into animals. I looked around the room for the reactions of the others and while being glued to the story unfolding, none of them looked shocked.

  Oh wow. Walker was telling the truth. As har
d as my brain tried to rationalize what just happened, it couldn’t. There was no rational explanation for what just happened other than it was something supernatural, which is batshit crazy.

  Now my life had gotten tangled up in it and I didn’t know what to do. I splayed a hand over my belly, what would become of my babies? If the realization that Walker was telling the truth and shifted in front of me was the warm up punch, then the realization that my little babies could be just like him was the knockout punch. I felt woozy and had to sit down.

  I stuck my head between my knees and closed my eyes. My breathing was ragged and labored despite my best effort to calm it. The insanity was too much.

  “Lyla are you okay? Do you need anything?” I could hear Walker’s voice, but he sounded fuzzy and far away. I shook my head in response. I didn’t want to answer him, not just yet.

  He bundled me into his arms where I finally broke down and wept. I just let him hold me there until his t-shirt was soaked and I was dried out.

  “Lyla, is there anything I can do to help?” Walker murmured.

  “Yes. Take me home.”

  Walker laid me down on my old threadbare couch. His concern for me was touching and warmed some of the icy feelings I felt for him in that moment. I had rolled over to keep my back to him. I just couldn’t look at him. He had told me the truth and yet I still felt betrayed somehow.

  “Lyla. Talk to me. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong. Honestly, you’re freaking me the fuck out.” I could hear the anxiety in Walker’s voice, but I still wrestled with how to handle this. I could let him know how I was feeling, but there was that other side that hoped if I ignored him he would just go away.

  I decided to talk to him. I rolled over and looked Walker square in the eye, he has to understand what I just went through. “You turned into a dog! I watched you drop on all fours and sprout fur. What I believed to be reality has been dashed to pieces so you’ll have to excuse me for being less than chatty.”

  Walker grabbed my hand and stroked my fingers. “You have every right to feel that way. If the roles had been reversed I would probably feel the same. If you want me to go, I will.”

  I sighed and sat up. “No. Don’t go. I’ll come to terms with it. I want you to stay with me.” I placed his hand over my still flat belly. “Our babies need you. I’m shaken, but that doesn’t change the way I feel about you, Walker.”

  He freed his hand and slid his arm around my waist, pulling me to the edge of the cushions. “Oh? And how do you feel about me?”

  I leaned in almost close enough for our lips to brush. “I need you, Walker. I can’t imagine my life without you.” I was dangerously close to uttering the L-word, but had to proceed with caution. The goal was to keep him around, not to run him off.

  Walker stroked my face and grasped my neck. “I love you, Lyla. I’ll give you all the time you need to get used to my life, but I have to have you as a part of it.”

  I was elated to hear those words. “Say it again.” I whispered.

  “I love you, Lyla.”

  I lost myself and kissed him with all of the passion and love I had coursing through my body. This tough, strange, and special man loved me. He came out of nowhere and the one-night stand he was supposed to be was stretching into forever. It would take time to get used to the wolfy thing, but I loved him and in time would not only come to accept it, but embrace it as well.

  THE END

  Back to the Bear

  Chapter 1

  Walking on her tiptoes, carrying her shoes and stepping over the squeaky spot on the floor, Joy moved slowly and cautiously towards the front door. One wrong move would wake up Aris, and she couldn’t risk waking him up again. Several giant beer bottles were strewn around the room and all of them seemed to be pointed at her, ready to tell Aris who had dared wake him up from his always light, fitful sleep.

  In order to get to the door, she would have to walk right by him. Aris had insisted on moving the couch right next to the front door of their cabin style house. “In case you get any ideas,” he’d explained, and now going out often meant stepping over at least one corner of the couch. Luckily, some of his awful friends had come by last night so he’d had to move it about halfway out of the path to the outside world. If she was very careful, she might just be able to open the knob, slip out, and make a run for it.

  She stepped over an overturned chair, and as her foot came down the floorboards squeaked just a bit. She froze. Aris shifted on the couch and turned towards her, but after a few moments he went back to snoring. She waited anyway, hesitant to keep going, but once she was sure he was asleep she continued walking as silently as possible.

  The door was now within reach; all she had to do was squeeze between the end of the couch and the massive bag of empty cans sitting precariously on a pair of sneakers long abandoned by the door. Joy reached out to twist the doorknob and gave the door a little push, but it wouldn’t budge. She pushed again; nothing. Something was blocking her way out.

  Carefully moving alongside, the couch, Joy was careful not to let the hem of her dress touch any part of Aris. Even though he snored on, she had a chilling sensation that he wasn’t really sleeping but rather allowing her to believe he was unconscious so that he could lure her closer. It wouldn’t have been the first time.

  The large bay window was behind the couch, but Joy couldn’t see the porch with the couch in the way. She would have to lean over it to see what was going on. Very carefully, she put a hand on the back of the sofa and leaned like a plank directly over her snoozing husband, her skirt tucked between her knees. Through the window, she could see the enormous body of Joe Hatchet, Aris’ largest and drunkest friend. He had passed out right by the door and would be dead asleep for most of the day.

  The sight of Joe’s mountain-shaped frame made Joy let out a little sigh and the sound of it immediately woke up Aris.

  When he opened his eyes, he saw his barefoot wife Joy standing and smiling like a happy recruit to his army of anger. He rubbed his face, thinking he was dreaming, but no; she was there with a big smile on her face.

  “Hi honey! I just came down to check and see if you wanted any coffee.”

  Aris smiled back. “Hey, this is how I like to wake up.” He reached for her hand and held it gently, swinging it a little. “A happy wife, ready to make me coffee. You know how I like it. I think Joe’s around here somewhere.” He looked around, a little confused.

  “I haven’t seen him hon.” She moved into the destroyed kitchen, started the coffee, and then desperately started washing the dishes. Dammit, dammit, dammit. Today had been her day to get out. She had been sure it would happen today. There was still a chance; if Aris and Joe went out fishing she could get out then. Assuming he would leave her behind, which he only did occasionally. She knew if she was extra chipper, his good little wife, he’d let his guard down. Maybe.

  Aris stumbled around the living room, kicking things out of the way. “Joe! Joe, my man. Where’d you go?”

  From outside came a “What?” and Aris headed to the door.

  Through the door, Joy could hear the two of them laughing about how adorable they were; getting drunk, passing out—weren’t they crazy? They were always quick to congratulate one another any time they overdid it, sure that they had been hilarious and fun the whole time they were destroying the furniture, breaking the TV or the refrigerator, or whatever they got their hands on. Joy always wondered at how a person could be happy about waking up in a pile of refuse over and over again. She honestly didn’t get it.

  The coffee finished brewing and she poured out two extra big mugs, adding a tablespoon and a half of sugar to Aris’ mug and keeping Joe’s black. For the finishing touch she gave Aris’ a tiny splash of heavy cream just at the top, no stirring. Then she rushed around the living room—sure the two party boys would be back in any moment—picking up furniture, bottles, and garbage. She shoved it all into garbage bags and suddenly realized, she would have to walk th
ese out to the curb. She could dump them and make a run for it.

  The two men stumbled in, arms around one another, talking about some girl that Joe had been flirting with the night before.

  “She wants me, I know it and you know it.” The two of them sat at the counter on the restaurant-style stools and drank their coffee. “It won’t be long until she’ll be making me coffee the way your little Joy does. Lucky bastard.” Joy continued cleaning. There was no reason to wait for a thank you or an invitation to join them; it wasn’t coming.

  Joe watched Joy whip around the house, picking up, getting the spilled beer off the floor, anything to put things back in order so that Aris wouldn’t have anything to fault her for. “How did you get this little angel to marry you, Aris? How come a jerk like you has such a great little woman and I’m still single?”

  Aris watched his wife over his cup’s edge. “She knows I love her no matter what. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

  Joy stopped for a second to flash him her best smile. “That’s right.”

  Joe just grunted and raised his eyebrows. “She sure works hard.”

  “She likes it.” Aris put his cup down and watched his wife for a moment. “Hon, come over here for a minute.”

  Oh no. She tilted her broom against the wall and walked over, the two pairs of eyes boring into her. “Your coffee okay?”

  Without a word, Aris smacked her across the face. “I just thought you needed a little color. Seeing as you didn’t bother to put any makeup on.” He turned away from her and went back to his coffee. No one spoke. The only sound was that of Joe loudly slurping his coffee.

  Joy stood, not quite sure what to do next, her face on fire from Ari’s slap. Finally, she shuffled back to her broom and quietly swept, the broom making a soft hush, hush on the wooden floor.

  The two men focused on their mugs and their contents, neither looking at the other. Aris finally turned to Joe. “You going fishing today?”

  “Can’t. My truck needs some work. Remember, I came here with Tully.”