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“Lounge.” I laughed. “Bougie motorcycle club.”
“It was never supposed to be. I spoil these fuckers too much.”
I resumed rifling through the duffel. “Nah, a good leader takes care of his guys.”
Chapter 5
It’s Always Darkest Before The Dawn
Psycho
As I made my way back through the clubhouse, I had to fight a smile as Nera’s words echoed in my mind: A good leader always takes care of his guys.
See… even she got it. I glanced up through the skylights and saw the moon getting brighter and the sky getting darker. I left the clubhouse on my bike to my personal home on the compound to grab my go-bag. No wolf lived without having a change of clothes, protein bars, and a bar of soap ready to go.
Shit happens.
I rode back to the clubhouse where my guys were waiting. Six of us piled into the Humvee with Trigger driving, and the rest of the wolves followed behind on their bikes.
That left six humans to hold down the fort. I had cameras inside where I could keep a general eye on everything. I just hoped they left Nera alone. It wouldn’t surprise me if she was gone by the time we got back, but I’d locked down all the computers and told the guys she was not to use any of their cell phones. She was free to walk out the front door, but she’d have to do it with the clothes on her back and no money. I was fairly sure she’d stay put. I wanted to let her contact her family, let them know she was all right, but I wasn’t granting her that privilege until she talked.
“She’s probably traumatized.”
I turned around from my spot in the passenger seat to see Chaos rake a hand through his long hair before unwrapping a protein bar.
I furrowed my brow. “What are you talking about?”
“The chick,” he replied. “I could see it on her face when Cutter brought her the sandwich. She damn near flinched when he set down her plate.”
I hadn’t noticed that. In fact, I hadn’t even noticed Chaos had been nearby. I needed to pay better attention. “Yeah.”
“She’ll talk once she trusts us,” he went on before taking a bite.
Well, she wasn’t going anywhere until she talked. I debated telling them she was a witch so they would be on guard. It would be the responsible thing to do. But a few wolves in this cager I was riding with hated witches. I didn’t want to risk it. I’d tell Trigger and Menace, the two I trusted the most, later at the campsite.
Thankfully, our turning spot we jokingly dubbed “Turning Point” was in a bayou only about thirty minutes from the clubhouse. Trigger killed the engine and we poured out with our bags. Two prospects had already been here earlier in the day to set up tents and barbeques. Sometimes if we arrived early enough, we could have a barbeque and beers before the curse hit, but with Nera’s disruption, we were lucky to make it here on time at all.
A collective groan broke out as the moon hit its crest in the sky, and the curse hit us all at once. We all quickly disrobed, having zero shame or cares about nudity since it had been our life since we were teens, and I got on all fours.
I panted through the pain, grateful my transformation happened quickly now. I cried out when my bones broke all at once and then reformed themselves quickly, as black hair sprouted from my skin, a tail protruded from my backside, and my nose elongated. I made a strangling sound as my wolf, who lived deep inside of me, took over, his cry of happiness ringing inside my head.
He let out a howl up at the full moon, my bayou brothers joining in the chorus of howls.
“Let’s run,” I said telepathically to my brothers, and we all took off in a sprint through the bayou.
We ran over felled branches and dodged around trees. We splashed through swamp water and sprinted over small hills and through deep hollows. Not much chatter went on between us while we ran. It was just what we did—what were cursed to do. Become beasts once a month for the rest of our lives.
We hadn’t been bitten or scratched—we were born this way. Cursed from a scorned witch centuries ago who spelled her lover for leaving her, forcing him to turn into a wild beast once a month under the power of the full moon.
Or so, that was how the legend went. I hadn’t taken much time to look into it because it didn’t really matter. I couldn’t change it. I could only stop it from cursing others by not procreating. Even if my fated mate was a human, our child would be a werewolf. I was a proud wolf, but I wouldn’t put a kid through this. No way.
After hours of running, we met back at camp and quickly blacked out.
I blinked against the light filtering in through the trees and glanced over the campsite. I wasn’t sure why they bothered to set up tents up here. Nobody slept in them. We slept where we passed out, usually after a meal. I sat up and looked around to see two dead squirrels lying nearby. I wished my wolf would get rid of the carcasses but of course he was a mindless beast who didn’t give a fuck.
I kicked the carcasses into the nearby trees and looked around for my go-bag. I found it and quickly dressed, anxious for a shower. I could only imagine what bits were on my face and in my beard.
The rest of the guys were doing the same, and soon, we were all piled into the SUV and the rest on their bikes.
