Page 87 of Scornful

Njal speaks up next. "I don’t want to leave either."

Kraken sighs, frustration bubbling at the surface. "This isn’t up for discussion. You’re going back to the club and?—"

"Like hell I am." Magnolia’s pissed now, and we can all see it. "Geirolf, take Astrid, Ingrid, and Everly back to the clubhouse. Let Runes know Kraken and I have it for now, leave a couple of the others around if you want, but take the girls home for me, please."

I nod, knowing better than to argue with Mags. She’s a damn force to be reckoned with.

"You heard her, ladies." I speak up, looking at the three of them.

Ingrid doesn’t want to leave Njal’s side, but she has to.

Everly looks a little sore, bandages over her arms from the burns she got, but they’re not nearly as bad as her brother’s injuries.

I grab Astrid’s hand as the group of us heads into the hallway, "Princess, do you mind if Everly rides with you and Ingrid? I’ll be right behind you the whole way back."

She shakes her head. "No, of course not."

I get the girls back to the clubhouse and park my bike. As I’m getting off, I hear Ingrid talking to the girls.

"He's going to hate it," Ingrid’s voice is full of emotion. "The prosthetic. He's gonnahatepeople looking at him differently."

"Then we make sure they don't," Astrid says firmly. "He's still Bjorn. Still the same annoying kid who puts hot sauce in everything and cheats at poker."

"Still your boyfriend," Everly adds quietly.

Ingrid goes rigid.

I even spot Astrid's eyes widen.

Ingrid swallows hard, almost rendered speechless. "How did you?—"

"Please." Everly scoffs weakly. "You two aren't exactly subtle. The way you look at each other..."

"Does anyone else know?" Ingrid asks, panic in her voice.

"I don't think so. You've been careful around the adults."

Fenrir's youngest daughter is dating Kraken's son.

That's going to be interesting when it comes out, but right now, we've got bigger problems.

The clubhouse has transformed in our absence.

All of the cots and sleeping bags are gone, likely in everyone’s assigned rooms, there’s a kids area with games and books, and the television is on some kids’ show for the little ones.

I spot Starla and Aziza in the kitchen with Rayna, all working together to get snacks and meals prepared for everyone.

A few of the other ol’ ladies are watching the kids, and Dasha’s even here.

"Holy shit," Ingrid breathes, taking it all in.

"Language," Astrid says automatically, but there's no heat in it.

I find Ivar coordinating guard rotations by the main entrance. "How's it looking?"

"Secure as we can make it," he reports. "Two-man teams, four-hour shifts. Nobody gets within fifty yards without us knowin’ about it."

"Where do you need me?" I ask.

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