Love forged in fire.

Chapter 1

Rain lashes at the earth, and thunder slams the heavens, to many, this storm is terrifying. But to a few individuals this storm is  exhilarating, freeing, and a chance to relieve stress. The highway is pretty much empty, no one wanting to drive in this onslaught by Mother nature, the stillness broken only by thunder. But all of a sudden lights appear on the horizon, a single... no multiple lights and anyone on the porch or outside can begin to pick up a rumble that is growing louder, out matched only by the thunder. A homeless man hunkered down in the drain under the road slams his hands over his ears as the massive group of bikers, some 100-150 strong, roar over top of his shelter. They seem unbothered by the rain, some of them even whooping and hollering like the rain gives them a renewed spirit. They have been driving for days, only stopping for food,water and gas, most don't know where they are heading, or what the final destination is,but they all follow their leader with unwaivering loyalty. they ride the highway until they lose the storm, somewhere just south of San Francisco, and they keep driving, hoping to cross the Oregon  border by daylight. As the sun crests the horizon, glinting off chrome mufflers, steel boot straps and black sunglasses , the group pulls into a fairly large town off the highway,and pull into two adjacent gas stations. The owners of both stores watch warily as all the bikers pull up to the pumps, taking all the available slots. At the speedway, the owner and cashier watch nervously as 10-15 bikers enter the store, using the restroom and browsing the shelves. One by one they all come forward and purchase odd drinks and snacks,saying the guy behind him is paying. at last there is only one left in the store, a young man about 18-19 years old, he reaches in his jacket and pulls out a wad of money silently laying a few hundred dollars on the counter. Nodding at the men behind the counter he grabs his soda and bag of chips and walks out and they all leave. Besides the people working at the two gas stations, no one else in that town will ever know the most feared Motorcycle club in the U.S was ever there, and even they don't quite grasp what just happened. They get back on the highway and continue north, towards Oregon, and hopefully a fresh start. Everything is pre-arranged, all the members have jobs lined up, most in a logging company owned by the club. The younger ones will go to school, try to live normal lives, all on the coast. The bikes will be kept in a huge ware house where they will still conduct Club buisness and make sure everything is still functioning. To everyone in the outside world they are a Gang, The Wolves Of Valhalla, to be feared and avoided and hated, but to those who truly know them they are a family, they are in fact a Motorcycle club, but are largely involved in all underground activities across the United State,Canada and Mexico. They enter the large sea port town of Carrington Cove and head towards the northern limit of the county,where they have houses and the warehouse. For the younger members school starts back up in three days, and they have alot to prepare for especially their beloved leader, Ryder styx, who has never known anything but the club. He was an orphan on the streets of southern Los Angeles when the previous leader, his father Don perro, found him and took him in. He fought to get where he is now, and at 18 he is the youngest leader the club has ever seen, but they are fiercely loyal to him and respect him. As the last family he has, he would do anything to protect them, and with many of the men starting families he figured it would be a good time to start afresh, turning over a new leaf and using his assets and powers for good. That all started 3 years ago, when one of the younger girls was kidnapped on Wolves territory, and they just barely managed to save her from being sold into the sex trafficking network, and he now devoted his time to shutting down sex trafficking and all other illegal activities in the U.S. He had made a lot of enemies, as he slowly took over rival gangs and began controlling the routes in the U.S. While he still had to keep up the gang look, he usually only sold pot and some coke every now and then, and he had drastically decreased the traffic rings in america. But along the way he had made some major enemies, enemies he hoped wouldn't be able to find him here in Oregon, but his gut was telling him differently. For now he had more important..." ryder! OY! Earth to the mystical mind reader!" The voice of my right hand man, and the last true family i have, my adopted uncle diego, breaks through my thoughts and i look at him."Hey, yo man you spaced out, we're here little Toro."  he says grinning at me, using the nickname he gave me when i was little. I give him a teasing glare as i slide my shades onto my face and dismount my old honda night-crawler " So this big house is our new home ey?  It needs a little fixing up but i will enjoy getting my hands dirty again. I love it uncle, you chose very nicely."  We all slowly make our way up the front walk and i let Diego take the lead because he has the only key currently. He unlocks the door and as i go to step over the threshold sticks his arm out, stopping me in my tracks" let a few of us go ahead of you kiddo, in case someone is laying in.." he starts to say but i cut him off" Diego, i'm the best fighter we have, I am also gonna be the new owner of this house, so if anyone will be the first to bleed in it, it shall be me." I say with a stern glare at him, he pauses a moment, looks at his wife sherri, who smiles and just shrugs her shoulders and then moves out of my way, allowing me entrance. I step through the door and stand at the foot of the grand stairway, surveying the first floor, the formal dining room, sitting room and the living room are all clear so I turn and nod at the rest of the people waiting on the porch and they flood into the house. First come the guys, spreading out to make sure the rest of the house is clear, shouts of "CLEAR!" echo throughout the rooms as the women follow closely behind chatting excitedly about all the wonderful furniture and art they can put in and where to place everything. I stand there watching the rush of activity and smile slightly to myself, it has been ages since my family has had a steady home, and to see the happiness on the faces of my adopted aunts and friends faces is a good feeling. A hand slapping me on the shoulder jolts me out of my small day dream" That is the second time I have caught you day dreaming Toro, what is on your mind?" Diego asks as he watchs sheri rush by with bags of groceries. " Nothing Mio Zio,  I am very glad to see them all finally smiling and laughing, especially young trix, she hasn't smiled since we got her back, and to see that beautiful little face light up... it makes me happy." I reply as Sheri dances up to Diego a smile in her eyes and grabs his hand" come dear, they have set up Don Perro's record player, and i haven't danced this freely in years." Diego laughs and gives me a wink before being pulled into the empty dining room where all the couples are dancing, a few of the older ones enjoying memory lane as well. I watch before turning and climbing the staircase to investigate the second floor. I move from room to room, noting that each bedroom is the size of an apartment down in San Fransisco, with their own bathrooms. i open one of the last doors and stop in the door way, my eyes falling on thousands of old books, the shelves twelve feet tall and covering every wall. I slowly walk through the room, running my hands over the dust covered bindings, marveling at how well kept they are. As I leave I lock the door, making a mental note to replace the lock, i turn and open the last door in the hallway, the master bedroom. I walk through the room, noting the massive walk in closets, the four poster bed with a canopy, and the huge walk in bath tub, " yeah... I think i'll take this room" I say to myself. I move back into the main room and remove my boots, setting them by the foot of the bed, stripping off my shirt , tossing it on the chair by the door, I climb into the bed and fall asleep to the sweet sounds of enjoyment rising from the downstairs.