⁹《The Nine.》⁹

I never belonged. Not really. Not in that house with peeling wallpaper, with the smell of stale cigarettes and disappointment thick in the air. I was nineteen, burning up with a need I couldn't name yet, and the walls of my home were shrinking with every step I took through the dark halls.I'd learned early that love wasn't safe, and freedom was something I had to steal for myself.
Woodstock '99 was supposed to be my escape. Just me, the open road, the smell of dust and sweat, and music loud enough to drown out my own heartbeat. I had my backpack, my ripped leather jacket, my black boots that had seen better days, and a burning, restless energy that made me feel alive in ways home never could. I was halfway through the state line, my hand clutching the strap of my bag, when I saw them. A group of nine men, standing on the side of the road like shadows in the sun. Tall, lean, dangerous energy radiating off of them in waves I couldn't explain. They looked like trouble. My gut screamed it. But part of me... part of me wanted to see what danger tasted like. I had no idea that meeting them would unravel my world in ways I couldn't even imagine. That what started as a wild, reckless night on the highway would soon turn into chains, whispered threats, and... desire.

I was about to find out that danger wasn't just a thrill. It was intoxicating. It could consume you. And it could make you fall.