The Road to Redemption (16 page)

“Grandfather,
this is Damien, the rogue I’ve been telling you about.”

The older man
shifted his gaze to Sam. “And who else would it be? I assume you
wouldn’t ask in a stranger off the street.”

Sam sighed. “I
was trying to make a polite introduction. And stop acting like some
constipated old man.”

Damien bit the
inside of his cheeks to keep from smiling. Sam seemed to have a
comeback for every occasion.

“Hrmph.” The
man glared at her before switching his attention back to Damien.
“You look impressive enough. What’s your background?”

He shrugged.
“I’m a rogue. I’ve worked my way back and forth across the country
doing odd jobs.”

“And on what
side of the law were those jobs?”

“Whatever side
they needed to be.” Damien hooked his thumbs in his belt loops, his
posture not quite slouching, but not at the stiff attention he was
sure the old Alpha usually expected.

For perhaps
the count of a minute, he stared at Damien, tapping his fingers on
the arm of his chair. Damien waited, casually looking about the
room. The stack of books interested him. They appeared to be old
journals. Was that how Harper spent his time now? Reminiscing about
his glory days?

Finally, the
old man nodded. “Honest. I like that. I’ve never known a rogue that
didn’t cross the line a time or two. So…” He jerked his head
towards Sam. “What do you think of my granddaughter?”

Sam stiffened
at his side. Damien flicked a glance at her and then looked back at
old man Harper.

“She’s doing a
good job. I’ve no complaints from what I’ve seen.”

“As it should
be. I’ve trained her for the position almost since she was old
enough to walk. My son never had an aptitude for the job, but Sam
here, she took to it like a natural. Smart, quick, a good fighter.
Everything an Alpha could want in a successor.”

“And a
female.” Damien murmured the words. Beside him, he heard Sam’s
swift intake of breath. He’d struck a nerve, but that was too bad.
It was the grandfather’s reaction that mattered.

“Yes. Well…”
The old man cleared his throat and twisted his mouth. “I know what
you’re thinking, and I’ll admit I had my doubts at first. However,
her father died before giving me another heir, which left Sam as
the only successor. It took me a few years to come to terms with
the situation, but once I did, I worked her hard and she met every
challenge.”

“I’m still in
the room, you know.” Sam interrupted, narrowing her eyes.

Damien ignored
her comment and kept his eyes on her grandfather. “So you feel that
lineage is more important than suitability for the position?”

Sam turned on
him, waves of outrage emanating from her. “If you’ve got a problem
with me, you tell me to my face!”

At the same
time, her grandfather raised his voice. “Chicago has belonged to my
family for over a hundred and fifty years. Every generation has
produced an Alpha and this one is no different. Sam is the best
qualified member of the pack.”

Damien put up
his hands as if to hold off the verbal attack. “Just playing
devil’s advocate since you’re worried about being taken over.”

The old man
leaned back in his chair, the colour that had briefly graced his
face now fading leaving him looking grey and tired. “You’re smart,
boy. That’s how Sinclair will be thinking, but it won’t do him any
good. I’m still hanging on to my title.” Abruptly, he ended the
audience with a flick of his hand. “You can leave now, but I’ll be
keeping an eye on you. Sam, you stay.”

“I’ll see you
for patrols.” Sam shot Damien a meaningful look.

He could only
begin to imagine how patrols would go tonight. A thorough grilling,
that’s what he had to look forward to and as to his comment about
females… Maybe a set of earplugs would be useful.

As he returned
to his room, he mulled over the meeting he’d had. Sam’s grandfather
was a cantankerous old man who seemed to enjoy watching others
squirm; rather like a geriatric version of his old boss, Captain
Fielding.

Sam had stood
up to the aged Alpha, though. Of course, she would have had to
learn that skill at an early age given that she’d been ‘in
training’ for most of her life. It was surprising that the man had
spent the time on her. He seemed very old school and a female Alpha
was unusual among their people. How long had it taken old man
Harper to come to terms with the idea? And what had happened to the
son, Sam’s father? That might warrant some investigation.

He sat on the
edge of his bed and pulled out his phone. The old man’s insistence
on keeping the pack in the family might be a point Kane could use.
The successor to the position should always be the most capable
wolf in the area. Packs weren’t meant to be run like a royal
family. Years ago that had been the case, but revisions to the law
in the last half century had put an end to the practice.

And the old
man’s health was definitely in question. In the few days he’d been
there, Damien had seen no evidence that the man ever left his room.
His hands were thin, blue veins and gnarled knuckles showing, and
his colouring was poor. There was a faint quaver in his voice, too,
despite the growls and bluster. And the abrupt end to the meeting
had likely been to hide the fact that the old Alpha had used up his
energy.

Yes,
definitely time to make a report to Kane.

He turned the
phone over and over in his hands. Should he mention Dante? No. Kane
had enough on his plate. This was his own problem. Dante and he had
had run-ins before despite the fact that they were both supposedly
working for the same side.

It galled him
that, despite his warning, the bastard was still in the area and
his attempts to track him down had fallen short. If he could devote
all his time to the hunt, it might be a different story, but trying
to do it on the sly was less than ideal. And Sam was already
suspicious.

A smile tugged
at the corner of his mouth. She kept him on his toes and, in
different circumstances, he might have actually enjoyed the barbed
banter they usually fell in to. Too bad he was here to bring about
her downfall.

Elise curled
up beside Kane, her hand idly tracing a path across his chest,
their legs intertwined. He was stroking her hair, the gentle tug
soothing as the afterglow of mating faded. Sex between them had
always been amazing and this time had been no different. Her mate
was a skilled lover and over the years they’d come to know each
other’s likes and dislikes as well as they knew their own.

Too bad it
couldn’t always be like this. No work, no pack members, no pressure
from outside. The children napping so it was just the two of them
in a warm cocoon where cuddling and making love was all they had to
do. She smiled at the thought, knowing it was impossible but still
wishing.

Kane’s cell
phone rang and his hand stilled on her hair then he gave a
disgruntled groan. With a sigh, she detached herself from him and
stared at the ceiling as he reached over to answer the call.

“Sinclair.” It
was some small consolation that his tone was gruff; he wasn’t
pleased at being interrupted either.

She stared at
the ceiling, cursing the caller and wishing Kane had shut his phone
off. Of course, that wasn’t possible. He was the Alpha and, if an
emergency arose, he had to be available; she’d heard that
explanation over and over. The topic of conversation began to catch
her attention and she cocked her head to hear more clearly.

“What do you
have to report, Damien?...Really?...That’s very interesting. I can
probably use that to help build my case. Good work….Keep me
posted.”

Kane hung up
and Elise rolled over to face him.

“Damien had
some good news?”

“Yeah. Samuel
Harper is treating his pack as if it were a dynasty. His
granddaughter’s been prepped to take over, regardless of whether or
not she’s the most suitable candidate.”

“Is she?
Suitable that is?”

Kane shrugged.
“I’ve no idea. But that particular pack has been in the Harper
family since its inception. It makes the process they use for
choosing a successor highly suspect.” He folded his arms behind his
head, a pleased expression on his face. “I’d say there’s a high
degree of certainty that the Harper pack is about to lose control
of Chicago.”

“Hmm…”

Kane looked
her way. “You don’t sound happy. This is what we’ve been waiting
for.”

“I know…” She
idly ran her hand over his chest.

He turned on
his side to face her. “Don’t you want us to gain control of
Chicago? It will mean I can split the pack, have more free time,
plus it’s a strategically impressive move which should look good
when they consider me for a position on High Council.”

“I’m wondering
how the Chicago pack is feeling, how I’d feel if the shoe was on
the other foot. It must be sad to see your home being taken
away.”

“Everything
changes,” Kane countered. “They had their chance to run that
territory but now it’s time to move on.”

“I suppose.”
She studied her mate, noting the faint lines on his face. He’d
changed since they’d first met. The idealistic young Alpha she’d
mated had matured. He was still amazingly good looking, the lines
adding rather than detracting from his appearance. Some were from
age, most were from stress and overwork. Of course, she’d changed
too. Birthing two children had added weight and stretch marks. Kane
was right, everything changed. The way it was changing was what had
her concerned. “Are you sure this is a good move? That it will mean
less work? Ever since you’ve set your sights on Chicago, you’re
busier than ever.”

He shrugged
and pulled her close. “Everything worth having requires work and
I’ve got to look my best if I want that High Council position.”

“But you’ll be
managing two territories, in two separate states, thousands of
miles apart, and then if you get on High Council…”

“Elise, quit
worrying. I can juggle three balls at once.”

Leah chose
that moment to wake up and begin to cry. Elise disentangled herself
and pulled on a robe. “Real life is calling.”

“She’s been
crying a lot lately.”

“Teething.
I’ve been up with her every night. I’m so tired in the mornings my
eyes won’t focus.”

“I’ll get up
with her tonight.”

“Thanks, I
could really use an undisturbed night.” She looked up from the knot
she was tying in the sash of her robe but Kane wasn’t watching. He
already had his phone in his hand again. She stared at him for a
moment, waiting for him to look her way, but he’d already tuned her
out.

When they’d
first mated, he’d always watched her dress and undress, his
attention making her feel as if she were the most precious thing in
the world. Now the phone and work held most of his attention. She
felt the knot in her stomach twist again. Yeah, everything
changed.

“What sector are we patrolling tonight?” Damien
had been waiting outside the pack house for about ten minutes
before Sam made an appearance. She was late and he wondered what
the holdup was. Chris trying to sneak out of the house again? Or
maybe Jonah getting territorial in the kitchen? He didn’t ask.
Becoming interested in the pack members was pointless. He’d made
his report to Kane and the Chicago pack’s days were numbered.
Besides, as Sam had pointed out earlier, he wasn’t really a member,
anyway.

“There are
several forest preserves beyond O’Hare. They’d be a good place for
a wolf to hide and, since Hiram is still picking up trace scents of
an intruder...” She ran down the steps, tossing a couple of bottles
of water his way. “We’ll take the bikes and then shift when we get
there.”

He drew up a
mental map of the area and nodded. Some time on the highway might
be just what he needed to rid himself of the mood he was in. “So
you still think Hiram is right? That there’s another Lycan in the
area?”

“Yep. I’m sure
it has to be Sinclair’s spy. And since none of my patrols have
managed to track him down, he must be using the masking technology
I’ve heard rumours of.”

Damien didn’t
comment, keeping himself busy storing the water bottles in one of
the saddlebags. Lycan Link’s so-called ‘secret defence’ wasn’t that
much of a secret any more. Rumours about the scent mask were flying
around the Lycan underworld, and some enterprising souls were
producing synthetic street versions.

Sam kept
talking. “If he’s using a scent mask then he could be anywhere,
watching us, taking notes. I’ve told everyone to look sharp, to go
about their duties with no slacking off. I’m not letting Sinclair
build a case against us for shoddy work.”

“Why’s
Sinclair focusing on you?” He knew the answer but was curious as to
Sam’s perspective.

“Because he’s
a power hungry ass. I had some dealings with him a while back.
Someone he had an issue with was in my territory and he wanted me
to deal with the guy.”

“And did
you?”

“Yeah. Just
not as fast as Sinclair wanted. He got it into his head that he
could do a better job.” Sam slung her leg over her motorcycle and
turned on the engine. Damien did the same. Over the roar of the
motors, she shouted. “Then his ass of a brother used the old
Finding clause to claim a wolf that was in the area. We needed her,
but did he care? No! The bastard took her right from under my nose.
Well, not again. Sinclair isn’t stealing anything else from me.
This pack is mine.” And with that, she took off.

Damien
followed considering what she’d said. Yeah, from her point of view,
Kane was a bastard. But from Kane’s perspective, Chicago was a
sizeable territory. It could easily sustain more Lycans. Too bad
Sam felt as passionate as she did about her position as Alpha.