Samuel
Church is already in session when I walk in.
Every chair around the long table is filled. Smoke hangs low near the ceiling. The conversation comes to an abrupt stop when I walk in. Every eye tracks me as I make my way to the empty seat.
Knox is standing at the far end of the table, hands braced on the wood like he might tear it apart. His jaw is locked. His eyes are red, not from tears, but from rage.
Jon sits to his right, his opinion carrying as much weight now as it did when he wore the president's patch.
He doesn't look at me at first. Somehow, that hurts worse than any words he might say.
I take the empty chair across from them and sit.
“What the hell is going on, Wolf?” Knox doesn't raise his voice. He doesn't have to. “Because I just found my sister naked in your bed. So, you better start talking.”
I open my mouth, but am stopped before I can say anything.
“How long?” her father asks.
The room goes still.
He finally looks at me then. Really looks. But his gaze doesn’t soften.
“Months,” I answer.
“How many months?”
“Nine,” I say without hesitation.
Knox explodes. “You lying piece of—”
“Knox,” his father snaps. “Sit down.”
“You’re just going to let him—”
“I said sit down.”
It’s the old voice. The one that used to end wars.
Knox drops into his chair.
Jon turns back to me. “You’ve been around my daughter since she was a little girl,” he says. “Since she was a kid running around this clubhouse with scraped knees and big eyes. So, I’m going to ask you one question, and your answer better be the truth.”
My throat tightens.
“Did you touch her before she was eighteen?”
“No,” I say immediately. “I swear to you.”
His stare drills into me, searching for cracks. Lies. Weakness.
“Even after. I fought it. But it was no use, I’d fallen in love with her,” I continue, voice rough. “And I hated myself for it.”
Something shifts in his face. Just barely.
Knox slams his fist on the table. “Is that supposed to make this better?”
“No,” her father says slowly. “But it matters.”
Knox whirls on him. “How can you even say that?”
“Because I know what that once-in-a-lifetime love looks like,” he says quietly. “And I know it doesn’t ask permission.”
I blink. Hard.
The door bangs open.
“Get your hands off me.” Raven’s voice slices straight through the room.
Mouse stumbles in behind her, hands raised. “I tried to stop her—”
“Like hell you could,” she snaps, storming past him.
Knox is on his feet in an instant. “Rae, what the fuck are you doing in here? You have no business—”
“I have every reason to be here,” she fires back, chest heaving. “If you’re going to talk about me like I’m not a person, then I’m damn well going to be in the room.”
“Go home,” Knox yells. “Now.”
“No.”
Before Knox can fire back, Jon rises to his feet.
“Enough.”
Knox stares at him in disbelief. “You’re letting her stay?”
“I am,” he says firmly.
Raven steps forward, eyes blazing. “You don’t get to decide this for me,” she says, voice shaking but unbroken. “Not you. Not the club. Not anyone.”
Her eyes move deliberately, meeting Knox’s, then her father’s, then every man in the room who thinks he gets a vote.
“I chose Samuel,” she continues. “I wasn’t confused or pressured. He didn’t take advantage of me. I knew exactly what I was doing, and I did it with my eyes open.”
She draws a slow breath, steadying herself.
“Samuel never crossed a line I didn’t invite him to cross. He never touched me before I was ready. And if you think this makes him the villain, then you don’t know him at all.”
Her gaze snaps back to Knox, fierce and wounded all at once.
“You want someone to blame? Blame me. Because I’d choose him again. Today. Tomorrow. Every single time.”
Silence crushes the room.
No one moves.
No one speaks.
And I feel it then. The full weight of her choosing me.
“You want to end him for loving me?” she asks softly now. “Then understand this first. If you hurt him. If you force him to walk away, you won’t be saving me.” Her voice drops. “You’ll be burying a part of me instead.”
Her gaze lifts, unflinching.
“And I promise you, whatever you think you’re protecting, I will never be the same again.”
The words don’t echo.
They settle.
She swallows, voice trembling, but she doesn’t stop.
“Samuel loves me. He protects me. And if you’re going to judge him, then judge me too.”
Silence grips the room. Every man there looks away. Every man except me. My eyes meet hers. Whatever happens next. Whatever the club decides. I’ll never regret loving her.
“What do you have to say, Wolf?” Jon asks.
“I didn’t plan this,” I say, my voice steady. “I didn’t wake up one day and decide to lie to you. I didn’t groom her.”
I swallow hard, my chest burning.
“I looked away. I fought it harder than anything I’ve ever fought in my life. Even after she was grown, even when walking away would’ve been easier.”
My gaze moves around the room, meeting every pair of eyes.
“You can punish me. You can strip me of everything I am in this club. You can hate me for the rest of your lives.”
Then I look at the woman who chose me despite all my imperfections. At the tears sliding down her cheeks.
“But none of that changes the truth.” My voice cracks for the first time. “I love Raven. And I don’t want a future that doesn’t have her in it.”
I turn to her father, my spine straight even as my heart splinters.
“I don’t have wealth. I don’t have promises that I can dress up pretty. But what I have is work, loyalty, and the rest of my life.” I hold his gaze. “And if you let me, I’ll spend every goddamn day of it proving that loving your daughter was never a mistake.”
No one speaks.
Jon studies me for a long moment. Not as a president. Not as a man with power. As a father.
“You’re asking for something I can’t give lightly,” he says at last. “You’re asking me to trust the same man who looked me in the eye every day and never told me the truth.”
My throat tightens. “I know.”
“And you’re asking this club,” he continues, “to ignore a breach of trust.”
Knox drags a hand through his hair, breathing hard. “So don’t ignore it. End it.”
A muscle ticks in Jon's jaw. “I didn't say that.”
Knox snaps his head up. “Then what the hell are you saying?”
“I’m saying this isn’t simple,” he replies. “And pretending it is would be a lie.” He looks at Raven, and his voice softens. “Baby girl, I need you to step outside.”
Her lips part. “Pop—”
“This part isn’t for you.”
Raven looks at me, and I give her a single nod, letting her know that whatever happens next, we’ll figure it out together. She straightens, wipes her cheeks, and walks out with her head held high.
The door closes with a soft click behind her. Suddenly, the room feels emptier than it ever has.
Jon looks around the table as he speaks. “I’m not the president anymore, but I didn’t forget the weight of this seat,” he says. “The club will vote. Not on love. On consequence.”
He turns back to me. “Wolf, until that vote is decided, you’re suspended from active duty. You will not wear your cut. You do not represent this club. And you will not see my daughter.”
The last words land like a blade.
Knox exhales, something close to relief cutting through his fury.
“I won’t promise that last part,” I say quietly.
Several men stiffen.
Jon meets my eyes. “Then you’d better be ready to lose everything,” he says.
“Understood.”
If the cost of loving Raven is leaving the life I’ve built here, then so be it. I’ll give up the brotherhood before I’ll ever give up her.