Kya nods. “Absolutely.”
Bella grins. “I cannot wait.”
The door opens from the hallway.
Twisted steps in.
The room goes quiet immediately. He pauses just inside, looking at us one by one. His face changes. Not dramatically. Not enough that anyone outside this family would understand. But his eyes soften in a way that makes my chest ache.Proud.That’s what it is. Proud, and maybe a little haunted, and maybe more emotional than he’ll ever admit. “Well,” he says, voice rougher than usual, “don’t you girls clean up nice.”
Mac smiles. “Careful. That almost sounded sentimental.”
Twisted grunts. “Don’t spread that shit around.”
Ana laughs softly.
His gaze lands on me last. He holds it for a second. “You ready?” he asks.
My fingers tighten around my bouquet. I think about the first night. The van. Cobra’s arms. The collar. Eli. The auction. The way Cobra looked when I came back. The way he held me like the world could end around us and he’d still keep me standing. From product to chosen.From terror to this. From being taken to walking willingly toward the only man I’ve ever wanted to belong beside.
I nod. “I’m ready.”
Twisted looks around at all of us, then reaches for the clubhouse doors. “We ready?” he calls.
Every woman straightens. Every breath catches.
Outside, muffled voices continue, unaware. Not for long.
Twisted smiles.
Then the doors begin to open.
Something’s wrong.
Not bad wrong. Not guns-out, someone-call-church wrong. But wrong enough that every man standing outside the clubhouse knows it.
The picnic tables are full. Kids run through the yard screaming like tiny lunatics. The grills are going. Old ladies disappeared inside almost an hour ago, and not one of them has come back out except Ana, who grabbed three bottles of wine, refused to answer questions, and walked right back inside with a grin that should’ve been illegal. That alone is concerning.
I stand near the front with the others, arms crossed, watching the clubhouse doors.
Cain stands beside me with Jason balanced against his shoulder while Amy runs circles around Logan and Knox like she’s trying to start a fight with gravity. Logan keeps shifting his weight off his bad knee every few seconds when he thinks Mac isn’t looking. Unfortunately for him, Mac always looks. Carter’s staring at the front doors like he expects an ambush. Dom is halfway through taking apart every possible explanation in his head. Shadow hasn’t moved in ten straight minutes. Joker looks entertained by all of this, which makes everyone immediately suspicious. Blaze keeps trying to peek through the clubhouse windows and getting yelled at by older women every time he does it.
“Why are they acting like this?” Landon asks.
“No clue,” Jimmy says. “But Allie threatened my life when I tried to go inside.”
Blaze snorts. “Bella told me if I ruined the surprise she’d cut my dick off.”
Joker looks at Raven’s closed window upstairs. “That honestly narrows nothing down for me.”
Hammer lights a cigarette. “Could be worse.”
“How?” Blaze asks.
Hammer exhales smoke. “No idea. Just trying to stay optimistic.”
Twisted stands near the edge of the patio with Whip, Cutter, Torch, and Storm, looking way too calm for a man who clearly knows exactly what’s happening. That’s the biggest problem. Twisted never looks pleased unless chaos is involved.
Logan finally looks at his father. “You wanna tell us what the fuck is going on?”
