Page 12 of Lore

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Maybe we did commit too soon, too young. We’ve never really lived, have we?

Gina follows me, sits on my lap, and straddles me, catching me off guard.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I ask her.

She pulls off her top, leaving her in a bra and skirt.

My eyes lower, but I’m about to push her off me when I hear a gasp.

Atiana.

I quickly get her off me, standing up and approaching the woman I’ve been in love with since I first laid my eyes on her. She takes a step back, and the hurt in her honey-brown eyes makes me feel fucking sick.

Panic fills me.

She’s all I’ve ever known.

She’s my safe place, my home.

And maybe that’s why I need to let her go.

So when she leaves, I don’t stop her.

I don’t deserve her.

I never did.

Present

Prez blinks slowly a few times, then crosses his arms and leans back in his chair as he shares a look with War, our vice president. It’s just us three in the room, but there are no secrets here. This is going to get out before I even make it back up the stairs. “So let me get this straight… you have a son?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure he’s yours?” he asks, his brow furrowing.

“If you see him, you won’t be asking me that,” I reply, smirking.

Rider is he spitting image of me as a kid.

And she chose a good name too. Rider? Are you kidding me? It’s the perfect name for the son of a biker.

“And your baby mama is in trouble?” War presses, cracking his knuckles.

“She’s running from her… husband.” The word tastes bad in my mouth. “He put his hands on her. I don’t know the whole story, but he’s going to regret ever hurting her.”

I’m going to kill him.

No one harms my butterfly.

Prez and War share a look.

“I want to speak to her. Send her down here. You can watch the kids,” Prez finally says, his blue eyes watching me closely.

I shake my head. “No, I need to be here with her.”

“Lore—”

I lean forward. “She’s mine. I claimed her long before I became a Serpent.”

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