Chapter 8: The Claim

Maya stared out the window at the Vipers gathering in the parking lot and felt her throat dried up. This was her fault. All of it. If she'd just stayed on her usual route home that Friday night none of this would be happening. Dominic's club wouldn't be facing down twenty angry bikers. The clubhouse wouldn't be going into lockdown. Everything was turning around because of her.

"Maya get away from the window." Dominic's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Now."

She stepped back but her legs felt weak. She could see the Vipers organizing themselves into groups. Some were checking their bikes. Others were talking in tight circles. They looked like they were planning an actual attack.

"Why are they still here?" Maya asked even though she knew the answer. "You told them I'm under protection. Isn't that supposed to mean something?"

"It means something." Jake was on his phone calling in reinforcements. "But the Vipers have been looking for a reason to test us. You just gave them an excuse."

"So this is my fault."

"Nobody said that." Dominic pulled out his own phone. "This has been building for months. They've been pushing boundaries all year. Tonight they decided to push harder."

Maya wanted to believe him but the guilt sat heavy on her chest. She watched Dominic make calls while Jake coordinated with the other members. Connor was at another window watching the Vipers count their numbers. Everyone moved with purpose like they'd done this before.

"How many can you get here?" Dominic was asking someone on the phone. "Twenty minutes? Make it fifteen. We don't know how long they'll wait before they make a move."

He hung up and immediately dialed another number. Maya stood in the middle of the room feeling useless. She didn't know what to do with her hands. Didn't know where to stand. Didn't know how to help with any of this.

Carol appeared from the stairs looking worried. "Dom what's happening? Wrench just told me we're on lockdown."

"Vipers are outside." Dominic barely looked up from his phone. "At least twenty of them. Could be more."

"Oh god." Carol saw Maya standing there looking lost. "Honey come with me. You shouldn't be down here right now."

"I can't hide upstairs while this is happening because of me." Maya's voice came out stronger than she felt. "I need to stay."

"You need to be somewhere safe." Carol moved closer. "If they get inside you're the first person they'll look for."

"Carol's right." Dominic finally looked at Maya. "You should go upstairs. Lock yourself in the spare room until this is over."

"No." Maya surprised herself with how firm she sounded. "I'm not hiding while you deal with my problems."

"These aren't your problems anymore." Dominic walked over until he was standing right in front of her. "The second I claimed you as mine they became club problems. That's how this works."

"But I didn't ask you to claim me." Maya's frustration bubbled up. "You made that choice without asking what I wanted."

"There wasn't time to ask. They were looking for you. I protected you." Dominic's jaw was tight. "You can be mad about it later. Right now you need to get somewhere safe."

Before Maya could argue the front door opened and three more Iron Wolves walked in. One of them was huge with a beard that reached his chest. The other two looked younger, maybe mid twenties. They all wore the same vest with the club patches.

"What's the situation?" The big guy asked.

"Vipers out front." Jake filled him in quickly. "Twenty plus. They came looking for Dom's girl. He claimed her. Now they're deciding if they want to push it."

Dom's girl. Maya heard the words and felt something twist in her chest. That's what she was now in their world. Not Maya Chen. Not a person with her own identity. Just Dominic Blackwood's girl.

"They say what they want?" The big guy looked at Dominic.

"They want to send a message about respect." Dominic crossed his arms. "Show us they're not scared of Iron Wolves protection."

"So we show them why they should be scared." One of the younger guys cracked his knuckles. "I'm ready when you are."

"Nobody's doing anything yet." Dominic's voice had that authority that made everyone listen. "We wait for the rest of our guys to get here. Then we go out there together. Show them we're unified."

"What about the girl?" The big guy nodded toward Maya. "That's what started this right? They want her?"

"They're not getting her." Dominic said it flatly. "That's not negotiable."

Maya felt like she was watching this happen to someone else. Like she'd stepped outside her body and was observing from a distance. These men were talking about protecting her. Fighting for her. Maybe getting hurt because of her. And she had zero control over any of it.

"I should just go out there." The words came out before Maya could stop them. "Talk to them. Apologize for whatever I did wrong."

Every person in the room turned to stare at her. The silence was heavy.

"Absolutely not." Dominic's voice was raised a little. "That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard."

"Why? I'm the one they have a problem with. Let me fix it."

"You can't fix this by throwing yourself to them." Dominic stepped closer. "You go out there alone and you don't come back. Is that what you want?"

"I want this to be over." Maya's voice shook. "I want to stop causing problems for people who were just trying to help me."

"Then stay inside and let us handle it." Dominic's eyes locked onto hers. "Please."

There was that word again. Please. Maya remembered the last time he said it when he was asking her to stay at the clubhouse. She'd agreed then because she heard something in his voice that sounded real. She heard it again now.

"Fine." She looked away first. "But after this is done we're talking about you claiming me without permission."

"After this is done you can yell at me all you want." Dominic turned back to the others. "Carol take her upstairs."

Carol grabbed Maya's arm gently. "Come on honey. Let's get you away from the windows at least."

Maya let herself be led toward the stairs but she looked back at Dominic. He was already coordinating with Jake about positions and strategy. She watched him transform from the guy who brought her breakfast to the club president who commanded respect from dangerous men.

They were halfway up the stairs when Maya heard more motorcycles pull up outside. She froze thinking it was more Vipers but Carol squeezed her arm.

"That's our guys." Carol kept pulling her up. "They're here to help."

Maya looked out the window at the top of the stairs. Sure enough six more Iron Wolves bikes were pulling into the parking lot. The riders parked in formation facing the Vipers like they were preparing for battle. Maya counted sixteen Iron Wolves total now. Still outnumbered but not as badly.

"Is there going to be a fight?" Maya asked.

"I don't know." Carol's voice was honest. "Sometimes these things get talked out. Sometimes they don't."

"What happens if they don't?"

"Then the boys handle it." Carol opened the door to the spare room. "But you don't need to see that. You don't need to carry that weight."

Maya wanted to argue that she already carried the weight. That this whole situation existed because of her. But she was tired of arguing. Tired of feeling helpless. Tired of everything that had happened since Friday night.

She sat on the bed while Carol locked the door from inside. Through the window she could see part of the parking lot. Could see the Vipers on one side and the Iron Wolves on the other. Could see Dominic walking out to face them with Jake on his right and Connor on his left.

"He shouldn't have claimed me." Maya said it quietly. "I didn't want this."

"He was protecting you." Carol sat next to her on the bed. "That's what Dom does. He protects the people he cares about."

"He doesn't care about me. He doesn't even know me."

"Maybe." Carol watched through the window. "Or maybe he knows you better than you think."

Maya wanted to ask what that meant but movement outside caught her attention. The tall Viper with the shaved head was getting off his bike. He walked toward the center of the parking lot. Dominic met him halfway. They were talking but Maya couldn't hear what they were saying.

"What happens now?" Maya asked.

"Now they negotiate." Carol's voice was tense. "Dom will try to settle this without violence. The Vipers will push to see how far they can go. It's all about respect and territory and showing strength."

"All because of me."

"All because the Vipers are looking for any excuse to challenge us." Carol corrected her. "You were just the excuse they found."

Maya watched Dominic gesture while he talked. The Viper shook his head. More words were exchanged. The tension was visible even from this distance. Every biker on both sides watched the conversation like they were waiting for a signal.

Then the Viper said something and Dominic's whole body went frozen. Even from the window Maya could see his jaw tightened. Jake put a hand on his shoulder like he was holding him back.

"That's not good." Carol leaned closer to the window. "Whatever that guy just said really pissed Dom off."

"What do you think he said?"

"Probably something about you." Carol's face was worried. "The Vipers know Dom claimed you. They're going to test that claim. See if he really means it."

"What if he doesn't?" Maya heard herself ask. "What if he just said it to get them to back off? What if it's all fake and they figure that out?"

"Then we've got bigger problems." Carol stood up and moved away from the window. "But Dom doesn't bluff about things like this. If he claimed you he meant it. At least in the moment."

Maya's brain was spinning trying to process everything. Dominic had claimed her to protect her. She understood that logically. But he'd also done it without asking. Without giving her a choice. Without considering that maybe she didn't want to be someone's old lady, especially someone she barely knew.

She was angry about that. Furious actually. But she was also scared. Scared of what would happen if the Vipers didn't accept the claim. Scared of what would happen if they decided to fight. Scared of being responsible for people getting hurt.

"They're coming back inside." Carol moved toward the door. "Stay here. Lock this after I leave. Don't open it for anyone except me or Dom."

"What if something happens to you?"

"Nothing's going to happen to me." Carol tried to smile but it didn't reach her eyes. "The Vipers don't mess with old ladies. That's a line even they won't cross."

She left before Maya could ask more questions. Maya heard the lock click from outside. She was alone in the room with nothing but her thoughts and the view from the window.

She watched the Vipers mount their bikes. Watched them sit there idling for what felt like forever. The sound of twenty motorcycles revving filled the night. Then slowly they started to pull out. One by one they left the parking lot until only the Iron Wolves remained.

Maya felt her shoulders drop with relief. It was over. Whatever Dominic said had worked. The Vipers were leaving. Nobody had to get hurt.

She was still watching when Dominic looked up at the window. Their eyes met across the distance. Maya couldn't read his expression from here but she felt something pass between them. Something she didn't want to name.

Then he turned and walked back inside.

Maya sat on the bed trying to process everything that just happened. In the span of an hour her entire life had changed. She'd been claimed by a motorcycle club president. Become the center of a territory dispute. Put people in danger just by existing.

And the worst part? Some small part of her felt safer knowing Dominic had claimed her. Some betraying corner of her brain liked having his protection. She hated that feeling almost as much as she hated being claimed without permission.

Footsteps on the stairs made her tense. Someone knocked on the door.

"Maya? It's me." Dominic's voice. "Can I come in?"

Maya didn't answer right away. She was still angry. Still processing. Still trying to figure out what came next.

"Maya." He knocked again. "We need to talk about what just happened."

"I know what happened." Maya walked to the door but didn't unlock it. "You claimed me like I'm some kind of possession. You told everyone I belong to you. You made that choice for me."

"I made the choice that kept you safe." Dominic's voice was calm but she heard something underneath. "Can you please open the door so we can talk about this face to face?"

Maya unlocked the door and pulled it open. Dominic stood in the hallway looking tired. His leather jacket was gone. His t shirt had what looked like grease stains on it. His hair was messy like he'd been running his hands through it.

"They're gone." He said it like that explained everything.

"For now." Maya crossed her arms. "What happens when they come back? What happens when they figure out this whole thing is fake?"

"It's not fake anymore." Dominic leaned against the doorframe. "I claimed you in front of witnesses. That means something in our world. That means you're under Iron Wolves protection whether you like it or not."

"And what if I don't like it?"

"Then that's too bad." Dominic's jaw was tight. "Because the alternative was letting them drag you out of here. The alternative was you getting hurt or worse. I wasn't going to let that happen."

"So you made me yours instead." Maya's voice got louder. "Without asking. Without giving me a choice."

"What choice did you want?" Dominic pushed off the doorframe. "They were here for you Maya. They weren't leaving without making their point. I gave you the only protection that would actually mean something to them."

"By telling them I belong to you."

"Yes." He didn't apologize. "That's exactly what I did."

Maya stared at him trying to find the right words. Trying to explain why this felt like such a violation even though she understood his reasoning. But before she could speak her phone buzzed in her pocket.

She pulled it out and instantly froze from what she saw on the screen.

Unknown number. One message.

We know you're his now. That just makes this more fun. See you soon college girl.