LOGINHazel stopped dead in the hallway, boots scraping on the dirty floor. King’s gun hung loose in his hand, but she knew how fast that could change.“Out for a walk, queen?” he said again, voice low and sharp. “Got something you wanna tell me?”She let her shoulders drop a little, like she was tired instead of wired. “Yeah. Couldn’t sleep. That branding still burns like a bitch. Went out back to get some air and clear my head. You got a problem with that?”King stepped closer. The gun stayed down, but his eyes searched her face. “Alone? At this hour?”“Alone,” she said flatly. “I needed it. Every time I close my eyes I see Reaper’s face. Makes me want to put a bullet in him slower. Figured walking it off was better than punching holes in your wall.”He stared at her for a long beat. Hazel didn’t blink. Didn’t fidget. Just met his eyes like she had nothing to hide.King let out a breath that was half laugh. “You’re a cold one, you know that?” He holstered the gun but grabbed her chin, til
The Viper clubhouse smelled like piss, smoke, and cheap whiskey. Floodlights buzzed overhead, throwing harsh shadows across the cracked concrete lot. About forty guys packed in, laughing too loud, shoving each other. Hazel stood next to King on a low wooden stage they’d dragged out. Her shoulders burned from the fresh ink, but she didn’t flinch.King raised his arms. “Listen up, you sorry fucks. This right here? She’s mine now. Hazel. My queen. Any of you even look at her wrong, I’ll carve your eyes out myself.”A couple guys cheered. Most just stared. One bald bastard in the back muttered something and spit on the ground.King grabbed her shoulder, right where the new snake tattoo sat over Jax’s old claim mark. The skin was still raw. “Show ‘em.”Hazel turned slow, lifting her sleeve. The brand looked ugly under the lights—twisted little snake curling over Reaper’s faded ink. Pain throbbed steady, but she kept her face blank.“Damn,” some guy whistled. “She really did it.”King grin
The compound was wrapped in a heavy silence the next morning. The yard had been cleared and turned into a makeshift funeral ground. Mikey’s body lay on a wooden table covered with a clean black cloth, his face unnaturally still under the gray sky. Brothers stood in a loose circle around him, heads bowed, eyes red. Some openly wept. Others stared at the ground with clenched fists, the weight of loss pressing down on all of them.Jax stood at the head of the table, shoulders slumped, eyes sunken from another sleepless night. His side still ached from the raid wound, but that pain was nothing compared to the hole in his chest. He had barely spoken since they returned from the Viper meet. The club was fracturing — arguments in the halls, blame being thrown in every direction. Hazel’s disappearance, Mikey’s death... it was too much.Dagger stepped forward, voice thick with grief. “Mikey was the heart of this club. Always cracking dumb jokes when shit got dark. Always had your back, no mat
Jax slammed his fist on the table in the strategy room, the map rattling under his knuckles. His eyes were wild, bloodshot from days of barely sleeping.“She’s walking into a trap,” he growled. “Hazel’s gone to King willingly. She thinks she can end this herself. We ride now. Full force. We stop her before that sick fuck kills her or she gets herself killed trying to play hero.”Dagger stood beside him, face grim. “Prez, this could be suicide. We don’t know how many Vipers will be there.”“I don’t give a fuck,” Jax snapped. “That’s my old lady. Load up. Everyone who can ride. We end this tonight.”Mikey, still bandaged from the last raid but refusing to stay behind, checked his shotgun. “I’m with you, Prez. Let’s bring her home.”The yard filled with the thunder of starting engines. Thirty brothers mounted up, guns strapped tight, faces hard. Jax led them out the gates at a roar, heart pounding with a mix of rage and terror.Hold on, Hazel. Don’t do anything stupid. I’m coming. Even i
The dungeon smelled like copper and piss. Tiffany’s screams had turned into wet, broken gurgles. Hazel knelt in front of her again, knife steady in her blood-slick hand. She had been at it for hours — small, deliberate cuts that stung and bled but wouldn’t kill quickly. Each one a reminder.Tiffany’s body twitched. “Hazel... please... I can’t feel my legs anymore...”Hazel pressed the blade against the soft skin just below Tiffany’s collarbone. “You don’t get to stop feeling. That’s the point.”The cell door rattled hard. Jax and Dagger stood outside, faces pale.“Hazel, stop,” Jax said, voice strained. “This is enough. She deserves punishment, but not... not like this.”Dagger gripped the bars. “You’re scaring the whole club. Come out. Let us handle the rest.”Hazel didn’t look up. She made another shallow cut. Tiffany whimpered, body jerking weakly. Hazel finally stood, wiping the knife on her jeans.“She helped murder my child,” Hazel said, voice flat and cold. “She doesn’t get a c
The dungeon stairs creaked under Hazel’s boots the next morning. The air down there was heavier, thicker with the smell of sweat, fear, and dried blood. The single bulb flickered like it was struggling to stay alive. Tiffany was already awake, huddled in the corner of the cell, arms wrapped around her knees. The shallow cuts from yesterday had scabbed over on her cheek and forearm, but her eyes were swollen from crying all night.Hazel unlocked the cell door and stepped inside. She didn’t slam it. She closed it quietly.Tiffany’s breathing hitched. “Hazel... please. I haven’t slept. I keep seeing it. What I did. I can’t... I can’t do this again.”Hazel crouched in front of her. The knife was already in her hand, small and sharp. She didn’t speak right away. She just looked at Tiffany — really looked. The way the other woman’s shoulders trembled. The way her lips were cracked from dehydration and fear.“You keep talking about what you can’t take,” Hazel said, voice low and even. “But y







