Chapter 15 Rebel
C erys and Brax seemed to work through their issues by the time Heron led me inside the house. They were locked in a heated embrace, and the big guy couldn’t keep his hands off Cerys. Seeing that and Heron’s indifference eased my worries. My guy had zero feelings for Cerys. Anyone could see how deeply in love Brax and Cerys were, and now that they worked through their argument, all the tension disappeared.
Leave it to Claw to speak up first. His lips curved upward with amusement. “Should we clear out of here and let you two be alone?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively before Heron flicked him in the back of the head.
Cerys beat Brax to an answer. “Not yet. Heron, I forgive you, and this gives me closure.”
“But?” he asked, wondering what was coming next.
“I still want to know what you meant by your club understanding and accepting you. If it’s not about adoption, it’s kinda wild. What do you mean by that?”
Curious, I had to admit I also wanted to know.
Heron exchanged glances with Cuckoo, Claw, Falcon, and Hawk. His gaze shifted to me briefly before landing on Brax. Silent communication happened between them, and it appeared they came to an understanding without needing to speak. Weird.
Brax turned to Cerys. “Baby, I think we need to go to my place for this conversation. Twyla might be back any minute, and it’s personal.”
I felt my eyebrows shoot up. Personal? And it included Heron and the Devil’s Murder?
He continued, “Just hang on, and Heron will tell you as soon as we get there.” He paused. “I have something to tell you, too.”
“Okay.” She gave him a worried glance but agreed.
What the hell was going on?
“Heron?” I asked, catching his guarded expression.
“Spark, it’s gonna be fine. You’ll see. Trust me.”
Trust. A simple word that conveyed a complicated meaning. Trust was earned, not given by demand or coercion. I trusted Heron completely. He proved his love, loyalty, and protection on numerous occasions.
Whatever happened once we reached our destination, I knew I could count on Heron to keep me safe. With a steady breath, inhaling, then slowly exhaling, I nodded my head and trusted .
A short time later, we arrived at Brax’s place. He led us all into the backyard, accompanied by the rest of the guys who rode motorcycles and were best friends with the deputy sheriff.
It was a beautiful day, not too hot, with plenty of blue sky stretching far beyond the clouds in every direction. The sun had risen high in the sky and headed toward the horizon as the afternoon waned.
Brax had a badass setup that included a pool, an outdoor patio with a fireplace and kitchen, and even a fridge with cold drinks. Seeing to everyone’s needs, he played the gracious host before we sat awkwardly and stared at one another. The guys seemed to be communicating without words again, which irritated me, and I could tell Cerys felt the same.
Heron shot Brax a heavy look, and Brax tensed.
Cerys had enough. “Alright, you’re scaring me. What’s so secret that we had to come way out here? You guys are acting shifty.”
Brax shook his head. Calling her an endearment, he attempted to set her mind at ease. “We’re not trying to be scary or shifty.” His gaze settled on Heron. “You should go first.”
“Gee, thanks,” Heron answered with a smirk.
Most of the guys chuckled, including both Heron’s club members and Brax’s friends.
“Okay,” Heron began, “there’s a reason I said that I feel fully accepted and understood by my club, Cerys.”
“I got that part,” she answered, waving him on to continue.
But he didn’t. He turned to me first. “Rebel, have you ever wondered why I chose the Devil’s Murder MC rather than another club?”
“Well, I assumed you knew one of them or something,” I replied.
“I didn’t,” he admitted. “It was because of my background.”
Okay. His adoption?
He shifted back to Cerys. “Did you ever wonder if those paranormal books you used to read and the movies you always loved to watch might be real?”
“Not since I was about ten years old,” she said with a smirk.
“What if I were to tell you that they are and that I’m one of them? That my whole club is, and we’re all the same kind?”
His gaze bounced between us.
Bewildered, Cerys looked at Heron like he lost his mind.
But me? It sort of made sense. I saw what the Reapers did to separate Undertaker, the vargulf, from the powerful wolf, Alpha Caden. I’d seen his wolf clan shift from men to beasts. And the Devil’s Murder? They were called crows because they had a special connection with the black birds.
Oh my God! DUH.
“Heron, are you high?” Cerys asked.
He burst into laughter. “No, Cerys. I’m not. Don’t blame you for asking, but I can see you won’t be convinced unless I prove it. Okay, here goes.”
Wait. Right now?
Heron stood and shrugged off his cut. Brax must have thought Heron would get naked because he covered Cerys’s eyes with his hands.
My man couldn’t resist teasing Brax. “What? Afraid I’ll put you to shame in the package department?”
Funny, but I didn’t like the idea he would have his dick swinging in front of Cerys, either.
“As if,” Brax growled as he flipped him off.
Heron chuckled, stripped his remaining clothes, and concealed his lower body behind his chair.
Brax lowered his hands. Cerys stared at Heron, her cheeks tinged pink. I didn’t think it was sexual attraction but rather a bit of awkwardness and curiosity.
That was as far as my thoughts got before Heron turned into a crow. One second, he stood there, tanned, muscled, and covered in dark ink; the next, he was a fucking crow. The black bird cawed as his onyx feathers flapped. He hopped on the back of the chair and opened his beak, a loud kraa filling the air. Around us, in every direction, I heard the answering caws of numerous crows.
Wow.
Cerys sat speechless. Brax’s friends seemed surprised, too.
“Which of your club brothers are flying above us?” Brax asked.
“None. Those are actual crows. We’re each soul-bonded. That’s the easiest way to describe it. We have different powers. Not everyone can shift like Heron and Hawk. It’s specific to our bloodline,” Carrion explained.
Heron transformed back, and I tossed him his pants, catching a glance at his sexy bare ass. Once he slipped on his jeans and zipped them up, he stepped from behind the chair and took his seat beside me. His hand reached for mine and held it. Amused that I didn’t figure this out sooner, I had nothing to say.
Brax reached for Cerys’s hand. “Baby, are you okay?”
She nodded, then hoarsely answered, “It’s a lot to absorb. I can see why you wanted to do it here.” She sighed. “No one seems shocked. Why?”
He kissed her hand, then her lips, and stood. When he kicked off his boots and removed his shirt, Cerys’s mouth popped open.
My eyes widened. Was he something different, too?
Heron’s hands covered my eyes, and I giggled. My man, just like Brax, was over the top on occasion. I didn’t mind, though.
Brax’s deep voice called out, “What’s the matter, bird boy? Afraid she’ll faint after she sees a real cock?”
Heron snorted. “You saw what I’m packing. If your dick were even a tad bigger than mine, you’d be walking hunched over.”
I tried to roll my eyes but couldn’t. His fingers prevented it.
Everyone was laughing after that.
I tugged on his hand to tease him like I wanted to look and judge for myself.
“I’ll spank your ass if you peek, Spark.”
I almost told him not to threaten me with a good time.
Heron’s hands dropped as I heard a gasp. My vision centered on the massive beast in front of us. A giant fucking wolf had replaced Brax! Shocked, I leaned back, wondering if this was safe. Visions of other wolves, mean and hungry, clawed at my memory. I felt my vision tunnel as panic took hold.
“You’re okay, Babe. Promise,” Heron whispered in my ear. His arms slid around me, keeping me against his chest where I could feel his warmth.
Cerys didn’t move or speak. And just when I thought she might be losing it, she held out her hand. The wolf inched forward and rumbled when she lightly rubbed his head. Something like a contented purr radiated from his chest. Soon, he was licking her hand, followed by her face. Cerys laughed and hugged him. It was almost sweet, if not for the giant teeth and massive claws.
If I hadn’t been taken by wolves, held against my will, and hunted for sport, I might have been okay with all this, but I wasn’t. I sank against Heron and nearly climbed into his lap.
“I’m right here. Not letting go of you and not letting anything happen to you. Love you, Babe. Hear me?”
I did.
Brax finally shifted back and dressed, tensing as he saw me. “Is Rebel alright?”
“She’ll be okay. I should’ve warned her. She was held captive by a bunch of crazy wolves who abused her and others. Our club rescued her, but that was before I patched in.”
The reminder made me tremble, and Heron held me tighter against him. The fear I felt was irrational, but it didn’t change the fact that it had conjured unwelcome memories.
“Shit! Fuck, I’m sorry. If I’d known,” he began.
I sucked in a breath, fought through the panic, and waved his apology away. “It’s not your fault. I thought I was in the past for a minute. I’m good.”
Satisfied with my response, he turned to Cerys. “Say something. Please.”
She blinked. “So I dated a bird, and now I’m with a wolf. Shifters are real. What the hell? Why didn’t you tell me?” She yelled at Heron, then swung back to Brax. “And you! Were you planning to tell me, or did you just do it because Heron did?”
Brax appeared contrite. “I swear, I always intended to tell you. I was trying to find the right time. I worried it would scare you away.”
Some of her anger fizzled. She couldn’t deny it was a valid concern.
“There aren’t a lot of humans who know about us. You realize you can’t tell your friends, Cerys. It’s too dangerous for people to know. Some would hunt us, others would be terrified.”
“I’d never tell anyone, well, other than Twyla. She won’t say anything. Oh my God, so the rest of you are wolves, too,” she guessed, staring at the others.
They all shook their heads.
Cerys couldn’t hide her surprise, and neither could I.
“What are you then?” I asked, too curious to let it go.
“Can we see?” Cerys asked.
Damn, this was turning out to be one hell of a show and tell.
“Yeah, you can, but not now. Who wants to tell them first?” Brax asked.
One by one, they all revealed their animal.
“A leopard,” Keir answered.
“I’m a gryphon,” Gunnar replied.
“A bear,” Fennick revealed.
“I’m a phoenix,” Banner added.
Royal rumbled his answer in a deep voice. “Dragon.”
Cerys let out a squeal. I got excited, too. Wow, a dragon .
We both looked at Nico next.
He smiled, opened his mouth wide, and revealed fangs. “I’m a vampire,” he announced with a wink.
I gasped, and so did Cerys. The crow bikers took a step back—well, everyone but Heron.
Nico chuckled darkly, enjoying every reaction.
Falcon moved forward, eager to ask questions. “And you all live here? Did you become friends first? Are there more of you?”
“It’s an easy answer,” Brax informed him. “The seven of us have been friends for a long time. When I got stationed here, I told this lot. There are other shifters in and around the Needles area. It gives us a greater sense of community, which I’m guessing you can all relate to for similar reasons. We work to protect ourselves and our families if we have them, not to mention keeping our kind secret.”
That made sense to me.
Heron and his club brothers were endlessly curious about Brax and his friends. They spent an hour firing off questions and learning all they could. Each of Brax’s group held positions in local government and public jobs in one form or another. Gunnar was a bounty hunter. Fennick, a park ranger. Keir became a game warden, and Banner was a lawyer. Royal served as a firefighter, and Nico was a paramedic.
Cerys suddenly began laughing. Contagious, it sent us all into hysterics. “Wait! Oh my God! Does that mean I’m into bestiality?” She looked appalled. It lasted about five seconds before she cracked a smile.
Clutching my side, I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed that hard for that long. We spent another hour with Brax, Cerys, and their friends. When we finally said goodbye, I hugged Cerys and exchanged numbers. Sure, it might have been weird at one point, but now, knowing how our men loved us, any worry had vanished.
I knew I had gained a new friend, and in my book, you could never have too many.