Chapter 1 Rael

D ecember 1 st —

“Daddy.”

Someone hopped onto my chest and began bouncing. I grumbled an incoherent response as a giggle followed.

A pair of tiny knees pressed into my groin. “Da-ddy!”

Deep in the throes of sleep, I didn’t want to acknowledge two very loud, persistent little voices calling my name.

“Daddy, wake up!”

No. I really wanted to stay pressed against Nylah’s thick, beautiful ass and maybe convince her to stay between the sheets an extra hour.

But no. It wasn’t gonna happen.

Get up! The boys need us!

I didn’t have the option to wait any longer as the asshole I bonded to, who also happened to be my Reaper, nudged me to wake. I used the term nudge grudgingly.

He practically shoved me from the realm of slumber into full awareness as my eyes popped open, and I stared at the twin faces of my identical, enthusiastic spawn.

They got into my makeup again, dammit.

The Reaper laughed. He enjoyed their exuberance and ability to find trouble. Sometimes I wondered if he appeared to them the way Grim’s Reaper, Ghrowl, visited his son Creed.

Still, I didn’t know how the boys managed half the shit they did. I couldn’t have been this naughty at two years old. Right?

Messy faces smeared with black and white face paint grinned back as I rubbed my eyes. “Did you clean up the mess?”

Gavin tilted his head. “What mess?”

Gage shrugged. “Mama won’t see.”

She would notice. Nylah always did.

But she wouldn’t yell. She never did anything but calmly hand over a bucket of soapy water and two sponges. You could say it was a routine with us. So, even if they were young, my boys had plenty of experience cleaning up their messes. Nylah thought it was good for them to learn how to own their mistakes and make it right when they messed up. I just focused on keeping them dressed, fed, and off the roof.

Yeah, they tried to go up there last week. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the attic open and the ladder down. How the hell did they climb up there without making any noise? Sneaky little adorable shits.

My Reaper chuckled. I would have caught them before they fell.

Not the point. Nylah couldn’t find out about that. She’d freak. The boys had draped black Batman capes around their shoulders and ran through the house pretending to be Reapers. With the face paint, it was almost believable. The twins seemed to think they could fly.

We could help them fly.

No. Nylah would kick my ass, and that female was fucking scary when I pissed her off. Sure, it happened more than I liked to admit, but I didn’t go looking for it. Okay, not all the time. Maybe only when she felt like taking a dominant role.

Sex with our female is intoxicating.

Yes, I agreed. Not the point right now.

Gavin and Gage began sticking their fingers in my black-and-white face paint at about eighteen months. I laughed the first time I saw the smears on their cheeks and noses. I didn’t care how much it cost to replace the makeup since I knew they did it because they wanted to be like Daddy.

Magnificent little Reapers, my Reaper, Scythe, interjected. We need to make more!

My boys weren’t quite two yet, but they had an intelligence and maturity that seemed far higher than their peers. Of course, Gavin ate part of a glue stick yesterday, and Gage pooped in his pull-up and then played with it, so maybe not.

I gave a mental shrug and closed my eyes, pretending to sleep again. Gage thumped my chest with his tiny fist. Gavin tugged on my arm, sliding off the side of the bed. His foot kicked me in the nuts as I groaned. Fuck.

And then it got quiet. Neither of my boys made a sound, but I felt their presence. I didn’t have a clue what they were doing, so after a full minute, I decided to peek. One eye slowly opened, and I jolted as my twins watched me. They didn’t blink, just stared with focused, macabre expressions. And they were only about a foot away, closer than I anticipated.

Creepy as fuck.

Scythe chuckled. I love them!

Oh, I knew. His love for them rivaled mine. “Rawr!” I growled, forgetting that Nylah was still asleep as I lunged for my boys and picked them up, tucking one under each arm. They kicked and flailed, screeching as I rushed toward the door.

“Rael?”

Oops.

“Yes, my beautiful, sexy, beloved?”

“Bring my babies back for kisses.”

“Will do,” I promised as I zoomed down the stairs like a fucking badass plane, and the boys clung to my arms, squealing with delight.

We are an excellent father!

Of course.

We need to put another offspring in our female.

He needed to chill.

Nylah mentioned Scythe was persistent. My Berserker? We hadn’t heard from him in so long that I wondered if he still shared space with me and the Reaper. Time would tell. I knew if I needed him, he’d surface.

I took the boys downstairs and gave them breakfast, leading them both into the bathroom afterward to clean up. It wasn’t easy, but I managed to place the twins on the sink in front of me, holding them in place as I stuffed a washcloth under warm water.

“No!” Gavin yelled as I brought the cloth to his face.

Gage hissed.

“Hey, you’re all sticky with syrup, and Mommy wants you clean for kisses.”

I thought that would convince them. Nope.

“I want scary face!”

“Me too!”

“Boys,” I growled, letting Scythe take over. “We are cleaning faces.”

Two adorable pouts appeared as they wiggled their bottoms but allowed me to rub the makeup and syrup from their skin. It was another small battle to change their clothes.

Ten minutes later, I hauled them upstairs so Nylah could approve. Today was her day off from the hospital, so I would take the boys to our club daycare and give her some quiet time. She worked too many long hours as a nurse even if she did drop to part time after the boys were born.

Nylah rolled over as she heard us enter the bedroom. “Good morning! Where are my kisses?”

I shot them a look to prove the cleaning up was necessary as they bounded toward the bed, tackling Nylah as she laughed. They hugged and kissed her cheeks as I hung back, watching the moment with a full heart. A few years ago, I never would have believed this future was possible. Warmth spread through my chest.

This is our forever.

“Time to go with Daddy now,” Nylah urged as Gavin and Gage slid from the bed. “Color some pretty pages for me today.”

The twins loved to color, but they often chose black. It might seem morbid to some, but with a father who was a Reaper, it wasn’t that strange. In the last few weeks, I’d seen pictures with crude scythes drawn beside black stick figures. If nothing else, my boys were inventive and fearless.

Scythe’s pride echoed mine as he agreed.

I lowered my head and kissed my reason for living, giving her some tongue before I scooped up the boys and left the room. Five minutes later, I opened the garage door and backed out, heading toward The Crossroads.

With a quick, longing glance back at my Harley, I turned to the road as the garage door lowered. I wouldn’t trade a single fucking thing about my life, but I sure did miss the days when I could ride my bike anywhere, anytime I wanted.

Was it worth it? The ol’ lady, the twins, and the big fucking house, along with paying bills and driving an SUV? Fuck yeah. So what if I had a few altered parts of my life? I loved my Nylah and the boys. I was a fucking king in my world, my sexy nurse was my queen, and I had life by the fucking balls.

It didn’t get much better than this.

Well, I couldn’t forget about my brother Chrome and the changes he’d brought into my life, too. I knew the missing piece I’d always felt had been found from the moment we first spoke. Once Chrome patched into the Tonopah RBMC, we became inseparable. Hell, he lived in the house next door. I saw his wave as he drank coffee on the porch.

Quite a few of us lived on this street now. Papa and Bess. Grim and Trish. Mammoth and Rowen. Patriot and Mimi. Even my brother and Cam. We’d bought out as many of the homes as we could since it made sense that our kids would grow up together, and our families needed that support.

A street over, more members, including Jigsaw and Abby, had moved in. Spook & Heather. Shadow & Stefanie. Even Diablo and Gina moved on that street. Bodie and Sasha got the place beside them a couple of months back.

The rest of the club members weren’t far, and when properties came up for sale, we’d buy them until the whole damn club owned the neighborhood.

Gavin and Gage babbled behind me in their car seats as I drove toward the clubhouse, glancing in the rearview mirror to keep an eye on them. I upgraded their harnesses last week because the little sneaks figured out how to get out of them while I was driving.

I didn’t mention that to Nylah either.

Was I keeping secrets? Not really. I just didn’t want to stress my ol’ lady when she had a busy schedule and enough on her plate. I’d tell her later when it came up. At some point.

Zane slid the gate to the lot open as I approached, waving as I entered and parked the SUV. It was cold and windy as I opened the side door, unbuckling the boys and tucking them against my chest as I rushed toward the entrance. The daycare was located in the center of the clubhouse behind the chapel where we held church. The location kept the kids hidden from the bar but also easy to access if needed.

Over the summer, Grim hired a crew to help us update the rooms and add additional safety measures, including an escape room through one of the closets that led into a tunnel. It ran nearly two miles and exited into a small building with supplies a short distance from the clubhouse. From there, transportation, food, water, burner cellphones, and prepaid Visa cards would help ensure they reached safety and shelter.

No one could access the kids inside the daycare without knowing the code to enter, and we changed it twice a week. The keypad installed outside the door provided an added layer of security. Chaos’s ol’ lady Skyla and Toad’s ol’ lady Laramie were the main staff who managed the nursery. Sasha, Mimi, Rowen, and Bess all worked part-time to help since our club family kept growing. Anywhere from six to fifteen kids in total would be present if the older ones weren’t in school.

As Sergeant at Arms of the club, these security precautions eased my mind about the safety of our children and families.

I keyed in the code and dropped the boys off, lowering to a crouch in front of them before I left. “No biting, Gage.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

“And no pinching, Gavin.”

“Yeah, Daddy.”

The twins only fucked with each other, never any other kids. It amused me and Chrome, and we wish we’d had the chance to grow up and have the same experience. Finding each other as adults meant we lost a lot of time, so we never wasted the opportunity to stick close. He entered the daycare as I glanced at the door.

“Give me some tackle hugs.”

I nearly lost my balance as Gavin and Gage launched forward, giggling when I crushed them, only applying enough pressure to squeeze a fart from one of them. “Love you.”

“Love you, Daddy,” they replied in unison.

Chrome smirked. “It wigs me out when they do that. Reminds me of The Shining or some shit.”

I send a glare at him. “Watch your language, fucker.”

His grin widened. “Uh-huh.”

Rising to my feet, I watched as the boys waved at their uncle and then tore ass toward the large building blocks across the room. They’d be busy until snack time.

Chrome followed me outside, waited as I pushed the door shut, and heard the lock engage. We headed toward the bar, taking seats on empty stools.

“What are you gettin’ Nylah for Christmas?”

“No idea. She already has me, the perfect gift.”

Chrome snorted. “Right. Well, on the off chance she actually wants a present, what are you thinking?”

“That Cam would make something leather and braided for a new toy.” I shrugged as he laughed. “What?”

“That’s a gift for you, not her, you dipshit.”

I couldn’t help laughing because he was right. “Well, fuck.”

“Yeah, fuck.”

The door opened, and Papa entered, shaking snow from his boots. He might have dusted some flakes from his hair, too, but I couldn’t tell because he’d gone full fucking white in the last year.

“Hey, Santa,” I greeted him.

Papa flipped me off.

That bothered him? “What’s the matter? Lose Rudolf?”

I got two middle fingers in response that time.

Oh, I loved where this was going. “You seem grumpy. Are all the Santa jobs at the mall taken?”

Chrome coughed to hide his laughter.

Papa scowled. “It’s a badge of honor to go gray.”

“You’re not gray,” Chrome pointed out.

Papa narrowed his eyes. “I’m aware of that, asshole.”

Surly bastard.

“You playin’ Santa for the kids? There’s no need for anyone else to do it. You already got the look down.”

Papa heaved a sigh, stomped in my direction, took a few steps, stopped, and turned around, leaving The Crossroads. I almost felt bad. But he could do whatever the fuck he wanted and usually did, which meant the white hair was a sore subject.

Goddamn. I lived for this shit. I grinned, glad I had a reason to fuck with him for the entire month of December.

Scythe chuckled. You won’t be the only one.