The Snake Bites MC

Prologue -- twelve years ago

Spirit

I'd dressed in all black for the occasion and to my eighteen year old self I was cool, a kickass ninja, biker chick. I usually lived with my Uncle Bill at The Chapel which was the compound of the motorcycle club The Preying Reverends but they'd sent away the women and children when some trouble kicked off with a rival club. I wasn't quite sure which I was, woman or child, but it didn't matter because I'd also been sent away.

All of my best memories from my childhood had been made here and living outside it felt wrong. Besides I'd been getting tons of training from my other uncles so surely I could help.

My Uncle Bill, or Doc as the bikers called him was an ER doctor now and so spent long hours away from the compound. The men that were in the Wolf's Paws MC, the original club that Doc and my father, Wolf, founded were trusted with my education and safety.

The van I was waiting for came around the corner as I crouched low in the shadows cast by the light beaming over the tall metal walls of the compound into the street beyond.

It slowed as it drew close and the high black metal gates began to swing open. I knew it would turn to the right after entering as I'd watched it bring home injured club members in the past.

Still keeping low to the ground, I walked quickly with the van as it rolled inside. Both guards on the gate stood to the left and as the van began to swing right I moved around to the front, being small enough and crouched low enough not to be seen by anyone, inside it or out.

As soon as it stopped fully I caught the front fender with both hands, making sure to avoid any hot metal, and shimmied under the van on my back.

I'd done it. I was back inside our sanctuary.

Although it housed one of the most notorious biker gangs on this side of the country, to me it was home.

I heard doors opening and closing and watched feet moving up and down the side and back of the van.

"Get him into Doc, quickly," I recognised Grizzler's voice.

I waited for the quiet to settle and then slowly wriggled back out. I used the many crates and barrels that were dotted around the front courtyard to hide my movements. Ahead of me was the entrance to the garage with the usual many types of motorcycles that were all at different stages of being taken apart and made whole again.

The mesmerising variety didn't stop there because the MC was home to every type of biker, every type of man both in temperament and physique and the older I got the more they attracted my attention and curiosity.

There was a common theme among the men, however. Muscles and tattoos. Every man to some degree was covered in both. Their hair, skin tone and clothes differed wildly from man to man and often my teenage heart swooned at the thought of running my hands over taut muscled tanned chests and torsos but it also beat erratically in fear of the power and strength those same men would have over a young woman like me.

Suddenly there was a commotion behind me and the gates opened again. Several growling bikes tore inside and screeched to a stop, one only inches from where I hid.

I held my breath but the guy riding it was focussed on the group to his left and I inched deeper into the shadows.

"Doc here?" that was Duke's voice, I was sure.

"He's fixing Reverend up. What happened?"

"Ambush. Snake's hurt."

My heart leapt. Snake, Duke and Hammer were like brothers or cousins to me and Snake was hurt. I risked moving so that I could see them.

Duke and Hammer helped Snake off his bike and his legs almost gave way. They strained under his weight but he found his feet and limped inside. I desperately wanted to see what was going on. Was he going to be alright?

I headed for my favourite spot in the compound. There were sturdy fire escape stairs along one side of the building that went right up onto the roof and skylights gave views down into most of the rooms one of which was the medical bay. I could spy from above.

I ignored the metal stairs, not wanting to make noise, and nimbly climbed the drainpipe that was hidden in the shadows.

A few minutes later I was lying on my belly staring down on two exam beds, side by side. Reverend was sitting up on one and Snake sat on the other. I ducked back as the skylight opened a crack.

"What happened?" Reverend, the club President and Snake's dad was talking. My Uncle Bill or Doc was standing by his side and working on a wound in his shoulder.

"We got ambushed as soon as we crossed territories," Snake replied, "It was a trap, Dad."

Even I knew that our city and the surrounding area was carved up into territories between the biker gangs like this one and the Italian and Irish criminal gangs.

"That was a risk we had to take. You did good to get your crew out in one piece, son. Now relax and let Doc fix you up."

Doc dressed Reverend's wound and then moved on to Snake. As Snake stood onto his good leg and slid his jeans down so Doc could tend his thigh wound, I let my gaze drift over Snake's already naked chest. The layer of muscle covering him wasn't like that of a body builder but it was enough to make him look tough and I knew he was strong.

When he lay back onto the exam bed, I got an eyeful of his crotch, now only covered in neat fitting boxer briefs and I gasped. I slapped my hand over my mouth as a few gazes from the room below snapped upwards.

I heard the crunch of a footstep behind me and before I could react a hand caught the collar of my black hoodie and lifted me high off the ground.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Grizzler was one of my uncles and a man that could hold me easily with one arm raised high, dangling in the air because as his name suggested he was built like a bear.

His deep voice vibrated through my body. I didn't fully understand the tingles that shot down my spine. I struggled violently in his grasp, kicking and swinging my fists uselessly against nothing but air. He held me up to the light so he could see my face.

"Spirit, honey, stop strugglin'. You're in so much trouble now I can't imagine Doc won't tan your hide for leaving the safe house and sneaking back here."

"I can help..."

"Not here you can't. The best way you could have helped was to do as you were told."

He turned quickly and I swung wildly. I reached out and grabbed his denim jacket, terrified that I'd plummet to my death if his grip failed. He stomped down the fire escape and then his phone rang.

"Yeh Paula she's here. I literally have her by the scruff of her neck and if Doc won't teach her a lesson I will. This wilful disobedience will get her killed one of these days." Paula was Grizzler's old lady, like a wife, and I felt a small pang of guilt for her worrying about me.

"Look what I found up on the roof," Grizzler announced as he dropped me onto the floor of the club house common room. I gazed up and around at the familiar space.

Although I wasn't allowed in here at night, and definitely not when a party was going on, I knew it was a large room in a building that had been designed as a community assembly room. Tonight, it seemed ominous, all darkness and hard lines from my new perspective on the floor or maybe that was because I knew I was in trouble. Then my view was blocked by faces surrounding me.

I jumped to my feet and spun around, a tiny body in the centre of a circle of large burly men. Beards, clean shaven and in between. Blonde, brown, black hair. Bald, shaved heads. Denim, leather, t-shirts and no shirts. Maleness. An awful lot of maleness which called to the woman-ness in me.

"I think she needs a lesson that'll put a little fright into her," Grizzler said but I shook my head.

"No I don't ....I promise," I tried to sound confident but my voice cracked.

"Ah look, the mouse promises..." someone I couldn't see called and they laughed.

"I understand, I get it. Me being here is dangerous for me and distracting for you," I tried again.

"You think she's learned?" Grizzler asked, shoving me in the direction of Sniper opposite. The push wasn't at his full strength I knew that, but was still enough that I couldn't stop from stumbling into the waiting hands.

Deep down I knew these men would never hurt me badly, but knock me around a little and scare me to keep me safe? Most definitely.

"She's gotta be lyin, why else would she be here and not doing what she was fucking told to do?" Sniper, my shooting instructor replied.

His large hand caught me around my throat and he slapped my cheek, hard enough for it to sting. Then he shoved me in another direction and on and on it went. Switchblade, the man who'd taught me about blades flashed his under my chin, the cold steel making me shiver.

Knockout, my boxing coach gave me a not so gentle punch to the ribs and passed me on. Zen, the one who showed me martial arts moves sent me sprawling to the floor again.

They passed me back and forth around the circle like a beach ball. I knew it was supposed to deter me from my disobedience but if truth be told my private parts were throbbing and my panties were damp. I liked a little bit of manhandling, it seemed.

"Stop....I'm sorry.....I was worried....maybe I can help," I shouted the last bit as loud as I could and everything stopped, silence fell and then they began laughing.

"And how exactly is a slip of girl gonna help us fight off a rival biker gang? By following orders, that's how. And what were your orders?" Doc asked as he strode into the room and the men around me parted so he could join the circle. I could feel how they deferred to him. They respected him, I knew instinctively, and felt a bit ashamed that I wasn't.

"To go to the safe house with the old ladies and stay there until you came to get us," I recited looking at the floor.

"You're Wolf's daughter, Spirit, and you've got his wild blood in your veins but he'd be ashamed of you tonight," Doc spoke softly but his words sliced through me.

"No. Don't say that. Take it back, Uncle Bill......please..." I began sobbing.

I'd never met my father because he'd died the night I was born but I'd heard about him from the original MC members and he was a legend. I'd worked so hard to live up to his name so for Doc to say that was worse than any other punishment he could have devised.

They left me standing there, crying, for what seemed like forever and then Doc put his arm around me.

"We all have our roles, Spirit. And if we don't fulfil that role it can harm the MC and our chances of survival. Your role, in times like these, is to do as you're fucking told. I'm gonna tan your disobedient hide for taking such stupid risks," Doc announced and spun me around.

He grabbed a nearby high bar stool and pressed my upper body onto its cushioned seat. I struggled and clawed at his hands so he caught my wrists and pinned them to the small of my back.

"I should have done this the first time you disobeyed the rules," he growled and began slapping my ass cheeks. I was only wearing material leggings and so the slaps stung very quickly. I squealed and squirmed and kicked my legs but he wouldn't stop.

I begged him, promised to be good in future but he just kept going until I was a sobbing mess again.

"Next time you feel the urge to break the rules remember this night and how I had to spank you like a child in front of these men who have done nothing but try to keep you safe and well your entire life," he lectured as I stood and rubbed my hands over my ass, trying to ease the fire that raged across my skin.

But my ass wasn't the only part of me on fire. My lady bits were aflame

"Jesus, that was some sweet visual," Sniper growled.

Doc punched him in the shoulder but they were both grinning sharing the joke between them.

As I climbed onto the back of Doc's motorcycle to be taken back to the safehouse I gazed at the group who'd come out to see us off. I gave them a wiggly finger wave and got nods, salutes and a few waves back.

I knew Wolf meant a lot to these men and I was his legacy, I was the daughter of a biker and this club, these men had made me what I was but I knew deep down that I couldn't take on the only role that was open to me. That was the day I determined to leave and make a life where I could be free to be the real me.

Nine years ago

I paid the driver and climbed out of the back of the taxi. He glanced up at the tall black gates of the Preying Reverends MC and leaned out the window.

"You sure you'll be ok here, love?" he asked and I nodded.

"I'm home."

This was my home deep in my heart even if I hadn't been back here in the last three years. At eighteen I'd decided to leave and though it took me a little while to figure out what was next I'd finally decided to enlist.

Since then I'd kept in touch only with Uncle Bill via email and phone call but never in person using the excuses of little time off from my training and the distance I'd have to travel.

I'd been given leave for a few days before my first deployment overseas and so things had lined up to allow me to be here today.

I swung my army bag over my shoulder and moved towards the entrance. The small gate within the larger one stood slightly open and a prospect was on guard. He looked me up and down as I approached, taking in my uniform.

"You lost, sweetheart?" he asked his light tone confirming his youth. Before I could answer a shadow fell over us.

"Spirit, you were able to come," Doc's deep voice surrounded me. The prospect turned to him and then stepped out of his way or be knocked over. Doc might have been in his late fifties but like most of the bikers I was familiar with he was a bulldozer of a man.

He swept me up into an embrace that lifted my 5' 11" frame off my feet. When he put me back down he grabbed my bag out of my hand and laid a heavy arm across my shoulder.

"Snake'll be glad you're here," he said quietly as he led me, not to the club-house, but towards the garage.

We stepped inside and I took off my sunglasses to peer into the darkness. A black hearse was parked in the centre of the space and all around it stood the motorcycles that would form the guard of honour, their chrome shining. Flowers spelling out the word Reverend were propped up filling the long window.

"Hey, Spirit," Snake took the last step down from the stairs that led to the upper levels of the club-house.

Duke and Hammer followed close behind. I walked over to him and he opened his arms to me. As we embraced, I realised that this was the first time we'd really interacted as adults. I'd left at eighteen and before that we'd acted like siblings or cousins or something. Our only physical contact being when we rough-housed or he helped with my training.

"I'm so sorry, Snake," I whispered, "any word on who was responsible?"

"It was definitely a gun for hire. We just can't seem to find who did the hiring."

Duke and Hammer gave me brief hugs. They all looked amazing in mainly black leather and denim.

"You know Reverend thought of you as his surrogate daughter because of his relationship with your dad. We wondered if you'd join the procession since you didn't get a chance to do it for Wolf, you being a babe in arms at the time," Doc explained why we were meeting here and not inside.

"I'd be honoured to ride with any of you guys, of course."

"Actually the Wolf's Paws, with Snake's kind permission, wondered if you'd ride this?"

He gestured to a bike that stood apart and I recognized it immediately. I'd only been allowed to ride it a handful of times over the years as it held great significance for the MC.

"Wolf's Harley?"

I walked towards it and ran my hand over the saddle. I still got the same thrill as always at the thought of the freedom of the open road but this was an honour. It was normal for the son of the fallen President to ride his father's bike at his funeral and I assumed Snake would be doing that for Reverend today. To allow me, the daughter of the previous President to also ride, was a break from tradition.

Tears threatened but I banked them down and turned to the men gathered.

"Thank you. I really appreciate that."

I glanced down at myself.

"I brought my leathers so I can change if there's time," I offered but this time Snake spoke.

"Dad wouldn't have wanted us to apply for the flag for the coffin but he also wouldn't have wanted us to ignore his military background. Over the last few days I've been thinking that if you could come to the funeral and wear your uniform that would be symbolic enough and then the WP's came up with the Harley idea and it all seemed to be in the hands of fate."

That Snake had thought of me at all at such a sad and distressing time, blew my mind.

I stepped away to allow Snake and Doc to inform the waiting funeral people of the plan. Duke and Hammer followed me.

"Well, you're certainly all growed up," Duke joked.

"I know women are supposed to go ga ga for a man in uniform, but hot damn mama you look fine in yours," he continued and I almost choked.

I might have had a crush on my two 'big brothers' when I was sixteen and they were twenty-six but they'd never said or done anything to let me think they saw me that way...until now.

"Yep, I'd have to agree. I don't like symbols of authority but stripping you out of that uniform, piece by military piece, as I give you my own special salute would be a dream come true," Hammer crooned and I ducked my head, trying to hide my blushing cheeks with my hair.

"You two, behave," Snake growled but his dancing eyes took the sting from his words, "although...you do fill it out in the sweetest way. Fine ass, narrow waist and ..."

"Stop. This is a funeral. Have some respect," I tried to sound stern but my words were carried on a laugh.

"Oh, don't mind dad," Snake gestured to the empty hearse, "he was banging club whores almost to the very end and he always appreciated a fine female form."

They walked away leaving me gaping after them. What had just happened? Why was 'my family' hitting on me?

The cremation went off without a hitch and several hundred bikers both from our MC and others made the procession one of the longest I'd ever seen. At first the mood at the club-house was sombre but as the alcohol flowed, the music ramped up, Reverend's send-off got into full swing.

I'd attended a few biker celebrations in the club-house before I left three years earlier and nothing had changed. The President's booth held slightly different personnel but the amount of drink and sex that was freely flowing was the same if not a little more given that a general invite had been extended to non-members who wanted to pay their respects.

I sat in a leather armchair across from the couch where Snake, Duke and Hammer were lazing, bottle of beer in my hand. I'd ditched my uniform jacket, removed my tie and undone some of the buttons on my shirt. I was glad I'd opted for my dress uniform with pants as it made the motorcycle ride all that easier. I picked at a tray of fries.

"How long can you stay?" Hammer shouted over the music.

"Just tonight. I'll head back early tomorrow. I deploy overseas tomorrow night," I explained.

"On your 21st birthday?" Snake asked and I blinked. How had he remembered that?

"Uh huh."

"Do you know where you're going?" Duke asked, brushing the back of my fingers with his as we dove for the same fries. Tingles raced up my arm and he stilled and then glanced back at his friends. I couldn't read their expressions but some message passed between them.

"No, not until we're en route."

We all knew the secrecy probably meant I would be in one of the many hot spots around the world and the danger levels were likely quite high. Suddenly my own mortality seemed to loom large. Had I lived enough to be facing the possibility of dying? If I did meet my maker would I regret never having had a biker lover, given that was my heritage?