3
The next morning, Dakota woke up and rounded everyone up. They took over a nearby diner and ate a hearty breakfast. Dakota made sure to leave the waitresses a generous tip before they got on their bikes and rode for the rest of the morning.
When they stopped for gas around lunchtime, Dakota got a message from Wyatt about the Iron Sleds. They hadn’t figured out the Kodiaks had taken a different route, but it was looking like they would get to California before the Kodiaks. He responded.
“Thanks for the intel and for everything you are doing for us. Don’t worry about my family. Even if Markus has figured out where we’re going, they won’t be there when the Iron Sleds get there.”
Dakota had already called ahead and warned his family. His aunt had contacted Kyle’s parents, and they knew he was coming. They were still neighbors after twenty-six years because they had been afraid to move away. His parents had been waiting there, hoping for Kyle’s return, for his entire life. Now, he was finally going to get to meet them.
His father was a powerful Alpha in the shifter community, and together with several California Kodiak chapters and other friendly MCs, he was gathering an army to protect his son from the Iron Sleds.
The local wolf shifter MCs refused to side with the Iron Sleds and were joining together with their bear brothers. Hopefully, the sheer numbers alone would make the Iron Sleds realize they had made a big mistake, and they would run home with their tails tucked between their legs.
The Kodiaks had one more night on the road, and they planned on being at the rendezvous point the next day. Markus and his crew would arrive before them, and Dakota and his allies would have them surrounded. If they relented, Dakota and his men would let them go. If they refused, Markus would get the war he was asking for. Dakota didn’t want bloodshed, but he would rip apart anyone who threatened his mate and his family if he had to.
That night, they found a motel, but most of them had to share rooms. Dakota and Kyle shared a room with Bryan and Sam. They ordered pizza and sat around talking. Sam told them his story. He’d already told Bryan the night before, and he was still there with the Omega. Bryan held Sam’s hand and reassured him that he loved him no matter what was in his past. Sam was a human Omega, but he was still Bryan’s fated mate. It wasn’t that unusual for them to have a human mate. Their children could be shifter or human offspring.
Sam had run away as a teenager just like Kyle. He’d also found his way to the Iron Sleds. Sam’s connection to Bryan led him to their town, but the Iron Sleds held him captive the same way they kept Kyle.
The difference was that he wasn’t a virgin. Many of the Omegas were runaways, but the really unlucky ones got sold to pimps. Sam’s relationship with Markus kept him safe at first, but eventually he grew tired of monogamy.
Sam was lost, and every day that he was away from Bryan and turning tricks for the Iron Sleds, his heart grew darker. Sex with the men made him feel wanted, but as time went on, he needed more intense situations to chase away the emptiness.
After a few years, Markus started sharing Sam with the other men, but he still considered Sam his main Omega. He went crazy when Dakota took Kyle, and he beat Sam because he was closest to him. Sam stuck around, hoping he would calm down and apologize, but after one of his informants saw Kyle and Dakota while they shopped, he beat Sam again.
That’s when Sam left and made his way to the Kodiak clubhouse. Sam felt sorry for not protecting Kyle, and he figured warning them was the best he could do. He was also drawn towards Bryan again once his head was clear of Markus. The night they met was the first time in Sam’s life he ever felt loved. Kyle told Sam he completely understood that feeling, and Kyle reached out and took Dakota’s hand. Dakota didn’t say it out loud, but he was glad Kyle had never had to go through that part of working for the Iron Sleds. Dakota admired Bryan for accepting Sam so easily and forgiving the Omega’s past. It wasn’t right, but some shifters would have killed their mate rather than be stuck with an Omega that used to turn tricks.
Kyle was able to sleep that night, despite knowing that tomorrow he would meet the parents he’d lost over a quarter century ago. It was no wonder the people who stole him took him so far away, because the closer they got to Kyle’s parents, the more he could feel them in his heart.
Kyle wasn’t sure how many miles they’d traveled before he started to recognize the ache in his heart was actually a connection to his parents. It grew stronger with every mile they traveled, and he couldn’t believe how good it felt now.
The ache was no longer pain, but a yearning to be close to the bears that loved him more than anyone else in the world. Having Dakota there with him made his heart overflow with joy. Kyle knew the man who wanted to steal him back was still pursuing them, but all he could feel now was hope.
Dakota’s phone woke him just before dawn the next morning. Just like that, it was over. Wyatt could barely contain his excitement as he explained that the Feds had swooped in this morning and arrested every single one of the Iron Sleds. In addition to the warrants they already had, all of the wolves had either guns or drugs on them. The government had been watching them the entire time, and they could bring them up on additional charges for transporting the drugs and illegal guns across state lines. Markus and his men were going away for a long time.
Dakota’s first call was to the Kodiak wives and his allies at home. He sent the ones who were willing over to the Iron Sled clubhouse to help the women and Omegas left behind by this mess. His next call was to his aunt. He let her know the danger was over and that they would still be there later that day. She was excited and ended the call quickly, promising to pass on the news to Kyle’s parents.
“I’ve got a party to plan instead of war, nephew. And I don’t have much time.”
“Love you, Aunt Bonnie,” he said and hung up the phone.