Free Dogs of War MC Episode 6 by Monica Rossi

If it weren’t for those damn suits making threats and kicking shit he’d be gone already. He just didn’t feel right leaving when he might be needed. It was obvious the Dogs wouldn’t be able to handle the situation on their own, no matter what Red thought, and if they weren’t going to ask for help from the witches or the other folks in the community, he might be the only thing that stood between them and complete extermination. This was the closest thing he had to home, to family, even if they could never accept him completely, and he might be a giant prick but he couldn’t just leave when so much was on the line.
    Demon turned the motor off and swung his leg over the seat of his bike. Almost without thought he’d made his way back to his place, the little cliff that overlooked Three Rivers. He hadn’t been lying when he’d told Sidney that he’d spent hours up there as a teenager. It had been his sanctuary when he didn’t think he could take one more look of accusation from the people who were supposed to love him.
    Red’s face, his look of disgust when he’d seen Demon working with his powers, levitating his Spanish notebook above his face while he’d been lying in bed studying, reared back into Demon’s mind. That had been a hard time. Red hadn’t taken the time to let him explain, instead he’d gone straight to their father, accusations flying. Demon had followed, trying to convince Red to keep what he’d seen to himself, not to make a scene with their father. But Red wouldn’t be deterred. At that point Red hadn’t blamed Demon for anything, he’d seen him as a victim of irresponsible breeding. Red had blamed his father. It was bad enough that his father had had an affair that had resulted in a child, but that was something the family had dealt with, but to have one with a witch? Creating something that was clearly against nature and against the teachings found in their precious book, that was another thing all together. 
    So Demon had followed Red as he burst through the doors of the clubhouse he wasn’t supposed to be in without permission, eyes wild with anger. They’d both been told in no uncertain terms to go to Red’s house and wait for their Dad to get home. Red hadn’t wanted to listen, he’d wanted to discuss it right there in front of everyone, but a fist to the jaw had a way of convincing a kid to do what they’re told.
    They’d gone to Red’s house and waited, Glory had been there fixing dinner and she’d greeted them both with a smile. At that point Glory had treated him like a second son, one she hadn’t wanted but would take and nurture none-the-less, and Demon had loved her like a second mother. He’d brought her flowers and cards on every Mother’s Day and birthday, and she’d smiled at him and kissed him like she loved him. She’d taken him to baseball practice when his mother hadn’t been able to, brought him homemade cookies when his first girlfriend, an older woman of sixteen, had broken up with him.  She’d taken his side when Red and him argued and Red was in the wrong and she’d switched his tail right beside Red’s when they’d been caught teasing another kid. It still tugged at his heart when he saw her, her stony glare tearing away a little more of him each time she pretended to not quite see him.
    All of that changed in an instant. The instant Red’s father came in and started spewing lies. Lies about his mother, lies even about him. Lies to cover his own ass and put the blame where it didn’t belong, on him and his mother. Making it seem like he’d somehow been coerced, seduced, into a relationship and kept there by magical means. He’d even accused Demon, his son, of helping his mother blackmail him into silence. Demon had been thrown out of the house and told never to return, told he was trash and should be ashamed of who and what he was. He’d wanted to argue, wanted to tell them all the truth, but years of living with his secrets had kept