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I’d never heard of either of those clubs and wasn’t sure how I felt about being surrounded by so many men. “How often will we see those other clubs? Are they shifters too?”
Joaquin shook his head. “As far as I’m aware, both clubs are fully human. The Satan’s Cowboys MC control a lot of Texas, so we come under their jurisdiction. Basically, we exist because they allow it. So, we pay our dues to them and occasionally do runs for them. Not often, thankfully. Only time we go anywhere near drugs is when we do those jobs. The Charon MC is in Bridgewater, which is about an hour northeast from here. We’ve helped them out a few times over the years and they us. They’re a little bigger than us, all good, solid men. Scout is their president and he can be trusted to take care of you. Like us, they run a clean club, no drugs. Once you get settled in, we’ll arrange a run and barbecue so you can meet them and all their women and kids.”
I frowned. Women and kids? “So, these clubs are like a big family?”
Joaquin smiled warmly. “Exactly. Most MCs function like a big ‘ol family. It’s not always smooth sailing, but you can fucking count on them to take your back. You’re both part of this pack and MC now, and we’ll help you deal with Kevin and any other shit that might come your way. And you’ll both return the favor, yeah?”
He raised an eyebrow at me, waiting for a response.
“Not sure what use I’d be, but of course I’d protect my family.”
Cujo’s deep voice vibrated his chest beneath me, “You know I’ll honor my word. I said I’d accept you as my Alpha, so this is my pack too now.”
Joaquin leaned back against his desk, arms folded over his chest. “Excellent. No fucking clue where Daniela is taking you, but I’m guessing it’ll be close to her place. She lives out of town, down the coast a way. Your ocelot will love it, Lily-Rose, and it’s far enough away from the town that your wolf shouldn’t lose his shit, Cujo. I wasn’t joking about sending out guards. I’ll have at least three brothers out there at all times to keep watch so don’t go hunting any animals, yeah?”
Cujo laughed as he stood and set me on my feet.
“Sure, boss. No hunting till we know who we’re eating. Got it.”
That had me grinning. I didn’t imagine it would be a good start if we took out some of our new pack by accident.
Chapter Ten
Cujo
Thankfully,itdidn’t take long to drive south down to the house Daniela had found us. I was a little nervous over what sort of dwelling it would turn out to be, had imagined it would be some sort of falling down piece of shit cabin out in a swamp. It was a pleasant surprise when we headed into a new looking estate. My wolf allowed me to see clear enough in the night to notice there were very few houses. When Daniela guided us to park in front of a large, modern stilt house, I was happy to see it had a closed in garage beneath.
“The current owner is a friend. I keep an eye on this place for him. He rents it out as a holiday rental, so it’s fully furnished. If you like it, I’m sure he can be convinced to sell it to you.”
Getting out of the SUV, I moved around to the passenger side, but didn’t open Lily-Rose’s door until the three bikes that had followed us from the clubhouse had parked and the men had shifted and taken off into the marsh land behind the house. I looked up and down the street to make sure no one else was around before I opened the door and helped Lily-Rose down. With a gentle smile that melted some of the ice off my mood, she put her hand in mine and we followed Daniela up the sturdy timber stairs.
My mind returned to protection mode as we came to the wrap around porch on the main level. “These stairs the only way to the upper level?”
Daniela gave me a nod as she pulled a key out to unlock the door to the interior. “Yes, any human visitors you get will need to come up this way. But some breeds of shifter won’t need the stairs to get up here.”
Like her snake form. But shifters weren’t my concern at the moment. Lily-Rose’s human father was, so only having one point of entry to worry about was a good thing. Lily-Rose and I would both be able to safely jump down over the porch railing if we needed to, so we’d have multiple escape routes while Kevin would need to use the stairs to both gain entry and to exit.
Before going inside, I ran my gaze over the marsh at the rear of the property, seeing the glint of animal eyes as my new packmates roamed the area eased my worry and once the door was open, I followed the women inside.
“You both stay put. Let me check there’s no one else in here.”
Daniela rolled her eyes and Lily-Rose shook her head with a smirk, but they both stayed put while I took off to do a quick search. It thankfully didn’t take long to discover we were indeed alone in the house and I returned to the women to find them chatting quietly to one another. Daniela was smiling at my mate as though she were enjoying their discussion. That made me smile. Lily-Rose was already making friends, not that I doubted she would. My mate was a ray of sunshine few would be able to resist wanting to be close to.
She looked up as I came to stand behind Lily-Rose, wrapping my arm around her waist to pull her back against me.
“All good?” She waited for my nod before continuing, “I was just telling your mate how my house is down the road a little. We’re technically neighbors, for the moment. If you need anything, feel free to drop in or call me.” She handed Lily-Rose a slip of paper, presumably with her number on it. “I’ll leave you both to settle in. Kevin won’t find you tonight.”
Before I could ask about if she knew when Kevin would find us, she passed me a key then turned and headed for the door. Following, I held the way open for her. She seemed to disappear into the darkness. Even with shifter sight, I couldn’t see her.
With a shake of my head, I shut things up, flipping the lock. “That’s one strange lady.”
Lily-Rose folded her arms over her chest as she leaned against the kitchen counter. “I think she’s nice. Her talents are amazing. She’s offered to help me train to use my abilities so I can better protect myself.”
A growl broke free before I could stop it. “It’s my job to protect you.”
I moved to stand in front of her, resting my palms on her hips as she looked up at me with a frown.
“You can’t be by my side twenty-four-seven, Cujo. I need to be able to fend for myself. I refuse to be a spectator in my own life anymore.” She reached up to cup my face between her palms, her touch instantly calming my wolf. “I promise if you’re around I’ll let you do the protecting. I just want to be able to save myself if, for some reason you’re not able to. You can understand that, can’t you?”
