I needed to be prepared for an outcome where I was no longer a candidate for the leadership, and while that saddened me, what hurt me more was the other potential outcome. That Zander didn’t want me anymore, that my indecision and time-wasting had caused too much damage for us as a couple. My finger traced over the diamond band on my right hand. He had to believe that I loved him the same way he loved me and forgive me for being a selfish bitch and asking too much from him.
Nothing else mattered for me now.
Deep breath, kiddo. Pull those big girl panties up and get in there.
Darth’s advice made me giggle—and not because it was funny. “Shit, I forgot to put panties on.”
My giggle turned into an outright laugh when Darth’s eyes widened in shock.
Oh, for fuck’s sake, Shiloh. My fucking ears are bleeding, Darth muttered, horrified. To him, I was always going to be the four-year-old who watched Zeke and Frozen with him every day. It didn’t matter that he had been with me during the last twenty years and watched me grow from a daredevil teen to a daredevil woman. There were just some things Darth didn’t want to know about his little squirt.
You’re right there, kiddo. Now get in there and go claim your man. Don’t let pride and fear stand in your way. I didn’t claim Vegas in front of the club, and let me tell you, I regret that every single minute of my not so dead life.
I felt tears burn the back of my eyelids as Darth spoke of his beloved Vegas. She had been a big part of my life, too, and to this day, I still missed her. The day she was killed in the explosion at my dad’s worksite was still something I remembered along with what happened at the dance school. Even the car accident I was in with my mum and Stella. All three times, Darth had been there for me, protecting me. During the car accident, he was on the phone, but as a kid, his voice always calmed me, even his growly voice.
Forgetting my mission for a minute, I raised up on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Darth’s cheek. I never questioned why I could touch him as well as see and hear him, and to be honest, it had never bothered me or freaked me out. I put it all down to his promise to always be with me because, if Darth promised something, it was golden.
“I miss Ve-Ve so much. I wish I could see her like I can you,” I whispered softly.
A brief sad smile touched Darth’s lips as his eyes focused over my shoulder.
She sees you every day, Squirt, and she is so proud of the young woman you have become. She likes to take some credit for the strong person you have grown to be, Darth said quietly, still looking behind me. His eyes were soft and tender, and I knew straightaway that Vegas was there with us.
“Okay, let’s do this.” With one last deep breath, I pushed open the heavy wooden door and walked in to go claim my future with my prince.
***
I spotted Zander behind the bar as soon as I entered the main room. He was serving up drinks for the hordes of people gathered at the long scuffed-up wooden bar. Just the sight of him instantly calmed me, and even with the scowl on his face as he put drink after drink in front of people, he’d never looked more handsome to me.
There were people everywhere, dancing and shouting over the music. Some were playing pool, and Mannix was in his usual spot by the billiard table, playing with his son, James. James was older than the rest of us by a good ten years. While he was a patched member of the club, he didn’t hold an officer’s patch. Mannix had once held out hope that James would want to take the position of enforcer, Mannix’s patch, but James took a different path and followed my real uncle into the police force.
Some might think coppers couldn’t be members of MCs, but the Souls didn’t carry the stigma of being an outlaw club, which meant that law didn’t apply to them or us joining, so we had two boys in blue who wore a Souls cut.
Uncle Jason patched into the club years ago, not long after Booth took care of Rogue. My parents hid most of what happened that night from me. In fact, my dad whisked my mum and me off to his parents’ house to keep us away from whatever went down that night.
Booth and the other founding members didn’t volunteer any information about what had happened, and no one felt the need to ask. Rogue was taken care of, and the whole terrible incident with the crazy man had ended.
With purpose, I strode over to where the entertainment unit was set up. Ford was the club’s tech guy, and he had put in a hi-fi system that had to be seen to be believed. Staring at the gizmo, I pushed at the lit-up switches, hoping that one of them would turn off the blasting music, but every time I pressed one, all I managed to do was increase the volume and cause more strobe lights to flash.
Hang on, Squirt. Darth came up and pulled the main power cord from the wall socket, sending the room into silence and surprising the people who were still shouting.
Fucking Ford and his fucking loud music, Darth grumbled, his narrowed eyes on the man in question, who was sitting on the couch with his husband and their adopted twins. I think I might just go fuck with Poindexter a bit. Good luck, kiddo.
“Shiloh? What’s wrong, sweetheart?” I heard my mum ask from where she was sitting on a beanbag with my dad, his arms around her in their usual possessive way. My dad never went too long without touching his sweetness.
I shook my head at my parents, then trained my eyes on Zander, who was now staring at me with wide eyes. Not that it surprised me since I really left the house in a mad dash, half wet and dressed so badly it was a wonder he could look at me at all.
I could feel the whole room watching me, but I ignored them and zeroed in on the one and only person who mattered right then.
“You were right. Everything you said was right. I have been putting my dreams and ambition before us. Expecting you to go along with me because you love me. It shames me to think I have so easily taken advantage of your love and devotion for and to me and used it to get my own way.” I spoke the words only Zander could make sense of loudly, but soon, everyone in the room would know how much I loved the man who had been standing behind the bar but had now vaulted himself over the bar and started to walk towards me. How did I know he wouldn’t let me do this, baring my soul by outing us right in front of all these people on my own? He had my back in everything I did, and now it was my turn to have his.
Turning my head, I searched the room for my pres. I found Booth standing beside Creed, their expressions guarded.
“I have wanted to be president of the Wounded Souls since I was a little girl. God knows how many times I declared that was what I wanted to be when I grew up. This club and its members, my family since birth, mean the world to me. I believe I have what it takes to lead the next generation and take this club in the same direction you have done for the last thirty years, Booth.” I gave my signature chin lift to him and the others who had now gathered in the same place. Mannix, Creed, Steel, Ford, Lucky, and my dad all stood with their arms crossed and eyes narrowed as they listened to what I had to say. Their gazes were also on my fiancé, who was slowly making his way to me.
“Shiloh—” Zander started to speak, but I quickly stopped him. I knew he was going to try to make this easier for me, but I wouldn’t let him do that, not tonight. Tonight, this was all on me.
I held up my hand in a stop gesture. “No, baby, you have done far too much for me already.” I looked back over to the men who raised me, and my vision clouded with tears.
“For the past eighteen months, I have broken the code that this club was founded on. I haven’t shown the man I love the respect he deserves, not given him a tenth of the loyalty he has shown me, and I have failed miserably by not honouring the love he gifts to me every single day.”
Tears now streamed down my cheeks as I returned my attention to my fiancé, his gorgeous face taut with emotion.
“Do you know the first time you kissed me was the first time I felt I didn’t have to prove myself or my worth. I wasn’t the princess of a club. Just a woman who was falling deeply in love with her soulmate. The instant your lips touched mine, my whole
body came to life, a bolt of lightning sparking a love that became so strong and pure that I couldn’t get enough of that feeling.”
I watched in fascination as tears welled up in Zander’s dark eyes, which told me I was on the right track. I held out the hand that had my engagement ring on it and placed it on Zander’s hair-roughened cheek.
“There is nothing more important in my life than you. Nothing I want more than to marry you and spend every night in your arms, have your babies and grow old together. I don’t want it all if you aren’t there with me, Zander. I will turn my patch in right now if keeping it means I lose you,” I declared in between small sobs.
Zander’s eyes closed for a brief second before he reached up and pressed his hand to mine, his eyes flying open when he made contact with my ring. Within seconds, I was hauled against his hard body, his face going straight into my neck.
“I fucking love you so much.” He growled each word slowly, and the vibration of them tickled the sensitive skin of my neck.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and held him tightly, and for the first time since in the bath back at our house, I took a calming breath.
“I love you, too, baby. You are the sugar on my Froot Loops, the Zeke to my LT, the shit to my kickers, the effing to my Fanta,” I said and laughed when he pinched me on the bottom, his arms still holding me tightly.
“Don’t think this public declaration means I’m gonna ride bitch for you, Spunky,” Zander quipped, pulling back so he could see my face, and his smile made my heart skip a beat. I would do anything to make sure that smile stayed forever, and I vowed to myself right there, standing in his arms with the club watching us, that I would never cause him pain again and to always put him first.
“Sure you will,” I sassed back, then his lips captured mine in a frenzied kiss, a kiss that promised a life of passion and love. Not bad for our first public kiss in front of our parents.
“Most likely,” Zander mumbled against my mouth. “We are being watched,” he said to me, but it wasn’t necessary for him to tell me as I could feel everyone’s gazes on us. The room dead silent except for the whispers coming from Zander and me.
“I think I may be in trouble,” I said smiling, stating the obvious.
“I’ve got your back, Spunky. You aren’t in this alone, I promise.” Zander’s arms tightened around me, his words giving me the strength I was soon going to need.
Your old man is going to lose his shit, kiddo, if your man here keeps palming your arse.
I rolled my eyes and giggled. “I thought you were off causing strife.”
Automatically, Zander looked to either side of me, and even though he couldn’t see Darth, he knew when I spoke something totally random it meant Darth was around.
“The big man suggests you take your hands from my arse. My dad is probably thinking of places where he can hide your body right now,” I joked—I hoped.
Zander grunted. “Yeah, and my old man is probably thinking of helping him.”
As he rested his forehead on mine, our noses touched, and his dark gaze held mine.
“I love you, Shiloh. I don’t care what happens just as long as you marry me. That is all I want,” he whispered. His voice was low and rasped, his feelings for me tangible.
“Promise?”
“Always.”
At the sound of moving booted feet, our love bubble shattered. I knew my time was up and the explaining was about to start. I glanced over at Darth, and his face was tense and concerned.
I’m with you, baby girl, he said with a chin lift.
I let out a relieved sigh just as an authoritative command came from the president.
“Shiloh, Zander, war room NOW.”
Yep, I was in big effing trouble.
Chapter 6
Zander
I held Shiloh’s hand firmly in mine as we walked into the war room. Despite the seriousness of the called meeting and the fact Shiloh and I were in grave danger of having our positions in the club and patches removed, the pure fucking elation I felt from Shiloh claiming me and our relationship in front of the members and our parents was one I was never going to forget.
Sure, I could have spoken up and claimed her long ago, and fuck the consequences, but I agreed to let her run the show and do things her way. I had no desire to sit at the head of the table. Being the second generation of Stephens to hold the road captain patch was good enough for me. I had goals and aspirations just like anyone else did, just not as stressful as being responsible for an entire club.
Booth’s job didn’t appeal to me at all. The poor bastard spent much of his time going from one club business to another, sorting out shit every day. I grimaced at the thought that Shiloh may have that stress on her soon. Or not, judging by the looks on the faces of the original brothers as they took their assigned places around the large, well-worn carved wooden table. I chanced a brief look at my father and saw his jaw was set in a grinding motion. Fuck. He knew about Shiloh and me already, but I hadn’t told him that I had asked her to marry me. Being secretly engaged for the last six months was probably something I should have let him in on. Dad was my best friend and our relationship solid, but this was not something he was going to let go of easily. I was brought up to live by the code of the club, yes, but Mum and Dad also raised me to go get what my heart desired, and that was the raven-haired beauty by my side right now. Her small hand in mine, her ring pressed against my fingers, didn’t shake one bit as we stood side by side at the end of the table. She stood proudly in her VP cut, not expecting me to take the fall for her. Shiloh wasn’t one to hide from her punishments, which she certainly got dealt more than her fair share of in her younger years.
“To be honest, I have no fucking clue where to start here,” Booth started, disappointment clear on his face. “Do I start with my VP clearly lying about her relationship with the club’s road captain? Or should I ask why the girl I helped raise since the day she was born thought she had to hide the fact she is in love?”
Shiloh squeezed my hand tightly at Booth’s accusing tone. This was what she had feared the most. Shiloh adored Booth—she was the only person alive who used his given name, the only person allowed to—and Booth adored her in return. When Shiloh first started having contact with Darth after his death, he was the only one to believe her at first. She told me he never questioned her story of seeing and talking to Darth. He simply believed her and made sure the rest of the club supported her.
But he was being far too harsh on her, and she wasn’t in this alone. I went along with her and agreed to keep us hidden, so I wasn’t going to stand back and allow accusations to be thrown at just her.
“Pres, listen, this is my—”
“Your fault, too. Oh, yes, I am aware of that, brother,” Booth said, cutting me off. “Don’t worry, mate. I will be asking why my road captain asked the club’s princess to marry him without first talking to her father like a man should,” Booth continued his accusatory line of questioning.
I heard a grunt from Deck, but I didn’t look at him. The SAA was one hell of a scary man when mildly pissed, so proposing to his only daughter without asking his permission—fuck me, I could be in for a good old-fashioned Deck shit kicking.
“Shiloh,” Booth said as his body leaned closer to the table to look momentarily at the screen in front of him, a small smile gracing his lips for a brief second. I surmised that Stella was in the vicinity of one of the many cameras the man had on his wife. “To my knowledge, there has never been any kind of rule or decree in this club that one member can’t see or date another. Are you ashamed for some reason? Is it the age gap between you two that helped you come to such a decision? Because, Squirt, let me remind you, every man at this table, bar Lucky and Ford who are closer in age, has a partner much younger than he.”
Shiloh stepped forward one step, her hand not letting go of mine.
“No, I’m not embarrassed by our age difference. That wasn’t the reason, and can I say that Zander did not a
gree with this from the very start. I asked—no, I begged him to do this for me, and because he loves me, he did. Yes, it was a foolish decision on my part, but at the time, it made sense.”
“Baby, don’t make excuses for me. We both did this,” I reminded her, pulling her back against me as the overwhelming need to protect what was mine surfaced.
“Now is not the time to be groping my daughter, Zander. This is the war room, not the porn room,” Deck said as he rose from the chair to his full height, an intimidation move I had seen many times over the years. Hell, I used it many times myself. Luckily for me, though, I wasn’t worried about the damage Deck could inflict on me or his intimidation tactics. Shiloh was mine and fighting for her was not going to be a problem.
“Oh, Dad, stop it. You paw at Mum every chance you get. Bastian and I had to endure your mushy shit constantly and still do,” Shiloh said with a huff. Honestly, the man had to be kidding because he was the worst offender of all.
Each man let out loud bursts of laughter, nodding their heads in complete agreement. Deck was the mushiest of the Souls and the most alpha when it came to his wife if that were possible because they all took possession to a new level with their women.
“Zander, keeping secrets is bad enough, secrets you brought others in on, but not asking Deck for Shiloh’s hand in marriage, son, was wrong,” my dad spoke up, his quiet, gruff tone filled with disappointment and sadness. I knew he was speaking of me insisting that Mum and he keep my relationship secret, compromising his integrity, too.
My gut dropped down to my boots, and the worst feeling of dread hit me. Not only had I lied to him, but I had kept the most important part from him.
“Dad—”
Shiloh stopped me with a soft kiss to my cheek, then her hand squeezed mine once before letting go.
“Creed, don’t, don’t blame him, please. I stood by you every day at the bike shop and never said a word to you, either. I stupidly thought being the president meant proving myself. I lost sight of the real reason behind that patch, being a member of a team and working as one. Leaning on my brothers and not trying to do it all myself.”
Her Prince (The Wounded Souls Series Book 6) Page 6
