Chapter 24

Somehow, the road trip to Iron Falls, Washington had made everyone rowdier than they were in Colorado. As soon as people parked, they started fucking drinking, and the Ironwood pack had been doing so long before we even got there.

Iron Falls was significantly larger than Cedar Harbor. It had that same small-town feel but almost ten times the population. The town scaled from blue-collar to fancy fucks depending on where you were. But everyone visited the Iron Wolf Pub. The bar had been run by the Ironwood family for generations. It was the town’s place to be with loud music, greasy food, side rooms for sports and pool, and cheap as fuck beer. No one gave a fuck about income or social class while they were there. The town’s billionaires hung out with members of the Wild Irons Motorcycle Club and so on. It was a wild fucking experience every time.

And if you walked out the back door and through the gates, you’d find yourself in the Wild Irons clubhouse. It doubled as the Ironwood packhouse with its huge fucking house and direct entry into the woods. It wasnt a mandatory requirement of the Wild Irons to be a wolf, but everyone in the club knew about us. It made for a unique dynamic when it came to bullshit like the Fall Games. The crowd was fucking diverse at the bar with wolves and humans.

It set me on edge. Normally, I didn’t have an issue with the crowds at the bar. Hell, I helped out as a bouncer when fights broke out or people were just fucking stupid. Whenever I was in town, I stuck around to help the Ironwoods out. It was the least I could fucking do, all things considered.

I stood outside with my brothers, listening to some jacked-up story about last year’s camping trip. Lucas struggled to tell the story around laughter, Sam had an arm around Finn’s shoulder to keep upright as he wheezed, and I couldn’t fucking breathe. Fuck, I missed their goddamn shenanigans. That was a thing I was looking forward to when I moved back to Cedar Harbor.

“Where’s Raven?” I asked when I caught Declan checking his phone yet again.

“On her way,” he muttered. “She’s been on her way for a while. And I probably shouldn’t be worried because the woman drinks an obscene amount of coffee every time she drives, which means frequent stops.”

The minute we landed in Washington, Raven had hopped vehicles and left with Isla to go north. For what, I didn’t have a goddamn clue. It just left Declan checking his phone for the better half of the day.

“She’ll be fine.” I bumped his shoulder with my root beer. “Don’t worry.”

“Saying that to a chronic worrier doesn’t work,” Sam chimed in.

“Maybe they got pulled over,” Nolan suggested.

“God, I fucking hope not,” Declan muttered. “The last time we got pulled—”

“Don’t fucking finish that story,” I interrupted with a laugh. I had a strong fucking feeling of where that story was going, and I didn’t want to know. The two were not as discreet as they thought they were.

“What?” he demanded. “What the fuck did you think I was going to say?”

“Roadhead,” Sam, Finn, and Lucas all replied in unison.

“For the record,” Declan damn near shouted over our making fun of him. “I wasn’t going to say that!”

“No one believes you,” Nolan scoffed. “The notebook says otherwise.”

“What fucking notebook?” I asked. It was the second time Nolan had mentioned that notebook without explaining it. I was lost.

“I want that fucking notebook, Nolan,” Declan growled.

“Is that the dirty talk notebook?” Lucas cut in. Oh for fuck’s sake.

“No! Nolan!” I exclaimed and rounded on him. “You don’t write that shit down! He’s family.”

“My ladies go feral for it.” Nolan shrugged. “The shit he says makes me money.”

“You hear that?” Sam said. “He’s got ladies, and we’ve got nothing.”

“I’ve got a fiancé, and you’ve got a lesbian,” Declan retorted. Excuse him, what?

“Hold up.” I threw my hands in the air. “You’ve got a what?”

“Sam’s in love with a lesbian,” Nolan replied very matter-of-factly.

“Sam,” I started, glancing at him. “Come on, bud. There wasn’t anyone else out there,”

Before he could answer the fucking question, a red sports car came flying into the parking lot. It completely misjudged the dip, and we cringed as the bumper scraped hard on the concrete.

“Oh, that isn’t good,” Sam commented.

“That poor car,” I agreed as we watched it come to an abrupt halt in a parking spot. “It’s a pretty fucking car, though.”

It really was. The car was easily worth a fucking fortune. Too bad the owner didn’t take care of their goddamn shit. I could only imagine the wear and tear on that beauty.

And then the driver-side door flew open. Raven stumbled out in a fit of laughter, gripping the door for support. Isla was out just as quickly and just as loud. The two women went back and forth, chatting at a speed none of us could hope to understand.

“Oh! Hey, baby!” Raven exclaimed with a wide smile when she saw Declan. “Look what I got!”

“Please, don’t tell me you bought a car,” Declan replied.

“What? No!” She waved him off and came around the side of the car, doing a little twirl. “What do you think?”

“Oh, fuck me.” A deep growl vibrated off him as she did. Me? I fucking bit my tongue, which was better than the laughter my fucking brothers howled with. The woman was in the tiniest flannel skirt possible. She was all long legs, strappy heels, and a black shirt that may have hidden her arms but showed off her stomach. “Fuck, I’m punching someone tonight. I just know it.”

Any sense of self-control I had snapped, and I turned away to keep from laughing at him. Poor fucking man. If there was ever a night that man would punch someone, the night his fiancé walked into a busy bar looking like that was definitely it. Hell, any of us would.

“Oh, he loves the skirt, mo charaid!” Isla threw her arms around Raven’s shoulders. Shit, she wasn’t any fucking better in her itty bitty green slip of a dress. And from the way Nolan’s teeth damn near cracked as he clenched his jaw, I wasn’t the only one who noticed—a fact I stored away to ask him about later.

A second sports car in blue drove in—thankfully easing its way into the parking lot rather than wrecking its bumper. Raven smacked the hood as it rolled into the spot next to them.

“God, what took you so long?” she demanded.

“Not everyone drives like a bat out of hell, you crazy woman!” Cade snapped as he stepped out. “Good Lord. Have fun with that tonight, Dec. She’s in full chaos mode.”

“You hear that, Dec?” Finn goaded. “Full-on chaos mode. Get the flying fists ready.”

“God, I want him to punch someone,” Lucas exclaimed, giddy like a kid at Christmas. The kid had a twisted dream of the Byrne boys in a bar fight. Why? I didn’t have a fucking clue. I wasn’t sure Lucas had ever fought anyone besides our backyard brawls growing up.

“I’m going to start with you,” Declan snarled.

“You poor fuck,” I commented under my breath. I watched as Cade slid across the hood of the car—a travesty because the car deserved better than that shit. As he reached for the passenger door, he caught me staring and fucking winked. What the fuck? There was something about the guy that pissed me off.

But any chance I had at pondering that thought was fucking lost as he opened the door and helped Genevieve out of the car. My heart ratcheted in my chest as I drank in the sight of her.

Jesus fucking Christ, I was fucked.

It wasn’t how those tight pants hugged every gorgeous fucking curve as they hung low on her hips or the way her high-heeled boots made her ass fucking pop. It wasn’t the skimpy and backless top in copper orange satin or the way her going braless showed off the nipple piercings I didn’t know about. It wasn’t the gold bracelets and armbands accenting her tawny skin or the cascade of diamonds dangling from a belly button piercing. It wasn’t her perfect curls or the glittery makeup on her gorgeous face.

No, it was the fucking necklace she dared to wear.

That goddamn necklace.

But it wasn’t a necklace. No, it was a collar—my fucking collar. It was one of the ones I’d had made for her special, so she could wear it whenever she wanted without anyone knowing our secret. How many times had I slipped my fingers through the loops and tightened that delicate chain around her neck how she liked? Enjoyed the way her eyes rolled back and her pussy grew wet as I cut off her airway?

A possessive growl vibrated through my chest uncontrollably.

“Looks like I’m not the only one fucked,” Declan murmured. He had no fucking clue how pissed off seeing her in that collar made me. It was one thing for her to still have it but to wear it? Oh, she fucking knew what she was doing. She knew what it’d do to me.

My blood ran hot, and my ears burned. I wanted to play nice. I planned to play nice. All of Declan’s words had gotten to me.

Almost.

But then she went ahead and showed up looking like that while wearing a collar I’d given her, and all bets were off. There was no way in hell she could walk into the Iron Wolf and not turn fucking heads. She knew it. And I could almost guarantee some part of her was fucking hoping she would. A fucking test of my goddamn limits.

Game on. If she wanted to play the role of a bratty sub and fuck around with the guys inside the bar while wearing my fucking collar, then I’d have to teach her a fucking lesson.

My dick was a fucking pillar of stone in my pants. That was the goddamn problem with watching my wife. Not only did it piss me off to no end, but it also turned me on like no other. Those curvy hips of hers swaying as she danced, her sexy-as-sin smile, her confidence and enthusiasm. I was fucking drunk on the sight of her, and I was in trouble for it.

And while I loved the twirl and sway in her hips, I fucking loathed the goddamn men she danced with. Every time one of them put their hands on her, I imagined cutting off their goddamn hands. I tracked her every movement in the busy fucking bar, stowing away names of patrons I knew who got a little too friendly with my wife. Stupid? Probably. But I didn’t fucking care. She started this shit.

My brothers and the Ironwoods chatted animatedly around me. They drank and dug into half a dozen appetizers, but I tuned them out. I was too fixated. I couldn’t let go. I couldn’t have fun. I was a fucking mess on the inside. Rage, frustration, jealousy. They all swirled together violently inside me. I just wanted something to fucking hit—or someone. There were lots of fucking options for that.

Next to me, Declan wasn’t in any better of a mood. Though, I had to give him credit. He was trying a hell of a lot harder than I was. Still, even though he held a steady conversation at the table, his gaze never stopped tracking Raven throughout the room. Occasionally, he got up and joined them, even if only for a few minutes.

And as for Raven, Isla, and Genevieve? The women were having the time of their lives with Cade. Drinking, dancing, and food. Meanwhile, the bar was in full swing around them with more people than I’d seen here in a long while.

The chaos was overstimulating. The chatter and music pounded against my skull, painfully chipping away at my self-control. This was boding so fucking well for my return to Cedar Harbor. Fuck.

“Okay, who here actually fucking practiced for tomorrow?” Lucas demanded. I chuckled, the question catching me off guard. The Ironwoods opted for a less physical competition. Instead of some crazy endeavor, we spent the night in the bar and engaged in a karaoke contest. Even though we were fucking singing, it had always been the wildest of the fucking three competitions. There were too many singers among us and too many of us with egos trying to outdo one another. Hell, one year, it’d turned into who could do the best strip tease while singing. And I didn’t give a shit what anyone said, my performance was the fucking best one that year.

Hell, I was almost fucking certain I’d caught Roan singing Let It Go from Frozen.

“Did you fuckers practice what I asked you to practice?” I asked under my breath as my eyes drifted briefly to where Declan was by the bar with Raven. I had an epic surprise planned for the two lovebirds, which involved not only my brothers but all the pack leaders. Would Declan fucking kill me? Yes. Would it be worth it? Fuck yes.

Before anyone could reply, we heard Raven shout Declan’s name and all turned just in time to see my brother deck some douchebag in a baseball jersey. The livid expression on Declan’s face as he went in to hit the guy again was something I’d never seen. I flew out of my chair just as two guys grabbed Declan from behind—Ironwood pack members—to keep him from hurting the guy. Raven was shouting as she tried to step in. And the douchebag fucking lost his shit. And so did his equally douchebag-like friends.

“Back off!” I hollered and shoved the guy in the baseball jersey back when he tried to go at Declan. I pointed at the two guys holding my brother. “Get the fuck off him. I’ve got this.”

Same shit, different day, different people. I had weirdly mastered the art of breaking up bar fights.

“He hit me first!” the guy snapped.

“Why’d you hit him, Dec?” I asked.

“Because he’s fucking crazy!” The douchebag was really holding true to his name.

“He put his hand under her skirt,” Declan growled. Oh, it was like that. My gaze flicked to Raven. She was flustered and seething, clearly caught between wanting to beat the guy and keeping Declan from doing something stupid.

On any given day, I broke up a fight.

But fuck that. Not today.

Today, I was starting a fight because Byrnes stuck together.

“You fucked with the wrong man’s fiancé,” I announced loudly as I rounded on him. And then I bashed the douchebag’s head into the bar with a satisfying crack. He’d live.

Hopefully.

I loved a good fucking fight. I loved a fair fight. The bar fight that broke out was anything but. It was unfettered fucking chaos that vibrated against my skin, leaving me amped up on the feeling.

Who was fighting who and for what fucking reason became a question I’d never get the answer to. I just stuck next to Declan and punched the fucking morons who decided to mess with a Byrne’s woman—his and mine. Yeah, I beat some of the assholes who touched my wife. And I definitely broke a few hands without remorse. They fucking deserved it.

Raven let out a wordless scream and hit a guy in the head with a bottle before he could hit me. I stared at the wild thing breathing hard next to me. This wasn’t her first fucking bar fight.

“Villains unite?” She posed it like a question, and I grinned.

“Villains fucking unite.” And then I grabbed her tiny ass by the waist, locking her between me and the bar as two assholes slammed into my back. The impact reverberated down my spine, and I groaned. That fucking hurt. The moment they were gone, I damn near threw her on the bar. “Get behind there and get down.”

“I want to help him!” she exclaimed.

“You’ll do him a hell of a lot more good if you stay there,” I told her. I ducked as she chucked another bottle over my head. “Stop throwing fucking bottles! You could hurt someone!”

“I’m trying to hurt someone!” Raven retorted. Fiery little shit.

“Stay down,” I ordered—not that she’d listen to me. “I’ll get him out of that shit!”

“And Ginny!” she called after me. “Ginny’s in the middle of that!”

My heart rate kicked up as I stared at the sea of bodies beating the crap out of each other. Fuck. How the hell was I supposed to find her in this fucking mess?