RIDING WITH THE BEAST

STRANGER AT THE GATES

CHAPTER 4: STRANGER AT THE GATES

The morning dragged on slow but steady.

I wiped down tables, filled glasses, and kept my head high even though every pair of eyes in the room kept drifting my way. The club brothers followed Kael’s order — no leers, no dirty remarks, just quiet glances and nods when I served them. It was strange, feeling safe in a room full of men who looked like they could tear someone apart with their bare hands.

But every time I glanced over at Kael in his corner, watching me like a hawk, my skin hummed. He didn’t even have to say anything — just that dark, heavy gaze was enough to remind me who I belonged to now.

By early afternoon, the bell above the door jingled.

Not the usual slow push from a regular. This was sharp, loud, like someone slammed it open hard.

The whole room went quiet in an instant.

A man stepped inside — tall, lean, dressed in a leather cut that didn’t belong to the Iron Vipers. No logo, no colors, just a plain black vest and a cold, calculating look in his eyes. He scanned the room slowly, until his gaze locked right onto Kael.

My stomach dropped.

Kael didn’t flinch. He just set his beer down, leaned back, and crossed his arms over his chest, looking bored and dangerous all at once.

“Can I help you?” he called out, voice low and steady, but carrying enough edge to make every man in the room shift into alert mode.

The stranger walked straight toward him, stopping a few feet away. He didn’t sit. Didn’t smile.

“I’m looking for Kael Vance,” he said, voice rough and flat.

“You found him,” Kael replied. “Who the f**k are you, and what do you want in my bar?”

The man’s eyes flicked over Kael, then slid sideways — right to me, where I stood frozen with a rag in my hand. A small, knowing smirk tugged at his mouth, and my blood turned to ice.

“Name’s Cole. I work for Julian Hale.”

A collective hush fell over the room. You could feel the tension thickening, heavy enough to choke on.

Kael didn’t move a muscle, but the air around him turned colder, darker. His jaw tightened, and his knuckles whitened where his hands rested on the table.

“Julian sends his dogs this far out already?” Kael said, his tone dropping into that lethal growl. “Brave. Or just stupid.”

Cole shrugged, still watching me like I was a prize he’d come to collect. “He knows his wife ran this way. Knows she’s hiding under your roof. Says it’s only a matter of time before you hand her over. No need for bloodshed if you do it easy.”

I gripped the edge of the counter so hard my fingers ached. My heart hammered so loud I was sure everyone could hear it. This was happening already — way sooner than I thought.

Kael pushed himself up slowly, towering over the smaller man, every inch of him radiating pure threat.

“First off,” he said, taking one slow step forward, “she’s not his wife anymore. Not in any way that matters. Second — you walk into my place, speak that garbage, and think I’m just gonna roll over and hand her to you?”

He leaned in, voice dropping so only Cole could hear, but sharp enough to cut glass.

“Tell Julian Hale if he wants her back so bad, he can come here himself. But warn him — the second he sets foot in Blackpine? He stops breathing. And you? You get one minute to turn around, get back on your bike, and tell him exactly what I said. If I ever see your face in my town again… you won’t leave alive.”

Cole’s smirk faded, replaced by a flicker of unease. He glanced at me one last time, then at the rest of the club brothers, all standing now, hands resting near their belts and weapons.

“This isn’t over,” he spat. “Julian doesn’t lose. He takes what’s his.”

“Not this time,” Kael shot back. “Now get the f**k out.”

Cole didn’t wait for more. He turned and marched out, the door slamming shut behind him hard enough to rattle the windows.

The second he was gone, the tension didn’t lift — it just shifted. The brothers muttered among themselves, already reaching for phones and radios to alert the guards on the roads.

Kael spun around, and before I could move, he was across the room and right in front of me. He grabbed my upper arms, not hurting, but firm enough to hold me steady. His eyes searched my face, dark and burning with anger — but none of it was aimed at me.

“Look at me,” he ordered.

I lifted my chin, breathless. “He knows I’m here.”

“Yeah, he knows,” Kael growled, but his grip softened just a little, his thumbs brushing over my skin to calm me. “But knowing and getting you are two very different things. That bastard has no idea who he’s f*****g with now.”

“What if he brings more men? What if he comes with guns?” My voice shook, and I hated it, but the fear was real — the old fear of being dragged back, locked away, broken all over again.

Kael pulled me closer, pressing my body tight against his, shielding me with his frame. One hand slid up to cup the back of my neck, his lips brushing my forehead in a rare, raw gesture.

“Then we fight. You think these walls are just wood and glass? Think my boys run from rich pricks with too much money and too little balls? Julian can send ten men, a hundred men — it won’t matter. As long as you’re under my protection, nothing gets to you. Not him, not his dogs, not anyone.”

He pulled back just enough to look me in the eye, fierce and unshakable.

“You made a deal, remember? And I keep my end. But you gotta stay close now. No wandering. No going anywhere alone. From this second on, you’re either right beside me or inside the compound gates. Understood?”

I nodded, my throat tight. “Understood.”

“Good.” His expression shifted from hard and protective to something darker, hungrier — that familiar heat flaring back in his gaze. “And one more thing.”

“What?”

“If he thinks he can claim you still… he’s dead wrong. You walked in here running from one owner. But now? The only name you answer to is mine. The only one who touches you, looks at you, takes you… is me.”

He didn’t wait for me to answer. He bent his head and kissed me — hard, claiming, fierce enough to chase away every last trace of fear and replace it with something wild, hot, and completely consuming.

The room seemed to fade away. There was only him — his taste, his strength, the way he held me like he’d burn the world down before he let anyone take me.

When he finally broke the kiss, my knees were weak, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

“Go rest upstairs for a while,” he murmured against my lips. “I’ll sort out the patrols, make sure every road is covered. And Lila?”

“Yeah?”

He smirked, that wicked, confident look back on his face.

“Get used to it. The beast is gonna have to mark what’s his… so everyone knows exactly who you belong to now.”

End of Chapter 4