Chapter 8 - Canvas
She belongs to me now.
The thought settles into my chest as we walk downstairs, hand in hand, and it feels right in a way nothing else has in my entire life. Eden Cross is mine. And I'll give my life to protect her again and again if I have to.
I already took one bullet for her. I'd take a hundred more.
The common room comes into view, and I immediately know we're fucked.
Everyone is there. Phoenix and Ivy on the couch, Judge and Nora at the table with little Grace, Saint leaning against the bar with a knowing smirk, Ranger and Brick standing near the door, Wraith with his daughter Mariah, Diesel wiping his hands on a rag, Echo in the corner as always.
The moment we reach the bottom of the stairs, the entire club starts clapping.
Slow claps at first, then building into full applause with whistles and cheers. Saint is grinning like an asshole. Judge raises his beer in salute. Even Phoenix looks amused, though he's trying to hide it.
"Fuck off," I tell them all, but I'm smiling despite myself.
"Sounded like you already did!" Diesel calls out, and the room erupts in laughter.
Eden's face goes red, but she doesn't hide behind me. She just squeezes my hand and raises her chin, meeting their eyes. That's my girl. Not backing down, not apologizing for what we did.
"Alright, alright." Phoenix stands, and the room quiets immediately. That's what happens when your president speaks. Everyone listens. "Give them a break. At least he didn't tear his stitches."
"How do you know?" Saint asks, pushing off from the bar. "I should check—"
"You're not checking shit," I interrupt. "I'm fine. Everything's fine. We're all good."
"Uh-huh." Saint is definitely enjoying this too much. "I'll be the judge of that later. After dinner. In the medical room. Alone."
Eden laughs beside me, and the sound makes something warm bloom in my chest. She's not intimidated by the club, by their teasing, by any of it. She's holding her own, and I've never been prouder of someone in my life.
Phoenix gestures for everyone to settle. "I need a minute. Everyone."
The tone shifts immediately. This isn't club president making small talk. This is war council. We all find seats, Eden still holding my hand as we sit on the couch. The kids, Grace and Mariah, are ushered upstairs by Nora, who knows what's coming.
When it's just the MC and the old ladies, Phoenix speaks.
"The war with the Vipers is going to ask for everything we have." His voice is steady. "They're bigger, they're meaner, and they've already shown they don't care about collateral damage. Judge got beaten. Canvas got shot. This is just the beginning."
The room is silent, everyone listening.
"But we're going to survive this. And we're going to win. Together." Phoenix looks at each of us in turn. "I founded this club because the Vipers became everything a club shouldn't be. I built the Iron Phoenix to be their opposite: a club that protects instead of destroys."
He pauses, letting the words sink in.
"It's time to stop playing defense. Tomorrow, we start attacking.
Echo's been doing reconnaissance, and we've got leads on their lookout in Millhaven.
We find him, we send a message. A permanent one.
" Phoenix's expression hardens. "They think they can come at us, hurt our people, destroy our property, and we'll just take it because they outnumber us. They're wrong."
"Damn right they're wrong," Brick says, his voice like gravel.
"But tonight?" Phoenix's expression softens slightly. "Tonight we rest. We celebrate. Canvas found his woman—" He nods at Eden and me. "Against all odds and terrible timing, but he found her. And that's worth celebrating. So, we eat, we drink, we take time to remember why we fight."
"We fight for family," Judge says, his arm around Nora.
"We fight for the people we love," I add, squeezing Eden's hand.
"We fight because it's right," Phoenix finishes. "Tomorrow, we lock in. Tonight, we live. And never forget… From ash, we rise!"
The room erupts in agreement. Beers are cracked open, music gets turned on low, and Diesel and Ranger start bringing food out from the kitchen.
Eden leans into me. "Your president is intense."
"That's why we follow him." I kiss her temple, not caring who sees. "He's the best man I know."
Ivy appears with two bowls of chili that Diesel did, after a few weeks of me teaching him, and hands them to us. "Eat. Both of you. You need your strength." She winks at Eden. "Especially after that workout."
"Oh my god," Eden mutters, but she's smiling.
We eat, and the chili is as good as everyone claims. Spicy, rich, with my special whiskey sauce that makes it something special. Eden makes appreciative noises with every bite, and I have to stop myself from getting hard again just watching her eat.
"This is incredible," she tells Diesel, who beams with pride.
“Don’t thank me. Thank the man next to you. This is his recipe. I’m just his apprentice. But if you really want to know… The secret's in the whiskey," he says, like he's sharing classified information,
"And the fact that you have to brown the meat first instead of just dumping it in raw," Saint adds. "That's the real secret."
"Shut up. You don't know shit about cooking."
"I'm a medic. I know about proper food safety and preparation."
They bicker back and forth, and it's so normal, so family, that I feel Eden relax beside me. This is what I wanted to show her. Not just the danger and the war, but this… The brotherhood, the loyalty, the way we take care of each other.
"They're all insane," Eden whispers to me.
"Completely," I agree. "But they're my brothers. And now they're yours too."
She looks at me, those blue eyes searching. "Am I? Part of this now?"
"Do you want to be?"
"Yes." She glances around the room, at Ivy laughing with Phoenix, at little Grace signing something to Judge who signs back fluently, at the rest of the club eating and drinking and being alive. "I think I've been part of this since you covered me in that studio."
"Yeah." I pull her closer. "You have been."
Ranger approaches, beer in hand. "Eden. Good to officially meet you when Canvas isn't bleeding out."
"Likewise." She shakes his hand. "Thanks for the backup at the studio."
"That's what we do. We protect our own." He glances at me. "She's good, Canvas. Don't fuck it up."
"I won't," I promise, and I mean it with everything in me.
The night continues. Stories get told, laughter fills the room, and for a few hours, we forget about the Vipers. We forget about the war. We just exist as family, as brothers and sisters, as people who chose each other.
Eden fits right in. She talks books with Ivy, medical stuff with Saint, asks Wraith about his daughter, compliments Diesel's cooking again. She's not trying to impress anyone. She's just being herself, and everyone responds to it.
"She's perfect for you," Phoenix says, appearing at my side while Eden is deep in conversation with Nora about sign language.
"Yeah. She is." I watch her laugh at something Nora said, her whole face lighting up. "I know it's fast. I know it's crazy—"
"It's both of those things." Phoenix takes a drink of his beer. "But it's also real. I can see it. The way you look at her, the way she looks at you, that's not casual. Not temporary."
"It's forever," I tell him, repeating what I told Eden upstairs.
"Forever." Phoenix nods slowly. "Then you protect her with everything you have. Because the Vipers will see her as a weakness. They'll try to use her against you."
"Let them try." My voice comes out harder than I intend. "I'll kill anyone who touches her."
"Good." Phoenix claps me on the good shoulder. "That's what I needed to hear. Because tomorrow, shit gets real. Echo found something, an apartment downtown that's been under surveillance. We think it's their lookout. We're going to pay him a visit."
"I want in."
"You're injured."
"I don't care. They shot up my studio. I want in." I meet his eyes. "I can still shoot. I can still fight. And I need to do this."
Phoenix considers for a moment, then nods. "Fine. But Saint clears you first. And if he says you're not ready, you stay here. No arguments."
"Deal."
He walks away to join Ivy, and I feel Eden's presence before she speaks.
"I’ve been hearing things… You're going after them tomorrow," she says. It's not a question.
"Yeah. We are."
"I don't want you to go." Her hand finds mine. "But I understand why you have to."
I turn to face her fully. "I'll come back to you. I promise."
"You can't promise that." Her voice cracks slightly. "You could get hurt. You could get killed."
"Then I promise I'll fight like hell to make it back." I cup her face with my good hand. "Because I meant what I said upstairs. Forever, Eden. I want forever with you. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make that happen."
She kisses me. "Forever," she whispers against my lips.
"Forever," I promise.
The party continues around us, but in this moment, it's just the two of us.
My woman. My future. My everything.
Tomorrow, we go to war. But tonight? Tonight, we're alive. We're together.
And that's all that matters.