The hallway outside the meeting room was dim, lit only by the flickering bulb above the exit sign. Rae paused there, her hand resting on the doorframe, the weight of the club’s footsteps echoing behind her.
The Serpents filed out slowly, their faces pale, their eyes wide — men who had just learned their world was built on a lie.
Jax stepped up beside her, close enough that she could feel the heat of him, steady and grounding in a way she didn’t want to need.
“They’re scared,” he said quietly.
Rae didn’t turn. “Good.”
“They’re not scared of the cabin,” Jax said. “They’re scared of you.”
Rae closed her eyes for a moment — not to hide, but to gather herself. The truth she’d revealed in that room was still hanging in the air like smoke, thick and choking.
“They should be,” she sa
