Page 15 of Property of Prowler (Kings of Anarchy MC: Nevada #1)

SEVEN

PROWLER

While it had always been a possibility that Cass would find out, Prowler willfully lied to himself about it, thinking it wouldn’t happen yet or that she’d find out after she was married and had kids of her own. Maybe he believed she would remain ignorant forever.

Either way, he’d been wrong. He’d also been wrong about her reaction. She was excited, not horrified. Best of all, she didn’t see him as a monster.

Truth be told, that was his biggest fear. That was the number one reason he’d lied to himself about the reality of her finding out. But she allayed all his fears in that department.

That damn kid brought tears to his eyes. It was his job to do that for her, but she’d turned the fucking tables.

So, there he sat, goofy grin in place as they held an emergency meeting. This time MC and shifter business blended together.

His brothers had yet to ask how she’d found out, assuming he’d told her. It was something they’d discussed when Allie agreed to let her visit more, so of course they assumed that was how it went down. No, they were lost in his happiness as much as he was.

He was loath to break up the mood, but the rest would need to be discussed and with haste.

“I think it’s great news, Prez. One less thing to worry about. And … she’s blood.” Bulldog was a supportive motherfucker. A hell of a vice and friend, but the last words gave him pause.

She’s blood.

Prowler knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was spoken with the best of intentions, but it struck a chord. Family and club were blood. Only blood could hold the secret. Shared or shed, it didn’t matter, but only blood.

Shared was self-explanatory.

Shed was a little stickier—meaning your own was shed because, let’s face it, dead men don’t talk.

Or you shed someone else’s as witnessed by the club.

It was a blood-bound secret.

Shared or shed.

Blood in, blood out.

That ripped Prowler out of the warmth his daughter’s acceptance had wrapped around him.

“That brings me to how she came about her conclusion.”

“Her conclusion?” Kansas asked. “You didn’t tell her?”

“She’s a smart kid, you know that. Well, apparently, she’d been gathering clues for a while. She thought we were some mafia-esque crime organization.” He chuckled a little at the thought. She had the mafia part wrong, but the rest wasn’t all that far off the mark.

At least two brothers choked on their drink of choice.

“Fuck, Prez. You didn’t tell your teenage daughter about?—”

Prowler stood so fast his chair toppled over.

“Get the fuck out. Now.” Chef blanched at the order. Prowler had never kicked a patch out of church before.

“Yes, Prez.” He cowered as he exited the sanctuary.

Chef was a mouthy fucker for a human, yet he’d just acquiesced with zero hesitation. That wasn’t like him at all.

Prowler scanned his brothers looking for answers to Chef’s change of attitude.

The room was eerily quiet. His shifter brothers had their heads tipped back, and his human brothers had their heads bowed. All but Bulldog, who wouldn’t make eye contact with him and seemed to be extremely uncomfortable.

“What’s going on?” Prowler asked, his voice unsure and questioning.

“Ahem.” Bulldog cleared his voice, still not making actual eye contact. “It seems that quantums can be alphas after all.”

Prowler felt his brows drop in confusion. When he slumped back into his chair, his brothers seemed to be released from whatever stupor they’d been in.

“Prez, this is … interesting,” Kansas said with excitement directed at Prowler before seemingly talking to himself. “It was only ever a theory, but it is believed that quantums could, under the right set of circumstances, become alpha. But they could never prove …”

Kansas’s one-man conversation came to a halt, and his eyes flew to Prowler. “Did your wolf talk to you?” Without waiting for Prowler’s answer, Kansas blurted out. “Did you find your mate?”

Yes . Wolf howled. Prowler mirrored that sentiment.

“Yes and yes. Taylor is my mate and will be my ol’ lady.” The chatter around him became almost deafening.

All his brothers, even the ones without a furry side, were blown away by the information. Hell, Prowler had been himself when it all started happening, so he understood the excitement.

They had been operating blind, so to speak, for years. The only information they had for sure was what Kansas’s old pack had gleaned through unconscionable research and what he’d learned growing up with wolves.

Hunter and Monster were also both naturals. However, Monster was raised by his human mother with other humans, and Hunter’s shifter dad passed when he was seventeen, but they’d never been part of a pack.

They’d been winging it for years, and in all those years, there had been zero evidence that quantum had mates or could bond- bond with their wolves the way naturals did … until now.

“This changes so much,” Monster breathed out in wonder.

“Does anyone object to me making Taylor my ol’ lady? Speak now.”

No one spoke, so his brothers banged their fists against the table and whooped. He had his answer.

Prowler hated to drag the mood down, but he had to, so he changed the subject. He would much rather enjoy their happiness and talk about the bond … both bonds. The need to learn every morsel he could was only overridden by keeping their secret and club business.

“What could possibly be more pressing than the bomb you just dropped?”

“Loose lips.”

“Whose?” Bulldog growled. Being the lone bear among wolves and humans had to be difficult. And even though bears didn’t run in large packs as wolves did, he knew the importance of keeping a low profile.

“Some kid named Alexander. Senior at Cass’s school.

He was pivotal in her figuring out about Wolf.

Like I said, she’d been collecting evidence, for lack of a better term, for a while.

She couldn’t puzzle out what I was hiding, although according to her, she would’ve eventually, with or without his help.

” He smiled with a bit a pride. His daughter really was too smart for her own good.

“Anyway, when he told her his brother was a wolf by way of his friend’s death when they were in a car together, and he mentioned some of his qualities, she said everything just clicked.”

“Fuck.” That curse came from multiple brothers in the room, all thinking what he was.

“Yeah. Fuck is right.”

“How do we contain this, Prez?” Ghoul asked in a monotone. Prowler never doubted his SAA’s ability to follow orders, but he could tell he did not relish the thought of silencing an idiot kid just because he and his brother didn’t understand the consequences of his condition.

“With blood.” Before he could elaborate, Ghoul was out of his chair and ready to shrug off his cut.

“Sit down, not like that. We make them blood. We bring the brother in as a prospect. Teach him what little we fucking know. Alexander follows as soon as he graduates. He can hang around, clean the clubhouse and shit. We’ll put him to work, teach him a skill.

Then when he’s ready, he can prospect too. Blood.”

The way Ghoul sagged into his chair rankled a bit. “Did you really think I’d have you eighty-six a kid and a fresh wolf as my first course of action?”

“Deep down? No, Prez, I don’t. My brain just went into protect the secret at all costs mode. And that was what came to my twisted mind. I just know I’m not man enough to pay that cost.”

Agreements rose from everyone in the room. They were all killers, all had blood on their hands, claws, and or teeth, but never like that. Never a woman or a kid.

“Golden and Ghoul, I’ll leave the contact up to you. I have all the info I got from Cass on them. The brother is Zachary. Mid to late twenties, works at a dive off the strip.”

“Good as done, Prez,” Ghoul responded.

“As for Alexander, I told Cass to invite him over for video games and shit. I’ll have a chat with him then. Boogeyman, you join us?”

“Sure thing, Prez.” Boogeyman was practically vibrating in his chair.

“Your skills will come in handy.” For a grown-ass man, Boogey logged way too many hours on video games. Before he joined the Kings, he’d competed … at video games. Prowler had no idea until he’d met him that gaming was an honest-to-goodness sport.

Every so often, their treasurer would dip out for a week or two for a big competition, but more for fun nowadays.

There was a reason Prowler invited him. If you wanted to win over a teenager, you had to offer up a pretty girl they liked, which Prowler would be fucked all to hell if that would happen. Cass was off-limits to members and horny teens alike.

Or you have to offer up a video game legend. That he had and wasn’t opposed to utilizing.

“So, before we stir this shit stew up and take a spoonful, anything else anyone wants to toss in the pot?”

“Sorry, Prez, but the visit with Travis’s brother was pretty much a bust. He said he washed his hands of his brother months ago.

Didn’t know where he was and didn’t care to.

He had some things to say about old Travi-boy that were less than flattering.

I got the impression he was part of the reason why the sister just … ” He made a poof motion.

“Brother said she ran away, and he didn’t know where, but I got the impression he might know a bit more. But even with his debt looming out there, I didn’t think you’d want us pursuing a traumatized woman who wouldn’t piss on her brother if he was on fire.”

They were right. They may not follow the law, but they didn’t go around hurting women and children either.

“You’re right. Well, the money is probably a wash. But it’s not the money, it’s the reputation of letting it slide that we can do without. Any suggestions?”

“Put the word out that we’re willing to offer up his 15K in credit to anyone who puts him in our hands. That sends the direct message that it’s not the money, but you don’t fuck over the Kings. That will spark the fear of retribution in some and the greed in others. Win-win.”