A lot of the brothers here are like him, and with any luck, I’ll be patched in soon. Hell, I’m practically counting down the days over here.
A loud whistling comes from the other side, and Apollo’s smirk can probably be seen from a mile away. “You four got yourself into some deep shit now, didn’t you?” He shakes his head and cackles as he goes in the direction Ares just went, down the hall to where they hold church. We were told earlier Hades would come get us when they’re ready for us, and I’m damn sure Apollo was the last person who’s supposed to be in church.
“He’s just eggin’ us on, and we know it. Don’t listen to shit Apollo says. Fucker wants to rile us up,” Abel says, lookin’ around the group of us.
“Abel’s right. Apollo loves to fuck with us,” Jack pipes up, and Sam nods in agreement.
I fold my arms in front of my chest and look at the guys. “No matter what we’re about to walk into, I’m sure everythin’ will be fine. We just have to bide our time and wait to see what’s going on.”
Abel pulls out his phone and starts scrolling around on it, narrows his eyes, and sighs loudly.
“Everything okay?” I question him, figuring no one else will.
He glances up at me and shrugs. “I’m fine, but Gemma’s having problems with that house she rents again. Said the landlord won’t even come over and take a look. I keep tellin’ her if she’s havin’ problems to just call me up, and I can fix it, but no, the girl has to do things the hard way.”
“Lemme guess, she wants the landlord to take accountability and solve the problem?”
“You got it, man. Gemma’s over here always thinkin’ people aren’t gonna be as shitty as they are in the end, but the world is a pit of shit. I know she’s lived in a bubble for most of her damn life, but fuck, man. I don’t know what else to do for her,” Abel grumbles, sounding like he’s a bit defeated.
“There’s not much else you can do, man,” I tell him straight up, figuring lying to the guy isn’t going to solve anything.
“You can tell that sweet sister of yours I have no problem in helping her out, day or night,” Jack cackles, getting a death stare in response from Abel.
“I’d suggest you watch your tongue, or I might have to cut it out of your damn mouth.” Abel pulls out his switchblade and flicks it open. While Jack and Sam are laughing away, I highly doubt the man’s joking. When it comes to Gemma, well, he’d kill for his little sister.
“Shit, sorry, didn’t realize you were so damn protective of her,” Sam backtracks, putting his arms up in a sign of surrender.
Completely ignoring Sam, Abel continues, “They had that new girl move into the house today too, so Gemma’s stressing the fuck out.” I can’t remember what Gemma does, but I know Abel’s said she makes damn good money. That being said, she has some student debt, and she rents a house in town, but she sub-lets the other three bedrooms. Her last roommate moved out a month and a half ago to go to San Francisco for a new job opportunity.
I didn’t even know she found someone so damn quick. Man, is she lucky, or what? I mean, we’re in Birmingham, Alabama. It’s not exactly the most luxurious place ever.
Abel starts typing away on his phone, so I can only naturally assume what he’s doing. “You talkin’ some sense into Gemma?”
“Damn straight I am. She has a big brother for a reason, so if she needs my ass to handle shit, then I will. Who needs a shitty landlord to come over and nitpick shit when she has me? I’m hardly any hassle at all.”
The group of us, minus Abel, break out into laughter, and just at that moment, heavy footsteps can be heard coming in our direction. “Prospects, get your asses in here, now,” Hades grumbles out in a deep voice, and we all shoot to our feet, following the club’s VP as he leads us back to where they have church.
Hades holds the door open for us and motions for us to line up against the wall, which we do. He goes over to sit next to Zeus, and the Prez clears his throat. “I take it you’re wondering why you’re here, in this place, with all of us today,” Zeus comments, looking between the four of us. “I feel that it’s time we officially get new blood into the club, that we change one of your lives from this day forth. So, brothers, who do you feel has earned their place here? Hades, you go first.”
Jesus. This already feels like that shit, like when you’re getting picked for gym class in elementary school.
Hades clears his throat and surprisingly looks right at me. “Connor.”
On the left of Hades is Cronos, our road captain. “Abel.”
To the left of Cronos is Hermes, the club’s treasurer. “Connor.”
Holy fuck. That’s two votes already.
Next to Hermes is Apollo. “Sam.”
Well, I wasn’t expecting that. Next to Apollo is Dionysus, who we all refer to as Dion. He’s Zeus’ son, and his birthright alone has solidified his place in the club. He looks between us all and speaks up, “Jack.”
Shit. Things are getting tenser now. Triton sits to the left of Dion, so he speaks up now, “Abel.”
Abel and I are tied in the lead, while Sam and Jack both have one vote on the table.
At this point, Zeus nods his head, seeing that I’m now in the lead, but there’s still time for this to turn around. I don’t wanna get ahead of myself, but this has to be it. I’ve been here the longest as a prospect, a little longer than the rest of the guys. Hell, I’ve dedicated my life to them.
Kratos is beside Triton, and he smirks as he casts his vote, knowing he’s stirring the pot. “Abel.”
We’re neck and neck again, and at this point, no one else has a shot at getting patched in. It’ll either be him or me. Poseidon, Ares, and Zeus are the only ones left to vote, so I wait and look to Poseidon, our club’s Sgt. at Arms. “Abel.”
My stomach slowly sinks, knowing Abel has one up on me.
Next is Ares, the club’s enforcer, and he looks right at me with a smirk. “Connor.”
Holy fuck. We’re tied, and the only person able to break it is our Prez, Zeus.
He looks over Abel and me slowly, and after a few moments of silence, he clears his throat. “Connor.” My heart swells with pride, thinking this is it, this is the moment I’ve been waiting for. “You’ve been with us for a while now, and while I’d like to patch you in, I don’t think you’re ready yet. I need to know more about your character and more about what you’d bring to my club. That being said, Abel, the spot is yours. But you’re no longer known as Abel. You, my son, are now Pan, the god of the wild.”
“Seems fitting, considering the dude loves them crazy bitches,” Poseidon cackles out, and the entire room breaks out into laughter.
While I’m happy for my friend, I’d be lying if I said I wished it wasn’t me who’d been voted in. I don’t know what else I need to do for the club, but someday, I will. I’ll prove myself to them until they all think I’m deserving to be in the Sons of Gods MC.
“Alright, let’s go get some beers and celebrate, huh?” Apollo speaks, riling up the crowd.
Instead of heading out to one of the club’s favorite bars, we opt to stay here and guzzle down some drinks.