The Road to Redemption (34 page)

Damien lay awake for hours staring at the ceiling.
His mind, heart, body, and soul were at war with each other and he
couldn’t see any way of resolving the situation. He’d like to be
able to blame Sam, but truth was she’d done nothing that night to
encourage him. Unlike previous encounters when she’d been the
instigator, tonight it had all been his fault.

He’d been the
one to move closer when she’d shivered. He’d started massaging her
shoulders. He’d pressed the light kiss to the nape of her neck.
Thank heaven she’d mentioned Kane. It had knocked some sense into
him before he’d made a monumental mistake.

Betraying Beth
once, he could almost forgive. To do it again… He shook his head.
His body might respond to Sam’s physical attractiveness, but that
didn’t mean he should act on it. His heart and soul belonged to his
blood bonded mate.

She’s been
dead three years, his logical half stated, but you’re still
alive…

Round and
round the arguments raged until he flung the covers off and sat up,
dragging his hands through his hair in frustration.

His wolf was
strangely silent, and so was Beth. He’d tried to summon her earlier
on, but only a fleeting image had wavered in his mind’s eye. She’d
seemed distant, smiling softly, her attention fixed on some distant
place he couldn’t see. A part of him feared she was angry with him,
but Beth wasn’t like that; she’d always forgiven him, no matter
what.

Rubbing his
face, he spied the papers he’d taken from Harper sitting on the
bedside table. Since he wasn’t sleeping he might as well do some
reading. Switching on the bedside lamp, he hitched up the pillows
behind his back and grabbed the first page, peering at the faded
scrawl.

‘
The woman
my son mated has destroyed our blood line. I don’t know why he
can’t see it. Every time I look at the child’s eyes, I know the
truth.’

A sneer curled
Damien’s lip as he read the words and then recalled what Sam had
told him that night in the pond. ‘Tainted blood’, wasn’t that what
she’d said? He shook his head and flipped to another page.

‘
My son is
dead. My heir, my future. I’ve no idea what to do. Gary says not to
worry, he’ll do his duty by the pack. I know I can depend on him.
He’s a good man, but I’m loath to see the territory pass out of the
family. It’s been our heritage for years. There is the child, of
course. A female, but at least flesh of my flesh. If only her eyes
didn’t give her shame away…’

“The bastard.”
Damien spat out the word, imagining how Sam must have felt growing
up, believing her very existence had brought shame to the pack.
Resisting the urge to crumple the paper and toss it out like the
garbage it was, he set it aside and read the next one.

‘
Gary’s
fighting me on this. He doesn’t think the girl can one day lead the
pack. In a way I can’t believe I’ve come to this decision either.
For years, our pack has supported The Cause and yet what other
choice do I have?’

Well, this
seemed to confirm what Marcello had said. The Beta had wanted to
take over and Samantha would have been in his way. Old man Harper
mustn’t have been aware of the fact though. There was no hint that
he didn’t trust the Beta implicitly.

After skimming
the rest of the page, Damien went back to look at the other two,
searching for other entries that had to do with Sam or the Beta.
There was a lot of information about what had been served for
lunch, the arrival of the latest electricity bill, boring stuff and
not what he was looking for. It seemed Harper was the kind who kept
notes on everything, thorough to the point of being obsessive.

The distant
sound of the hallway clock chiming reminded Damien it was three in
the morning. He yawned, his eyes feeling gritty, and set the papers
down. It would seem that he’d have to pilfer a few more papers from
Harper’s personal collection if he wanted to learn more about what
happened with the Beta. True, it wasn’t really any of his business,
but he could justify it by saying he was trying to determine how
Dante had learned of the situation. Sliding down in bed, he
adjusted the pillows and began to plot how he’d get his hands on
Harper’s files.

Sam let out a
muffled scream and grabbed a nearby mug, ready to chuck it across
the room, only the realization that it was one of her favourites
kept her from completing the action. She set it down and grabbed
the newspaper, proceeding to rip it to shreds.

“I take it you
didn’t like your horoscope?” Damien wandered into the room carrying
two cups of coffee and eyeing the shredded bits of paper on the
floor around her.

“Don’t mess
with me today, Masterson. I’m not in the mood.” She tossed down the
last bit of paper on the floor and then kicked it out of her way so
she could pace the room.

He raised his
brows and held out one of the cups. “I brought you a coffee. Looks
like you might need it.”

“Thanks.” She
accepted the cup and took a gulp not caring that it was still
hot.

Wisely, he
said nothing and after a few minutes she calmed down enough to
speak. “I had another communiqué from OPATA.”

“And?”

“Sinclair has
another
complaint against us.”

“Really?” He
sat down, legs casually extended and took a sip of his coffee.

“Yes. He says
that since I was never listed as Beta on the books, I had no right
to step into the position of acting Alpha. If anything,
you
should be in control since your name is on the official roster as
the most recent Beta in the pack.”

“What?” Damien
sat up straight and set his mug down with a definite thud. “Let me
see that.”

Sam spun her
laptop around and allowed him to study the screen while she stalked
to the window taking angry sips of the drink she cradled in her
hands. A storm was definitely brewing, grey clouds rolled across
the sky while the wind whipped leaves and bits of garbage across
the road. It seemed fitting; there was a lot of garbage being
whipped around inside as well. Where the hell did Sinclair get
off—

“The fucking
hell, I’ll—” She turned at the sound of Damien’s expletive. He’d
clamped his mouth shut on whatever else he’d been intending to
say.

“I take it
you’re not chomping at the bit wanting to take over?”

“What sort of
shit is he pulling?” Damien was on his feet now, looking as
incensed as she was feeling. Sam decided it was nice to be able to
share this with someone; for a rogue, Damien was a pretty decent
guy.

See?
Her wolf whispered.
I knew there was a reason we should keep
him.

“It’s like
he’s trying to chip away at us, one little piece at a time.” She
shook her head, admiring Sinclair’s strategy even though she hated
his guts. “He didn’t present his whole case to Lycan Link at once.
They would have looked it over, cross-checked the facts with me and
then dismissed him. This way, he keeps drawing their attention to
us over and over, making them dig deeper, causing them to question
minor details.”

“Risky,”
Damien murmured. “Some might view it as harassment.”

“From some
small time Alpha, it might be seen that way. But Sinclair has a
solid reputation.” Sam walked back to her desk and stared at the
computer screen. “Hell, a few years back when I was first taking
over I even admired him. He was young, progressive, interested in
moving with the times.”

“And now?”

“He’s a power
hungry bastard.” She flopped down in her chair.

Damien sat as
well and picked up his mug, staring at the contents. “So what’s
your next step?”

“I really
don’t know. I’ll have to confer with Grandfather first.” She
checked her watch. “I have enough time to talk to him before he
leaves.”

“Leaves?”
Damien looked at her with interest.

“He has a
doctor’s appointment this morning. We don’t have our own in-pack
physician anymore, but there’s a human doctor with pack member
status that we use when we have to.”

“So you’ll be
taking him?”

“No. Florence
gets the joy of that job.” Sam gave a dry laugh. “He’ll grumble and
complain the whole way there and tell the doctor he’s fine. Then
Flo will give the real story. She’s a godsend when it comes to
dealing with him.”

“Your
grandfather and Florence are…close.”

“I don’t
pretend to understand their relationship. They’re more than
friends, but…” Sam shrugged. “It’s between them. My grandmother’s
been gone for decades.”

Damien made a
non-committal sound, seeming lost in thought.

She sighed and
hitched her chair closer to the desk. “I’d better print a copy of
this and go read it to Grandfather. He can mull it over while on
his way to the doctor’s office.”

“It might
cause his blood pressure to spike.” Damien warned. “I know mine
did.”

“Mine, too.”
Sam smiled at him, pleased he cared so much given that this was a
temporary job for him. Maybe when all the takeover crap was done,
she’d be able to convince him to stay. For all that last night
she’d resolved to back off, in the light of morning she was filled
with a new resolve. She and her wolf hadn’t totally given up on the
darkly handsome rogue. The game wasn’t over yet.

Damien left
the room cursing Kane under his breath. What kind of a friend
shoved you into an awkward situation like this? Suggesting he, as
Beta, should be in charge of the Chicago pack! Kane knew he didn’t
want any part of belonging to a pack, let alone being in charge of
one. Sure, Kane had sound reasons for wanting control of the
territory, but Damien didn’t want to be in the middle of the fight.
His only job was to give a report now and then.

Guilt twisted
his stomach as he considered the fact that without his reports
Kane’s case might not be as strong. Of course, nothing he was
reporting was a secret. A little digging would reveal that the pack
was underpopulated, the Alpha old and sick; he was simply making it
happen faster.

Walking into
the kitchen, he set his now empty cup in the sink and stared at the
worn and chipped counter-top. The Chicago pack was in serious
trouble, even without Kane’s threatened takeover. They didn’t have
the finances to fix up the pack house, or have enough members to
keep going beyond this current generation. The influx of money and
bodies that Kane could provide would actually revive the pack,
right?

He rubbed the
back of his neck wishing he’d never let Kane talk him into coming
to Chicago. Riding his bike, a loner, a rogue, that was how he
wanted to live his life. No emotional involvement, and certainly
not being in charge of a pack. While other Lycan pups might dream
of being an Alpha one day, it had never been his goal. All those
people depending on you was not his style.

“
Reno
depended on us. And Beth
,” his wolf reminded him.

“Yeah, and
look at how I screwed that up.” He muttered. Guilt still ate away
at his soul, no matter how anyone might try to convince him
otherwise. And there was no way he wanted to be in charge of the
Chicago pack. Time to set Kane straight on that one.

He headed
upstairs to make his call.

~~~

“Quit? As in
sell my half ownership? But I just started!” Elise stared at Kane,
unable to believe what he’d said.

“You say
you’re overtired. Then let something go. You can’t do everything.
It’s not realistic.” He folded his arms and stared at her from the
other side of the bed. Water from his recent shower glistened on
his skin, dripping down his broad chest before disappearing into
the towel he had casually wrapped around his waist. A year ago, the
sight of his nearly naked body would have had her knees weakening,
but lately she was too tired and too angry with him to care.

“
I
can’t do everything! What about you? You’re so caught up with
impressing High Council—”

“Elise, be
reasonable.”

“And, of
course, reasonable is doing what you want me to do.”

“It’s the
logical solution. You said you were so tired you didn’t want to get
up this morning.” He walked to the dresser, pulled open a drawer
and took out socks and a pair of briefs.

“Why do I
always have to be the one to give up what I want to do? Maybe I
don’t want you on High Council.” She walked to the closet and began
sorting through her clothes, her movements brisk to give vent to
her mood.

“High Council
is an important job.”

“More
important than the children and me?”

“I didn’t say
that.” His tones were clipped, and when she turned to look at him
she could easily see the muscle in his jaw flexing. He was angry,
but for some reason she couldn’t resist prodding him even more.

“What if you
had to choose? Our family or High Council?”

He ran a hand
through his hair. “Elise, you’re being ridiculous.”

“Oh, so now
I’m ridiculous for wanting to be first in your life. Well, thank
you very much. I guess I know exactly where the children and I
stand.”

“Elise! You
knew I was Alpha when we mated.”

“Like I had a
choice in that.” She tossed her blouse and skirt on the bed.

“What do you
mean?” He went dead still.

“Being an
Alpha’s mate was never in my plans.” She stalked to the dresser and
pulled out a bra and panties. Kane was standing a few feet away and
when she looked up their gazes locked in the mirror.

“I see.” He
stared at her, his face unreadable. “I’m sorry you find it such a
burden to be my mate. I’ll make sure I keep my distance.”

“Kane, that’s
not what I meant!” She turned to face him, a sinking feeling in her
stomach.

“I think it
was.” He roughly pulled on the rest of his clothes. “I won’t be
home tonight. If you or the children need something, John will help
you.” And with that he left the room.