Klaus: An Alpha Bear Shifter MC Romance (New Law MC Book 3) Read online

  Klaus

  New Law MC

  Hope Ford

  Klaus © 2020 by Hope Ford

  Editor: Kasi Alexander

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  www.authorhopeford.com

  Contents

  1. Mona

  2. Klaus

  3. Mona

  4. Klaus

  5. Mona

  6. Klaus

  7. Mona

  8. Klaus

  9. Mona

  10. Klaus

  11. Mona

  12. Klaus

  13. Mona

  14. Mona

  Epilogue

  Epilogue 2

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  1

  Mona

  I strap the bag with clothes, money and weapons onto the cheap motorcycle I drive. It’s old and a little rusty, but it gets me where I need to go. I look back at the shitty clubhouse, hoping that my father and brothers are going to at least come out and tell me bye or wish me well. But deep down I know they won’t. They all hate me. Everyone in my family, except my sister, even the rest of the club, they all despise me, and I can’t say I blame them. I’m the reason they lost their territory. I’m the reason they all had to uproot their families and move to the other side of the mountain. None of them can look me in the face. Most of them won’t even acknowledge I’m in the same room, much less in the same family, the same club.

  I hold my hand up to shade my eyes from the glaring sun. The rundown clubhouse is nothing like the one we came from. Back home, in the Klamath Mountains, we had a huge plot of land, beautiful scenery. I don’t know how to describe it really except to say it was like we were living in color. Now everything seems black and white. The clubhouse shutters are coming off and with a little bit of paint and work, it could look brand new. But none of the men care. It’s like they’re all just existing, trying to get to the next day. I know I’m to blame, but there’s a small part of me that doesn’t understand why they don’t pull it together. With a little work, this place could be something.

  I keep eyeing the door, waiting on my family to at least say something to me, even if it’s good riddance.

  The door swings open and I can’t lie. I’m hoping that it’s my father coming to tell me not to leave, that he doesn’t blame me for everything that happened five years ago when I was only sixteen. But it’s not him that comes through the door. It’s my younger sister, Millie - the only one who seems to care anything about me.

  I can’t help but wonder if things would be different if my mother was still around. She died after giving birth to Millie and my father hasn’t been the same since. I know if she were around she wouldn’t let my father or my brothers react this way. No, she would have made the best of it. She would have pushed my father into making this little plot of land into something big and prosperous. She would have made me feel welcome and wouldn’t have let any of them treat me the way they’ve been treating me. Instead, since we got here, it’s like my father is barely living. I don’t know how his club, all the men, still look up to him, because he’s just a shell of the man that he used to be.

  I smile at my sister as she runs across the dusty, graveled driveway. Even before she gets to me, I know what she’s going to say. It’s been the same thing since I announced my leaving. She doesn’t want me to go. I’m going to miss her. She’s the only thing that’s kept me going these last few years. The only reason I can leave her here is because the family loves her and treats her like a princess. I don’t begrudge her their love. She is honestly one of the easiest people to love. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to go.

  But it’s been five years since we moved here and I’m not that sixteen-year-old little girl anymore. I feel like I’m stuck, like I have nothing. I have to do this.

  She runs up to me, shaking her head with sadness on her face. “You don’t have to do this, Mona. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

  I don’t know what to say to her. She’s tried to talk me out of it since I came up with the plan. But she doesn’t know what it’s like. She’s the only one that doesn’t blame me for what’s happened to our father’s club, the Last Omens. My father, the president of the Last Omens, had to give up his prized territory and move the club here to Oregon. The wealth and prestige they once had is gone and now all we have is this small piece of land.

  “Millie, we’ve been through this. You’re the only one that doesn’t hate me for what happened. Including myself. I can’t stay here anymore and only be tolerated because I’m the Omens’ founder’s daughter. I can’t.” I don’t tell her the part that if in fact I wasn’t the founder’s daughter, I would probably be dead right now. They have killed people for way less than what I did to them.

  I’m not dumb enough to think that I can turn back time and undo what has happened in my past and what it cost me and the Last Omens. But I have to do something.

  Millie reaches for me and touches my hand, pleading with me. “Mona, please don’t leave. Not like this.”

  I pull my little sister into my arms and hold on to her. I know it will probably be the last time I see her. Who knows what will happen to me? I pull back from her and put my hands on her cheeks, making her look up at me. She has blue eyes just like mine, but hers are still filled with innocence. “I’m not ever going to be able to look at myself in the mirror and be able to stand who I see there. I have to go back and face my past.” Even though she’s sad, I can see the understanding in her face. She knows I’m probably never coming back. There’s nothing for me at the Last Omens.

  I have to peel her arms from around me and go to get on my bike. I take one last look at the doors of the clubhouse and then to Millie. She waves at me, and I smile at her before taking off out of the parking lot into the open highway. It’s only a few short hours before I get to California and the place I once called home.

  2

  Klaus

  You can feel the tension in the room. Deator, the New Law MC president and my father, has called church. The Eaters MC has been growing in numbers. With all the recent fights between New Law and the Eaters, we knew this would happen. We knew that the Eaters would beef up their numbers to make a move on us. It has Deator and the rest of the club on hyper alert. That’s why he’s called the mandatory meeting and why we’re all crammed into the large room of the clubhouse, listening to him talk about what the club needs to be doing to defend itself.

  We’ve brought in some prospects, but it could be months before they’re ready and before they prove their loyalty to the club.

  My older brother, Ronan, stands at the front of the room, as my father’s right-hand man and the VP of the club. He looks over at me and I try to appear like it doesn’t bother me, but it does. I used to be at the front of the room. I used to be at the top of the club, like my father and my brother. But not now, not anymore. I’m patched, but that doesn’t really mean anything. I may get a vote, but everyone here knows that my vote doesn’t mean anything. I don’t really have a say in what the club does anymore. Not for the last five years, anyway.

  I listen to Deator and Ronan drone on about the Eaters.

  “I want everyone to travel in pairs to be ready for the Eaters,” Ronan says, looking at each member of the club and then staring at me. He and Dad both act like I’m some kind of rebel, that I’m here to only br
eak the rules. I did one thing that they were opposed to and they refuse to let me live it down.

  When I tear my gaze from Ronan, it’s instantly drawn to Teddy, the only Kodiak shifter in the club and a ranking member as treasurer. He’s watching me with a gaze meant for a traitor. I clench my fists at my sides and my jaw tightens. I’d fight Teddy again, but I know Deator won’t stand for it.

  But it’s not like I have a lot to lose. I’ve already lost as much respect as a patch member can without being cut from the club. All that’s left for me is to lose my patch and to be booted out on my ass. Lately, I’ve wondered how much I really want to be a part of the club. One mistake in the last five years and they’re still holding it over my head. How the fuck am I supposed to prove my loyalty? Hadn’t I stayed even though I lost my rank? Hadn’t I fought shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the New Law? But it wasn’t enough. It never will be. My dad and brother are never going to forget what I did.

  When they finally adjourn, I get up to leave, but Ronan calls me over. My whole body tightens as I walk over to him, knowing what I’m about to deal with. I know what he’s going to say before he says it. His pep talk is always the same, even though I have to admit, since he’s gotten with Bree, he seems to have relaxed a little.

  “You need to be a leader, Klaus. Show these men that you’re loyal, that your heart is in this club,” he starts, and I barely contain myself from arguing with him.

  What does he think I’ve been doing? I’m loyal to my brother, the club, to everything that is New Law. I fought in battle to save his ol’ lady and most recently to protect Penny for Bruin. I’ve proven my loyalty. I’ve proven that no matter how shitty my father treats me, I’m still here for the club.

  As he’s talking, Teddy walks by us and I swear the man growls at me. I stare him down, rubbing my fists down my legs, just itching for a fight.

  Ronan jerks my shoulders and forces me to look at him. “Keep it together,” he tells me, knowing that a fight from the men within the club would only lower our chances against the Eaters. We can’t have inner turmoil. Not now.

  I jerk from Ronan’s hands and ask him quietly, my voice filled with emotion just thinking of that night so many years ago, “Tell me the truth, Ronan. How did it feel standing aside when Teddy ordered you to five years ago? It was wrong and you know it.”

  Ronan opens his mouth to argue, but then closes it. I look into his eyes and I see it there. Regret. He knew what he did was wrong. But the words that come out of his mouth are different. “I was right to stand with my club. She was an outsider, Klaus.”

  Even hearing him say it makes me sick to my stomach. “She was sixteen. Sixteen, Ronan.”

  His forehead creases and I know I hit a nerve, but he still doesn’t want to admit it, that what I did was the right thing. “Yes, and her own club wouldn’t stick their neck out for her. That has to tell you something.”

  I crowd Ronan then. Right up against his chest. He may be bigger than me, but that doesn’t stop me. “Yeah, it tells me they were pussies.”

  Even as I say the words, I wait for Ronan to attack. I’ve seen other men say less things to him and him pummel them to the ground. But Ronan doesn’t say a thing. He takes a deep breath and steps back from me. He looks like a man that has a war raging inside of him, but he doesn’t retaliate. He looks at me with something sort of guilt on his face and then he turns and walks away.

  When I walk out into the bar area, everyone is there and having a good time. It’s almost like the meeting never happened. Everyone was so tense and riled up before, and now they’re having a good time, throwing drinks back and being relaxed. All I can do is hope that the Eaters don’t have eyes on us now, with our defenses down. Nothing good could come of that.

  Not in the mood to party, I almost walk toward the door. Until I see Teddy eyeing me, watching my every move. He looks almost too happy that I’m about to leave, so I decide to hang around a little bit longer and see if I can get the old Kodiak to come at me. The fight we started so long ago needs to be finished.

  I have a seat at a table next to Bruin and Penny and order a beer. With my drink in hand, I take a big swig before setting it down on the table. The whole time I stare at Teddy, daring him to get up and make a move. He looks at Deator and then back at me before he gets up and storms out the front doors of the clubhouse. Good riddance. He may be a patched member of the club, but he’s no man. If he was, he would have helped me save that girl all those years ago.

  3

  Mona

  I don’t have to get any closer to see Mandala of the Eater’s MC. It wasn’t hard to figure out where they would be since they took over Last Omens’ clubhouse. I parked my bike a few miles down the road and walked the rest of the way in. I needed to walk anyway. I rode straight here and my legs are tight. I’m itching to shift into my wolf, but I don’t take the chance of shifting because I know a wolf would be spotted quickly, especially here in Eater territory where there are nothing but bear shifters. No, I covered my scent and snuck onto the property. Which was easy to do, since I was raised here. I know this land inside and out. I snuck in and out of here quite a bit when I was younger. But looking at it now, it doesn’t look anything like it used to. The property that was once treasured and cared for is now a dump. They’ve let it go and the place is barely recognizable to me now. The only thing that looks the same is the tire swing that still hangs from the big tree in front of the compound. My brothers, sister and I use to swing for hours from that rope. I would guess the only reason it’s still there is because no one has used it.

  I lean flat against a tree, peeking toward the figures standing outside. There are quite a few men hanging out and talking. One of them flicks a lit cigarette on the ground and I can’t help but think if my momma had seen that she would’ve made him pick it up. I spot Mandala easily. He’s still wearing my necklace, the one my mother gave me. It was made from the bones of the most violent enemies our ancestor wolf pack had ever faced. It was a badge of honor to her family, to the last Omens, to me. And he took it from me.

  Seeing Mandala, bald, covered in tattoos, wearing my necklace takes me back five years so vividly that I feel stiff and frozen as I watch him, remembering the way he abducted and abused me. He would have killed me if it hadn’t been for interference. That was the worst day of my life, and a part of me felt as if I’ve lived it over and over since then. But I haven’t let it keep me down. No, if anything it’s pushed me, made me stronger.

  Even then I knew that Mandala was deadly and I’m not stupid enough to think that even in my wolf form, I could take him. I knew that when I left all those years ago, and it’s still true today. Even now when I have so much hatred built up inside me, I know he and I against each other would not be a fair fight. But that doesn’t derail me. I have plans for taking him down, but I’m going to need help.

  Not only did he take my innocence, he took my home and my family from me too. And one way or another, I’m going to get my revenge.

  I drag my eyes from him and force myself to move. I want nothing more than to go to him, right now, and face him down. But I don’t. I walk back the way I came, looking behind me to make sure that I’m not being followed. When I get to where I hid my bike, I get on and drive the backroads that will take me straight to the New Law clubhouse. If I’m going to beat Mandala and the Eaters, I have to have help. And the only ones I know that want the Eaters dead as much as I do are the New Laws.

  I figure the best way around it is to drive straight to their compound. They will know I’m coming, but that’s fine. I don’t need the element of surprise. They are not going to trust me if I try to sneak on to their property. I’ll drive straight for them, like I’m some kind of big army instead of just one woman. My only goal is just to convince them to be on my side and help me with Mandala and the Eaters.

  As I drive through the territory, they have sentries posted around their land and I know I’m being followed. A part of me wants to turn around, go home. B
ut another part of me knows that I don’t have a home to go to – not anymore. I keep going, speeding toward the New Law’s compound and clubhouse.

  They must have signaled the rest of the club, because when I pull into their clubhouse, they let me right in the gates and they are standing outside like they’re waiting on me.

  I first notice their leader. He’s older now, but I still recognize him. He’s looking at me with the same hatred as he did years ago.

  I keep one eye on the leader, but it’s not him that comes toward me. It’s another man, one I recognize from the past and he asks me what I want.

  “I want to hire you, or some of you, to kill Mandala,” I announce loud enough for all the men standing around to hear.

  Laughter ensues and everyone stares at me as if I’m crazy. Heck, maybe I am. The man spits on the ground next to my feet. “Fuck off.”

  He turns around, as if expecting me to go away, that one man cussing me is enough to scare me off. I straighten my back. Obviously, he doesn’t know me. I’m either brave or stupid, but I’m not leaving here that easily.

  When I don’t tuck tail and leave, the leader himself walks over to me. I can tell he’s angry, but I don’t let him see that it bothers me.

  I hold up my bag. “I have money. I don’t expect any favors. If you don’t want money for the hit, I will pay you to get my necklace back. The one that Mandala stole from me and still wears around his neck today. It’s mine and I want it back.”