This time he drops his pencil to the table and looks up at me. "Of course I did." He furrows his brows at me. "Was it okay that I took them from them?" he asks, his voice low.
"Oh god, of course it is. I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure that you said thank you. I'm glad that you've got them," I tell him, pulling him into a side hug. He blows a relieved breath and picks his pencil back up, continuing with his drawing.
"Nova?"
"Yes, bud?"
"Who are all these new men?" he asks, a little nervous.
I glance around the room, taking in the new faces. We've both just started to get used to the men and women here, and now there are so many more we need to get used to. "They are from another club," I tell him. "The new club has merged with the Knights, so there are going to be a lot of new faces. Are you going to be okay with that or would you like to leave? We can if you want to?" I tell him.
His face drops and he blinks up at me. "I don't want to leave, I feel safe here with them. Do we have to?" he asks me.
"No, of course we don't have to. We can do whatever makes you comfortable, Mase. If you want to stay here, then we can stay here. I'm glad that you feel safe with the guys, that’s all that matters to me," I tell him.
"Oh, then I want to stay," he says with a smile.
"Okay, bud, but you tell me at any point if you want to leave. Do you understand?" I ask.
He nods and then returns back to his drawing without another word. I lean back in my chair and take in the activities going on around the room.
Brothers greeting brothers, club girls swarming around the new guys. People are bringing in bags and handing them to the prospects who are carrying them up to the new guy’s rooms. The atmosphere feels happy, excited. And I find myself longing to be a part of something like this, to feel like I'm wanted, like I belong. I want that sense of home. As I feel myself relax, watching everything happen around us, I realise that this does feel like home. I do feel like we belong. The men of this club have gone out of their way to make us feel like that.
Mason climbs out of the seat, runs into the kitchen, and is back a few seconds later with a bottle of water and an apple. I smile as he climbs back into his seat and continues his drawing. He would never have done that back at our aunt and uncle’s, we were never allowed to just grab an apple. We weren't even allowed to grab a glass of tap water without permission.
We've only been here a few weeks, but we already feel comfortable. I smile as I see Max walking toward me, and as he reaches my table, he leans down and places a kiss on my lips. I kiss him back, unable to stop myself from smiling when I hear a few of the men whistling. As we pull back, I spot Wolf walking towards me, his expression somewhere between a scowl and a smile. As he reaches us, he pulls me up to him, giving me a hug.
"Fucking hell, sweetheart, I've been fucking worried sick about you and the kid. Are you both okay?" he asks, pulling me back and holding me at arms length. His eyes scan over my body, I think he's checking to make sure that I’m okay. He turns and looks down at Mason. "You okay, kid?" he asks him.
Mason jumps out of his seat and wraps his hands around his legs. "Hi, Wolf. I'm okay," he tells him, and then returns to his seat.
Wolf turns his gaze back to mine, giving me a brief smile before turning his scowl to Ice. "What the fuck is going on?" he snaps at him.
Max steps up to me and places his arm around me. "What do you mean?" he asks. His tone appears calm, but there is an edge to it.
"I mean with these two. They disappear from the hospital, then their uncle tells the world that someone has taken them, and then I find them both in your clubhouse. Please fucking tell me you didn't kidnap them both," Wolf snaps.
"Wolf," Nitro bites out, and I turn to see him and Wrath walking toward us, followed by Tongue and two other guys I don't know but can see they have The Legion Riders kuttes on.
"You need to calm the fuck down," he bites out at him. "We did not kidnap them, they are here of their own free choice." He turns to me as Wrath and Tongue step up beside me. "You okay, sweetheart?"
I nod. "I am, Nitro, thank you." I turn to Wolf. “It's a bit of a story, but everything is okay," I tell him.
The two guys from the Legion Riders step up either side of Wolf, and I feel the tension flicker in the air. Nitro raises an eyebrow in their direction, but the two guys don't react. Wolf steps to the side and in front of Nitro. "I'm sorry, Prez," he says to him before turning to the other two guys. "Smokey, Chuckles, stand down and show some respect to your prez and brothers." Wolf addresses the other two guys, who both give a nod and direct their apologies toward Nitro and the others.
"Nova." Nitro addresses me. "You don't need to tell Wolf anything if you don't want to. But if you would like to talk, then you are free to use my office," he tells me with a smile.
"It's okay. I'm happy to just sit here and talk to him. Most of the guys know my story," I say.
"Are you sure?" he asks me, a little worried knowing how I've reacted about telling them things so far.
I glance at Mason and turn back to the guys. "You know, since being here, you guys have gone out of your way to make sure that we are comfortable and we feel safe. I'm happy to sit out here and talk to Wolf because I feel safe, because I feel comfortable.”
Nitro winks at me while Max squeezes me and then places a kiss on the top of my head. I don't miss the way Wolf narrows his eyes at the movement. I roll my eyes then grab his arm. "It’s okay, Wolf. He's good," I tell him. "Let's catch up," I step around him and take my seat back next to Mason.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
One of the prospects brought us over drinks while the rest of the guys left Wolf, Mason, Max and I at the table. I had thought that Max had things to do, but I got the impression that he didn't want to leave me alone with Wolf.
