Chapter Ten

Cam

God, I hope I don"t regret coming here, but I had to take the chance. I can"t take much more from my mom. She hates me, and I don"t understand why other than the fact that I apparently look just like my dad, but why does she hate me for something I have no control over? I can"t help the fact that I look like him; it"s my genetics. I hope my dad"s nothing like my mom. All I want is a parent who cares for and loves me. Is that too much to ask for?

I"m so glad Flame showed up when he did. I don"t think the guy at the gate was ever going to let me in, and the way he was talking to me didn"t make me want to answer any of his questions. Flame, though, was kind and gentle but didn"t treat me like an idiot. When he told me he knew who my dad was, I felt both excitement and fear. I"m finally going to get to meet him. I really do hope he likes and wants me. I don"t want him to send me back to my mom. I"m pretty sure if he does, I"m just going to have to run away. I"m not going to survive much longer if I keep living with her. I"d rather take my chances as a kid on the streets than stay somewhere I know is going to lead to my death.

Flame's still standing next to my bed, but now I can see the other two men who came into the room. I can"t help the gasp that escapes me. They both look like me. Is one of them my Dad? I can see their names on their kuttes. One says Wrath with the President patch above his name, and the other says Shadow with the Vice President patch above his name. I know that means they"re really important. Like the most important members of Devil"s Inferno. Are they going to be disappointed with me? I"m just a kid they never knew about who"s been used as a punching bag by his mom for over half his life.

Gathering my courage, I whisper. "Are one of you my dad? You both look like me."

The one with Wrath on his kutte steps forward and crouches next to the bed I"m on. He brushes his hand gently over my head and smiles at me. Well, at least he seems happy about my appearance here.

"Yeah, I think we can safely say I"m your Dad, and the one over there that looks like me is my twin Alex, making him your uncle."

He kisses my forehead as he stands back up. I can"t help the tears that fall. I"ve never had people show as much care as all these men have shown me in the past few minutes. I don't know how I'm meant to react. It"s all unknown to me, but at least it looks like he"s not disappointed that I"m his kid. That"s good news, right?

"Don"t go telling him my name is Alex. It"s Shadow. That"s like telling him yours is Jackson and not Wrath."I hear my Uncle gripe towards my Dad, who just laughs at him.

I may"ve only just met them, but I can already tell they"re totally different from what I"m used to. For one, no one has tried to hurt me, and for two, they"re already acting like they care about me.

"Can I call you Dad?"I ask worriedly.

I really want to be able to call him Dad and for him to actually act like a parent; I've never had that before. All I"ve ever wanted is a proper family, like I see the kids at school have.

"Yeah, but if I"m Dad, that makes Flame Papa."He tells me.

Huh? Does that mean they"re a couple, then? I never thought that would be a thing, but that"s cool. Two dads have got to be better than my mom. That"s for sure.

Looking at Flame I ask hopefully. "Really?"

"Yeah, if that's what you want to call me. With me being your Dad"s partner, I guess that could make me Papa. It"s whatever you"re comfortable with, Cam."He says to me in a gentle voice.

I can"t help but smile as I say, "Yeah, I like the idea of you being Papa."

I really like that idea. Flame"s the first person to show me kindness in a very long time, and I like what I"ve seen so far. He was really worried and caring when he spoke and brought me here—nothing like I"m used to at all. Maybe I didn"t need to worry about coming here and being sent back to my mom.

"I need to check his injuries now, guys. I"m sure you"ve got loads of questions, but it"s going to have to wait for now. I think it"s best if you take Flame into your office with you to talk some more, Prez. Shadow, you can stay here with me and Cam."

Doc"s staring at my Dad; he"s obviously seeing something I"m not by suggesting he leave for a minute. He knows him better than me, so I"m just going to have to trust that there"s a good reason behind what he"s suggesting. Plus, Uncle Shadow"s staying with me, so I should be okay. They all give off this aura of protection that makes me want to trust them.

"Is that okay with you, Cam?" My Dad asks me.

Oh, dear lord, I actually have a Dad; this is great. He"s already acting more like a parent than my mom ever has, and he"s only known about me for like five minutes.

"Yeah, Dad, that"s fine as long as Uncle Shadow"s staying,"I say with a small smile.

"Don"t worry, Cam, I"m staying."My Uncle Shadow replies with a massive grin before walking over and sitting next to the bed.

Placing another quick kiss on my forehead, my Dad spins and leaves the room. Papa comes over and places a kiss on my forehead too before following Dad out of the room. Leaving me with my Uncle Shadow and Doc. Okay, I can do this; I"ve made it this far. Things can only get better. I"ve got to believe that.

∞∞∞

Wrath

Walking calmly out of the infirmary, I keep a tight hold of the rage I"m feeling, not wanting Cam to see me lose it. Once I"m out of his sight, I storm into my office, pick up the nearest thing, which happens to be a chair, and launch it across the room. I"m fuming. I"ve got a fucking kid I had no idea about, and on top of that, he"s beaten black and fucking blue. He looked so fucking small and helpless in that bed. He was fucking terrified; I could see it in his eyes. What the hell happened to my son?

I hear the office door close and then see Flame punch a wall out of the corner of my eye. I need some fucking answers. Cam"s got to have told him something.

"Tell me who did it."I manage to say even though my jaw"s tight from the anger I'm feeling.

"Fuck babe. It was Claire."His voice is filled with pure hatred. "She hates him because he looks like you. He overheard her and whoever she"s in a relationship with fucking talking about Devil"s Inferno MC and how that"s where his dad was."

He stops talking for a minute, trying to control everything he"s feeling right now.

"Babe, I think we may have the answer to the woman with the vendetta. Think about it. Shadow exposed the truth. I fucking killed her father, and why did we both do it? To protect you and Blaze."

"I agree with your thinking; it makes sense. She"s definitely got a reason to hate us. I"ll get Tech on it and see what he can find."

"She"s not surviving this. Not with what she"s done to your fucking son. I"ll take her out just like I did her father."Flame spits out.

"I agree she"s a dead woman walking, babe. She kept my son from me and has fucking been beating him; she"s not going to get away with this. There"s not a fucking chance in hell. He"s not just my son, though; he"s our son."I manage to smile when I say the last part, because to me, Cam is our son, not just mine.

"I like that. Our son."He replies with a smile of his own.

I didn"t realize it until the moment Flame told me who Cam was, but I want this. I want to have a family with Flame. Kids running around, filling our home with happiness and joy the way only kids can. I know for a fact Flame will be a fantastic father. He has a way with kids, no matter their age. They always seem to gravitate toward him. Which, if you think about it, is sort of funny. He"s a lethal biker. Kids shouldn"t trust him as easily as they do, but they do. My guess is they see his heart the same way I always have. I can"t wait to see how Cam fits into our lives. It"s going to be an adjustment, for sure, but having him here"s going to be worth it.

Knowing I"ve calmed down enough, I ask, "Ready to go back and see what Doc has to say about Cam"s injuries? I didn"t like leaving him so soon after he got here. I get why Doc told us to leave; he could see me struggling for control, but I need to get back to him. He"s my son, and he"s hurt at the hands of his fucking mother—the things that must be going through his head."

"I want to get back to him too, but first, I think we need to do something about The Common Room and bunnies. Cam doesn't need to see the shit that goes on in there."Flame replies.

I nod my head and leave the office. Flame"s definitely right about Cam not seeing anything that's been going on around here. I don't need my son walking in on all the public sex that"s been going on recently. Stopping in the doorway, I look around. The bunnies are out in force; some are currently being fucked, others are on their knees sucking, and some are doing both. The brothers are having fun, but what"s going on in here isn"t going to be fucking happening where my child can see it. Not a chance in hell. I have no issues with what they do, each to their own; it just needs to happen somewhere else from now on. I hit the button next to me on the wall that cuts everything electronic off in the room. Everything suddenly goes quiet.

Everyone looks over to see who just silenced the room, and when they realize it"s me, no one says a word.

"I"m only going to say this once. No more public sex in this room or anywhere else, for that matter. If you want to get it on, then take it somewhere private. I catch anyone breaking this new rule, whether it"s a bunny or a brother, you will not like what happens." My voice is hard as I talk, I want them to know just how serious I am.

Looking directly at the bunnies, who"ve now huddled together, I say, "From now on, you make sure you"re fucking wearing clothes when you"re in public areas. If I find out any of you have been walking around naked or in your underwear, you"re gone. No second chances, and no exceptions. I"m not fucking about anymore."

"Why?"Candice shouts. Of fucking course, she"d have to open her mouth.

"Because I"m the goddamn President, and what I say goes. Question me again, Candice, and see what happens."I snarl.

I"m not playing games with this; I don"t want my son exposed to it all; he"s too fucking young. I"ll do everything in my power to ensure it.

Turning around to leave, I look back over my shoulder and shout, "Get in here, tidied the fuck up. This is our fucking home, not a frat house!"

Seriously, there are fucking clothes everywhere, empty bottles, takeout containers, and other random crap everywhere. It"s fucking disgusting, and I know it wasn"t like this earlier. Why in the world would they even think this is acceptable?

Walking back to the infirmary, I can"t help but hope Doc doesn"t have anything bad to tell us and Cam's got no serious injuries, hopefully it"s all just bruising and superficial that won"t cause any lasting damage.

Entering the room, I can hear laughter, and I can"t help the smile that overtakes my face. Now that"s a sound I like to hear but wasn"t expecting. Looking in the direction it"s coming from, I see Shadow sitting next to Cam"s bed, and Cam"s laughing at whatever Shadow"s saying. Now it"s nice to see my twin and son already getting along, even though they"ve only just met.

Seeing us, Doc steps away from them, coming towards us, clearly going to give us an update on what he"s found after his examination.

"Firstly, I"ll tell you physically that he"ll be okay. He"s going to need lots of rest. His ribs are luckily just bruised, but that"s what was causing him to struggle with his breathing. He told me he"d been walking for a long time to make it here, which most likely caused his pain. As we know, bruised ribs are no fucking joke. Nothing else is as bad as the ribs, thankfully. He"s got bruising over 90% of his body."He stops and shakes his head before continuing.

"How he"s sitting there laughing with Shadow, I don"t know. I"ve given him some pain meds because, even with him saying the pain wasn"t that bad, I know it has to be. I honestly don"t want to know what injuries he"s had in the past to think the pain he"s in right now isn"t that bad."

"So he's going to be okay?" Flame interrupts him.

"Yeah, but I want him to stay in here tonight so I can monitor him just to be on the safe side. Tomorrow, you can take him home. But I"m going to advise you to get him someone to talk to because mentally he"s going to need a lot of healing."Doc stops again to take a deep breath, clearly affected by what he"s learned.

"He told Shadow it was his mother who did this, and she"s been doing it since he was very young, so whether you want it to or not, that"s going to have some long-term repercussions. Just take it slow with him and give him unconditional love; I think that may be what he needs most. He certainly hasn"t had it before now; you can tell by his reaction to the kindness and care he"s been shown since he got here. He has no idea how he"s meant to react to it all."

"Thank you for checking him over; I"m so fucking relieved his injuries aren"t as bad as they could have been. We'll speak to Cam about finding him someone to talk to once he"s more settled in. I don"t want to overwhelm him right now."I say, my voice full of relief.

"That sounds good to me. Just so you know, I think you have a great kid there, and with you both as his parents, he"s going to thrive. I"m going to pop out for a bit and leave you to it. I"ll be back soon to check on him. Call me if he needs me before then."Doc says as he claps us both on the shoulder before leaving.

We make our way over to Cam"s bed. Both of us are more relaxed now that we"ve spoken to Doc. I think we were both expecting his injuries to be far worse than they turned out to be. Cam looks a lot more settled than he did earlier, and I take that as a good sign. I"m sure Shadow has something to do with it.

"Having fun with your Uncle Shadow?"I ask Cam as I take a seat next to his bed.

Giving me a bright smile, he replies, "Yes, he"s been telling me funny stories about when you were my age."

I can"t help but chuckle. I hope he didn"t tell him everything we did at his age. I don"t need my son getting into the trouble we did.

"I"m sure he"s telling you all the good stuff."

Cam just beams at me, smiling while nodding his head.

Turning to Shadow, I ask, "Do me a favor and check out The Common Room soon. I"ve told them all that what they"ve been doing out in the open needs to now be done in private, and I"ve told the bunnies they need fucking clothes on."

"Sure, bro, I"ll pop my head in before I head back to the house. I figured you two would both be staying here tonight. I"ll get all Flame"s stuff moved into your room; that way, Cam can have his old room. Is that okay with you both?"Shadow asks, thinking of the shit I haven"t even considered yet.

"Yeah, thanks, man. I really don"t want to be staying anywhere else right now, and I know my shit needs moving so Cam can have his own space."Flame says back.

"I"m getting my own room. In a house with you all. Really. Oh wow. This might just be the best day ever."Cam excitedly states.

God, his excitement"s contagious. I can"t help but get excited about the prospect of him living with us too. I wish I"d had him with me all his life, but I can"t change the past. I can make sure his future"s bright, though.

"Of course you are. You"re not going anywhere. Tomorrow, when you"ve had more rest, we can talk more about things that"ve happened and what you may have heard, but I think right now you need a nap."I tell him as I"ve watched him force his eyes back open for the past few minutes, and he keeps trying to stop his yawns.

"Yeah, I"ve been awake for over a day now, getting here. I"m beyond tired, Dad."

I hate knowing my son spent that long trying to get here to me, but I"m glad he"s here now. He"s not going anywhere. This is his home.

"Close your eyes, Cam. You"re safe here, I promise."

We all sit there in silence as Cam falls to sleep, all deep in thought. The last twenty-four hours have been insane with the change in my relationship with Flame and then Cam"s arrival, but I can"t help but feel happy about it all. It might be different from what I"m used to, but it"s definitely going to be just as satisfying, if not more so, than anything in my life so far.

Shadow nudges my arm and whispers, "You need to go and ring Dad."

I just nod my head, slowly stand, and go into Doc"s office. He"s not wrong if I don"t tell my Dad, and he finds out from someone else, shit will hit the fan.

I dial my Dad"s number and wait for him to answer.

"Hey, son, is everything okay? You don"t normally ring out of the blue unless something"s wrong." My Dad says, as soon as he answers.

"Hey, Dad. Yeah, and no. Where are you?"

"Well, from the sound of your voice, I should just tell you I"m almost back from my trip. I was going to surprise you and your brother when I got back, but I"m guessing it"s a good job that I"m close by. What"s going on?"

"Fuck Dad, where do I start? There"s so much that"s happened. I don"t want to tell you on the phone when you"re close to being here. I"d rather tell you in person. Just come straight to the infirmary when you get here, and I"ll tell you everything."

"Who's hurt!?" He asks worriedly.

"No one, you know, yet. Just get here as quick as you can, okay, Dad? See you soon, old man. Love you."

"I"ll give you, old man, you little shit. I"ll see you soon. I love you too."

We hang up, and I walk back out into the main room, where Cam"s now softly snoring with Shadow and Flame watching over him like hawks. They look like they"re scared to take their eyes off him in case he disappears. I get that; none of us expected me to have a son, and certainly not one who"s his age, who"s had the life Cam has so far. Yeah, we"re all going to be a little protective for a while.

"Dad will be here soon. I didn"t tell him about Cam on the phone. I figured he could see for himself."I whisper while chuckling.

Shadow"s shaking his head at me with a mischievous smile. No doubt because he knows our Dad probably wants to strangle me for not giving him any information on the phone; he hates surprises. It"s not news anyone really wants to give on a phone call, though. I was only going to tell him over the phone before because I thought he was still away on his trip.