As he watched, the young girl was led up from the basement and ushered out of the house by one of them, as a final gunshot silenced the leader of their little gang, sending the rest running. As one of the men turned to Thian, he froze. He wasn't ready to die, but he'd be damned if he'd do it while fleeing like a little bitch. He'd had nothing to do with them bringing the girl here, hell, he'd gotten shot for attempting to rescue her himself. If it was his time to go, so be it.
Chin lifting in defiance, he met the steely gaze of the first person's eyes as they stared him down. He could feel the warmth of his blood pooling through his fingers, dripping onto the floor. Every instinct told him to run, but he ignored it. He wouldn't get very far, not bleeding the way he was. Depending on how long they'd been spying on them from outside, they may very well know he wasn't involved.
It'd explain why they hadn't riddled him with their own bullets yet, at the very least. He felt unsteady on his feet, but wasn't sure if it was smart to simply turn and walk out the door. Hesitantly, he moved to do just that, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
“You're not going anywhere like that, boy. Sit.”
The male was older than him, more solidly built. As he pushed him into the battered chair behind them, Thian couldn't summon the energy to fight much. Someone broke off to search the place, returning with the small first aid kit, handing it to the first man silently.
Stunned, Thian lifted his arm when directed, allowing the male to pull the fabric from the wound. He inspected it to make sure the bullet had gone straight through before he poured alcohol over it, laughing as Thian cursed and nearly bolted upright from the chair before being not-to-gently pushed back into it.
“If you're going to take a bullet for your principles, son, you gotta deal with the consequences. Looks like it went straight though. Gonna hurt like a bitch for a few days though, until it heals up. Can you stand?”
A few days? A gunshot wound wouldn't heal in a few days. At the man's question, he nodded. He wasn't entirely sure he'd be steady on his feet, but he wasn't going to lay here and whine, either. If the group of men with guns wanted him to stand, fuck it, he'd be standing.
Getting to his feet, he allowed them to lead him from the building. Well, allowed was the wrong word. They had split up into two smaller groups. One was in front of him, the other at his back, with two at his sides. He really didn't have much of a choice in the matter, so he walked in the middle of them, wondering what the fuck was going on.
Once outside, the one who the other's seemed to defer to turned and looked at him for long moments, before glancing to another behind him. Some silent conversation seemed to be going on, before the older male clasped his shoulder, almost in companionship.
“We're taking you to Six.”
Chapter Three Hundred Eighty-Six
Turned out, Six was the President of the local motorcycle club, the Dark Leopards. He hadn't been imagining what he'd seen when he'd been in agony after the bullet had struck. First, he had to come to grips with the fact that he was a shifter, a human that could take the form of an animal at will. With that, came the knowledge that his uptight mother, who had disowned him for his misdeeds, must have had her own skeletons hogtied in her closet.
He snorted. Go figure. He'd always felt like the black sheep of the family, now he knew he was the black leopard. Quite literally. He had no idea who his father was, nor would he bother to ask. His mother would likely shut the door in his face, regardless, unless it was at a function she'd demanded his appearance at. Didn't really matter, one way or another.
Either way, it irrevocably changed his view of his family, the world, and his place in it. The male who had been the first to step up and help him ended up being called Knox. Eventually, Thian had grown to see him as sort of a surrogate father within the club. When he became a Prospect, Knox vouched for him. When he needed to learn about being a shifter, to handle learning what he could and couldn't do, Knox was there with a guiding hand, if somewhat exasperated patience.
The club was sprawling, with their hands in various legal and illicit enterprises. Eventually it'd been decided that there needed to be a presence in Michigan, to be closer to Canada where they could then funnel things across the border between the two sections of the club. Several chapters were formed from the original, some staying in various parts of Texas, others shifted to areas around Michigan.
Thian had elected to follow Knox, as had a few others. They ended up in Kalamazoo. It was a bit too close to Grand Haven for his liking, but his loyalty to his chapter and Knox was paramount. He doubted any of his family would migrate this far. If they did, he certainly didn't have to entertain them. He couldn't imagine they'd be impressed with his new life here, or the club. They'd be scandalized.
He'd been patched in Texas to become a full member of the club. When they'd moved to Kalamazoo, roles had to be redefined. Knox became the President, Gray took on the VP position. Snow was the Sargent at Arms, and Thian himself was promoted to Enforcer. It was a role he didn't mind in the least. He was the one most likely to resolve situations with fists before words, the one to shoot
