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Chapter Nine

Vivienne

I’m putting the finishing touches on a seven-layer dip that I’m taking out to the clubhouse when the apartment door opens and Dad comes in, his arms loaded down with bags.

“Dad? What on earth?” I ask, setting the spatula aside.

“Went and picked up some things for us,” he replies, putting the bags on the couch. “We didn’t really buy much, just important stuff.”

“I could’ve bought my own things,” Angie says, moving toward the bags. “I already told you that.”

I hide my grin because, since we’ve been young, she always struggles with what to call my dad. Her family was definitely nothing like mine, of course, so she spent a lot of time with us. She wouldn’t call either of my parents by their first name, saying it was disrespectful, but with the awful examples she was given, she didn’t feel right calling them parental-type names. So, she kind of hems and haws around it, which I find adorable at times, like right now. Other times, I get frustrated, but this is one of the things Angie’s gotta work through on her own. I can be here and offer support, but at the same time, it’s going to be her who has to resolve stuff in her mind.

“And I told you that you’re just like one of my own, Angie, so I’ll take care of you the same way,” Dad retorts. “Now, I left the beer and booze in your vehicle, Vivi, since it’s going with us to the clubhouse. I did pick up some of those wine cooler things you and Angie seem to enjoy so much since I found your favorite flavor.”

“Mike’s Hard Lemonade Black Cherry?” I question hopefully, smiling at him.

“Yeah. Didn’t figure they’d have those on stock at a biker clubhouse,” he teases. “I figure those males probably drink beer, maybe shoot whiskey from time to time. Certainly wouldn’t think to have wine coolers.”

I shake my head while Angie paws through the bags and say, “Probably not. Let me finish this dip up so we can get ready to head out.”

Even knowing what’s going to happen between my mate and I, I’m still excited to meet the rest of his brothers, as well as the two females he’s mentioned frequently, Tressa and Nini. Also, a female called Nonna who is apparently the grandmother to one of the brothers, although it sounds as though she’s taken on all of them. With my own mother dying when I was still young, I long for that kind of relationship with an older female. I think we all need to be mothered from time to time, no matter our age.

“I’ll help, Vivi,” Angie says, having separated out her items and taken them to my room. “Just let me wash my hands.”

In no time at all, we’re loading up my SUV and heading toward the address I put into my navigation system. “Did I mention that they’re going to do a small run tonight?” I ask as we follow the robotic voice, making turn after turn.

“Yeah, honey, you did. It’ll be good to get one in to help blow the dust off,” Dad replies. “The last few at home weren’t very pleasant.”

“No, they weren’t,” Angie adds. “There was a lot of stress, as though Alpha Dawson was searching for something specific. Plus, Carter was becoming more and more unhinged. So, tonight will be really good for both of us.”

Personally, I’m just eager to see Fox in his wolf form.

And show his wolf how we look too, my wolf whispers. He knows we’re a sure thing now, so we need to keep his interest.

Maybe I should shut our link down when I’m reading, because my wolf is becoming way too enlightened lately. Grinning, I tell Angie and Dad, “I think we’re going to have a lot of fun. Fox has told me a little bit about Tressa and Nini, and they kind of make me think of us, Ang.”

“Dear goddess, you mean there are two other females who are attached at the hip who create mayhem wherever they go?” Dad muses. He blows it when he starts chuckling, because it’s not long until Angie and I join in.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Fox murmurs against my lips. When he sees my dad start to pull stuff out of the back of my vehicle, he lets out a piercing whistle then yells, “Prospects!”

With all three of us staring at him, he shrugs. “They gotta earn their patch and one of those ways is to take care of this kind of shit.” Two males come racing up and without saying a word to them, they immediately begin taking the items from Dad and heading toward the back of the clubhouse, leaving me to finally make introductions.

“Fox, this is my father, Warren, and my best friend, Angie. Dad, Angie, this is Fox, my mate,” I tell them. Dad’s hand immediately shoots out to shake Fox’s.

Angie, on the other hand, has been struck completely mute. She turns to me, her eyes wide and I grin, nodding at her. He’s the epitome of the male I told her I hoped I got in a mate, which is why her smile starts slowly growing. “Hey, Fox, I’ve been waiting forever to meet the male who is Vivi’s mate,” she says, putting her hand out to shake his.

Fox looks at me, a brow raised, and I shake my head, unwilling to open up that particular topic right now. So, being the good male he is, he smirks and then states, “Let’s go inside and I’ll make introductions.”

He keeps me plastered to his side as we walk into the clubhouse. Once we’re out of the Texas heat, he walks over to a table where two women are sitting. Both are obviously pregnant, and I realize I’m about to meet Tressa and Nini. “Tressa, Nini, this is my mate, Vivi, and her friend, Angie,” he introduces, pointing to each female as he says their name. “I see Nonna has the two of you sitting down.”

Tressa rolls her eyes but nods. “She saw us filling up the coolers with ice,” she admits, grinning. “I mean, we’re pregnant, not sick, Fox!”

He smirks then asks, “Where were your mates when you were doing this?”

Nini picks up the story and replies, “They were getting the meat from Nonna to put on the grills.”

“So, in other words, you two waited until Stealth and Chaos were otherwise occupied before you decided to jump in and help,” Fox accuses.

Nini shrugs, then blows it with the tiny smirk on her face when she replies. “Maybe? I mean, all the side dishes were done, and we just wanted to help.”

“Well, right now, you can help by making Vivi feel at home,” he decrees, pulling out a chair for me to sit in. “That way, your mates stay happy, and we have a good day. Warren, follow me and I’ll show you around then we’ll grab a beer.”

Dad leans down and kisses my forehead, a twinkle in his eye as he whispers, “I like this for you, honey.”

He would because in our old pack, while Alpha Dawson wasn’t a complete jerk, the females were the ones who did most of the laborious work. Here, however, it’s obvious that these males cherish their females. Granted, it’s a bit early for me to make that determination, but I suspect when it comes to the heavy lifting, the males take on that task.

Even though the females are shifters too and have superior strength.

Even though traditionally females do all that kind of stuff with respect to cooking and preparing food.

I mean, it sounded like that’s what Tressa and Nini were doing, of course, but from what Fox has shared about Nonna, she has ruled the kitchen since she arrived when Chaos met his mate. Plus, both Tressa and Nini used to be human until they were turned by their mates.

“I do too, Dad. Now, go commune with the brethren or whatever you’re about to do,” I whisper back. “I’ve got two women here who like to read as much as Angie and I.”

His chuckles reverberate around the room as he proceeds to follow Fox. Turning, I look at Tressa and ask, “Are we really going to MMM?”

She squeals and claps her hands together. “Oh, my goodness, yes! It’s so much fun, too.”

Nini adds, “This will be my first one as well. Tressa went by herself the last time because I couldn’t get the time off.”

“Nin, it worked out the way it was supposed to,” Tressa says, patting her friend’s hand. “All’s well that ends well.”

“You were kidnapped ,” Nini hisses. “And that oaf I call a mate wouldn’t let me see you once I used Life 360 to find out where you were!”

I sense this is an old discussion when I see Tressa roll her eyes. “Not giving Vivienne or her friend a good first impression, Nini,” Tressa says.

“Just wait until you see me and Vivi have a ‘discussion’,” Angie says, using her fingers for air quotes. “Trust me, we both get it!”

“Okay, so who’s your favorite author?” Tressa suddenly questions, staring at me.

“Um, that’s like asking me which child of mine is my favorite,” I slowly reply. “The ones I read on a regular basis are different from each other for the most part. Some of the stories are grittier and more life-like than others, but sometimes, I’m in the mood for a little bit of sweet.”

“I guess that means you don’t have a favorite book boyfriend then,” Nini states, giggling.

“Top five or top ten?” I ask. “Top five are Tack from Chaos, Joker from Chaos, Poseidon from Darlene Tallman’s Poseidon Warriors MC, Ghost from Liberty Parker’s Rage Ryders MC, and Lo from Winter Travers’s Devils Knights.”

I actually have more like twenty-five book boyfriends, but I figure I’ll ease all of them into that fact. Angie, knowing where my head has gone, smirks at me. Wench.

“Holy shit, you’re gonna fit right in!” Tressa squeals. “I love your top five and want to add Axel from Lola Wright for his hysterical behaviors, every one of the guys from Elizabeth N. Harris’s Rage series, and Saint from Amelia Shea’s Ghosttown Riders.”

“I love all of those guys. Except Kase,” Angie says. “That man may be sweet for those in his life, but he’s a straight up dickhead to the rest of the world.”

This sends us down a rabbit hole of talking about why Kase is the way he is, and we end up coming to the conclusion that it’s because of how Jack raised them. A thought crosses my mind and I ask, “Did any of you read Nikki Landis and Darlene Tallman’s book in a new series about shifter bikers?”

“Yes!” Tressa and Nini exclaim in unison. “We can’t wait for the next book, either.”

“I think it comes out in April,” Angie says. “At least, that’s what I saw in one of their newsletters. Or maybe it was in Darlene’s reader group. Who knows?”

“Oh, who likes academy books?” Tressa suddenly asks. “Because Liberty Parker just wrote one of those and I’m highly invested in what happens to Novak and Carrington.”

“I haven’t read that many of them, but I’m always game to check a new-to-me genre out,” Angie says. This, of course, means that I’ll be reading it as well because Ang and I often discuss what we’ve read. Not that I’ll complain because like her, I enjoy finding new books to read.

“Okay, so me being new to having a biker as a mate, how close are they to real life?” I ask Tressa.

She squirms in her seat, and I remember she used to be a human before she was changed by her mate. “Uh, actually pretty close, wouldn’t you agree, Nini?” she asks, throwing her best friend under the proverbial bus.

Nini doesn’t rise to the bait, though, as she just shrugs. “I think that they did pretty well considering they write fiction,” she slowly says. “I mean, they probably have people who live the biker lifestyle that they can confer with, but even then, they’ll never know the fullness of it simply because there’s always club business that won’t be discussed. Either with women or with outsiders.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” I muse. “So, as far as alpha personalities go, do you think they hit that nail on the head or not?”

Both women start giggling then Tressa replies, “I think they might’ve missed a few layers.”

“You think?” Nini asks, scoffing. “Try about a thousand, especially now that both of us are expecting! If a box from Amazon shows up with bubble wrap suits in it, I’m leaving.”

“No, you’re not,” a male voice decrees as he leans in and kisses Nini’s neck. “And if I decide you need to wear one to keep you safe, you’ll do it.”

Nini rolls her eyes while I take in the fullness that is her mate, Stealth. Holy smokes, I think Fox is hotter than Hades, but so is Nini’s mate. I briefly wonder if it’s a prerequisite or something to be a biker, because I don’t remember any of my former male packmates looking the way the males do here. I mean, they were in shape since a shifter’s metabolism makes it nearly impossible to be overweight, but there wasn’t one of them who could light a candle to the hotness that I’ve seen today.

“Whatever,” Nini mutters, making all of us grin. “Let me guess, it’s time to go out back and eat.”

“I can eat,” Tressa says, standing. “The pup is hungry again.”

Strong arms wrap around her waist, and she looks up then smiles. “Woman, you’re always hungry these days,” her mate, Chaos says. “But to answer your non-question, the food’s all ready.”

While he’s talking, I realize he’s checking both Angie and me out. I don’t take offense, because I know his job, as well as Stealth’s, is the protection of the club as well as all the brothers and those under its protection.

“Then let’s go eat,” Angie decrees, standing. “Because I may not be expecting, but I’m hungry especially after watching Vivi make her seven-layer dip.”

We all stand, the two women with mates curled into said mates’ sides and make our way outside.