5. Wraith #2
"The club will understand. Eventually. Viper's practical—he'll see this was inevitable. Phoenix and Tank already know something's been building. And Blade..." I sighed. "Blade will come around. Might take time and probably some bloodshed, but he loves you. He'll want you happy."
"And you make me happy."
"You make me alive." I pulled her up for another kiss, deep and claiming. "For the first time since Emma died, I feel alive."
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I ignored it.
It buzzed again. Then again.
"You should check that," Raven murmured against my mouth.
I grabbed it, seeing Blade's name on the screen. Three missed calls, two texts.
Where are you?
Tiffany said some guy was asking about Raven at the clinic. Description matches her ex. I'm coming over.
"Shit." I showed her the screen.
She studied the messages, then smiled. "Good."
"Good? Raven, your brother is about to walk in and find us—"
"Find us together. Finally." She sat up, my tags swinging between her breasts. "I'm tired of hiding. Tired of pretending I don't love you. Tired of acting like this thing between us doesn't exist."
"He'll be here in ten minutes. Maybe less."
"Then we should probably put on clothes." She slid from the bed, grabbing my shirt from the floor and pulling it on. It hit her mid-thigh, the Pike Creek Riders logo across the back marking her as clearly as my tags around her neck.
"That's not going to help the situation."
"I'm not trying to help. I'm making a statement." She found her underwear, sliding them on under the shirt. "We're together. Deal with it."
I pulled on my jeans, leaving my chest bare, bruises from the fight visible. Let Blade see. Let him understand what I'd do for her.
"You sure about this?"
She moved into my arms, fitting against me perfectly. "I've never been more sure of anything. We've wasted enough time. Whatever happens next, we face it together."
"Together," I agreed, sealing it with a kiss.
The sound of a motorcycle approaching made us both tense. Not just one bike—multiple. Blade had brought backup.
"He brought witnesses," Raven observed. "Smart. Harder to commit murder with the whole club watching."
"Comforting."
She laughed, the sound bright in the growing tension. "I love you. Whatever happens, remember that."
"I love you too."
The bikes shut off. Boots on stairs. The door—which Derek had left unlocked in his scramble to escape—burst open.
Blade stood there, taking in the scene. His sister in my shirt, my tags visible around her neck. Me shirtless and bruised. The knife Derek had dropped still on the living room floor. My knuckles split and bloody.
The math was easy, even without the bedroom door standing open behind us, sheets twisted and telling their own story.
"No," he said, voice deadly quiet.
"Yes," Raven replied, stepping forward. "And before you lose your mind, remember that Wraith just protected me from Derek. Again. Remember that he's kept me safe for three weeks when you asked him to. Remember that—"
"You fucked my sister." Blade's focus never left me, fury building in every word.
"I love your sister."
"I'm going to kill you."
"No, you're not." Raven moved between us, small but fierce. "You're going to accept this, or you're going to lose us both. Your choice."
Behind Blade, Phoenix and Tank appeared, looking guilty. They'd been pulled away from their posts, played by Derek's distraction. Viper shouldered through, taking in the scene with those eyes that missed nothing.
"Church," he said simply. "Tomorrow. We settle this properly."
"Viper—" Blade started.
"Tomorrow. Tonight, everyone goes home. Cools off. Thinks about what really matters." His gaze moved between us. "Family. Brotherhood. Love. They don't have to be mutually exclusive."
"The code—"
"The code says we protect our own. Wraith protected Raven. That's what matters tonight." Viper's tone brooked no argument. "Tomorrow we figure out the rest."
Blade stood there for a long moment, jaw working, hands clenched. Finally, he turned and left without another word. Phoenix and Tank followed, Phoenix throwing us an apologetic look.
Viper lingered. "You sure about this?" he asked me.
"Never been more sure."
He looked at Raven. "This life isn't easy. Being an old lady means accepting the danger, the judgment, all of it."
"I know what I'm choosing." She moved back against me, my arm automatically going around her. "Who I'm choosing."
Viper nodded. "Then we'll see you both at church tomorrow. Be ready for anything."
He left, pulling the door closed behind him.
We stood there in the aftermath, processing what had just happened.
"That went better than expected," Raven said finally.
"Your brother didn't actually try to kill me. So yeah, better than expected."
She turned in my arms, hands splaying across my chest. "Thank you. For protecting me. For choosing me. For being willing to lose everything for this."
"You're not something I'm losing everything for." I cupped her face, thumbs brushing her cheekbones. "You're everything I'm gaining."
She kissed me then, soft and deep and full of promise.
Tomorrow would bring confrontation. Blade's anger. The club's judgment. Decisions that would shape our future.
But tonight, we had each other. No more hiding. No more pretending.
Just truth, finally freed.