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SOMBER TOAST, BOLD CELEBRATION
Grimm
With my fingers twisted in Sasha’s hand, I palmed my drink off to Silver who scoffed and set it down on the surface of a nearby table rather harder than was necessary. I winked at Mongrel who rolled his eyes, but I didn’t miss the small flash of challenge in his gaze. His beast was warning me that he wouldn’t put up with this stalemate much longer.
Which was a fucking relief, to be honest, because I was more than ready to be done with this shit.
For the moment, Mongrel would continue to play along. However, my Sgt. at Arms wouldn’t allow any real harm to come to our omega. I had to bite back a growl of frustration. I didn’t want that, either. But it wasn’t up to me. Or any of us, for that matter.
And my brothers knew it, too. Which was why we were all equally frustrated.
Whether she realized it or not, I wasn’t in the driver’s seat. Sasha was. Our little alpha was the keeper of our mating bond. The dictator of our four-way dynasty. And it was high time for her to reach out and yank back the wheel.
As our pack hooted and hollered, calling for a speech, I helped my blushing mate onto the bar before leaping up to join her. I turned and offered a hand to Silver with a smirk. He growled and smacked it away, making his own way up to stand pointedly on Sasha’s other side. I swallowed my sigh as Mongrel fell silently in behind him.
We hadn’t planned on standing up here together. It was just the thing to do. A silent show of strength, even if our inner beasts hadn’t completely settled yet. No matter what was going on in our internal mating dynamic, I knew we would always present a united front. Just as we would always put Sasha’s needs first.
The alpha in me could rest easy in that.
Still, worry gnawed at my wolf as he sensed the growing void opening up between him and his omega. We’d always been on the same page before Sasha had come into our lives, yet he couldn’t concede. The only wolf in the world my feral beast would submit to was his alpha mate.
The power was in her sweet little jaws.
I sure as fuck hoped it didn’t take too much longer for her to figure it out.
Popcorn smirked up at me as she held out a tray of shots for the toast. I could tell she was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, no doubt Silver was bitching to her every chance he got. I rolled my eyes and held up a hand for silence.
“Ladies and gents, bitches and assholes,” I began. The Soul Reapers laughed at the old joke while lifting their shot glasses in our direction. “Tonight marks a week since the return of the Chaos when the Blood Moon Goddess once more graced us with her unearthly presence in the sky. Together, we have taken down old foes, righted wrongs, forged bonds and welcomed new members into our pack. I want you to know—” I intoned as I fixed our people with a stern eye, “—that each and every one of you are family now. And, as you’ve just seen, the Soul Reapers MC protects their own.”
A ragged cheer went up in the room. I let it swell and fade before I continued.
“We won this battle—the Bone Crushers MC is no more—but the war is far from over. The skin trade will continue to exist in Chaos Valley as long as wolves and humans are willing to look the other way.”
My eyes found Winter where she stood at the back of the room. Her eyes were glazed, no doubt from the effort it took to be in a room filled with so many people. However, as she slowly latched onto my gaze, I saw that unfathomable steel peeking through. The very same strength which had allowed a broken woman to fight for her right to exist in this world in one breath, then save the life of her mate on the operating table in the next.
I gave her a nod and enjoyed the way her shoulders straightened under her alpha’s stare. Her chin lifted a little higher, causing my wolf to rumble in approval.
Carbon stood at his mate’s side, close enough to touch, but allowing her to stand on her own as he casually tossed one of his knives up into the air and caught it. Over and over. His eyes continued tracking over the room, his feral wolf relaxed but never truly at rest, even among friends and family.
“But we will never look the other way. When evil darkens our doorstep, we won’t stand for the spread of poison. We will root it out. We will hunt down our enemies—those who wish to profit from another’s misery—and tear out their throats. Then we will grind their worthless bones under our boots.”
Next my eyes came to rest on Addy, Talia and Benji. A small but fierce family, wrapped securely in each other’s love. Viola stood nearby, smirking up at me, as she wrapped an arm round the neck of Narcissa. The sweetbutt glowered but didn’t immediately shake off the woman's friendly embrace.
The rest of Sasha’s group were gathered nearby, of course. Never far from one another and always connected by that invisible thread of awareness. However, scattered among them tonight, were new friends. Sweetbutts, club girls and boys, even a few MC brothers and prospects.
It wasn’t us against them anymore. They didn’t cower in fear in the presence of my people. They walked among us, taking up the space they were due with confidence.
Robbie was looking a little tipsy as he clung to the necks of his two new mates, Nightshade and Zero. At my bloodthirsty proclamation, the trio erupted into a hearty cheer then turned to one another for a sloppy kiss. I smirked and let my gaze continue on. Like my mate, I made sure to touch each person in the room and sent my energy out to those outside who kept us safe.
Lastly, I came to rest on Popcorn who I knew—despite her cheerful demeanor—was still in mourning.
“We suffered great losses in our final battle against the Bone Crushers MC.” Popcorn’s lips pressed into a hard line. “Yet all of our fallen brothers and sisters fought valiantly. Remaining true to the Soul Reapers’ oath to protect those who need our strength. And no alpha can expect more than that. Let us give the fallen a moment of silence as we honor their sacrifice.”
The mood sobered as our friends’ absences weighed heavily on the air. Strawberry and Nails. Queenie, Excavator, and Rush. Even Mace and Louise. All taken before their time.
Sasha’s fierce love wrapped around me in solidarity. Through the private channel of our mating bond, I felt Mongrel and Silver leaning in to support me, too. And, for a brief moment, my proud beast allowed it, sending each a reassuring nudge in return.
“So I have one final thing to ask of you, Soul Reapers, before we go on to celebrate the many boons of this Chaos. Hold our fallen in your hearts as will I. In their names, we will continue to grow the Soul Reapers MC into what it was always meant to be. A family where the best of us flourishes. A place for weary souls to rest. And a bastion of decency and strength where our dual natures thrive, fighting for the greater good.” I raised my glass. “To the fallen.”
