Primal Hunger (Primal Howlers MC Book 4)

by Piper Davenport

  “Dad said an inch,” he said excitedly. “He put a mark on the door.”

  “Whoa, bud, you need to quit, then. You’ll be able to take me down if you get much bigger.”

  Felix flexed his muscles and I forced back a laugh.

  He smiled up at me as he hugged me. “Hi, Letti.”

  “Hey, honey.” I hugged him back, kissing his head.

  Felix had been kidnapped not long ago by some really bad men in the Russian Mafia. Stoney hadn’t even known he’d had a son, but a one-night stand with Sabrina’s sister produced the sweetest little boy in the world. Sabrina’s sister had been killed a while ago, and Sabrina had sole custody of Felix, but after he went missing, she knew she’d need help finding him.

  So, she walked into the compound and found Stoney. He and Dad found Felix, and Sabrina and Stoney had fallen in love in the process. Now they were a complete little family and I couldn’t have been happier for them.

  “Are you going to play pinball with us?” he asked Aero.

  “How about I get some food, then I’ll come play?”

  “Okay!” he said, and made a run back to the pinball machines.

  Dad made the decision about a month ago to add two more machines since we were growing in number and there were more and more kids having to wait their turn.

  As Felix rushed back to the games, Raquel walked over to us, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the kitchen. “Hi, Aero. Need to borrow Letti for a bit.”

  He chuckled and I followed her. She tugged me into the pantry and closed the door. “How many people know about you and Aero?” she whispered.

  “I’m assuming everyone. Why?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Because I didn’t know everyone knew because my sister didn’t bother to text me, so I’ve been playing dumb which made my husband incredibly annoyed with me.”

  I grimaced. “Sorry.”

  She sighed. “You had other things on your mind. I get it.”

  I hugged her. “Thanks for understanding.”

  “Pay me back with a double date. I need a real dinner. One with actual silverware.”

  I chuckled. “We’ll make it happen,” I promised just as Raquel’s bestie, Sierra, burst through the door, slamming it shut.

  “I swear to god, I’m about to lose my religion,” she snapped in her to die for southern accent.

  She was from Savannah, I think. I’m not sure and every time I tried to ask questions, I was shut down. I figured she was just private, or maybe running from something. If she wanted to hide, here was a great place to do it.

  “What did Wrath do now?” Raquel asked.

  “I walked in on him railing some whore from behind,” she snapped.

  “Oh my god, no way,” I breathed out. “Seriously?”

  Raquel narrowed her eyes. “How would you have seen that, Sierra?”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, staring at her shoes.

  “Did you pick the lock on his door and walk in without being—”

  “You don’t know me,” she growled.

  “Sierra—”

  “Wait until we’re alone,” Sierra begged.

  “I’m gonna let you two talk,” I said. “This pantry’s way too small with three people in it.”

  “Thanks, Letti,” Raquel said.

  I smiled, pulling open the door and stepping out. I saw Aero talking to my Dad over by the bar, so I headed that way, wrapping my arms tight around Aero, and glaring up at my dad.

  “Hey, baby girl,” Dad said.

  “Hi, Daddy.”

  Aero settled one hand around my waist and gave me a gentle squeeze.

  “You good?” Dad asked.

  “Oh, I’m golden,” I ground out. “You know why I’m golden?”

  Dad smirked. “Got a feelin’ you’re gonna tell me.”

  “I’m golden because I’m in love with a man who treats me like a queen and my daddy loves me so much, he’d never do anything to jeopardize that.”

  “Yeah?” Dad retorted.

  “Yes,” I hissed.

  “Violet,” Aero growled.

  I looked up at him. “Are you hungry, honey? I’m starving.”

  Aero cocked his head. “I’m in the middle of somethin’.”

  “It’s good,” Dad countered. “We’ll finish up next week.”

  Aero nodded, and we made our way toward the grill. But before we reached the door, Aero tugged me back toward one of the bunkrooms, closing us in and crossing his arms. “What the fuck was that all about?”

  “Do not use that tone with me,” I snapped.

  “Did we, or did we not, have a conversation about this?”

  “I’m just making sure they know where I stand.”

  He sighed. “They definitely know where you stand.”

  “Jasper, don’t make light of this.”

  He cupped my face. “It’s all good, beautiful. I promise.”

  “If they hurt you, I might kill them.”

  “Baby, the whole point of the gauntlet is to prove what you’re made of. They’re gonna hurt me, but they won’t kill me.”

  I gripped his cut. “You realize this is about the dumbest thing anyone has ever done, right?”

  “Letti,” he breathed out. “Will you quit harpin’ on this?”

  “I’m worried!” I snapped.

  “Are you? I wasn’t picking up on that.”

  “Don’t be a dick.”

  “Stop worrying,” he retorted.

  “I can’t.”

  “You can.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “I need alcohol to forget I’m worried.”

  “Then, let’s get you alcohol.”

  “Promise me they won’t kill you,” I pressed.

  “I promise they won’t kill me.”

  I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed. “Okay.”

  He kissed me then took me back to the party.

  Aero

  WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, I left a fearful Violet at my apartment and headed out to the cabin for my beat down. Of course, I didn’t use those words when reassuring Violet I’d be all right, but secretly, I was nervous.

  Admittedly, I was more nervous about how Violet would react to whatever bruises she’d find on my body when all of this was over.

  “If you’re here now, it’s because you’ve run the gauntlet yourself,” Sundance addressed the crowd of Howlers assembled at the bank by the creek that ran behind the property. “You all know the rules, so I won’t fuckin’ bore you, but I will remind you to remove your rings before we start. After all, Patchy didn’t earn his nickname by sailing the seven seas. He lost his right eye during a bar fight in Tallahassee from a Killing Joker with fist full of silver and turquoise, and we don’t want Aero here starting his club life like old Patchy, do we?”

  “Let’s just hope he don’t end up like old Patchy,” Rocky called out.

  “That’s also a fair point,” Sundance replied with a chuckle.

  “We’re good, Pres. Let us at him,” someone from the back of the group shouted to laughs and cheers all around.

  “Not until I blow this whistle,” Sundance said, holding up a silver coach’s whistle. “When I think Aero’s had enough, or he’s dead, I’ll blow it again. Stop the second you hear the whistle, or your ass is next to run the gauntlet.”

  Running the gauntlet was a Howler tradition that went back to the early days of the club. To prove you have what it takes to be a full-patch, one-percenter, you must endure a beating from your future brothers. The gauntlet was more than a method of hazing or a way to prove one’s toughness. It was about showing your club that you won’t crack under pressure and that you know how to practice restraint. This is vital because I wasn’t allowed to throw a single punch during the initiation.

  “If Aero handles his business like I think he will, and doesn’t tap out, the Howlers will have a new patch.” Sundance patted me on the back, smiling wide. As the others hooted and cheered.

  I leaned in and whispered,
“Thanks again for everything. I won’t let you down.”

  “I know you won’t,” Sundance replied.

  “And thanks for being so cool about me and Violet. For keeping our relationship separate from all of this,” I said, motioning to the room.

  “Separate? I don’t know about that,” Sundance replied, smiling even wider. “Don’t get me wrong. I give every recruit his proper licks in the gauntlet, but I’m gonna enjoy kicking the shit outta you.” Sundance motioned to Orion. “So’s he.”

  Letti’s brother’s eyes were locked on me and he was grinning like the devil himself.

  Shit.

  So much for water under the bridge. These two looked more like they wanted to drown me.

  Sundance took a step back and blew the whistle, signaling the start of my initiation.

  As suspected, Orion was on me like a fly on shit. He came rushing at me with an overhand right that just about put me down. I staggered backward and Sundance delivered a hard body shot that I’d feel for six weeks. Wrath and Rocky were next in that order. After that, I don’t know which Howler threw what punch or how long they were punching me. I was trapped in a tsunami of fists for what felt like forever, but as soon as I felt my legs give out from underneath me, I heard the merciful sound of Sundance’s whistle.

  “Alright, gentlemen, that’s enough of that horse shit,” Sundance and my knees hit the bloodied grass. “Now help your new brother up and into his new cut,” he said to another round of hollers. “And get him a beer and a shot for fuck’s sake.”

  I was carried back to the cabin where Needles gave me the once over, and after two sets of stiches and some tape on my ribs, I was deemed fit for drinking and returned to the fold of my fellow Howlers. I was bloody, sore, soon to be very drunk, and perhaps the proudest I’d ever been in my life.

  I also felt something I never had before. A sense of belonging.

  * * *

  Violet

  “It’s over,” Raquel said, setting her phone on the counter.

  She’d surprised me by stopping by with two bottles of my favorite wine ten minutes after Aero left. That was almost three hours ago.

  I shook my hands out, sliding off the barstool, and pacing. “How bad?”

  “Ori didn’t say.”

  “Oh my god, that means it’s bad,” I cried.

  “No, it doesn’t,” she said, but her tone wasn’t convincing.

  “I swear to god, if they’ve damaged his face, hands or cock, I’m going to maim them.”

  “In that order?” Raquel retorted.

  “Cock first,” I breathed out.

  “I’m glad I missed Orion’s induction,” Raquel said. “Sorry. That was probably insensitive.”

  “No. I get it. It’s really brutal.” I snagged my keys off the counter. “I need to see for myself.”

  “You’ve had a bottle of wine.”

  “Then you drive me.”

  “Um, hello…I had the other bottle,” she pointed out.

  I threw my hands in the air. “I’ll call a car!”

  “I think you should wait for your man to get home, honey. They don’t like being interrupted.”

  “I know,” I growled, slapping my chest. “I’m well aware of what the expectations are for us little women when it comes to the club.”

  She smiled gently. “That’s changing, Letti. You know it is.”

  “Not fucking fast enough,” I hissed.

  “I hear—”

  Before she could finish her sentence, the front door banged open and my brother walked in practically carrying Aero.

  “Oh my god!” I snapped. “What the fuck did you do to him?”

  “Shhh, baby,” Aero slurred. “My head’s killin’ me.”

  “You gave him a concussion?” I squealed.

  “No, sissy, he’s wasted,” Orion countered.

  “Tequila,” Aero said with a chuckle.

  “Did Needles look him over?” I demanded.

  “Yeah. He’s good,” Orion said, and set Aero on the sofa.

  I turned on every light and lamp in Aero’s dim apartment and knelt in front of him. “Oh my god,” I squeaked, scowling over my shoulder at my brother. “Is this your doing?”

  He grinned. “No. He took a couple dozen or so hits before Dad called it.”

  “Get out,” I snapped.

  “Lett—”

  “Out!” I stood and stomped toward him. “Swear to god, Adam, you need to get your ass out of here before I do something that’ll leave you without the ability to make babies.”

  “Okay, that might be going a little far,” Raquel said.

  “She used my birth name,” Orion retorted. “She must be really pissed.”

  I glared at him and Raquel slid off the barstool and grabbed her purse. “Let’s go, honey,” she said to my brother.

  He grinned and walked Raquel to the door. “Scrappy’ll drop your bike by tomorrow, Aero.”

  “Okay,” Aero said, and I waved my hands to hurry my brother along.

  Once they were clear of the door, I closed and locked it, then went back to my man. “Let’s have a look at you.”

  “I’m good.”

  “You’re beat to shit,” I countered.

  “Best night o’ my life, baby.” He grinned and I noticed his front tooth was chipped.

  “Let’s get you to bed. I’ll get you some ibuprofen.”

  “Needles gave me something better,” he said. “It’s in my jacket.”

  “Are you in a lot of pain?”

  “No, baby. I’m good.” He tried to stroke my face, but he was so drunk, he missed.

  I sighed. “Come on, let’s get you comfortable.”

  I helped him off the sofa and we hobbled back to the bedroom where I gingerly removed his clothes. I couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down my face as every layer of fabric removed revealed yet another bruise or cut. Checking every part of his body, I was relieved to see all the hits were above the belt.

  “Baby, it’s okay. Don’t cry.”

  “It’s not okay,” I whispered. “I’m going to kill them.”

  “You’re not,” he argued. “This was exactly what was supposed to happen.”

  “This is exactly why I should have fallen for an accountant.”

  “You’d be so fuckin’ bored with an accountant, and you know it,” he retorted.

  “Well, I would have picked one with a big dick at the very least.”

  He chuckled. “You said your pussy would be waitin’ for me.”

  “Honey, you’re so freakin’ drunk, I doubt you could even get it up.”

  He reached for me. “Challenge accepted.”

  I evaded him, dragging the comforter up his body. “Sleep, honey. My pussy will be here in the morning.”

  He didn’t answer. He was already out.

  I slipped out of the room as quietly as possible and grabbed my phone, stabbing at it until I got the number I wanted.

  “Hey, baby girl.”

  “You mutilated him,” I hissed.

  “He’s fine.”

  “Oh my god, he’s not fine. You’re a monster.”

  “Open the door, Letti.”

  “What door?”

  “Aero’s front door, baby girl,” he said. “I’m here.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t think I want to see you.”

  “You want me to bust in?”

  “Why do you always have to be so fucking extra about everything?” I accused even as I unlocked the door and yanked it open.

  Before I could say another word, I was pulled up against my dad and hugged tight until I could barely breathe. I tried to resist, but in the end, I slid my arms up his back and hugged him back. “You’re dead to me.”

  “I know,” he said, chuckling. “But one last hug before you stop talking to me.”

  “I can’t believe you did that to him. He’s a wreck.”

  “Is he smilin’?”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”<
br />
  He gave me a squeeze before meeting my eyes. “He loved every second of it and now he’s part of somethin’ bigger than himself.”

  “You were supposed to go easy on him.”

  “Who said that?”

  “Me, I said that,” I growled. “I love him, Daddy.”

  “I know you do.”

  “He’s beat to—”

  “What the fuck’s goin’ on?” Aero stumbled into the room with nothing on but the tape around his ribs.

  Sundance grinned, averting his eyes. “Just checkin’ in on you.”

  “I’m good,” Aero said. “Why the fuck’s Letti cryin’?”

  “Because my dad beat the crap out of you!” I bellowed.

  “Shhh.” He waved his hand, grinning like an idiot. “Too loud, baby.”

  “Why the hell are you smiling?” I squeaked.

  “Because I feel good.”

  “You are both insane. I’m going home,” I threatened.

  “You’re not goin’ anywhere,” Aero said. “Your dad’s leavin’ and I’m gonna get my other prize.”

  “Okay, man, I seriously didn’t need to hear that,” Dad said with a groan. “I’m outta here.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “You want to leave with your dad?” Aero challenged. “Instead of takin’ care of your man?”

  “I’m gonna leave you here,” Dad said, and nodded to Aero without looking at him.

  “So much for protection,” I grumbled, and Dad spun to face me, leaning down to get eye-to-eye.

  “You need protection, baby girl?” he growled.

  “No.”

  “Then don’t pull that shit.”

  “Watch your tone, Pres,” Aero warned.

  Dad swung a hand behind him. “You are not in this.”

  “I am fuckin’ in this,” Aero countered. “You need to watch your tone with my woman.”

  I groaned, dropping my face in my hands. My man was verbally sparring with my dad buck naked in the middle of his apartment.

  “I’m gonna chalk this up to you bein’ a little hyped up, a lot drunk, and wet behind the ears,” Dad threatened. “Unless you wanna be the quickest member in Howlers’ history to lose his badge.”

  “Dad!” I snapped.

  Aero raised an eyebrow. “You can chalk it up to whatever you need to, and I didn’t mean any disrespect, but you and I are gonna have to come to an understanding about who the go-to man is on the subject of Letti protection.”