Harlow"Good news," Bonnie said as she arrived at my table and slid into the booth. "Votes are in. You made the cut.""I can stay?" I gasped.She nodded. "We're going to wipe the slate clean and give you another chance.""Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.""But, you're not out of the woods just yet," she replied, her expression turning serious. "Like I said, this pack is built on trust, which takes time. And given recent events, you're gonna have to step up and go the extra mile. You think you can do that?""Absolutely. Whatever it takes."Bonnie smiled. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Madoc is coming back tomorrow, and I have no idea what he's got planned for us. I'll need all the reliable help I can get.""You can count on me," I said. "Good." She stood and left to chat with Lola and Dax.As I looked around the room, I watched pack members laughing and joking as they ordered round after round of drinks, played cards, and argued over which song
HarlowI had sh*tty dreams. After I got back to my trailer from the bar, I tossed and turned all night. Images of my father and flashing police lights were interspersed with Cyrus driving farther and farther away on his bike as I called after him.I woke while it was still dark. Unable to fall back asleep, I kicked off the blankets and paced back and forth in the narrow tailor. I had a couple of shots of Jack to try to make myself drowsy, but it didn't work. Eventually, I stepped out of my trailer and sat on the steps of my little porch to watch the sunrise.I was only slightly surprised to see a few giant wolves walking amongst the mobile homes. I could only assume that they'd been out in the desert during the night and were now returning to their lodgings. I watched in awe as they transformed back to their naked human selves. One of them was Bonnie.She caught my eye as she walked, "Come have some coffee with me, Prospect."I was barefoot but figured I could rough it since she w
CyrusThe Marshal swerved into the garage parking lot."Any idea what this is about?" Tank asked me."I don't know. But everyone stay put and I'll find out," I replied."Hey, you're not calling the shots now," Mac said, getting up in my face."I'm still your Beta.""And I'm VP," he replied.From the corner of my eye, I saw the Marshal's driver side door open."We don't have time for this. Come on," I said.Mac and I both hurried across to join Blayze, who was standing in front of the garage. At the same time, the Marshal stepped out of his Charger. His cowboy hat, badge, and sidearm made him look like he'd just been plucked out of the old west. He put on a pair of aviators as we approached."What can I do you for, Marshal?" Blayze asked."I have reason to believe the fugitives, Robbie Cooke and Travis Lawrence, are bankrolling the citizens of this town to keep them underground," he replied."Sorry, but I don't know anything about that. My boys and I run a legitimate busines
BonnieHarlow somehow didn't seem completely surprised by what I'd just told her."So that tattoo on Blayze's shoulder? The one that says 'Bonnie?'" she asked."You noticed that, huh? Yeah, that's me," I admitted. "Our fathers were close before the big split. Alpha Quinton Black and Beta Jessie Rollins had been friends since they were pups. They started the MC together. Blayze and I were bound to be close."After we graduated high school, the pressure was on to make it official and get mated. But I didn't wanna rush into things. I had a lot to learn about becoming Alpha after Quinton retired, and getting mated didn't seem like the right path just yet. But Jessie had other ideas. Didn't think a woman should be Alpha. I knew it wasn't done much, but it's the twenty-first century, ya know?"Anyway, Jessie started telling Quinton that he should consider making Blayze Alpha instead. Wanted me to take the traditional role of Luna. You know what that is?" I asked Harlow.She shook her h
HarlowBonnie eyed Madoc suspiciously."I know you're not accustomed to taking orders," he said to her. "So I'll try my best to give you some time to adjust to new management."That clearly pissed Bonnie off, but she held her tongue for the time being."You ok if I go?" she asked me.I didn't know what other option we had, so I nodded."If I find out you so much as looked at her funny—" she began, but Madoc released his grip on my wrist and raised both his hands in the air."I'm just having a meet and greet with my newest employee," he replied."I'll be back in just a couple minutes," Bonnie assured me and headed for the door.When she was gone, Madoc said, "Why don't you be a dear and make me a margarita?""No salt with a little umbrella?" I asked."Good memory."I made my way behind the bar while he sauntered over to the jukebox. Coins clanked into the machine, and he selected a song. As I measured and poured the margarita ingredients into the cocktail shaker, a glitter r
Harlow"Splendid!" Madoc exclaimed. "That's exactly the kind of go-get-'em positive thinking we need. Hip, hip..."Madoc threw his arm in the air, waiting for a group "hurray," but it never came."I see we don't do group chants," he said. "We'll work on that.""This is bullsh*t," said Bonnie."Now, Ms. Black," Madoc replied, "if you have feedback you wish to share, please save it for the suggestion box. You can hash out the rest of the details yourselves. I'll be right over here if you kiddies need any help."Madoc sat on a bar stool, pulled out a newspaper from his jacket, and began working on a crossword puzzle.Bonnie looked like she was about to blow her top."I'll be ok," I assured her."We're sending Stitch as one of the escorts," she said. "At least we'll have someone there to help if Harlow gets hurt. That leaves three more.""I volunteer," Cyrus said, throwing me a quick glance."You just wanna go 'cause your wannabe girlfriend's leading the charge," Blayze snapped.
HarlowThe next day, Red, Goldie, and I finished up all the passports for the trip. Then Red closed up the bar at 3:00 in the afternoon, so everyone had time to get ready for the potluck. The whole MC was expected to be there, and from what I could tell, a lot of non-MC pack members were attending, too. That also meant that Cyrus and I would once again be in the same place. But being surrounded by people from both sides, we couldn't actually interact with each other."This used to be Arlene's big tradition," Red explained. "A pack-wide potluck at her place the night before a group got on the road for a big out-of-town mission. I've actually kinda missed it. The last one we had was right before the Mexico incident.""That was when Cyrus's father was killed?" I asked.Red nodded. "Him and eleven others. Lola, Dax, and Mac were the only ones on that mission that made it outta there alive. D*mned hunters just ambushed 'em. That last potluck was the last time things really felt whole."
Harlow"What's that about?" I thought to myself after seeing some blonde getting handsy with Cyrus. After all we'd been through in the past week, I felt like I could trust him. His "friend" on the other hand… Brat, Red, Gunner, and I got the food off the back of our bikes and followed Bonnie to the front steps of an old farmhouse. Cyrus had walked up to the porch and was talking to a pleasant-looking middle-aged blonde woman. She was full-figured with a round face and wore a hippie-style dress under a fringy leather jacket. "Is this the famous Harlow?" she asked when we approached. "Our newest prospect," Bonnie replied. "It's good to see you, Arlene." "You too, sweetie." Arlene gave Bonnie a kiss on the cheek. She turned to me and said, "You've certainly made an impression on both of my boys. I'm Blayze's mom." She extended her hand to me. "And Cyrus's momma number two." "It's n