Chapter One #2
We just look at each other. All of us. Women who survived. Women who chose. Women who are about to walk outside and detonate the emotional stability of the most dangerous men in Alabama.
Then Raven says, “They’re going to lose their damn minds.”
Kya nods. “Absolutely.”
Bella grins. “I cannot wait.”
The door opens from the hallway.
Twisted steps in.
The room goes quiet immediately. He pauses just inside, looking at us one by one.
His face changes. Not dramatically. Not enough that anyone outside this family would understand.
But his eyes soften in a way that makes my chest ache.
Proud. That’s what it is. Proud, and maybe a little haunted, and maybe more emotional than he’ll ever admit.
“Well,” he says, voice rougher than usual, “don’t you girls clean up nice. ”
Mac smiles. “Careful. That almost sounded sentimental.”
Twisted grunts. “Don’t spread that shit around.”
Ana laughs softly.
His gaze lands on me last. He holds it for a second. “You ready?” he asks.
My fingers tighten around my bouquet. I think about the first night.
The van. Cobra’s arms. The collar. Eli. The auction.
The way Cobra looked when I came back. The way he held me like the world could end around us and he’d still keep me standing.
From product to chosen. From terror to this.
From being taken to walking willingly toward the only man I’ve ever wanted to belong beside.
I nod. “I’m ready.”
Twisted looks around at all of us, then reaches for the clubhouse doors. “We ready?” he calls.
Every woman straightens. Every breath catches.
Outside, muffled voices continue, unaware. Not for long.
Twisted smiles.
Then the doors begin to open.
Something’s wrong.
Not bad wrong. Not guns-out, someone-call-church wrong. But wrong enough that every man standing outside the clubhouse knows it.
The picnic tables are full. Kids run through the yard screaming like tiny lunatics.
The grills are going. Old ladies disappeared inside almost an hour ago, and not one of them has come back out except Ana, who grabbed three bottles of wine, refused to answer questions, and walked right back inside with a grin that should’ve been illegal. That alone is concerning.
I stand near the front with the others, arms crossed, watching the clubhouse doors.
Cain stands beside me with Jason balanced against his shoulder while Amy runs circles around Logan and Knox like she’s trying to start a fight with gravity.
Logan keeps shifting his weight off his bad knee every few seconds when he thinks Mac isn’t looking.
Unfortunately for him, Mac always looks.
Carter’s staring at the front doors like he expects an ambush.
Dom is halfway through taking apart every possible explanation in his head.
Shadow hasn’t moved in ten straight minutes.
Joker looks entertained by all of this, which makes everyone immediately suspicious.
Blaze keeps trying to peek through the clubhouse windows and getting yelled at by older women every time he does it.
“Why are they acting like this?” Landon asks.
“No clue,” Jimmy says. “But Allie threatened my life when I tried to go inside.”
Blaze snorts. “Bella told me if I ruined the surprise she’d cut my dick off.”
Joker looks at Raven’s closed window upstairs. “That honestly narrows nothing down for me.”
Hammer lights a cigarette. “Could be worse.”
“How?” Blaze asks.
Hammer exhales smoke. “No idea. Just trying to stay optimistic.”
Twisted stands near the edge of the patio with Whip, Cutter, Torch, and Storm, looking way too calm for a man who clearly knows exactly what’s happening. That’s the biggest problem. Twisted never looks pleased unless chaos is involved.
Logan finally looks at his father. “You wanna tell us what the fuck is going on?”
Twisted sips his drink. “Nope.”
“Helpful.”
“I try.”
Cutter grunts. “You boys look nervous.”
“We’re not nervous,” Carter says immediately.
Whip laughs. “Son, you look like you’re about to testify in court.”
“That’s because this feels like a setup.”
Torch nods once. “Probably is.”
Blaze points at them. “See? The old guys know something.”
“Of course we know something,” Storm says. “We’re old. That’s our job.”
Joker leans toward me slightly. “Think they finally formed a murder cult?”
“Would explain the wine,” Blaze says.
Shadow looks at both of them. “Shut the fuck up.”
Neither listens.
“The women have definitely been conspiring,” Jimmy says. “Allie smiled at me this morning.”
“That’s bad?” Dom asks.
“She smiled like she already won.”
Everyone goes quiet for a second. Because every man here understands exactly how dangerous that is. Then the clubhouse doors open. Every conversation dies instantly.
The women step out one by one. And every single fucking one of us stops breathing.
White. Lace. Wedding dresses.
For one full second, nobody moves.
Not the brothers. Not the prospects. Not the old guys.
Nothing.
Then Blaze says, very softly, “Holy shit.”
Beside him, Joker actually looks stunned. That might be the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.
The women spread out slowly across the porch steps, dresses catching sunlight, expressions ranging from emotional to smug as hell. Mac steps out first beside Emma, and Logan goes completely rigid. Not panicked. Worse. Emotional.
Mac smiles at him like she knows exactly what she’s done.
Emma stands beside Cain, calm and beautiful and steady, and Cain looks like someone punched him directly in the chest.
Brooke appears next, and Carter physically takes a step forward before stopping himself. His entire face changes when he sees her. Softens in a way most people never get to witness.
Kya walks out holding Remy on her hip for half a second before passing him to Ana, and Dom makes a sound under his breath like his heart just gave up entirely.
Shaina moves beside Shadow, and he stares at her with the same look he gets before violence except this time it’s awe.
Raven walks out in dark lace, and Joker laughs once under his breath like he cannot fucking believe his life.
Allison appears beside Jimmy, and he immediately drags both hands down his face.
Brynn smiles shyly at Landon, who looks moments away from either proposing twice or passing out.
Then Bella steps out. Blaze actually clutches his chest. “Oh, I’m getting trapped,” he whispers.
Bella beams. “Damn right.”
Everyone laughs. Everyone except me.
Because Olivia steps out last. And the entire world narrows to her.
White dress. Soft hair. Eyes locked on mine immediately like there isn’t another person standing here.
My chest tightens so hard it almost hurts.
She looks nothing like the girl under those lights.
Nothing like the woman in chains. Nothing like the terrified person dragged into a van. She looks alive. Happy.
Mine.
Twisted steps forward with a grin that’s entirely too satisfied. “Well, boys,” he says, “looks like the ladies got tired of waiting on your dumb asses.”
Mac lifts a shoulder. “You’re welcome.”
Kya points at Dom. “Don’t make this weird.”
“You surprised married me,” Dom says.
“You’re still alive. Be grateful.”
Whip laughs so hard he has to sit down.
Twisted motions everyone forward. “Line up.”
Every man here looks shell-shocked.
The women look thrilled about it.
Emma reaches for Cain first. He touches her face like he has to make sure she’s real.
“You planned this?” he asks.
Emma smiles softly. “Maybe.”
Cain shakes his head once, emotional enough that he doesn’t even try to hide it. “Sneaky.”
Amy yells, “You’re getting married!”
The entire yard laughs.
Twisted starts with them.
Cain looks terrified. Not of marriage. Not of commitment. Of emotion.
Emma stands in front of him in a simple white dress that somehow makes her look softer and stronger at the same time, and for one rare second, Cain Russell looks completely stripped bare in front of everyone.
Amy is already crying beside Jaz.
Jason sits on Cutter’s shoulders completely unaware that his father is having a full emotional crisis in front of the club.
Emma smiles gently when Cain takes her hands. He holds them carefully. Like they matter. Like she matters.
“You okay?” she whispers.
Cain huffs out a breath that almost sounds like a laugh. “No.” That gets a soft laugh out of her. He stares at her for another second before speaking, and when he finally does, his voice is rougher than usual. “You saved me long before I deserved it.”
The yard goes quiet.
Cain’s thumb brushes over her knuckles unconsciously.
“When you walked into my life, I was surviving. That’s it.
Just surviving.” He swallows hard. “I knew how to protect people. I knew how to fight. I knew how to bury shit deep enough that nobody could touch it.” His eyes lock on hers.
“But I didn’t know how to let somebody love me. ”
Emma’s eyes fill instantly.
Cain keeps going anyway. “You gave me a family,” he says quietly.
“You gave me Amy and a chance to be someone safe for her to run to when she needed comfort. You gave Jason a mother before he was even old enough to understand what that meant.” His jaw flexes once.
“You gave me a home worth coming back to.”
Emma presses her lips together hard like she’s trying not to cry.
“And I swear to God,” Cain says, voice thickening, “I’ll spend the rest of my life protecting that. Protecting you. Protecting our kids. Protecting the life we built together.”
Amy fully loses the battle with her tears at that point.
Joker mutters, “Fuck, now I’m sad.” Raven elbows him.