Chapter 3
Chapter Three
DANTE
My hands grip the handlebars of my Harley as I park outside the apartment I share with Archer. The rumble of my bike fills the air. I can’t help but smirk at my bruised knuckles, almost healed from last night’s fight at the Grim.
Archer stands outside the apartment, leaning against his bike. He looks up when I approach, opening a shit-eating grin. “Shit, were you still at the bar? You’re too old to drink like that, old man.”
I park the bike next to his and turn off the engine. “Fuck off, Archer. You know you’re worse than me.”
“Also younger than you.”
“Two years.”
He shrugs, still grinning. “Quite the party last night, huh? Those Viper dickheads never learn.”
I grunt in response, my eyes scanning the street. The Iron Vipers Motorcycle Club has been trouble from the very beginning. Their president has some old drama with our president, King, but I don’t know what.
All I know is that our club, the Savage Knights, keeps shifters safe and secret, while the Iron Vipers love to get themselves in trouble with humans.
Too dangerous. Humans have larger numbers and too many of them consider us animals.
“The Vipers are insane,” I tell Archer. “And they don’t know when to lower their heads.” I shrug. “It doesn’t matter. They can come at us as much as they want. I’ll always be here to kick them out.”
Archer elbows me, laughing. “Oh, our great enforcer! We’re so blessed by your presence!”
I mock-punch him in the shoulder. He laughs. I lean against his bike, next to him. I open and close my hand, testing my knuckles.
“You can mock me as much as you want,” I tell him. “I’ll still defend you if it comes to that.”
Archer elbows me again. “I know. I know the Knights are the only family some got left after...” He trails off, his smile fading.
We both know what he means—after the massacre that tore our world apart. Until that moment, humans and shifters sometimes fought and sometimes had trouble.
The Moonstone Massacre changed it all thirty years ago.
I let out a humorless chuckle. “Humans,” I mutter, shaking my head. “Nothing but trouble. I don’t know why we even bother sometimes.”
Archer opens his mouth to reply, but the sound of an approaching car interrupts him. He raises his head expectantly. I frown.
Oh, yeah, he mentioned his sister would be visiting. Something about being threatened? I’ve known Archer for over half of my life—we’ve been best friends since school—but I never met his sister. They talk often and he’s traveled to visit her a few times, but he’s always been protective and never brought her around.
Archer trusts me, but the other guys at the club? They’d one-hundred percent hit on her just to drive him mad.
A silver sedan pulls up and parks across the street. Ugly car. Not a drop of personality. The driver’s door opens and a blond man steps out. He slams the door too hard, his eyes narrowing as he looks at Archer and me with unmistakable disdain.
Who the fuck is this and why do I already hate him?
Archer makes an annoyed sound. I’m about to turn and tell him about it when the passenger door opens. That’s when I see her.
A woman steps out of the passenger side, and it’s like everything else fades away. Long, wavy hair the color of dark chocolate tumbles down her back. She has curves for days, a thick pair of thighs I’d love to lie on. She wears a black tank top that cradles perfect tits and ripped jeans. She’s unbelievably hot.
But it’s her eyes that really get me—stormy gray, fierce and intense, like a gathering thundercloud. I can’t stop looking at them.
Something stirs in my chest—a primal pull. An urge. I flare my nostrils and breathe in. My wolf rises to the surface. Pushed into my skin. My heart races in my chest. My wolf grows more agitated. I clench my jaw, forcing the instinct down.
Get a fucking grip, Dante. What the hell is this?
“Ava!” Archer calls out, his face splitting into a wide smile. He jogs over to her, sweeping her up in a bear hug that lifts her off her feet. She laughs, smacking his shoulder, until he sets her down.
Even her laughter makes my stomach flip.
I stand there, stupidly, as Archer and Ava laugh at one another. I stare and stare, but every second I spend looking at her makes me feel stranger.
Archer turns. “Avs, this is Dante, my friend from school,” Archer says, leading her over to me. “Dante, meet my little sister, Ava.”
“Not so little anymore,” she quips, holding out her hand. Her voice is low and smoky, sending a shiver down my spine. Holy shit, I didn’t know a voice could be this sexy. “Nice to finally meet the infamous Dante. Archer told me many stories.”
I stare down at her hand. She must be almost a foot shorter than me. She’s insanely curvy, but still so much smaller, more fragile than me. I almost fear taking her hand in mine.
Still, I do. Her fingers disappear within mine, electricity sparking at the contact. Her skin is soft, but her grip is firm. Our eyes lock, and for a moment, the world stands still. I swear I can hear her heart racing in time with mine.
Then she blinks, and the spell is broken. She releases my hand and steps back, gesturing to the weedy-looking guy standing awkwardly two paces behind her.
“This is my boyfriend, Steve,” she says.
Boyfriend . The word hits me like a punch to the gut. I size him up, taking in his scrawny frame and shifty eyes. This punk couldn’t protect her from a stiff breeze, let alone the real dangers lurking in the shadows.
Not that I would. No, of course not. She’s human, for fuck’s sake.
“Thanks for having us,” she says, smiling. “I put Steve and myself in trouble because of an investigation. I’m happy we can crash here for a while.”
Steve scowls, shoving his hands in his pockets. “If you hadn’t been snooping around where you don’t belong, none of this would’ve happened. You don’t have to be nosy to be a journalist, Ava.”
Red-hot rage surges through my veins. How dare he talk to her like that? My hands curl into fists at my sides, itching to teach this asshole a lesson.
But Ava just laughs, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “If being nosy means getting justice, then I’ll gladly be the nosiest bitch in town.”
I meet Archer’s gaze. “You mentioned she was threatened,” I say. “I don’t remember by whom.”
“Technically, I don’t know,” she replies. “The threats were anonymous. But I have been investigating a congressman who I’m pretty sure abused people, then paid them off to keep quiet.”
I study her gray eyes, my eyebrows shooting up. “I get seeking the truth and all, but a congressman? Chasing powerful people will make you wind up dead in a ditch somewhere.” At our club, we take matters into our own hands and serve justice ourselves, but there’s a limit.
Her eyes flash, and she takes a step closer to me. “Oh, so I should just sit back and let the bad guys win? Is that what you would do?”
I lean in, our faces inches apart. The scent of her, lavender and honey, invades my senses. It takes a lot of effort to work words past my lips. “There are bad guys, and then there are monsters,” I say. “And trust me, you don’t want to meet the latter.”
The air between us crackles with tension, and for a moment, I swear she’s going to slap me. But then her lips curve into a smirk, and she arches a brow. “Good thing I’m not scared of the big, bad wolf.”
Her choice of words makes my body buzz for some reason. Goddamn, this girl is going to be the death of me. I straighten up, tearing my gaze away from her. Her boyfriend is unaware, distracted by his phone.
Archer, on the other hand, is staring strangely at me.
“Guess I’ll hit the club. Remember we have stuff to do tonight.”
Archer’s brows shoot up. “You’ve just arrived.”
I shrug as I swing my leg over my bike, ignoring the way my jeans have grown uncomfortably tight. “I’ll give you guys some time together.” As I rev the engine, I catch Ava’s eye one last time. “Have fun babysitting,” I call out to Archer, nodding towards Ava. She makes a face at me, her pretty features scrunching up in annoyance.
I peel out of there, gravel spraying beneath my tires. As the wind whips past my face, I try to clear my head of gray eyes and infuriating smirks.
And I fail terribly.