"Our own rules," he repeats, and I can hear the smile in his voice. "I like that."
He kisses me then, right there in front of everyone. It's not the desperate, hungry kiss from earlier. This is slower, deeper, a promise of things to come.
When we pull apart, I realize the whole room is watching us. Beast is grinning like a maniac. Jenny is wiping away tears. King and Luna are smiling at each other like they understand exactly what this feels like.
"Well," Chaos calls out. "I guess Shadow finally found his light!"
Everyone laughs, and even Ryan cracks a real smile.
The party continues late into the night. I meet everyone properly, learn the stories of how each couple found each other against impossible odds. Tank tells me about reconnecting with his sister Jenny. Claire talks about finding Rage and gaining an instant family with Eli. Torch shows me pictures of Max and talks about being a surprise father.
These people… These rough, scarred, damaged bikers and the women who love them have become my family in the space of a single night.
And Ryan, my shadow who stepped into the light, has become my home.
Epilogue - Shadow
Two Years Later
I pull my bike into the driveway of our house, wincing as the movement jars my bruised ribs. My knuckles are split open and bleeding, there's dried blood crusted under my nose, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a black eye by morning.
The Demon Souls MC learned the hard way tonight that you don't intimidate the Savage Riders. You don't roll into Blackwater Falls making threats and expecting us to back down. King gave them one chance to leave peacefully.
They didn't take it.
So, we gave them a different kind of message. The brass-knuckled variety that leaves no room for misinterpretation. I should feel satisfied. Victorious. We protected our territory, our club, our families.
Instead, all I feel is exhausted and dreading the look on Rachel's face when she sees me like this.
The house is quiet when I let myself in through the side door. It's past midnight, and I'm hoping Rachel and our daughter Beatrice are already asleep. Maybe I can clean myself up before she sees the worst of it.
But of course, the universe has never been that kind to me.
"Ryan?" Rachel's voice comes from the living room, soft but alert. "Is that you?"
Fuck.
"Yeah, it's me," I call back, toeing off my boots. "Just getting home."
I hear her footsteps, and then she's standing in the doorway, wearing one of my old t-shirts and pajama pants, her dark hair pulled back in a messy bun. She looks beautiful and tired and—
Her eyes widen as she takes in my appearance. Blood. Bruises. The works.
"Jesus Christ, Ryan." She's across the room in seconds, hands hovering over my face like she's afraid to touch me. "What the fuck happened?"
"New MC tried to move into our territory. Demon Souls. They didn't take King's warning seriously." I try for a reassuring smile, but my split lip protests. "It's handled now."
"Handled." Rachel's voice is tight. "You look like you went ten rounds with a truck."
"You should see the other guys."
"That's not funny." She grabs my hand, examining my bloody knuckles. "You need to clean these before they get infected. And that eye needs ice. And… God, are those ribs broken?"
"Bruised, not broken. I've had worse."
"That doesn't make it better!" Her voice rises slightly, then immediately drops as she remembers Beatrice sleeping upstairs. "Ryan, we have a five-month-old daughter. You can't keep coming home looking like you've been in a war zone."
The frustration and fear in her voice cuts deeper than any punch I took tonight.
