Prologue
Lottie
There are many rumors surrounding my conception. It’s rather strange to think about, especially as I stood between Rage and my husband, and their enemies. My life hung in the balance. I shouldn’t have been taken, I know that. I’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The story of my life. The mistake.
One of the rumors: I was the daughter of a rat, a woman who intended to spill the Evil Savages MC club secrets. My father, Demon, who is now deceased, killed her and took me in, which is why he hated me so much. The other tale was that my father had fallen in love with a woman. I’m not quite sure if she was a club whore or someone who had nothing to do with the club. She died giving birth to me, and as she passed in Demon’s arms, his hatred for me was cemented.
My father is dead. His legacy of hatred for me lived inside myself.
Staring across the dirt, I looked at Ive, my husband. His real name is Ivan, but he never used that name since his boss, Ivan Volkov, had the same first name. He changed his to make life easier, or so he said.
Each side had guns. Rage and Ive on one side.
Their enemies, I’m notexactly sure of their names, are who I have to thank for the blurry vision, broken ankle, and broken wrist, which I hold against my chest.
It’s strange. I’d not been beaten by my father for some time, and yet, when the pain had started once again by my captives, I’d retreated back to that special place.
Ive never missed. He told me that.
From the moment I understood who I was, what I was, Iknew I’d die young. Demon’s temper made sure I knew that. I couldn’t help but feel sad and angry at the same time. I expected to die young. I was nothing. I was trash. Why had I been allowed to be happy? This wasn’t fair. I didn’t want to know what I was missing out on.
Ive was not a nice man. He was cruel and had a temper, but he was the kindest person I’d ever met, which said a lot. Before him, Rage and Cassie were the only two people who were nice to me.
“Lottie!”
As if my thoughts had conjured her, Isaw a car pull up, and there was my beautiful sister. I heard the panic in her voice, and I knew why. I was standing between two sides at war, with guns raised. The moment they started to shoot or if I moved, I was going to die. My heart raced and I felt sick to my stomach.
“You’re Volkov now, Charlotte. That means nothing will ever happen to you again.”
I’d believed him.
Looking away from my sister, I turned to Ive. We couldn’t stand here forever. For one, my feet were getting tired. I couldn’t stand on one foot forever. Two, I couldn’t be selfish.
The moment I put pressure on my broken ankle, I wouldn’t make it. I couldn’t run to him, I couldn’t do anything. They knew it. When they did the damage to my body, they had laughed, knowing it was going to be the end for me.
Atleast I had memories. Christmases. Valentine’s Day. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Even a couple of summers of being happy. I could live with that. It was better than nothing.
The one thing I know from my shortexistence: life is real fucking cruel.
I took that forward step, but my ankle couldn’t take the weight. I screamed, but the sound was drowned out by gunshots.
*****
Ive
Three Years Earlier
I didn’t want to get married.
Yet, here I stood, on my wedding day, staring down the aisle, trying to control my anger.
Ivan Volkov had my loyalty. I would die for him. I would do anything for him. If he told me to takea bullet, I wouldn’t even hesitate. My life was completely indebted to him. When he told me I’d be marrying the unwanted daughter of a previous Evil Savages MC club President, I had hoped it was a joke. I knew he’d gotten Slavik married, as well as Andrei, but not me. I’d been next.
Running a hand down myface, I check to make sure there are no visible threats. A wedding was supposed to be a joyful event, but with Ivan in my territory, and being the man he was, he had a lot of enemies. Myself included. Some people were stupid and there had been incidences of attacks at events like this.
I didn’t care if my wedding didn’t go quite as planned. I had a feeling if I allowed my wife-to-be, Charlotte-or Lottie, as she insisted on being called-to die, Ivan would be pissed.
Ivan always had his own agenda. Sometimes he shared it with people, most of the time, he didn’t. We were all pawns in his game, and I didn’t mind that.
Ivan had taken back the Bratva, destroyed everything his previous father and members had believed, and made it his own. He’d adapted.
He’d proven himself time and time again, that he was a force to be reckoned with. It’s why I’d protect him with my life. Ivan was cruel, malicious, and at times evil to the core, but only to those that deserved it. When the rumor of his death had run through my territory and word had gotten to me, I’d been lost. That was the truth. I’d been fucking lost. He was our leader, our boss, and without him, I knew it would only be a matter of time before the Volkov Bratva fell. My only concern at the time was to try and keep everything Ivan had built, secure.
Hearing his voice over the phone shouldn’t have been a joy to me, but it had been. I never considered myself capable of love. I couldn’t love, I didn’t know how. It wasn’t something I was built to do. If I did know what it felt like, at that moment, it was the closest I’d ever come to it. No doubt about it.
“You look nervous.”
I turned to see Slavik approach. It was rare for Slavik Ivanov to be in my territory but here he was. The first brigadier to be married off. From what my sources tell me, he’s a very happily married man. Of course there are always mixed rumors. Considering Aurora was still alive, and they had recently had a child together, I would say the happily married man rumors were more accurate.
One of thefew things I prided myself on was my power of observation, and I knew Slavik was happy with his wife. Powerful men had to be subtle while out in public. The way whenever Aurora was near, Slavik would touch her. A small caress to the wrist, the gentle touch to her back, even the way he would graze her knee with his own. Of course, the smile Aurora often gave to Slavik. His serious expression never wavered, but it was in his eyes. Always in his eyes.
“I’ve got nothing to be nervous about,” I said. There wasnothing for me to worry about. Charlotte was who I had to marry. This was my job. Ivan wanted to create peace with the Evil Savages MC, more specifically Rage, who was now President of the club, and I had no doubt wasn’t going to make life easy for us.
The Evil Savages MC had always been a thorn in my side, and would continue to be. They were not the first MC and I doubt would be the last to attempt to take more territory or to invade our turf without an invite. There was going to be a war between us-the more important question was when.
I was growing bored with waiting for my intended bride. Charlotte would be easy to train. If shestepped out of line, she’d be thrown into one of my dungeons or caves. I possessed quite a few of them. Over the year I’d come to see the power of isolation, especially as a tool.