Page 13 of The Alpha

The weight of what needed to be done pressed down on everyone.

“We need to send a message. A bloody one,” I gritted out. “They came after my woman. I want fucking vengeance.”

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the room. These men, my brothers, were ready to rain hell down upon whoever dared touch one of our own—who dared to touch the woman I loved.

Our prez looked down at the scarred table, then after a few heavy seconds glanced up and stared me in the eye. “Find out where they are. We’ll do what fucking needs done,” he said in a sinister tone.

“And when we find them?—”

“We bury them,” Carter finished, cutting me off, his eyes cold as steel.

Kelsie shifted in her seat, drawing all eyes to her. “I know how this works. I know what you need to do. But I don’t want blood to spill because of me.”

Something dark and dangerous twisted in my gut, unable to shake the image of her terrified and at the mercy of those motherfuckers. I walked over to her and crouched beside her, taking her hand in mine. “Yeah, you know how this works, sweetheart.” I stared into her eyes. “They went after you to get to us, Kelsie. And they have to pay for what they did.”

“Retaliation needs to be meted out, Kels,” Carter said. “It’s for the respect they forgot we command.”

She looked at her brother then at me, her eyes searching my face, tears brimming her lids but refusing to fall. “Just… be careful.” She looked at Carter again, then every other man in the room. “All of you.”

I stood, giving my girl one last hard look before focusing on our president.

Bryer surveyed the room, before clearing his throat and saying, “We move at dusk. Arm up, ride out. Because, boys?” An ominous silence fell over the room. “We are about to remind those motherfuckers just who the fuck we are.”

A shout of agreement filled the space, and the thirst for vengeance was fucking palpable. Once the meeting ended and everyone dispersed, I went over to Carter. “I need to make them pay, but I don’t want to leave her.”

He glanced over at his sister, then gave a nod. “You go. Give those fuckers what they deserve. I’ll stay with her,” he said, nodding toward Kelsie. He met my gaze, and understanding passed between us.

With a plan set in motion, all we had to do was wait for the sun to set so we could go fuck shit up.

And then I’d come back to Kelsie and never let her leave my side again.

9

KELSIE

The sun had set over an hour ago, and my nerves were working overtime.

The clubhouse still smelled like spilled booze and old cigar smoke mixed in with the scent of weed. I stared at a crack in the plaster and the busted jukebox, which sat in the corner and didn’t work half the time. Carter had sworn he’d fix it years ago as a project in his free time.

I sat on the worn leather couch and looked over at him. He leaned against the countertop, arms crossed over his chest like he was trying to hold in everything he wanted to say. I knew it had been hard as hell for him to stay back. My brother wanted to spill blood just as badly as the other members.

But he stayed to keep me safe, to make me feel comfortable. Because he knew Knox needed to be the one to fuck shit up.

My fingers twisted together before I started messing with the hem of my shirt. Carter stared at me harder than he ever had. I knew what was going to happen next. There was no escaping telling him the truth about why I had come back.

“You gonna say something or just keep glaring at me like that?” I prompted.

He didn’t respond right away, but then he snorted, the sound very unamused. “Been waiting for you to say something, Kels. Been waiting for you to finally tell my why you left and why you’ve returned.”

I glanced down at where I was nervously fidgeting with my shirt. “I guess that time is now, right?”

He didn’t reply, just watched me intently. I swallowed hard and knew I had to get this over with.

Silence stretched again. I guess that was normal when the truth was heavy.

I looked down at the grease stain near my foot and finally whispered, “It got to be too much, Carter.”

His brow furrowed. “What did?”

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