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“You’re bound to the snake and the cats?” Duke asked.

“An accident, but yeah, and I don’t want to undo it, so I guess it was a happy accident? Brooke was pissed at first, I think, until she went into everyone’s head and realized no one meant for it to happen, or even considered it might. Dev tried to take responsibility, saying he should’ve known it was a possibility, but she told him it was such a slight possibility, and pointed outhe’d likely done the same thing hundreds of times with other people and had it not happen, that he was off the hook.”

Genie rolled her eyes. “The thing is, she said this is more likely to happen if there’s already some kind of bond, like something from past lives, and while it sounds crazy, I think maybe I’ve known Elijah and Ezra before. Dev too, but he’s so old, it would probably be his present life, not a past life, right?”

“Maybe,” Razor said, “but don’t expect him to recognize you right away, even if he did know you in a past life. Maybe you were a man as big as him, or a statuesque slim chick with tiny boobs who spent her life poisoning people instead of healing them. Some part of him might recognize you, but don’t expect him to do so consciously.”

“I don’t know for sure what’s going to happen. It’s too new, and I’m not ready to sever ties at this time, but it feels important to let ya’ll know there’s a chance I’ll just come back to Chattanooga to pack up my apartment. If I want to stay here, I can get a job at any of the hospitals. I have some options, and without the bond-thing forming maybe I wouldn’t be considering a move, but it happened, and it feels important.”

“You’re splitting your time between your apartment here and Dev’s place right now, how long do you intend to do that? Will you continue that for another week, another month, another six months?” Brain asked.

“I honestly don’t know. Mad Dog said I don’t need to give them a thirty-day notice. He said ten to fourteen days would be fine.”

Mad Dog, Squatch, and Frost were off to the side, and she turned to them. This was uncomfortable, but it needed to be said. “Khan picked up on the fact my heart wasn’t really in it, the last time I was in the clubhouse. I think that night showed me I need to give whatever is happening with Dev and the twins a chance.”

“We have the same maxim on that as the Chattanooga chapter,” Squatch said. “If you don’t want to be there, we don’t want you to be there, either. Some of us, Khan especially, enjoy hurting sexual partners, enjoy a bit of force, but only if it’s consensual. If you want to come back, you’re welcome, but Khan will sit down and have a talk with you about why you’re coming back before he’ll let you back in as a sweetbutt.”

“You’re still ours,” Mad Dog said. “We aren’t turning our backs on you, but Khan talked to me about his conversation with you, and I approve of his edict.”

The door opened and Dev walked in. She could tell by the look on his face that he’d heard at least the last little bit of what was said.

Dawg turned her so she was facing him, and he put his mouth at her ear to say, “I asked to be the one to hand you over to Dev, when he arrived. I want you to know I saw you, and I see you, as an individual, as more than a warm piece of ass. You’re special, Genie, and whoever chooses you to be theirs will be lucky if you reciprocate and choose them as well.” He walked her to Dev and literally handed her over to him.

She knew everyone in the room had heard what Dawg told her, but it still felt personal from him to her, which she supposed had been the point.

“This isn’t official,” Dawg told Dev before he let go of Genie. “It’s symbolic, for now. She’s still under the MC’s protection, and she doesn’t belong to the coterie in any way, shape, or form. Protocol dictates we have to be clear on this because we have treaties between our organizations.” He finally removed his arm from around Genie’s waist and offered his hand to Dev. “Protocol also dictates we can be friendly.”

Dev shook Dawg’s hand, and Bubbles said, “Our Genie seems more settled. Happier. Keep that up, and you’ll haveour approval if and when she decides to choose you formally, through proper channels.”

“Brooke said we’d need to take care of the formalities before your cats were brought in,” Mad Dog said. “They’re on the carousel now, so they won’t have far to come once someone retrieves them.”

Dev kissed Genie on the forehead and told the room, “I’ll go get them. They might freak a little if someone else does, even if it’s Remy or Julien.”

Dev left, and Brain said, “You have to know I’ve found out everything about them, right? Born as cats, raised by the Concilio, sold to Brooke as slaves, and now she’s trying to rehab them into freepersons.”

“Elijah is an artist; Ezra is more logical. They’re two distinct people.”

Brain smiled, “No doubt in my mind you love them, just based on the tone of your voice and the look on your face. Congrats, little owl.”

“I want a hug before they return,” Razor said. Genie smiled and let him embrace her. Razor is gay, but he’d shared her a few times, taking her ass while someone else was in her mouth or her pussy — or sometimes sharing her with two of his brothers rather than just one. Mattie didn’t mind Razor sharing the sweetbutts with his brothers in the clubhouse, he just insisted he be the only man in Razor’s life. But mostly, Genie felt close to Razor because he’d taught her Krav Maga. He’d shown her how to defend herself, how to stand up to the bad guys if she had to.

And Horse had taught her how to shoot a gun with precision. She’d already known the basics, but he’d stood beside her in the range and talked her through her stance, her grip, and even how to time her breath as she pulled the trigger.

“I want to ask how everyone’s doing. I trust it’s all good, since I haven’t heard of a problem?”

“Mattie said to tell you hello,” Razor was saying as Dev walked in with her cats, and she turned to them with a huge smile.

“Oh, it’s good to see the three of you. I’d like to introduce you to some people from Chattanooga. This is Razor, who taught me Krav Maga. Dawg is to his left.” She motioned to the side, “Brain and Duke, the VP and Prez.” She went around the room, also pointing out the three local bikers, and when she finished, Elijah asked, “Who’s Mattie?”

“Mattie is mine,” Razor told him. “This little meeting is club business, so no ol’ladies. Mattie considers Genie a friend, so he asked me to tell her hello from him.”

“And I consider Mattie a friend,” she looked at Razor. “Please tell him I said hello as well.” Genie walked towards her men and told the room, “Ya’ll have met Dev, and may I introduce Elijah and Ezra. I think it’s accurate to say that they are mine.”

She stepped between Elijah and Dev and put her arms around their waists, pulling them to her. They put an arm around her, Dev put his other arm around Ezra, and the four of them were a unit.

Mad Dog took a step forward. “Genie knows she can come to us if she needs help. I’d like to offer that any of you can come to any of our establishments if you need a safe place, or if you need assistance. If we can’t help you for some reason, we’ll do our best to at least keep you safe.”

“Don’t come to the compound without calling ahead unless your life is at risk,” Squatch said. “We have other establishments on the same block, so unless they’re closed, there shouldn’t be a need to go to the compound first.”