by Moira Rogers
«Do you know—?» His voice turned almost hesitant. Nervousness, and a purely masculine confusion. «You’re a doctor. What are the chances — I mean, do you know if this is the right time for…?»
A quick calculation gave her an answer he’d likely be relieved to hear. «There’s a possibility,» she admitted, «but it’s a slim one. It’s a little late in my cycle for me to get pregnant.»
«Oh.» Uncertainty still twisted between them.
His ambivalence gave her pause. «Alec?»
He released his breath on a long sigh. «Sorry. Just…forgot it was possible to be anything other than overwhelmingly relieved about this shit. The last thing either of us needs is a kid to worry about, but…»
Part of him still wanted it, and she understood. They hadn’t known each other long, but she knew him. It could take months or years to tease out all the threads of someone based on what they would honestly show or tell. But she’d seen inside Alec, the deepest parts he might not be able to articulate even if he wanted to share them with her.
She knew him, and she loved him. Everything between them was new, but she couldn’t help but yearn for the chance to hold his child, to share that bond with him.
His nervousness spiked, and she gripped his hand. «I love children, and I definitely want to be a mother. If it takes a few years, that’s fine, but if it happened earlier, I wouldn’t cry.» Carmen raised her head and met his gaze. «You’d be a good father.»
Judging by the look in his eyes, her simple words had been a gift. He smiled and touched her cheek. «We can figure it out after we fix the world up a little, huh?»
«That sounds like it involves leaving this room.» Something she didn’t particularly want to do now that they’d forged a new intimacy.
«Need to get moving before too long anyway. Have to check with your brother and Kat, see if they got all the money moved around.»
Julio would never allow himself to be distracted from a task. «If they had run into a problem, he would’ve called.»
«Good. Suppose I’ll have to get used to trusting him.»
«Yes.» He knew Andrew well already, had apparently taught him everything he knew about being a wolf. «I think Julio’s relieved, in a way. It must be hard, knowing you could be doing more if you only had an idea of where to start.»
Alec smiled. «I always knew where to start. I just didn’t know how to keep going.»
Now, he did. «You’re really going to do this, aren’t you?»
«I’m really going to do this.» His hand drifted up her side, and he curled one finger in her hair. «This world the way it is… It’s hopeless. It can be hard, it can be awful…but it doesn’t get to be hopeless.»
Her chest swelled with an emotion she knew he would feel, though she gave voice to it anyway. «I’m proud of you. It’s not the easy path.»
«Don’t be proud of me yet. I’m counting on you walking that path with me.»
She rolled to her side, took his hand and pressed it to her heart. «I love you. If you have to face something, anything, you won’t do it alone.»
His brown eyes stayed serious. «Do you really know what you’re saying? This isn’t like the human government. We don’t spend four years dicking around and then worry about reelection. This is a lifetime job, and when it’s not, it’s because you’re dead, or damn near.»
Most of her family had held no dearer ambition for her. She’d avoided it, simply because she didn’t believe in it, but things were different now. Alec was different. «I’ve lived my life focusing on the bad aspects of wolf society, and I probably still haven’t seen the worst of it, but that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change anything. Don’t you see why?» She sat and tucked her hair behind her ears. «You take care of people. That’s what you do, who you are, and I understand that. You can’t walk away from it.»
«And I won’t walk away from you.» He caught her hand and threaded their fingers together. «But you might want to walk away from this. You’ve known me two weeks. We’re walking down one damn crazy path.»
«I know you, and I love you.» Echoing her own thoughts, though it occurred to her that he might not be as certain. «Do you need more time?»
«Not a minute.» Quiet words, but no doubt shaped them, and none lingered in his heart. «I know love when I feel it, and I know how it feels to lose it. I’d marry you tomorrow, just so I wouldn’t waste a second of having you be mine.»
The declaration stole her breath. «It wouldn’t change anything. I don’t need rings or a ceremony to be yours.»
«Yeah, but you’re going to end up with both, you know.» His thumb stroked over her bottom lip. «Still time to run. If I’m on the Conclave, it means big fancy weddings and half a dozen bridesmaids and, God help us all, my mother. My mother alone should send you screaming into the night.»
Part of her was terrified of the responsibilities, the expectations. As much as Alec would have to play the political games, so would she have to deal with the social ones. «High tea with your mother doesn’t scare me nearly as much as the thought of running away.»
«Maybe you should join the Conclave,» he murmured, dragging her down against him. «That woman scares the piss out of me.»
«It should tell you how much I love you, then. I’m willing to make nice with your family.» She stretched out over him, gliding her thumb absently over his collarbone. «What about you? Can you deal with mine?»
Foreboding slashed through the room, sharp and uncomfortable. «Most of them, yeah. Your uncle — can you deal with me dealing with him?»
Not an easy question to answer. She’d flown to Atlanta to be with her Aunt Teresa and her cousin Veronica the previous year when the Alpha’s son-in-law challenged — and killed — Noah Coleman. It hadn’t mattered that Noah was an angry, awful man who’d treated them both badly. He was still their family, and they had cried when he died.
Carmen met Alec’s gaze. «If you can find a way to spare Cesar, I know you will. But don’t do it for me. He crossed a line, and we all have to be prepared for the consequences of that, even if we had nothing to do with it.»
«Then we’ll deal. Both of us.» He eased up, spilling her onto her back, and dropped a kiss to the corner of her mouth. «I wouldn’t be doing this without you. Not because you had the idea, or because you wanted it.» His lips pressed to the bare skin above her heart, soft and warm. «You believe in it. You let me feel it. You made me remember how good it is to believe.»
A sad thing to forget. Her heart ached for him. «We’ll remember,» she told him softly. «And when things get hard, we’ll remind each other.»
«That’s all I need, baby. You and me and a world of hope.»
Chapter Twenty
The last time the Alpha had come to town, he’d held his meeting in Franklin’s clinic. Neutral territory.
Neutral territory was gone. Blown to little fucking pieces, and the knowledge still grated. Alec wouldn’t let Cesar Mendoza set a toe across the threshold of the makeshift clinic, so John Wesley Peyton had summoned them both to the Roosevelt, to one of the hotel’s tastefully decorated suites, where they could mouth polite pleasantries before Alec made it clear that mediation wasn’t an option.
Except when the door opened, Alec found himself facing the Alpha and no one else. «John.»
«Alec. Come in.» He stepped back, looking tired and rumpled and damn near worn out. «Mendoza isn’t here yet.»
John had always been older, but now he almost looked old. Alec crossed the threshold, then waited for the man to close the door and turn. «If you’re hoping to talk me down, it’s not going to work.»
The Alpha’s jaw clenched. «On the contrary, the mediation wasn’t my idea. Cesar insisted, probably because he knows you’re planning to rip his head off.»
Funny how the guy willing to blow strangers up from a distance got oh-so-civilized when his neck was on the line. «He can keep his head, but I’m taking his council seat.»
John snorted as he crossed to the small
bar on the other side of the room. «If he’ll relinquish it quietly and without bloodshed, I’ll consider letting him live in exile.»
Cesar wouldn’t give in, and they both knew it. No point in belaboring it. «After I do that, I’m taking the Conclave seat.»
The man choked on a sip of whiskey. «When you decide to get ambitious, you don’t mess around, do you?»
«Not really. No point in getting in this game if I’m not gonna play for keeps, is there?»
«I suppose not.» The Alpha gestured to the bar with an upraised brow and poured another drink at Alec’s nod of assent. «If you want to survive, you’d better have a plan for dealing with Sam Hopkins and Drum Hughes. They’ll be at your throat in a heartbeat.»
John Peyton would probably sympathize with Alec’s plan, but the Alpha might not have that luxury. Alec erred on the side of caution and nodded, answering the question without giving John words he’d have to pretend he hadn’t heard. «By the end of the week, the Southeast council will be behind you.»
An odd light sparked in John’s eyes, but he let it go and changed the subject. «Cesar is bound to appeal to your sense of family, since you’re involved with his niece.»
«No.»
«No, he won’t, or no, appeal isn’t an option?»
It felt like stepping off a cliff, and Alec didn’t care. «My future wife isn’t interested in seeing her uncle retain his council seat.»
«No, I can’t imagine she would be.» John drained his whiskey and set the glass aside. «I can’t say I’ll be sorry to see Cesar taken down. No one deserves the trouble he’s caused.»
Alec let out a breath. «I’m in this, John. It’s time for a change. Way past time.»
«As it happens, I couldn’t agree» A knock on the door interrupted his words. «Well, here we go.»
He opened the door to Cesar Mendoza, who stood there with bloodshot eyes and a too-pleasant smile. «Good to see you again, John.»
«Cesar.» The Alpha’s dour expression didn’t change as he stepped back. «We’ve been waiting for you.»
Alec bared his teeth at Cesar. The man blanched, though his smile stayed frozen in place, and he held Alec’s gaze for a moment before looking away.
«Sit,» John ordered. «Both of you. Alec, you begin.»
The suite had couches and chairs arranged around a low coffee table. Alec took a chair, one with its back to the wall, and waited until Cesar sank to a couch before sitting himself. «You violated neutral territory.»
He didn’t deny it. «No one was meant to be harmed—»
The Alpha cut in. «Your intentions matter less than the outcome, Cesar. You acted rashly. Don’t justify it.»
Irritation flashed in Cesar’s eyes, though he covered it well, and his concession was stilted. «It was a grievous error in judgment.»
«The latest,» Alec ground out, already tired of the endless talking. «For that reason, in front of our Alpha, I’m challenging you, Cesar Mendoza. For your seat on the Southeast council and everything that comes with it.»
The man tensed. «Really, is that necessary? Think of Carmen.»
Alec’s nails bit into his palm. «Like you were thinking of her when you blew up her boss and her best friend? Or like your brother was thinking of her when he damn near killed her with that fucking spell?»
Cesar floundered for a response. «I believe Diego knows what’s best for his own child.»
«Bullshit. I’m thinking of Carmen, so I’ll give you a chance to back down. Yield, and let the Conclave decide what to do with you. That’s your only way out.»
His throat worked, and Alec could practically see him considering all the angles, trying to determine the best combination of likely risk versus potential reward, and weighing it all against his pride.
In the end, that pride won. His dark eyes went flinty, cold, and he sat straighter on the plush sofa. «If you want my seat, you’ll have to take it. I accept your challenge.»
Adrenaline surged. Alec’s wolf flowed to the surface, so fast and vicious he was faintly surprised he didn’t spill to the floor and sprout fur. How easy it would be to force the challenge now. Lay his enemy low, with the stink of fear in the air. It would solve the problem. Soothe his pride.
It wouldn’t last. «Friday,» he rasped, still fighting the call of the chase. «There’s a place suitable for challenges on my property.»
«As the challenged party, it’s my right to choose the venue for—»
«I’m overruling your right to pick the place.» The Alpha growled, and power spiked through the suite. «The bombing at Sinclaire’s clinic is under investigation, Cesar. You’ve invited a scrutiny we can ill afford, put us all in danger. Be glad you’re getting an honorable challenge at all.»
John’s words cowed him, that much was clear, but the man kept his head high. «Friday. May I be excused?»
«Get out.»
Cesar all but fled, and John rubbed his hands over his face as the door closed behind him. «Christ, what a catastrophe.»
Alec had been so busy cleaning up the mess, he hadn’t had time to check in with the human investigation. «How bad is the exposure?»
«Nowhere near what it could have been. Right now, it’s little more than vandalism. If the police knew Franklin was there or — God forbid — his girlfriend, the assistant District Attorney…» His weary sigh said it all. «We can’t afford to act like petulant children when we don’t get our way. We can’t afford people like that on our ruling councils.»
He sounded so tired, so defeated. Alec rose, took both of their glasses to the bar and reached for the whiskey. «They’ve been getting their own way for a long time. Maybe they can tell something’s about to give.»
«Is it?»
«Hasn’t it already?» Alec brought the Alpha his glass. «Enrica Maglieri is the first woman to sit on the Conclave. A turned wolf of two years defeated a Conclave member in a fight. The Seer has a child and isn’t living under their thumb anymore. The old guard has to be in a panic.»
«The old guard, as you call it, will fight to the death to preserve what they see as theirs.»
It was as clear a warning as Alec was likely to get, but nothing he didn’t already know. He lifted his glass and smiled. «So let’s fight.»
A strange black Town Car was parked outside Alec’s house when he and Carmen returned from the city. Carmen tensed when the driver’s door opened and a vaguely familiar man stepped out. «Who the hell is that?»
Alec shifted the truck into park and gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white. «That would be Alexander Jacobson, Junior. My father.»
That meant the impeccably coiffed woman in the pink designer suit had to be his mother. She shaded her eyes against the slanting sunlight in an effort to see inside the cab of the truck and frowned.
Carmen laid her hand on Alec’s knee and attempted a joke. «Hiding down on the floorboard isn’t an option, is it?»
«I told you to run for the hills.» Alec carefully lifted both hands from the wheel and flexed them. «If you want me to, I’ll turn around and drive away. We can stay at your place. Or a hotel.»
«No. We’re not going to live that way, running from them until they give up and go away.» She opened the truck door and stepped out. «Hello.»
Alec’s mother was a handsome woman, with flawless golden skin and darkly exotic eyes. She smiled at Carmen as she picked her way across the uneven gravel, mercenary interest darting ahead of her on a wave of tight anticipation. «You must be Carmen Mendoza. I’m Geraldine Parker Jacobson, Alexander’s mother.»
The roiling emotions turned her stomach, but Carmen managed a smile. «Alec’s told me a lot about you.»
«Oh, now I doubt that.» Geraldine offered Carmen her hand. «It’s all right, dear. I know my son.»
The truck door slammed behind them, and Alec’s boots crunched on the drive as he circled the truck. Carmen felt his solid heat at her back as she shook the older woman’s hand, and she stepped closer as soon as she could, leaning in
to him. «Welcome to New Orleans.»
Tension vibrated through Alec. «You could have called.»
«I did,» Geraldine replied serenely. She lifted one hand, a deceptively casual gesture that had Alec’s father scrambling to her side. «Miss Mendoza, allow me to introduce my husband, Junior.»
The older man held out a hand and flinched when Alec growled. Geraldine pinned her son with a cool look, but her rebuke was mild. «Manners, Alexander.»
A tense situation, and it was up to Carmen to defuse it and maintain a veneer of civility. «Come on inside,» she invited. «I’ll make some coffee, and we can visit for a little while.»
«That sounds lovely.» Geraldine turned, then glanced over her shoulder. «Alex, your father would like to have a few words with you. Perhaps you boys can follow us inside?»
A quick squeeze of Alec’s hand, and Carmen released him. «I’ll see you in a minute.»
She led the woman up the porch steps and through the front door, trying to ignore the way Geraldine’s gaze seemed to linger on the beat-up furniture and bare walls. «The kitchen is just through here.»
«I see.» Though disapproval flavored the words, so did sadness. «He hasn’t made much of a home for himself, has he?»
For Alec, his house had been a place reserved for the times when he had nowhere else to go. «He hasn’t had much of a reason to.»
«I hope you give him one.» The older woman folded her hands together and gave Carmen a serious look. «I know you’re an empath. I won’t pretend that I don’t have ambitions for my son. I want to see him achieve his potential. I want to see him take the power he deserves. But I’ve never wanted him to be unhappy.»
«And when those ambitions run counter to his happiness?»
«Sometimes they will. The strongest among us make sacrifices. We should, because we get absolute loyalty in return.»
The loyalty they garnered was anything but absolute, and most of them were too much like Carmen’s uncle — ready and eager to abuse what they did get. «If you’re looking to me as an ally, I should tell you right now that I will never encourage Alec to do anything that goes against his conscience or his values. It’s just not going to happen.»
