Alice's P.O.V.

After searching for a short few minutes, we find a barren sandwich shop towards the south end of the mall. Kalvin and Thomas are on either side of me, and Desire is sitting away from us with Pedro. James and Don take the seats opposite of me and stare, waiting for an explanation. Desire and I had come up with this while in her room. We tell the boys a modified version of our story, making it seem as though we are trying to ruin Cutter instead of them. 

No one else has the balls to speak, so I do. "I hate Cutter, probably more than anyone in this room. I don't really know much about you, other than you and him are extremely competitive. I thought, maybe if I could get you guys to join me, we could take Cutter down. I know it's a longshot, but it is worth it. He doesn't deserve the power he has." I stare behind them softly, letting my eyes fall. "My father's power."

Don is the first one to speak, of course. "How do I know you aren't lying?"

"You remember how I told you I was looking through his files?" He nods. "I was looking for anyone that might be willing to move against him. I took a beating, just to be able to get close enough to you, to be able to ask for your help. Why else would I do such a thing?" Don turns to James and they nod at each other.

"Say we believe you, how would we take down the leader of seven families?" Don asks.

I look at Kalvin, then turn back to Don. "Kalvin is Cutter's enforcer, and he knows that you have been causing havoc in every territory within a two hundred mile radius. You have the manpower to do what I'm asking. We have the weapons and the know how, we just need the men."

Don looks at me for a second, then leans back in his chair. "I regret saying you wouldn't understand such business. You seem to understand it perfectly." He says, giving me an amused smirk. "I do have a question though."

I cross my hands and look at him. "Yes?"

"How are you Slaughter Reed's long lost daughter?" His smirk drops and I can tell he actually wants to know.

"My mother was never married to my father, just one of the women to give him children. She lived in the city, and he would come and impregnate her, then leave. I watched this for years. He started bringing me home with him, saying that one day, it would be mine." I stop and stare at my hands. "I hated what he did to my mom. I didn't want it to be mine, if that's what was going to happen to me. I ran away after he beat her, and killed her. He apparently never told anyone that his daughter had run away, only that she was sent away, to be hidden and protected. He promised me to Cutter while I was gone."

While I am talking, Don leans forward, listening intently. "How were you found?"

Kalvin clears his throat. "Sadly, that was me. We had been friends as kids and one day I had noticed a girl sleeping on the bench. She slept so soundly, I thought she reminded me of Alice. I flicked her nose, and just like that, she woke up and started yelling at me. It was nice, until some of the others came to find me, and found her along with me. They dragged her along with me to go see Cutter, her father having been dead for years. We were about 16 at the time. He declared that she was to marry him and that he would be the rightful Don of the Seven Families."

Don sits back and crosses his arms. "Well too bad for him. His bride to be now has all of my men at her disposal. Just try not to dispose of them all, will you? They are quite valuable. Good men are notoriously hard to find." I jump up and run around the table to hug him. Kalvin and Thomas let out noises of shock and Don laughs as he hugs me back. To this, James lets out noises of shock and awe. "Alright, alright, stop before you pull one of your stitches out." I let go of him and he notices that what he did was out of character, so he straightens back up and tries to hide the smile on his face. 

I laugh at his attempt for a moment then hug him again. "Thank you Don. Thank you so much."

Kalvin stands and so does Thomas. "Can we talk to you before we go Alice?" Kalvin asks.

I pull out of the hug, quickly, and turn to Kalvin. "Of course." I turn to Don. "I'll be right back."

Kalvin and Thomas walk over to a far corner and wait for me. Once I get there, Kalvin pulls me into the corner and they both turn their backs to the inside of the shop. "Are you falling for Don, if that really is his name?"

I look up at them shocked. "No, of course not. You know that's not how I work."

"You've gone soft E." Thomas says.

"I have not. It's called acting. You two are just worried that I'll swap sides." They look at each other, then back to me. "Do you two honestly think I would do such a thing?" I lower my voice. "Cutter is my best friend. I would never do wrong by him." 

Kalvin looks me up and down for a second. "Love can make you do things E. Just be careful. He's the kind that doesn't take lying lightly, and you've been doing that a lot lately."

"For Christ's sake! I'm not in love!" I yell at the two of them. About three seconds later, my face turns bright red and I see Don across the room, staring at me.

Kalvin turns to see him too, and steps closer to Thomas. "We aren't saying you are. We're just saying you're on your way towards it."

I groan and peer around Kalvin. James and Don are both staring in my direction now, and I quickly hide back behind Kalvin and Thomas. Thomas chuckles at me, but I shoot a glare at him and he shuts up. "I swear, one of these days you two are going to get me into trouble." I take a deep breath, then lift my head. "Let's go." Kalvin and Thomas split and I walk between them. James and Don watch as I walk towards Desire. "Never back down." I whisper in her ear as I give her a small hug. Desire nods against my shoulder and I let go. With Kalvin and Thomas flanking me, I walk to James and Don. "Ready to go?"

Don looks to Kalvin and Thomas. "We are, how about you?" His eyes watch me with an odd curiosity.

"Yes, I just asked you that. Are you deaf?" He stares at me for a second and I feel a pulling in my stomach. "I'm ready." He nods and turns to James.

I follow behind them and hear Kalvin and Thomas follow behind me. Don doesn't stop until we reach the SUV. He turns to Kalvin and Thomas and for a second I think he is going to let them get in the SUV, but my theories are thrown out of the window when James leads me into the SUV, then he says, "Go take care of the girl. She seems like she may be a lot of trouble." Kalvin and Thomas look over to me as I get in and I nod at them.

"It's alright guys. I'm safe with them." Reluctantly, they walk away. Don turns back to look at me, then gets in the driver's seat. 

"Don, what are we going to tell the others?" 

"We will tell them the truth. Message Gas and Brake. Let them know we are on our way back, and that we need to have a family meeting." James does as he's told, and I'm left to sit with that weird pulling in my gut. It doesn't take that long to get back, but it feels like forever. No one says another word, and the tension becomes evident. When Don parks the car James gets out leaving Don and I together, alone. I go to get out, but he grabs my wrist. "Not yet." 

"What do you mean, not yet? James got out." 

"No, I want to talk to you. Follow me to my office." With that, he gets out and I start to, but he helps me out once he gets to me. After my feet are firmly placed on the ground, he begins to walk slightly ahead of me. Don walks at a slow pace, so as not to lose me. His office isn't that far into the house, and it's on the first floor. I've never been in his office before, and I never thought I would be. Weird how things change. We reach a rounded wooden door about ten feet tall. It's magnificent for a door. The iron handles look as if they were made in medieval times, the wood is stained with a golden glossy coat, and there are designs carved into it. "This is a room meant for the gods of Asgard. I'm sure you know what a tag is." I nod, and he goes on. "Mine is Odin, James's is Thor. Only the leaders of my family meet in this room. Because I am giving you permission to send my guys in, I will take you in here." I stare up at him, curious as to where he's going with this. "You are an honorary leader of my family, for the time being that is. Choose your tag wisely."

I think to myself for a second, then look back up to him. "Since you're Odin, I'll be Freyja. You lead the Aesir, I'll lead the Vanir."

He looks down at me, impressed. "Good choice. You are allowed to enter." A ghost of what looks like a smile appears on his lips and I smirk at him. His hand gently tugs on the iron handle and the door swings open. It is a large room with a round table that is just as large. Around the table are four chairs. The design on the table is that of a compass, and every chair is placed at either North, South, East, or West. I walk up to the table and run my hand along the edge while he walks over to the chair closest to the back of the room. "James will stand, so you can have a chair. You will sit at the southern point."

"So why all the Norse mythology?" I ask as I walk over to the chair.

"My father was obsessed with it as well as all of the fathers before him." He looks down at the table, staring at it.

"I thought you were a relatively new gang?" His head snaps up and he scoffs. "What?"

"Did Cutter tell you that?" I nod at him and he shakes his head. "No. This is my territory. Every gang in this area is squatting on my land." His face turns to a still calm, which I take as not a good sign. "For hundreds of years, my family has controlled this area. About twenty years ago, we had a rebellion break out on another of my family's many territories. My father left seven men to protect this territory, and to recruit more men." It takes me a second, but I remember something from when I was younger. 

"You're saying that you are Odin Bane's son?" 

Don takes a seat in his chair and looks up at me. "I'm Odin Bane now."