Page 27 of Fallen Dove (Fallen Lords MC 2nd Gen #1)
Mason
The clubhouse had its own kind of madness on Sundays, but this? This was something else entirely.
The guys could drink a keg dry, argue over a pool game until fists flew, and blast music until the speakers blew, but at least I knew how to handle that. Brothers fighting? You broke it up or let them wear themselves out. Too much beer? You cut ‘em off. Loud music? You dealt with it.
But the ol’ ladies in full party-planning mode?
That was chaos of an entirely different breed.
Alice stood in the middle of the common room like a drill sergeant. Streamers looped around her neck, a roll of tape stuck to her shirt like a badge, and scissors waving dangerously in her hand as she pointed from one corner of the room to the other.
“Wendy! If we don’t have twenty-five tables, this is going to be a disaster!”
“Twenty-five?”
Wendy scoffed from the couch where she had a notebook balanced on her knee.
“Eden doesn’t even know twenty-five people.”
“She has cousins,”
Alice shot back without hesitation.
“And half the damn town shows up for these things anyway.”
“That’s because you invite the whole town,”
Raven said, and popped a grape in her mouth.
“Not because Eden’s that popular.”
“Raven!”
Eden groaned from her perch on the arm of a chair, face buried in her hands.
“What? I’m just saying.”
Raven shrugged, and smirked when Wren smacked her arm.
I leaned against the kitchen doorway with my coffee, doing my best to blend into the wall. This wasn’t my battlefield. The women had taken over the clubhouse to plan Eden’s graduation party, which was still two weeks away, and I was smart enough to stay the hell out of it.
Bell and Calla were scribbling notes like this was a final exam, while Clove sat cross-legged on the rug with a glue gun plugged in, muttering to herself about centerpieces. Carnie paced in and out of the kitchen, already muttering about toppings for the mac and cheese bar.
Total bedlam.
“Wendy, are you writing this down?”
Alice demanded.
“I’m not writing down twenty-five tables, Alice,”
Wendy snapped back, waving her pen.
“That’s insane.”
“It is not insane-”
“Mason!”
Mac’s voice cut through the noise, sharp enough to make me flinch.
I turned toward the hallway to see Mac headed toward me.
But this time, she wasn’t alone.
A girl walked in behind her, lugging a bag that looked like it weighed more than she did. Early twenties, long braid over one shoulder, jeans and sneakers, smile bright but cautious. Her eyes flicked over the chaos like she was trying to memorize every detail.
“Everyone,”
Mac called and clapped her hands.
“This is my daughter, Star. She’s going to be helping us catalog footage, assist with interviews, and keep files straight. That way I can focus on directing instead of paperwork.”
The room actually went quiet. For about three seconds.
Then Alice barreled forward, streamers bouncing, and eyes wide.
“Well, aren’t you adorable? Do you know how to use a glue gun?”
Star blinked. “Uh… yes?”
“Perfect. Sit next to Clove.”
Alice shoved a roll of tape at her and pointed to the floor.
Mac stepped in.
“Alice, she’s here to help me-”
“Help comes in all forms,”
Alice interrupted.
“And right now it looks like tape.”
Star hesitated, then laughed nervously and dropped her bag. She lowered herself to the rug beside Clove, tape clutched in her hand like Alice might snatch it back.
Wendy shook her head.
“She’s going to scare her off.”
“She’ll survive,”
Mac said dryly.
“Star grew up with me. She’s tougher than she looks.”
I smirked into my cup. Yeah, the girl was going to need all the toughness she could muster if Alice had already claimed her.
And then I saw Adley.
She’d been sitting at the end of the bar, sunglasses pushed up on her head, fiddling with a roll of tape while she half-listened to the circus around her.
The second Star sat down looking like she was in over her head, Adley stood. She smoothed down her shirt, rolled her shoulders back, and walked over like she’d been born for this exact moment.
“Don’t let Alice scare you,”
Adley said, crouching down beside Star. Her voice was warm, teasing.
“She looks like she’s about to set the world on fire with streamers, but she’s harmless. Mostly.”
Star laughed.
“This feels like… I don’t know. A circus.”
“That’s because it is,”
Adley grinned.
“Welcome to the Fallen Lords. Streamers, glue guns, and Carnie yelling at anyone who walks into the kitchen. Rule number one- never argue with Alice about decorations. Rule number two- if Carnie’s cooking, stay out of her way unless you want a wooden spoon thrown at your head. And rule number three…”
She leaned in like she was sharing a secret.
“…Always keep wine close when Raven starts talking.”
“I heard that!”
Raven barked.
“You were supposed to,”
Adley shot back with a laugh.
Star covered her mouth, and her shoulders shook as she laughed with her.
And me? I couldn’t take my eyes off Adley.
Adley belonged here. She wasn’t an outsider. She wasn’t trying to figure out her place. This was her world, her family. She moved through the chaos with ease. The kind of confidence only someone who grew up in these walls could have. She made people laugh. She made strangers feel like they weren’t drowning.
And it gutted me, because all I could think about was how I was forcing her to keep the best parts of herself hidden when it came to me.
Everyone else got to see her like this, out in the open. Me? I got shadows, stolen minutes, kisses that tasted like secrets.
I set my cup down too hard on the counter. The clink drew Raven’s eyes, but she only arched a brow and went back to her grapes.
Star asked Adley another question, and Adley leaned back against the bar, laughing as she answered. Her hair slid over her shoulder, catching the light.
My chest tightened.
I dragged a hand down my face and willed myself to look away. The last thing I needed was for Adley to catch me staring like a lovesick fool.
But even as I turned, I knew the truth.
The walls around our secret were closing in, and I had no one to blame but myself.