CyrusHarlow and I didn't say much for the rest of the drive back to town. Windows rolled down, the cool desert breeze helped to relax me, but not enough to rid the frustration I was feeling about what Harlow wanted me to do.Turning her was all I thought about. I wanted it to be me just as much as she did, but I didn't know if I could bear it if something went wrong. The last time had nearly destroyed me.When we got back, Harlow pulled her car up to her trailer and ran inside to throw on a change of clothes. Or, as she put it, "I don't want to smell like movie popcorn and sex before I see Madoc."Madoc. Just hearing his name made my skin crawl.I'd finished taking the last drag off my cigarette by the time she came back out, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. We walked across the highway and around the back of the garage together."Did you want to do something after I'm done?" Harlow asked as we approached the entrance to the cellar."I need to head off," I replied."Oh," she sa
Harlow"You like it?" Cyrus asked as if he couldn't tell by the expression on my face.In front of my trailer, next to Cyrus's bike, sat a vintage motorcycle with a paint job that matched my car exactly."I LOVE it! Is that a Triumph Thunderbird?"Cyrus nodded. "1956," he said with a smile."And the paint?""Wilderness green, just like your car.""Where the hell did you get this?" I started to get teary-eyed."It was my dad's," Cyrus replied. "The paint job I called in as a favor from a body shop in Skeetwood County.""Are you sure you wanna give this to me? I mean, if it was your dad's?""I want you to have it," Cyrus said, pulling me to him.At this point, I couldn't stop the waterworks if I'd wanted to."This is the most incredible gift anyone's ever given me," I said, wiping a tear from my cheek. "Thank you." I pulled Cyrus down to kiss me. Then I asked, "Can I sit on it?"Cyrus laughed. "Of course. It's all yours."I walked over to the bike and ran my hand along the
BonnieI had everyone's undivided attention. Even the ancient Ernest Hewlett was fully alert."Respect isn't given. It's taken," I insisted. "Sunrise Corp's unwillingness to negotiate means our only option is to unshackle ourselves by force.""With all due respect..." Jedediah Goode said through clenched teeth. "Do the Alphas honestly expect our packs to confront Sunrise Corporation head-on? They're a juggernaut! We'd do no better than a paper sailboat against a battleship.""Yes, and the last thing we want is to awaken a sleeping giant," Mayor Reed added."It's not just about confronting them head-on," Blayze countered. "It's about bleeding them dry. Death by a thousand cuts. If Sunrise Corp believes that this is only the beginning, they'll see trying to control us as a waste of time and energy.""The Alphas are right," Tank agreed. "Sunrise Corp is all about economic viability. The last thing they'd want is for their profit margins to take a hit. And taking the vampire out will
Harlow"Get your hands off her!" Cyrus's voice boomed from the bottom of the cellar stairs. Within seconds, he shifted and charged forward as Madoc released me and put his hands up."Woah, woah! I just gave Harlow her birthday gift. That's all," Madoc said.Cyrus didn't listen. Before I knew it, Madoc was on the floor, and Cyrus was on top of him."Cyrus, stop!" I cried. "He wasn't doing anything to hurt me!"Cyrus now had Madoc's mangled wrist in his mouth. He looked over his shoulder at me with his wolf eyes and let out a low growl."Please, let him go," I begged.He released Madoc and slowly shifted back."What was he making you do?" he asked as he picked his cut up off the floor."He wasn't making me do anything!" I shouted angrily. "I was just hugging him to thank him for my gift.""Why are you crying?" Cyrus asked, gesturing to my tears.I wiped the tears from my cheeks. "Madoc set up a call with my dad. That's all. I haven't so much as heard his voice in years. I'm ju
BlayzeI woke up to someone knocking on my front door. The two sweet butts in my bed both groaned as I climbed over their naked bodies to get my boxers. Looking at my phone, I saw that it was about 7:00 AM. I went to sleep only three hours before."Better be f*cking important," I mumbled. I nearly tripped over my underwear, pulling them on as I made my way for the front door. "What!" I demanded when I swung it open, which I immediately regretted when I saw my mother's face."Good mornin' to you, too, Sunshine," my mom said as she waltzed past me and toward the kitchen. "Ugh, Blayze," she said disapprovingly. "It smells like cigarettes and a** in here. I brought leftovers."I rolled my eyes as I closed the door. But the truth was, I appreciated my mom making sure my fridge was stocked with her home-cooked food. Unlike Cyrus, I'd never let her teach me how to cook. My dad had always said cooking was women's work, and I'd, unfortunately, listened to him. Now I pretty much relied on my
Harlow"You're..." I couldn't believe what Bonnie had just told me."Keep it to yourself," she said. "No one else knows."I didn't dare ask who the father was, but I had a pretty good idea.At that moment, Blayze walked into the bar."Hey," he said, "Bonnie, we have a last-minute addition to the security squad. Cyrus told me Seventh Circle's got five escorts on the trucks. He wants to add Butch and Shorty. Cool with you?""That's fine," she said, not meeting his eye."What was it you wanted to talk about this morning?" he asked."Nothing," she replied. "Let's just focus on getting through tomorrow for now."Ok, I knew who the father was."You sure?"I felt really uncomfortable between the two of them."Yeah," Bonnie insisted. "Don't worry about it."I spent the rest of the day thinking about what Bonnie must have been going through. But it also got me thinking about Cyrus and me and our future together. I didn't know if he wanted kids, but I'd always thought that I would e
HarlowSitting in the Mega Mart parking lot, I watched the heist unfold in the reflection of my rearview mirror. I'd parked near the gated entrance that led to the loading dock. It was surrounded by a chain-link fence where I could see several Seventh Circle members pacing near five semi-trucks.Bonnie, Blayze, and Gunner kept watch from the adjacent parking lot so their bikes wouldn't draw attention. Stella and Stitch, on the other hand, were already inside working undercover as dutiful Mega Mart employees. And for the next fifteen minutes, everyone else took turns walking inside and getting into position.Tank was the first to go inside, followed by Shorty, then Butch. They all definitely blended in with the rest of Mega Mart's typical clientele, wearing things like cargo pants and T-shirts with stupid phrases on them.Goldie and Wyatt went in together. From the moment they stepped out of their van, they assumed the role of a bombastic couple and pretended to bicker as they made
HarlowI was relieved when we drove back into Gnaw Bone. All I wanted was to go back home with Cyrus, take a hot shower, and crash. I still couldn't believe the crazy stunt I'd pulled to get my car back, but I was pretty proud of it.I parked my car outside the garage, and everyone else got off their bikes. Remy and Leon stepped out of the SUV parked around the back and came to watch us unload.But instead, Butch and Shorty quickly took both of Madoc's familiars into chokeholds."What are you doing?!" I asked, confused."I'm sorry," Cyrus said. "I couldn't tell you in case Madoc forced you to spill information.""You couldn't tell me what?""We're not handing the smack over to Madoc," Bonnie said as everyone else began unloading a small mountain of heroin behind the garage. "We've gotta show Sunrise Corp that we won't be their foot soldiers."I didn't know what to say. I got why everyone thought they had to keep it from me, but it didn't make me feel any better, being left in t