“I had my men put his remains in a freezer at the Silver Point pack house until you and your mother decide what you want to do.”
“Who knows what my father did?”
“You mean with Jackson’s mother?”
“Yes…and the shooting.”
“Jackson and his pack…his mother, of course, and the eyewitness.”
“What about the Silver Point enforcers? Were they there?”
“No, they are locked up until I can make sure…” Reeve stopped, unwilling to heap more on Kahn’s very full plate.
Snapping his eyes open, Kahn glared at Reeve. “Finish the sentence…until you can make sure of what?”
Staring at his mate, Reeve said in a very hard voice, “Until I can make sure none of them is a danger to you.”
Kahn’s eyes widened and fear once again settled in his belly as the full implication of what Reeve said became clear.I’m a fucking fool.He’d thought it was all over after he learned of his father’s death, but that was just another example of his stupidity. Heath warned him about Rudy and how his own death would benefit the asshole and, as usual, he hadn’t taken it seriously.And why should I have?All the underhanded conspiracies used to seize control of packs had become ancient history once the High Council passed the Law of Primogeniture, stipulating the line of succession to Alpha positions. Killing a legitimate heir hadn’t happened in centuries, but then that was also true about the killing of an entire rival pack—and look what had happened. The reality of his situation sank in until Kahn was sure he was drowning. Standing quickly, he searched the room for his backpack, finding it on the floor in the corner. Seizing it, he started throwing his clothes into it while muttering “We have to leave…find someplace my mother and sisters will be safe.”
“Over my dead body!” Reeve snarled, rising quickly and heading over to his mate. Grasping both of Kahn’s arms, he forced his mate to look at him. “Dammit, the safest place for you and your family is here where my men can protect you. Out there, it would only be a matter of time before Rudy found you. Do you really want to risk that? Risk Rudy claiming the Alpha title? Put your sister at the mercy of Rudy? Is that what you want?”
Staring up at the man standing way too close to him, Kahn felt his cock twitch at the feel of Reeve’s hands on his skin. Finally pulling his gaze away, he shook himself free and took a step back, trying to make sense of his reaction. Turning away so Reeve wouldn’t see his bulge, it took Kahn several moments before his brain kicked in. “Of course not,” he snapped, as he moved further away from temptation.
Turning around, he finally spied the jeans he’d had on earlier in the evening and picked them up. He felt too exposed and desperately needed the protection they could give him. Stepping into them, he kept his eyes down, refusing to add any more fuel to the fire already burning inside him. This wasn’t the time or place for a quick hookup, regardless of how much his cock thought otherwise. Moving around Reeve, he struggled into a long-sleeve shirt as a further deterrent. Then he finally turned around and looked at Reeve. “We are not staying and, according to my friend who’s a lawyer, you have no right to keep us here anymore…especially since my father is now dead.”
Picking up his phone, Kahn slipped it into his pocket, then checked to make sure he had the keys to his condo. “If there was ever a time for my family to escape, this is it. Rudy’s in custody and so are the Silver Point enforcers. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to wake up my mother and sisters.”
“Fine!” Reeve bit out, his eyes glowing with anger. “You can go but your mother and sisters can’t.”
Kahn stared at Reeve, matching his anger. “Like fucking hell they can’t! You told me they were clear of any involvement!”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Reeve stood in front of the door, blocking the exit. “They are.”
“Then why can’t they leave?” Kahn shouted, his frustration over the entire situation reaching boiling point.
“There’s the matter of Josiah’s estate…and I need to ascertain what involvement, if any, your mother may have had with missing Silver Point Pack funds.”
“My mother knows nothing about it…my fucking father kept her out of the pack’s business from the beginning,” Kahn snarled.
“If that’s the truth, then it shouldn’t take my team long to verify it. Unfortunately, it’ll take me several days until they get to that so until then, your mother and sisters will stay here…with me.”
Kahn clenched his fists as he stared down Reeve. The man was playing with him, but he couldn’t figure out what the end game was. Refusing to let his mother and sisters leave guaranteed he’d also have to stay. But what did Reeve hope to accomplish? Until he figured that out, it was best he retreated, and let Reeve believe he’d won. In the meantime, tomorrow, he’d call his friend to find out what rights his mother had. It was one of the few things he’d learned from watching his father all those years—find out your opponent’s weaknesses before you engage them. “Fine…I’ll be staying until then.” Turning away, Kahn sauntered over to his bed, threw his backpack on it, plopped down next to it, and closed his eyes.
Chapter 26
Kahn had made it very clear that their conversation was over, which pissed off Reeve to no end because there was a lot more he had to say about his mate’s lack of self-preservation. Given Kahn’s mood, it would be impossible to convince him of the danger he faced, much less reveal that they were Fated Mates. Clamping his mouth shut, he left the room in a petulant mood, trying to control his frustration. Once outside the door, he began to think about how to reason with his headstrong mate, but every solution was clouded by fantasies of his cock buried deep inside Kahn. He was sure his mate also felt the pull between them by how quickly his cock had responded to Reeve’s touch, but he also saw how quickly his mate had suppressed it. He’d be kidding himself if he claimed he hadn’t felt hurt, but could hardly blame his mate for rejecting him when he, himself, was guilty of not revealing their connection.
Sighing, he leaned his forehead against the bedroom door, inhaling his mate’s scent through the cracks.If the Fates had to give me a wolf as a mate, then why couldn’t they have given me an Omega? Someone who’s sweet and gentle…someone who wouldn’t fight me every inch of the way.He turned and leaned his back against the door, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. It was going to be a bitch of a night standing guard over Kahn—or sitting, as was now the case. The only good thing, so far, was that his mate hadn’t blamed him for Josiah’s death.
Kahn heard a thump against his door and though he didn’t know what caused it, his gut told him who it was. “Go away!” he shouted. It was time Reeve learned he wasn’t a pushover. Ever since Reeve had burst into his life, Kahn’s world had been turned upside down, but he could only blame himself for folding under the pressure.Yes, sir…anything you say, sir…no, sir…whateveryou want, sir.His father would have called him a pussy for acquiescing so quickly to every one of Reeve’s commands.But no more!
It would be foolish to rely on anyone but himself for the safety of his family, especially if, like Reeve, they were working for the High Council. His distrust of it had been implanted in him by his father over the years and, until he had proof otherwise, his mind wasn’t going to change.
Reeve and his sidekick kept telling him about the danger the Silver Point enforcers posed to him, but they never mentioned possible threats by Jackson and his brothers. At first, he thought their focus was on arresting Josiah, but when Reeve hadn’t mentioned the Blackwood Pack as another reason to stay, it raised a big red flag for him. From his point of view, they were just as much a risk, if not bigger. Kahn was well versed in how deep the need for revenge ran in a wolf pack—his father’s actions had proved that—although he’d never understand what his Uncle Striker did to warrant such a drastic response from his father. Whatever it was, Kahn was sure his father had felt justified. But it was crazy to think that after what happened, Jackson would forgive and forget.My family and I have got to get the hell out of here and find somewhere to hide.
When his mother’s parents died, they left him the cabin he’d helped his grandfather build one summer. Though he was heartbroken at losing them, the love they had for him lived on in that place. No one except his mother, who was named the sole executor of their estate, knew about it. Both the cabin and money left to him by her parents would allow them to survive until he could get back to painting.
Pushing his backpack to the floor, Kahn rolled over, thinking about Reeve’s refusal to let his mother and sisters leave withhim. He couldn’t figure out what that was all about other than a ploy to keep him at the safe house. Snorting into his pillow, Kahn rejected that thought since Reeve was willing to let him leave tonight—just not his mother or sisters.Strange.Maybe Reeve planned to marry CeCe, and that certainly would explain why he was so willing to let Kahn leave. Once her big brother was out of the picture, it would be much easier to convince their mother to give her approval. And as much as he hated to admit it, it certainly would be better than CeCe marrying Rudy.
