The Road to Redemption (9 page)

“Careful,
Sugar. I don’t take kindly to people taking a swing at me simply
for making a suggestion.” He narrowed his eyes as he issued the
warning.

“Sugar?” As
he’d planned, the name momentarily distracted her. “Why the hell
would you call me that?”

“I thought you
could use a bit of sweetening up.” Damien struggled to keep the
corner of his mouth from twitching up into a smile as he watched
the expressions that flitted over her face. Outrage, bewilderment,
anger. She finally settled on glaring at him.

“I don’t need
‘sweetening up’. I need you to shut up and can the crap talk about
allowing Sinclair to take over my pack.” She walked a short
distance from him, exhaled loudly and combed her fingers through
her hair. Eventually, she turned to face him, appearing calmer.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have gone off on you like that. But how would
you feel if someone suggested taking your pack from you?”

“I’ve no idea.
I’ve never had a pack, not since I was a child.” Damien shrugged,
but he could feel a wall settling around him, locking out all
feeling.

“Never?” She
tilted her head and studied him. “What about with your mate?
Surely, you must have belonged—”

“No. Not even
then.” He slowly clenched his fists as he recalled the plans he and
Beth had made. Of how they’d strike out someday. Leave Lycan Link.
Perhaps even join with Reno as his Beta.

“Oh.” She
appeared about to question him further and he lowered his brows, a
slight growl appearing in his voice.

“The topic is
off-limits. You don’t want to discuss Sinclair taking you over, and
I don’t want to discuss my mate or my past. Understood?”

Sam
straightened to her full height—what there was of it. Her chin
lifted slightly, her shoulders went back. They stared at each
other, a silent battle passing between them. He didn’t look away
and neither did she. Their surroundings faded into the background
until all that remained was the force of their wills colliding in
the space separating them. How long they stood there, he wasn’t
sure. Eventually, as one, they both nodded and the tension that had
been crackling between them eased.

Sam stood behind her chair at the head of the
dining room table waiting for the pack members to file in. After
their confrontation in the weight room, she’d left Damien to his
own devices, stating she had work to do and would see him at
dinner. As far as she knew, he’d spent some time in the cellar
working out, and had then begun to repair the porch like he’d said
he would. The sounds of hammering, and some random swearing, had
drifted into her office. Perversely, she’d hoped that he’d hit his
thumb with a hammer. The man irritated her. He challenged her
authority, pushed her buttons. He stayed just this side of
insubordination, and that was only because she was being lenient
with him. Dammit, she needed him and couldn’t afford to have him
leave—after all, where would she find another rogue at this late
date? But that didn’t mean she was enthralled with his
presence.

“Sam.”

Hiram, Keith
and Alyssa entered the room, each calling a greeting. At the same
time, from the direction of the kitchen, Jonah entered carrying a
steaming bowl of pasta; he was on kitchen duty, much to everyone’s
delight. Jonah was a trained chef and his meals were always
delicious.

Jonah gave
Damien a suspicious look as he set down the dish before making his
way to his chair. He’d been against taking on a rogue, but had been
outnumbered when they’d put it to a vote. Of course, he accepted
the will of the pack, but it didn’t mean he was happy with the
fact.

Damien stood
silently to her right. There were no signs of tension coming from
him despite the fact that he had to have sensed Jonah’s animosity.
And the other Lycans who entered were unabashedly studying him as
well. He withstood the scrutiny without any change in his breathing
pattern, his face expressionless as he met each person’s gaze with
a steady look. In each instance, it was the other wolf that looked
away first, and through that simple act, Damien’s authority was
recognized.

It irked Sam,
even though it shouldn’t, and made her voice come out sharper than
she intended.

“Listen up.”
The undercurrent of conversation ended and everyone looked her way.
“Pack, this is Damien, the rogue we talked about. He’s going to be
our temporary Beta.” She emphasized the word temporary and gave him
a sidelong look to which he barely raised a brow.

General
greetings were murmured and Damien inclined his head in response.
Sam scanned the faces that surrounded the table. There was no
tension, no animosity. Good. Giving a nod, she took her seat and
everyone followed suit.

Dinner was
fairly informal beyond the custom of everyone waiting for her
permission to be seated. It was a throwback to her
great-grandfather’s day or perhaps even earlier. She’d yet to
decide whether she wanted it to continue or not. It reinforced her
position as Alpha, yet smacked a tad too much of the military for
her taste. Oh well, she had more pressing matters to deal with than
petty protocol and launched into giving Damien a brief introduction
to the Lycans that were present. Of course, not everyone had been
able to attend. A few were still on patrol and some held jobs at
local establishments; their incomes were badly needed to help keep
up with daily operating expenses.

As plates
emptied and stomachs filled, Sam began to ask the various members
about their day, whether it was pack business or, for the pup, his
homework. Florence, who cared for her grandfather, gave an update
on his condition.

Sam nodded and
made notes when needed. She’d eaten quickly so as to be able to
focus most of her attention on her pack. This was when she could
observe them carefully, note if they had concerns or perhaps needed
advice or encouragement. An Alpha should take a direct interest in
the well-being of each member.

“Hiram,” she
quizzed the one wolf who had yet to say anything. He’d been picking
at his meal and looked as if something was troubling him. “You were
on patrol earlier today. Did you make contact with any shifter
tourists?”

“One couple at
the airport making a connection between flights. And three
females—college students. They’ll be staying in the area for two
days.” He hesitated and then added one final piece of information.
“For some reason, I kept getting a feeling that there was one more
Lycan in the area. Just the faintest whiff of a scent and then it
was gone. Maybe I’m wrong…” He tugged his ear, a sure sign he was
worried. “I’m not as young as I used to be and my nose could be
failing.”

“You’re not
that old,” Sam chided gently, while taking in his greying hair and
lined face. Hiram should have been retired from patrol, but given
their small numbers she’d kept him on light duty longer than most
packs would. It was good for his pride as well, thinking he was
still contributing to the group. “It could be that spy Sinclair was
sending our way. I’ll check it out tonight. Good work.”

Hiram grinned
and tucked into his meal with more gusto than he’d been showing
previously. Sam smiled inwardly, pleased she’d been able to boost
his spirits. His daughter had left the pack last year, having met
an outsider, and the older man had been in a bit of a funk ever
since.

“Do you want
me to go along with you on patrol tonight?” Damien spoke to her
directly for the first time since the meal had begun. It had
unnerved her a bit, how he’d seemed to be silently analyzing every
word, every member. She’d never let him know that, of course.

“Good idea.
It’ll help create the illusion that you belong here. We leave as
soon as it gets dark.”

He gave a
barely perceptible nod and resumed his silent meal.

Arrogant
bastard, she silently decided. Was he thinking their dinner
conversation was too mundane to join in? She turned away, resolving
to set him straight on how he treated her pack once they were
alone.

Crickets had
begun their evening serenade and the wisps of orange and red that
had stained the sky were fading into deep purple by the time Sam
stepped out of the house. Damien watched her from his seat on an
old porch swing. He’d repaired it that afternoon, tightening screws
and oiling the chain. Now it glided silently back and forth in its
shadowy corner.

She was
dressed all in black again and he decided the colour suited her,
though he doubted that was why she chose it. He didn’t imagine
fashion ranked high on her list of priorities.

“You ready,
Damien?”

“Yep.” He got
to his feet, not surprised that she’d been aware of his presence.
It was hard to sneak up on a Lycan unless you could stay downwind
of them.

“Follow me.”
She set off at a brisk pace down the sidewalk, but his longer legs
meant he had no problem keeping up with her.

The street
lights were starting to come on, illuminating the parked vehicles
that lined the road, but the neighbourhood was far from sleepy.
Cars cruised past with music drifting through open windows. An
argument could be heard coming from a nearby home while a baby
wailed in the background. As they approached the intersection,
various neon signs flashed advertisements for local establishments
and the mumble of conversations created an indistinct hum. Papa
Tony’s pizzeria had a large gathering at the outdoor tables; good
natured laughter and the occasional shout filled the air. A few of
the patrons called out greetings to Sam as they walked past. She
waved but didn’t pause.

“Where are we
headed?”

“Tonight was
supposed to be Little Italy, but we’ll go towards O’Hare instead. I
can’t cover the entire city in a night so I’ve laid it out in
rotating sectors. If a patrol reports anything unusual, I bump that
sector to the top of the list.”

“You go out
each night?” He’d decided some random small talk might yield useful
information and tried to sound politely interested.

“Of course.”
She shot him a quick glance. “I’m the Alpha. It’s my job to keep
tabs on my territory.”

“You could
rely on your patrols.”

“I could, and
some Alphas might be lax enough to completely relegate the job. I
know my patrols are competent and well trained. They know what to
report, but it never hurts to have a second set of eyes on the
job.”

“True.”
Mentally, he applauded her dedication. So far, she seemed to be a
perfect example of what an Alpha should be. Of course, that was
only his initial impression. He’d bide his time and see what he
could turn up that might be useful to Kane.

She turned
down an alley and led him to a shadowed area. After testing the air
and listening carefully, she gave a nod. “It’s safe to shift.”

“In the city?
I’d have thought patrolling as human would be safer.”

She shrugged.
“We can cover more ground as wolves. And most people mistake a wolf
for a stray malamute or a husky. Don’t worry, we won’t be running
down the main streets.”

“Back alleys
all the way?”

“And along the
train tracks. The right of way on either side will allow us to cut
a few miles off the trip.”

Before he
could comment, the air shimmered and a small white wolf stood
before him. Damien had a brief impression of fine bones and
stunning violet eyes before it turned and began to lope down the
alley.

He quickly
shifted and followed, thankful that his own animal was more
cooperative of late. His inner wolf and he had gone through a
prolonged period of discord; the beast had been disapproving of
some of the choices he’d made. As usual, the creature had been
correct, though it had taken a while for him to realize it. His
grief over Beth’s death and the need for revenge had skewed his
thinking. Thankfully, a Lycan’s inner wolf was usually inclined to
be forgiving and they’d come to some semblance of peace.

At the moment
his wolf was focused on the fluffy white tail that was ahead of
them. The animal was curious, intrigued even, by Sam Harper.
Alpha? And yet, not.

“Yeah. I know
boy. It’s hard to figure out.” Damien murmured his agreement.
Something about Sam Harper sparked his interest, dragging him out
of his usual apathy in a way that hadn’t happened for ages. He
wasn’t entirely sure he liked the fact, either.

They travelled
in silence, Sam leading him down back alleys, along railroad tracks
and across abandoned lots. Occasionally, she’d pause and test the
air before moving on following some mental road map. When they
approached a busy main street, she fluidly shifted to human form,
with barely a missed step.

“Impressive.”
Damien mimicked her shifting on the fly.

“An Alpha and
its wolf should be as one, thinking and acting as a single unit.”
She brushed her hair from her eyes and stepped out of the alley and
onto the sidewalk. After scanning the area, she turned right and
began to stroll down the street.

He fell into
step beside her. “You know, you sound like a textbook
sometimes.”

“A textbook?
What do you mean?”

“An Alpha
should do this. An Alpha should do that.”

“An Alpha
needs to know its—”

“There you go
again. Don’t you ever just talk?” He scowled at her.

She cast a
glare his way before focusing her eyes straight ahead. “I’ve no
idea what you mean.”

“It’s like
you’ve been…indoctrinated.” It irritated him, bringing back
memories of a particularly annoying roommate named Quinten, at the
Academy. The guy had read textbooks aloud every night until Damien
had finally pitched him out the window.

“My
grandfather trained me for this role from a young age. If you’re
going to be an Alpha, you have to act like one. Follow the rules
day in and day out. It’s not a nine-to-five job, you know.”