The jukebox seemed to stop the moment Aimee entered the bar, several heads turned towards the door, and she could hear some poorly covered gasps. Yes, ladies and gents, the wild child has returned, she thought to herself, proudly raising her head and looking at each member, daring to stare at her directly in the eyes.
Her presence crackled with violence and confidence as she sauntered up to the bar, raising an eyebrow at the rotter sitting on her barstool; the middle-aged woman quickly vacated her seat, clearly not willing to get into things with a woman with such an intimidating presence, and Aimee curled her lip distastefully as she perched on it, barely sitting, finally shedding her suburban skin as the Presidents daughter settled back into her old life. It was second nature, effortless.
A lowly prospect was handling the bar, busy pouring drinks for the regulars, and it wasn't long before he sidled up to her.
"Dang girl, I haven't seen a pretty young thing like you here before. What can I do for you today?"
His sleazy look told Aimee everything she needed to know. This idiot thought she was just another bed warmer. Guess it was time to set the record straight,
She bit her bottom lip seductively, beckoning for him to come closer as she pouted, his eyes glazed over with lust, and as he leaned forward licking his lips, Aimee knew she had him.
Her hand reached up, sliding around the nape of his neck as she bought his face closer, their lips were almost touching, and some of the older bikers stopped what they were doing to watch this play out.
Aimee waited until he closed his eyes, sharing a breath before she deftly stepped to the side and smashed his head forcefully onto the bar top.
Laughter rang out across the pub as he struggled in her grasp, blood was coming out of his nose, and his face was bright red with rage and embarrassment as he tried to loosen her grip, but it was useless, Aimee had been taught by the best.
A small dagger, concealed within one of her clunky rings, found itself resting against the prospects jugular, and Aimee leaned down to answer his earlier question.
"An audience with my father would be a good prospect," She stated coldly, and as he looked at her in obvious confusion, she clarified, "Your prez numbnuts, I'm Wild Bill's oldest daughter, but you can call me vengeance."
BRAXTON'S POV
The Henchman watched his woman from the safety of darkness. That prospect was lucky. He still had his goddamn teeth, and it had taken everything he had to stay where he was and observe as Aimee handled the situation.
Without a doubt, he would be paying that motherf*cker a visit. Later on, no one looked at his woman that way except him.
When Aimee left the club behind, after months of drinking and dangerous missions, Braxton had managed to convince himself that the young Alpha could provide Aimee with a better life than he could. After all, what use is alpha blood when he didn't even have a pack?
It had almost killed him watching her change to try and fit in. Of course, she never saw him. He was always in wolf form when he lost the fight to stay away from her.
He would watch the heart of his heart from the shadows, much the same as he was doing now, until one evening Connor had caught him, skulking around outside her apartment and made it clear that Aimee belonged to him, Braxton couldn't beat an Alpha with full pack support, and Connor knew it, so he promised to stay away.
It was easier to lick your wounds, surrounded by humans who didn't know what you were, but his ruthlessness during missions hadn't gone unnoticed. Wild Bill began delegating the more dangerous liaisons to the henchman's special skillset.
He didn't mind. Over the years, it helped dull the pain of Aimee's rejection.
Until he walked out the door today and her scent hit him like a freight train, now he couldn't bear to have her out of his sight. Why was she back?
His eyes traveled the length of her, memorizing every curve, dip, and feature he could see. Did she still bear the Aces and eights mark? Their patch was a set of four cards, two black eights (clubs and spades), and two black spades.
It was known as the dead man's hand in gambler's circles, and Aimee's brand was on the small of her back.
Brax should know since he was the one who'd put it there, if she had stuck around, she would've had a crown next to the mark by now, symbolizing her status as a queen, his queen, but she'd left before they could complete the bond.
Aimee Carter had just announced her return in the bluntest way possible, and Brax couldn't help but be impressed.
The dagger he had given her for her sweet sixteenth aimed straight and true at the prospect's throat, her classic evade and attack move was swift and lethal, just like he'd taught her, and once released, the boy had wasted no time heading to Wild Bill's office.
The sound of the president's angry roar disrupted the club's easygoing vibe, and his thundering footsteps sounded ominous as they neared the bar.
Braxton readied himself as the door separating the club bar from the business quarters flew open, the hinges screaming in protest as the huge man barrelled through,
William Carter was a scary sight. One look at him, and you could swear on your grandma's bible that he was more animal than man; he always reminded Brax of a bear, a massive, very angry, psychotic bear.
The years without his oldest daughter at his side had intensified the animal within, and The Aces and Eights president was a heaving ball of fury as his eyes finally settled on the lone figure calmly waiting at the bar.
"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Wild Bill bellowed, spit flying from his mouth as he stalked over to her, bigger men would have cowered in the face of such aggression, but April remained calmly seated.
"Hello, Dad."
"Hello, Dad."His club bar was eerily silent as the six foot five Aces and Eights president regarded his daughter; she was slimmer than he remembered, and despite Aimee's bravado, William could sense an air of fragility about her.Someone had broken his baby's heart, but that wasn't his problem anymore.
They all stood in a line, like cattle waiting to be inspected, and Connor felt bile rise in his throat.Ten young women, handpicked by his mother and father according to their respective bloodlines, each of them raised in preparation to fulfill the duties of a Luna, and Connor could barely stand to look at any of them.The day was drawing to an end, and the Alpha's residence was filled with outside pack representatives, all hoping to ally with the union of marriage.Tonight was his fucking engagement party for Goddess sakes, and Connor had never felt more alone in his life; any minute his father would call for quiet in t
'Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out...'Connor felt himself going under, drowning in his panic as he stared out into the sea of faces, all waiting on his choices, like some goddamn winning raffle or something.Risking a glance at the line of young ladies, he found himself calming slightly as a beautiful green-eyed blonde met his gaze and grinned back at him.Arial O'Connor was the daughter of the Alpha and Luna from The Vengence pack, she was easy to talk to, and Connor knew his mother and fat
The sound of grown men barking was enough to frighten the most seasoned fighter.Dust, being kicked around, leaned a hazy look to the ring, and someone had decided to put the loudspeaker on, blaring 'Roxanne' at full tit.Brax grimaced at the fact that he could probably sing the whole song by now since the old Police cd had had pride of place in the dilapidated stereo for a good ten years at least.He stood off to the side, as was his custom, assessing the area, picking up on the different smells that told him who was scared, excited, angry, or even sexually frustrated. This was the hardest thing about being a wolf livin
Braxtons wolf howled in approval as the petite woman took down the prospect faster than a hooker spends money, 'MINE' his wolf asserted dominantly and he received no argument from The henchman, Aimee Carter was his, and he would stop at nothing to claim her in the eyes of his kind, vowing to love and protect her always.But first, he had to seal Aimee's re-entry into the Aces and Eights, his woman would need to equal or beat him, and Brax would give her no quarter.She would earn her place back into the club and into his heart, one fight at a time.WILD BILLS POV
Her name had been called out and there was nothing she could do about that now.Of the three names Connor had called, Phoenix was the lowest in blood rank; the second daughter of the Howling Moon packs Gamma family, she was barely a Gamma, her Mom was an even lower ranked Omega working in the kitchens; not that Dad ever treated Mom like anything less than royalty, he made it clear that Demelza Grimmer was his everything, which was the kind of bond Phoenix wanted for herself one day.She was almost twenty-six now and most of her peers had mated and settled down, some even had pups or were proudly expecting, but her job as one of the packs trackers had kept her away most of the time, and she was never in a position
Connor led the young Beta female into his father's study, she appeared confident but not arrogant, and Connor liked that about her.Phoenix Grimmer was a few years older than him, maybe he needed that though after the hash he made of his last relationship, and as she sat down on the couch she looked at him with honest eyes. ¨Tell me a bit more about yourself,¨ he invited softly, and she shot him an almost boyish grin.¨Well, there isn't much to say really, my father is a Beta, my mother's a cook for the dining hall, I have an older sister with a recessive gene, that made her wolf unable to phase, but she has made the best of her situation and holds a high position on the Alphaś council. I am a tracker
Aimee was sweating profusely, despite being dressed in less than what Braxton was wearing in the ring. The Henchman was certainly making her work for her place back in the club.Using his own momentum against him, Aimee rolled with Brax, spinning her body like an alligator causing him to lose balance and overshoot the roll, giving her just enough time to scramble to her feet before he was on her again, opting to throw the knife away and engage in hand to hand combat with his smaller opponent. Aimee tried to hide her smile as he relinquished a serious advantage.It was a mistake as Brax soon learned, Aimee was like a freaking psychotic octopus, grabbing the hair under his arms and ripping them out by the roots, ca