Maybe both.
“Don’teverspeak to me like that in my own fucking yard.”
I should be scared shitless right now—and I am—but there’s no mistaking the shiver of excitement at his proximity. Or the flutter of arousal, even though Iknownow is so not the time. He also smells really good, and each shaky breath in only makes it worse.
His grip tightens, followed by a sharp inhale of his own as he ducks his head. He’s so close, I swear I feel something brush the base of my throat.
But then he straightens so abruptly, I’d fall backwards if he didn’t still have hold of me.
“Go home.” It’s cold, detached, and the shiver I get now isn’t the nice kind.
“I don’t have a home?—”
“Fucking find somewhere,” he growls, actuallygrowlsthe words. “Anywhere that’s not here. And if you think we’re cunts, the Feral Beasts are a thousand times worse.”
I stumble forward as he finally lets me go, and I turn to see him walk back inside without so much as a backward glance, most of the others following.
“He’s right,” Holt says, and I startle, not realising he’s still there. “The Beasts will eat you alive.” He trails a finger over the handlebars on my bike, admiringly. “She really is a beauty.” Then he glances up at me. “But this life isn’t for you. Go home, or wherever it is you’ve been staying,” he adds, when I open my mouth. “But stay out of this forest. And for fuck’s sake, stay away from the Feral Beasts.”
He stands there, arms crossed again, watching as I get on my bike and start her up. I can still feel his eyes on me as I ride up to the gates, now open again, and out.
They clang shut behind me with a finality I feel in my bones.
The rejection stings, though I don’t know why I’m surprised. Really, what was I thinking asking to join a motorcycle club? They probably have an illegal sideline in something I don’t wantto know about. I’ve never even got so much as a speeding ticket, and I bet it shows.
Fuck.
What the hell do I do now? I can’t go back to Ash’s. Not yet. I feel really fucking stupid right now, and I need to let that settle before I face him and admit what a ridiculous idea this was.
I glance at the thick trees as I roar past. I’ve got everything I need in my rucksack, as long as it doesn’t rain, and judging from the almost cloudless sky, I reckon I’m pretty safe.
Stay out of the forest.
Yeah, fuck that. They don’t own all of it, even if they like to think they do. Me and Ash used to camp out in the woods all the time when we were younger. Admittedly not this far out of town but the woods are all connected.
I still give it another ten minutes before pulling off the road at the next lay-by. There’s a path into the woods, wide enough for my bike, and I follow it in for a bit before coming to a stop near a small clearing.
Yeah, this’ll do for a night.
I send Ash a quick text letting him know I’m all good, and I’ll see him in the morning. I don’t say anything else and put my phone on silent before slipping it back in my pocket, then start to set up camp.
6
LYNX
As soon asI hear the gates close, I breathe a huge sigh of relief and will my heart to stop racing. What are the fucking chances?
I walk back outside. Callum’s sat waiting for me on the bottom step, so I join him, stretching out my legs.
“What the fuck was that all about?” He nods in the direction of the gates where we can still hear the faint hum of a motorbike.
I shrug. “Kid wanted to join an MC.”
“Kid?” He scoffs. “He’s twenty-five.”
“How the fuck do you know?”
“I asked Kira. His name’s Morgan Webb.”
