Chapter Twenty

AXYL

I was at a loss when she walked out this afternoon. Didn’t she realize I was doing all this for her? For us? She was my everything. I’d do anything for her and our kids.

Sure, the boys weren’t biologically hers and the girls weren’t mine, but we were a family. They were as much hers as they were mine and vice versa. But I had to go and blurt out something I didn’t mean.

“Prez wants us in the chapel,” Griller, my brother, also known as Braxton, burst into the room Aliana and I shared.

“Would you keep it down? She’s sleeping,” I hissed at him.

“Shit. Sorry, bro. I’ll let him know.” He left the room, closing the door gently behind him. Now came the hard part…getting Aliana off me without waking her.

She was sprawled across me, my arm under her head and her leg wrapped around mine. After we sorted everything out, she wouldn’t let me leave.

I’ll admit, I’ve been absent these past few weeks, but it was for the safety of our families.

I wasn’t there when she fell asleep or when she woke up. I missed holding her. I managed to untangle her leg from mine and as I was pulling my arm out from under her head, she started to stir.

“Babe. Where are you going?”

“Westyn wants to see me.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Come on, baby girl. I promise I’ll be back in time to put the boys to bed and come to bed with you.” She huffed and rolled over on the bed. “I love you, Aliana.”

“I love you too, Axyl. You better keep your promise or shit will get real. You’ve been neglecting your very pregnant ol’ lady and I have needs that only my ol’ man can fulfill.

“And tell my brother that if he doesn’t cool it off with this shit soon…I’ll shoot his ass. Literally. I want my man back!” I chuckled and promised I would do just that.

Before I even left the room, she was softly snoring again. She didn’t know it yet, but I was going to put a ring on that finger she had me wrapped around before all this was over.

I walked into the chapel and took my seat next to Westyn. “Before we start, I have a message from your sister.” He grimaced before nodding for me to continue.

“She said that unless you want a bullet in your ass, literally, you should cool it off with this shit soon. Not to fucking mention, I’m in the fucking doghouse because I’ve been neglecting my very pregnant, and very horny ol’ lady.”

The men around the table laughed and Westyn paled a bit. We all knew that she would do it.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. She may be my younger sister, but she’s scary as fuck when she’s mad and it’s only gotten worse since she got pregnant. Also, don’t talk to me about how horny my fucking sister is.”

“Better get used to it. If I have my way, she’s going to be pregnant a lot.”

“Yeah, I don’t need to hear that. She’s my fucking sister, dick.” The room erupted in even more laughter at our president’s expense. “Quiet down. We have some information about the Blue Moon, MC.

“We have a rat and I’ve had a suspicion on who it could be for a while. I had one of our prospects following them discreetly to confirm my theory.

“Now, I don’t believe this person is working alone, but we don’t have any proof of that.” The room erupted in loud growls and fists banging on the table.

Dash ended up being cleared of being a rat after everything went down with Ali. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was in a room full of wolves from all the growling going on.

Westyn banged the gavel on the table, effectively silencing the room.

“Who the fuck is it?” There was a long pause before he said a name that had me seeing red.

“Lana.” That one word made me lose my composure.

ALIANA

I woke up to loud bangs coming from downstairs. What the fuck was going on? I waited a few minutes to see if someone just dropped something but jumped out of bed when I heard Axyl screaming.

I walked down the stairs and as soon as I stepped off the last step, a bottle came flying toward my head. “Ali!” I tried to duck, but I wasn’t fast enough and the bottle smashed on my head, sending me tumbling down the stairs.

“Sis. Oh my God! Are you okay? Someone get Doc! And calm him the fuck down!” Doc came rushing over and I was still trying to get my bearings. My vision was blurry, and my head was throbbing.

“Aliana, can you hear me?” I nodded. My hearing was fine. I just had a massive headache. Who knew that a bottle shattering against your head could hurt so fucking much?

“My head fucking hurts like a bitch.”

“How many fingers am I holding up?” I looked at his hand and it slowly came into focus.

“Three. What the fuck is going on?”

“Cannon is being…well…Cannon right now,” Westyn said from beside me, looking sheepish.

“Clearly. What the fuck set him off?” I could see the look in his eyes that he was about to pull the ‘it’s club business’ card. “Don’t even fucking say that it’s club business.

“He went full-blown Cannon and cracked me in the head with a damn bottle. So, fucking tell me!”

“Turns out, Lana’s been leaking intel about everything to Alex’s club. She was here undercover, and that’s how she got the scoop.

“I had a hunch, so I had a prospect tail her to confirm. And it was confirmed.”

“Well, I’ll be damned! Why on earth would you spill that to him, knowing full well how he’d react!”

“Ali, he had to know. And I couldn’t just tell you and expect you to break it to him. This is club business.”

“Don’t give me that crap. You could’ve done exactly that. I could’ve cushioned the blow so he wouldn’t lose his cool.”

“Ali! Honey! Are you okay? Shit, I’m so sorry, honey.” Axyl bursts into the clubhouse, making a beeline for me. He skids to a halt in front of me, cradling my face in his hands.

“I’m okay. Are you back to being Axyl, or should we quarantine you because you’re still Cannon?”

“I’m back, honey. I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry.”

“It’s okay, Axyl. Go freshen up. You’re a mess from fighting whoever you had to get past. Living up to your name.” As Doc stitches up my head, I give Axyl a kiss before he heads off to clean up.

I swivel my glare to my brother. “So, do you want that bullet in your ass now or later?”

“You thought I was serious about that?”

“Dead serious. Can’t you see the mess this has caused? Can’t you see that I miss my boyfriend? Our kids miss him! I miss my damn brother!”

“Aliana, you need to cool down. You’re going to trigger contractions. The babies aren’t strong enough to handle the stress of what they’ve been through, let alone a fight.” Doc warns.

“Wrap this up, Westyn. You can hold church during regular hours. Plus, we’re all having dinner with mom and dad tomorrow, and you can’t skip that.

“She’ll tan your hide and make my bullet threat feel like a feather tickling your nose.”

“You heard her! Get this sorted out. We all know we don’t want the moms on our case. Aliana is bad enough.” He mutters the last part under his breath, and I leap onto his back.

“What the hell, Aliana! You can’t be doing that! You’re pregnant!”

“That doesn’t mean a damn thing, you jerk! Next time, keep your snide remarks to yourself. I’m going to tell mom you said that.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would and I will. I’m going to tell dad too.”

“I’m sorry, okay. I didn’t mean it.” The guys start laughing as Axyl reenters the room.

“What on earth are you doing on his back? You can’t be doing that! Doc, tell her she can’t be doing that.” Axyl says, lifting me off my brother’s back.

“You can try telling her anything, but it’s not going to harm her or the babies. Just keep her calm or she risks premature labor, which wouldn’t be good for either of you.”

“Thanks, Doc. Now, you two stop fussing over me and help these guys clean this place up. Especially you, Axyl. You’re the one who caused all this.” They groan, and I give them a pointed look.

“She’s going to be a fantastic mother. She’s got that look your mom gives you two.” My dad says from the doorway. One less person I have to tell about my brother’s snide remarks.

“Westyn, stop talking about your sister like that.” I flash a smile at my brother, and he returns a mock glare. Time for me to finish my nap.