“I’m telling you, man, microbreweries are hot shit this year. All the major ones are fucking terrified of their customers switching for unusual flavors, preferring to support local than big corporations. We’d make a killing if we just looked into investing in a couple.”

Mars shook his head as he swiveled in his seat. Council wasn’t technically in session, but when Justiss had read about an opportunity his financial advisor had just forwarded him via email, he’d approached the Prez with his idea.

“We don’t have the resources.”

“I’ll float the MC another loan.”

Kiko grunted. “You fucking Rockefeller or something?”

“Close but no cigar. I have funds, brothers. Funds I couldn’t spend in a lifetime. What’s the fucking point in having that money if I can’t make it work for my Clan?”

“Why the fuck did you keep this from the other Presidents?” Mars asked, suspicion darkening his tone.

Justiss, rather than be offended, just snorted. “I’m not an idiot, Mars. Don’t take me for one because I work outside the box.”

“I never said you were an idiot.”

“No, but you’ve been wondering what my angle is, what I really want. For the past sixty years, we’ve had shittier President after shittier President, all wanting to get involved in crime. Not even light shit, but hardcore fuckery that would have sent us down for a very long time if the humans had caught wind of what we were doing. You think I’d tell someone I didn’t trust, someone I didn’t believe in, that I was rich? You think I wanted a target painted on my back?

“Look at what Jefferson did to me, shunning me, simply because I argued with him about that trafficking bullshit. When I tried to get him interested in other avenues of revenue, he dismissed me, cast me out. Why would I help someone who didn’t want to be helped?”

Mundo nodded, sitting back in his chair until the hinges squeaked, and murmured, “He’s right, Prez. There’s no one he could have trusted. Not even us, not when his back was really against the wall.”

J ducked his head in thanks for his brother’s understanding.

Mars pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a grunt. “I feel like you’re manipulating me, Justiss. And I don’t like it.”

“Manipulating you how?” he argued. “I don’t fucking want anything. I don’t want to be Prez. How many times do I need to tell you that?”

“Then what do you want?”

“I want the Clan to become what it always should have been, dammit. A community. A business. A home. We’ve been outlaws for too fucking long, and it’s too hard now what with technology. Not that I ever liked it, but I’ve always been a good foot soldier, done mostly everything I was told. But now? The depths Jefferson sunk us to? We were heading for nothing. Nowhere other than trouble.

“It was easier to stay out of it because I knew not a single one of the Presidents would think my ideas were worth shit. I saw where Jefferson was leading us, and I tried to stop him. I went against the promise I made to myself in an attempt to save the Clan, but he did exactly what I knew he would—he shunned me.

“Well, now you all have mates, your brains are back in your skulls. You know we can’t run this place like it’s always been run, not if we want to keep our women safe and stay at their sides and not in fucking prison. I want to help make that happen.”

Mars eyed him, seemed to contemplate what J said, then leaned forward and said, “How do you know this microbrewery is any good?”

Feeling like he’d won a race, Justiss contradicted Mars’s move by sitting back. Mirroring Mars’s body language wouldn’t get him far. He needed to break through the Prez’s reserves. This was too important to fuck up.

“I have some of the best financial advisors in the state on my payroll. Besides that, I’ve been researching this company for the last couple of years. Their branding is phenomenal. They’ve gone from a small, county-wide known producer to having the whole state drink their stuff. It’s only natural they’ll want to be going country-wide next. Let’s be there at the bottom and help them get to the top. That’s how you start making money.”

“You know I’m no good with this shit,” Mars said heavily.

“Bullshit. You kept the Clan afloat while Jefferson was in power.”

He shook his head. “We’re in the red. I didn’t do that good a job of it.”

“You can’t stop a club from hemorrhaging money when the Prez is spending it faster than we can earn it. Not only that, we both know even if you hadn’t said a word, he had secret books, books I bet have only recently come into your possession.”

Mars pursed his lips then admitted, “Yeah. Annette found them.”

Justiss nodded. “Look, I told you before, I’ll pay off the debts, give the Clan a fresh start.”

It was the VP Kiko’s turn to say his piece. “I think we should take his offer with both hands, Mars. Justiss has always been good people. We all know that. You’re just on edge what with all the tension in the Clan. It’s been hard to know which brother stands for who. Justiss has never let the core Clan down.”

“I know he hasn’t,” Mars replied on a sigh, which had Justiss frowning in confusion.

“If you know that, then why have you been giving me such a hard time?”

“Because the way Jefferson treated you?” Mars rubbed his jaw. “I wouldn’t have blamed you if it had turned you against all of us.”

Justiss narrowed his eyes. “You think I was playing the long game.”

Not a question. A statement.

Mars grimaced. “Maybe. I don’t know what I was thinking to be honest. I’ve just been trying to keep the club out of the bank’s clutches.”

“My people have been waiting for you to send the books over to them, Mars,” J told him softly. “The minute you do, the debts will be cleared, and you won’t have to worry about the bank.”

The Prez stared at him a second, studied him, then murmured, “I trust you, Justiss.”

“I trust you, Prez.”

The men nodded at each other, and when the council made to stand, Mars stated, “But, we need to shift some of the positions around a bit. I know I’m Prez, but the books are better in your hands anyway. I only do them because I managed that when I was VP. But Kiko doesn’t have a head for math, and even if he did, your record speaks for itself.”

“It would be an honor to handle the Clan’s accounts.”

Mars nodded. “You say that now until you see the fucking state of them. I’m ashamed at how shitty they are, but what Annette found fucked with the system entirely. It’s like a goddamn warzone on those spreadsheets.”

He rubbed his hands together. “Sounds like a challenge.”

“Once you make sense of it, just let me know when we’re back in the black, okay? I want to listen to you where these investments are concerned, but it’s not enough just to be involved in a financial way. We need jobs, Justiss. We need the brothers to be actively engaged in whatever it is we get involved in. You see that, right?”

“Of course,” he confirmed. “The microbrewery was just a quick way to get in on a wider opportunity that could provide the club with a nice little starting portfolio, but it depends on how we get involved. If we have a big enough investment, we could handle management, get some of the interested brothers jobs there.” He shrugged. “It’s all about opportunity.”

Mars nodded. “Just bring the investments you think are good ones to me, we’ll discuss it, and see if we can create jobs out of it. I know it’s your money, but like you said, if we want this club to be great, then we have to make it work for itself as well as keeping all the men out of trouble. The only way to keep them on the straight and narrow is to occupy them, to keep them busy. That’s been our problem of late. They’ve been sitting around bitching because we’ve been reducing our runs. I need to change that before more shit heaps at my feet.”

Because that made perfect sense, Justiss said, “Agreed.”

The council nodded at one another then started to disperse. Mundo and Kiko hung around to shoot the shit with Jarvis and Mars, but J looked at his clock and hurried down the stairs knowing Toni and Graver would be back any minute. The meeting couldn’t have ended at a more perfect time.

He ran down the steps, uncaring about the heaviness of his boots against the wooden stairs which would undoubtedly wake some of his brothers up, and headed down to the kitchen. Earlier on, he’d poked about in the fridge, had seen there was some leftovers from yesterday’s meal—spaghetti carbonara that Mischa had made and which Tonia had eaten last night and thoroughly enjoyed—and intended on dishing it up into a large bowl for his mate.

Their woman ate less than fucking church mouse.

He and Aaron had taken it upon themselves to fatten her up a bit, and surprisingly, she did very little complaining. Although, that could be more to do with the fact that when she came in, she was dead on her feet with barely enough energy in her to lift her damn spoon, never mind argue with them about how much they were feeding her.

But today was her last day before she got some time off. While things had settled down because of her hours, he knew there was still tension in her from what Aaron had had to do to Moses. He intended on resolving that over her time off and finally laying claim to her.

As he made it to the kitchen, however, he saw she was already seated at the counter, her head on her hands as Aaron bustled around the stove. Justiss watched the man who had sacrificed himself out of love for him, and knew that in the shortest imaginable time, the people in this kitchen encompassed his entire world.

A Bear Shifter was a solitary creature. Which was why a Clan was so damned important. Because of the nature of life pre-Millennium, the families Shifters were born into hadn’t survived for long. Now, with more stringent hunting laws in place in protected spots, few of them were killed by hunters. But back in the day, it was commonplace for every Den to have lost a loved one to the rifle. It had become so bad, that a lot of Shifters had refused to shift for a time, preferring to stay safe over risking it by going for a run in their furs.

Talk had it that was when the females had stopped being born to them. There was a huge discrepancy between live births of males and females, and it was said that when the females had stopped shifting, intent on surviving to rear their cubs, something had happened… The magic had drained from them. Whether that was true or not, he didn’t know, but what he did know was, he’d lost his family young, as had most of his brothers. Aaron, as he’d been born when the humans had changed their laws about reservations and protected parks, was one of the few to have his parents still around.

Justiss had been alone a long time, and it felt fucking wonderful to realize that he wasn’t alone anymore.

A shudder wracked him as he watched his mates. Toni snoozing, Aaron buttering some bread and sprinkling cheese on it before broiling it. He had to grin at the badass biker in a cut, tats rippling up his forearms, biker boots muddy from an earlier ride, taking such TLC over the grilled cheese he was making Toni.

“I know you’re there, jackass,” Graver sniped without looking up. “We both agreed she needs the extra calories.”

He chuckled. “We did. You won’t hear me arguing.” They’d taken to adding cheese to everything or putting butter or oil wherever they could. She’d complained that her arteries were going to start clogging up, but that complaint usually came as she was munching on whatever they fed her before falling asleep as soon as they tucked her in bed.

Aaron just grunted, peered at the broiler, and smirked with satisfaction when the grilled cheese came out to perfection. He loaded up six slices onto a place, grabbed the bowl of spicy sausage stew most of the clubhouse had chowed down on earlier, and plunked it and a cup of chamomile tea loaded with honey in front of Toni.

Justiss bent down, moved her hair away from the back of her neck, and pressed a kiss to her nape. “Sweetheart, it’s time to eat.”

“Sleepy,” she grumbled after a few moments silence. “Eat later.”

“Aaron’s gone to a lot of trouble,” he chided, knowing that would have her opening her eyes. Begrudgingly.

He wasn’t wrong. She half-opened one, squinted at them, then whispered, “Is that more grilled cheese?”

He bit back a laugh, but Graver murmured, “Yep. We’re having some too.”

“I should hope so. Jesus, I can’t eat six slices to myself. Well, I could try,” she countered. “But I´d probably feel like hell afterward.” She sounded more awake, but that was something they’d noticed. Justiss guessed it was to do with her residency days, sleeping whenever and wherever she could, only to be awake and alert at a moment’s notice. Toni yawned, rubbed her eyes, then reached for the bowl. “What is it?”

“Chorizo stew. At least, that’s what Mischa called it.” Aaron pointed to the dollop of sour cream in the middle. “Take a bit of that with every bite, it’s really good.”

She did as suggested and groaned. “Shit, this is delicious.”

They both chuckled. “Glad we woke you up now?”

Toni hummed as she nodded. In a handful of minutes, she’d slurped the whole bowl down and was reaching for the grilled cheese Aaron had made her.

“You want some more of the stew?” J asked her.

“No, I’m full. But I can’t turn down grilled cheese. You already know it’s my kryptonite.”

They did. It was why they kept serving her it.

J reached for his second piece and took a bite, watching as his mates did the same too. They sat in silence, enjoying the simple meal and the simple tastes, all of it enhanced just because of the company.

The warmth in his heart was only beaten by the warmth in his soul. For the first time in so long, the cold chill of solitude, of being alone in the world, shunned even by his Clan, had disappeared. Where once there’d been ice, now there was this heat, a fire burning inside him, stoked and fed by these two people here.

He could have choked on his snack when emotions bombarded him. Instead, he bit them back because it was more important that Tonia eat than it was for him to have an emotional breakdown.

He watched her eat two more slices, each one with a grimace as though she knew she shouldn’t, but was going to anyway. He and Aaron shared small smiles, but other than that, they left each other to their thoughts, safe in the cocoon surrounding the three of them.

When she’d finished and her two mates were satisfied she’d eaten enough, J asked, “Do you want some ice cream?”

“Jesus, are you trying to fatten me up or something?” she groaned, then bit her lip. Peering at him from under thick black lashes, she whispered, “Is it bad that I want some?”

He outright laughed at the about-face. “No, it’s not bad. And no, we’re not trying to fatten you up, just trying to make sure you eat enough.”

“That grilled cheese alone was all I needed for a day’s caloric intake. I’m a doctor, babe. I know what I’m supposed to eat.”

His stomach clenched at the endearment, and his voice was husky as a result, “And what did you eat through the day, huh? When you were rushed off your feet? I’ll bet you left your lunch in your locker and didn’t eat a damn thing we packed.”

She flushed, then surprising him, she ducked her head, breaking eye contact for a split second—a second that had him stiffening a little, awareness hitting him that she was about to either lie to him or circle around the truth.

He wasn’t wrong. Brightly, she murmured, “Nope, you’re not wrong. It is in my locker.”

J shot Aaron a look and saw he’d noticed that moment’s hesitation that probably wouldn’t have been noticeable for anyone else save them. She had all their attention. The rise and fall of her chest wasn’t too minute a motion to escape their awareness.

“You didn’t eat any of it, did you?” Aaron teased.

“No. I gave it to one of the homeless guys who wanders close to the parking lot. I know him; he knows I give away my lunches.” Her smile was a little lopsided. “Apparently, it’s a well-known fact in the male population that I don’t eat during my lunch break.”

J tapped her forearm. “Is there something you want to tell us, Tonia?”

She tilted her head to the side, the movement so feline, it sent shards of desire through him. “No. Why would there be?”

“Did something happen at work today?” Graver attempted.

“Aside from the usual death, dismemberment, and disarray, you mean?” She quirked a brow. “Everything was pretty standard.”

J cleared his throat. “I call bullshit.”

When she clenched her jaw, he knew he was right. “Look. I just want to go to bed now. I don’t even want ice cream anymore. That’s how tired I am.”

“No, you don’t want us digging anymore. What’s going on, Toni?” Aaron asked, narrowing his eyes at her before he got to his feet and headed over to the freezer.

She watched, scowling, as he grabbed a pint of cookie dough ice cream and three spoons from the drawer. He brought it back to the counter, settled it in front of them, and placed the spoons within arm’s reach before he opened the pint and took a mouthful for himself.

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” she asked around a sigh after a few silent moments where the quiet had been broken only by the barely-there noises of him and Aaron eating cookie dough. Tonia let out a growl of frustration, one worthy of any Bear’s mate—one that got his own Bear’s attention, and Graver’s too by the flame in his brother mate’s eyes—snapped out a hand for the spoon and heaped ice cream on it. As she did, he noticed a bruise on her wrist, a bruise that had been covered by her sleeve.

Rage filled him.

Hell, rage was an inadequate description of the fury riddling its way through his veins like fucking poison.

Tension had his muscles locking down, but he fought for control, knowing it was important she share this with them rather than him dragging it out of her. When he saw the question on Aaron’s lips, he nudged him with his foot to stall him. A flash of ire as hot as his own blasted him, but he shook his head. An infinitesimal movement, but one that Graver caught.

“No, we’re not, so come on, Tonia,” he chivvied along, when he wanted nothing more than to go and slice up the bastard who had left bruises on his mate. “Split with it.”

She licked the ice cream off the spoon in such a way that had his cock jerking upright and standing to attention, but not even that could distract him from what he needed to know.

“I had another altercation with the management tonight.”

Because he’d expected her to say a patient had gotten aggressive, her words threw him for a loop. “An altercation?” he asked softly, needing to tread carefully because he wanted all the facts. Now.

“Yes. My manager doesn’t like me. Rodriguez has always had a problem with me, one that’s only been exacerbated of late because he came onto me and I turned him down a month back.” She grimaced, then bent her hand forward, fingers gripping and tugging her sleeve over her wrists. “He can be annoying.”

Justiss clawed the fingers of one hand and dug them into his knee while with the other he was careful to reach forward and gently push back the sleeve covering the wrist she’d taken careful pains to shield from them. “Did he do that?” he asked softly, but she recognized his tone, and her gaze branded his.

“Don’t,” she whispered. “Please. Don’t.”

“You think we’re going to let the son of a bitch get away with touching you?” he asked, his voice a low hiss.

“I don’t want this getting any worse than it already is.”

“He laid hands on you, Toni,” Aaron argued. “Could it get much worse? You could have him arrested for fucking assault.”

“Let me handle this in my own way,” she argued right back.

“Your way has led to bruises,” Justiss inserted with all the delicacy of a knife through flesh. “That way isn’t working, is it?”

“It’s the first time he’s escalated to touching me.”

Justiss roared. There was no way it could be described as anything else, and it had both Tonia and Aaron rearing back in their seats in surprise.

“You stop that right now!” she yelled, sitting straighter in her seat, not afraid of his temper, fearless in the face of his rage. It was astonishing that she could dish out her anger at him but failed to shield herself from this bastard at work.

“He assaulted you. Twice. Sexually… now physically. What else are you going to let him do before you recognize you can’t handle this?” Aaron snarled, his own agitation firing up in the face of Justiss’s rage.

The two of them watched, on edge, as J jumped down from the stool he’d been perched on and began pacing back and forth.

Tonia’s unease was evident as she murmured, “I informed the administration. They didn’t believe me. What else can I do?”

“Call the cops. For fuck’s sake, Toni, what kind of piece of shit hospital are you working for?” Aaron shook his head. “I don’t like this. I don’t like it. Not just because you’re my mate, baby, but because this isn’t fucking right. That motherfucker needs to be taught a lesson—a lesson no one else is willing to teach him apparently.”

“No! Please. You can’t go in there and just beat him up. I’ll lose my job.”

“You wouldn’t,” Justiss interrupted, cracking his knuckles, pleasure filling him at the prospect of taking the bastard who had touched his woman and showing him what it felt like to be ‘touched’ against ones will.

“I would. He’d immediately blame me,” she retorted.

“What? You think he’d tell the police the woman he’s been assaulting was behind his attacks?”

“He’s an arrogant bastard. I wouldn’t put anything past him. And mates, I love my job.” The last, she said so softly, it had both men freezing.

Mates.

Mates.

She’d said it. Laid claim to them verbally. After this past week where there’d been more distance between them than proximity, it was like a brand. Her declaration seared his soul.

Justiss ran his hands through his hair, using a force that tugged at the roots and had him jolting with pain.

Had she used the term on purpose? Wanting to distract them from their end goal?

That she might have had his bear roaring with the agony of it.

“Don’t use that phrase unless you’re willing to act on it,” Justiss whispered, eyes downcast before he speared her with a look, a look that would have branded her with his own heat which was roaring through his frame like wildfire.

Her bottom lip trembled. “You’re my mates.”

Aaron sucked in a breath. “You’re not our mate until we claim you. Are you ready for that? Toni?”

She sucked that quivering morsel between her teeth, nibbling it, before she nodded once.

As quick as a flash, Justiss was there, at her side. He reached up tenderly, swiped his finger against her lip to pull it free from her teeth, then he dipped his head. A hairsbreadth from her mouth, he whispered, “You’re mine. I protect what’s mine.” When Graver cleared his throat, he dipped his head again, this time in a conciliatory nod as he really hadn’t meant anything by that. He immediately ceded, “Ours.”

She closed her eyes, a shuddery breath escaping her. It brushed his lips, and made his Bear rear up, desperation flooding him. “Don’t make a bad situation worse,” she whispered.

“Oh, I won’t. We’ll resolve the situation,” he told her, his words a warning and a declaration that had her sighing. She let herself lean forward, let herself lean on him. The physical gesture was symbolic. He knew it; so did Graver.

She was letting him take control. Letting him lead.

He scooped her up. Pressing his hands to her waist, he lifted her, and murmured, “Grab my hips.”

Tonia flushed a little, but parted her legs and gripped him tightly. He cupped her ass, settling her more solidly against him. He had to ignore the searing brand of her pussy against his cock. Through the thin papery scrubs, he could feel everything. Her heat, her softness, her silkiness.

The thought alone had him shuddering as he bent his head to nip at her throat.

“You’re ours,” he told her.

“I know,” she breathed, her eyelids seeming to be too heavy to keep fully open. She glanced over at Aaron who was still on the other side of the counter, but he was watching them with an intent that Justiss could feel without having to look back at his brother-mate. She whispered again, “I know,” but this time it was aimed at Graver.

“You are aware of what’s going to happen tonight, aren’t you?”

She bit her lip again, and when he tutted, glaring pointedly at her mouth, she frowned, but her teeth relinquished their hold on it. “I can guess,” she chided, a teasing tone to her words.

“We’re going to bite you, and you’re going to like it, and then you’re going to be ours. But, what won’t happen is, we won’t forget what this bastard has done. We will deal with him. Another night. But not tonight. He has a reprieve.”

“Do you need a reprieve, Toni?” Aaron asked softly, prompting a soft growl of dissent to rumble from J. Aaron ignored him and persevered with, “You were exhausted earlier. We can wait.”

She let out a sigh. “No. I’m ready. Readier than I’ve ever been.” A small frown puckered her brow. “I’ve never needed like this before. It’s getting unbearable.”

So, she had felt it. She’d been so distant, so exhausted from work, he and Graver had been certain she’d been unaffected. Which had been hard to believe, because they’d been burning up. Not a day she’d been with him hadn’t been spent with him having to jack off at least twice, and he knew his brother-mate was suffering equally.

Toni whispered, “I’ve tried to ignore it, but it’s impossible.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “Christie warned me, but I didn’t believe her.”

It was well known in the MC that Mundo’s mate had been denied him thanks to his serving out the last of a jail sentence. The two of them had been climbing the walls before they’d been able to climb each other.

Justiss bent his head, pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You don’t have to fight it. We’ve been here. Waiting.”

“Things have been so up in the air,” she whispered, then reached up to cup his cheek. “I realized tonight though, when Rodriguez did what he did…” She glared at him when he growled. “That you’d never hurt me. Not the way he did. And he’s supposedly this great guy, a doctor. Well respected. And yet, you’ve never treated me with anything other than gentleness.” She sent a look at Aaron then held out her hand. “I know some of what you’ve done, don’t know a lot of things from the past, and I don’t know if I’ll be told everything in the future, but the men standing here today are better men than a lot I’ve met. I don’t care whether you live within or without law, as long as you live with me.”

Aaron stepped around the counter, took her hand, then pressed a kiss to her fingers. “Always.”

“Let’s take this upstairs,” Justiss whispered when the glance they shared seemed to make the kitchen swelter with a heat that bordered on the tropical.

He stepped forward, waiting for Aaron to open the door for him. They stepped through and headed down the hall. A few catcalls and whistles from brothers who spotted them through open doorways had Tonia burying her face in his throat, but she didn’t argue, didn’t ask to be put down, to walk on her own two feet. And he was thankful for that, because he wasn’t letting go of her.

Ever.