Page 1 of Ripper’s Property (Savage Knights MC: NW Chapter #4)
THE PRINCESS DIES
Rory
G rowing up, I’d always believed my father was an all-powerful king.
The royal leader of our city. After all, that’s what everyone called him: “King.” He made the laws and people would obey.
And if they didn’t, they’d have to answer to his court of men.
Men who were known as the Savage Knights.
Men who my na?ve little brain believed were true knights.
Their duty: to protect the king and his kingdom.
Their uniform: black leather jackets with skulls and crossbones on the back— meant as a warning to anyone who tried to hurt my dad.
The Knights demanded loyalty and respect, and they received it.
Everywhere they went, men would cower to them.
They would tuck their heads and avoid eye contact.
Some even scurried away like terrified mice.
Women, on the other hand, admired them, like they were the true king’s guard.
They’d smile and bat their eyelashes, always hoping to gain the guys’ attention.
Always going up and praising them for keeping the town safe.
And then there was me. The little girl living in her delusional world, believing she was a true princess.
After all, that’s what they called me: “Princess.” My father told me from as far back as I can remember that I wasn’t like the other kids.
I was special. Powerful. And everyone needed to bow down to me.
I was the daughter of the king, after all.
And if people didn’t treat me with respect, his Knights would “handle” them.
My guards were always with me. Two giant Knights lurking on the sidelines of my life.
Always scanning the periphery, ensuring I was safe at all times.
Making sure my teachers treated me with kindness and respect, and that kids were nice to me.
And just like a princess in all the fairy tales I had ever read, everyone worshipped me.
I was loved and adored and spoiled. And I was happy.
But it was all a lie. A true fictional story made up by naivete and delusions.
I was ten years old when I learned the truth.
My father woke me in the middle of the night, yanking me out of my huge canopy bed, tearing me from my light pink fluffy blankets.
He rushed me downstairs and out the back door of our house into the freezing night air where his “Knights” were waiting.
All of them. His entire army of leather-clad warriors.
All sitting on their huge, rumbly motorcycles, ready to ride off into battle. Every one of them armed with weapons.
It was all a blur. The chaos. My father’s anger. And the fear that ran down my spine. Something was wrong, but I didn’t know what. All my tired little mind could conjure up was that someone was trying to siege our castle. An enemy was trying to attack and we needed to flee to safety.
God, how na?ve I was.
They shoved me onto the back of Ripper’s motorcycle and he slipped his leather jacket over me, whispering that he would always keep me safe.
Then my father revved his engine, rolling his finger in the air, and led the pack out.
Driving us away from my home. Away from everything I had ever known. Leaving everything we owned behind.
And…we never went back.
The night turned into dawn. The city lights turned into long, dark roads.
Buildings turned into rolling hills and tumbleweeds.
There was nothing but land for as far as the eyes could see.
We drove and drove. Only stopping for gas and food.
When I was too exhausted to hold on anymore, the adrenaline of my fear having long crashed, we stopped at a motel.
The men parked their bikes in the rear of the building.
Ripper carried my exhausted frame into a room.
Then I fell into a restless sleep. The deep rumble of voices echoing in my dreams—words of murder, retaliation, and protecting the princess.
And when I finally woke up, the sun already high in the sky, another dark night threatening to arrive in a matter of hours, I learned that my fairy tale was over.
The nightmare of my reality had officially begun.
It turns out, my father wasn’t the king. He was a villain. And I wasn’t a princess. I was the daughter of the Savage Knights MC President. Not a girl of royal blood, but the mere spawn of a ruthless killer.