“You do that a lot, dontcha?” Kahn asked. “Get angry, I mean.”
Reeve ran his hand through his hair in frustration. His mate was right. “I don’t usually but I can’t seem to help myself with you.”
“Great,” Kahn replied sarcastically. “Just like my father did.”
“No! I assure you I’mnotjust like your father,” Reeve said, gritting his teeth. The last thing he wanted was to be compared to Josiah. “I’m nothing like him.”
Kahn rolled his eyes. Leave it to Reeve to misunderstand his comment, but he wasn’t interested in correcting him. “Look, if you don’t mind moving, I have stuff to do today, starting with a desperately needed dose of caffeine.”
“Uh…sure…no wait,” Reeve said, “Can we talk…in private? Please?”
Chapter 28
Kahn stared at Reeve, surprised by his request—and the manner in which he asked it.He actually said please!It was the first time he heard him use that word. Usually, Reeve was issuing orders, expecting everyone to follow them without question, which Kahn had done until his father was killed. That’s when he decided to end the game of letting Reeve make decisions for him.
Kahn nodded and stepped back. The man wanted to talk, so he would listen. And when Reeve was finished, Kahn would tell him where he could shove it—thanks to the lessons his father taught him about being an Alpha and the rights that went along with it.
Relieved that his mate had agreed, Reeve walked into Kahn’s bedroom and stopped in the middle of the room. A lot was riding on this moment and he wasn’t about to blow it.
Closing the door, Kahn leaned back against it, watching Reeve nervously look around his bedroom. “It hasn’t changed since last night,” he remarked, sardonically.
Snorting, Reeve turned to face his mate. “The High Council will appreciate that.”
“Glad that’s settled,” Kahn said. “Now if you don’t mind, I could use a cup of coffee.”
Reeve knew he was acting like an idiot, something he was unaccustomed to, but it was becoming a common occurrence with his mate. “I didn’t come here to check up on the room’s condition…”
“Then why are you here?” asked Kahn.
“To apologize for my behavior last night,” Reeve blurted out.
Tapping his chin, Kahn thought for a moment, before asking, “Which of them? The time you ordered me to stay? Or maybe it was when you illegally refused to let me leave with my mother and sisters? Or how about the one where you told me you could protect me against all my enemies without ever acknowledging who they were?”
“All of them,” Reeve muttered, looking at the floor. After hearing Kahn’s grievances he knew Heath was right—he’d been acting like he was his mate’s boss.
“What was that? I couldn’t hear you,” Kahn said.
Glancing up, Reeve replied, “All…I’m sorry I acted like an…”
“Asshole?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry,” Reeve repeated. “Can we start over? You mentioned enemies? Who doyouthink they are—other than Rudy and his supporters?”
Kahn’s eyes narrowed as he studied Reeve, still not sure if he should believe him. It was common knowledge that wolves sought revenge for wrongdoings, especially Alphas. “For starters, Jackson, and then you can add each of his brothers to the list of those who would want to avenge my father’s crimes against them. And if my cousins have mates, you can add those, and any others who are connected to Jackson. It’s a long list.”
“Jackson? Jackson Blackwood? That Jackson?”
“If he’s the son of Uncle Striker…then yes. Did he join a new pack? If so, then you better add every member of that pack to the list. Now you see why I know you can’t protect me and my family. It would take every Council enforcer to do it and, even then, I can guarantee you’d fail. Wolves have long memories and they don’t give up. Sooner or later, my mother, sisters andI would be killed by a wolf who is righting the wrong my father did.”
Reeve’s jaw dropped. How could he be so dumb as to think Jackson wouldn’t want revenge?He’s a wolf, of course he will.He had lived so long under the rules and laws of the High Council he’d forgotten that of all the shifters in their world, many wolves still followed the old way of seeking justice for slights done to them. And killing an entire family was more than just a slight, it was a declaration of war which demanded total retaliation.
But does Jackson see it that way? I can’t believe that about him.Shaking his head in disbelief, Reeve tried to clear his mind of his previous impressions of the Alpha so he could view his actions under a different light—the one his mate had given him.Fuck!“I’ll kill him if he tries anything!” Reeve snarled. No one was going to touch his mate and live to tell about it.
“As much as I appreciate that, you can’t kill his entire family or his fellow pack members…or you’ll find yourself in the same situation my father did,” Kahn replied. “Whether you want to admit it or not, the only chance my family and I have is to disappear and hope Jackson doesn’t find us. The sooner I leave the better. I have to get them to safety. If you’re truly sorry, then stop blocking me from doing what’s best for us.”
Tell him!his buffalo roared inside him.No! Not yet!Wrestling his animal back, Reeve knew Kahn wouldn’t believe him if he now disclosed they were fated mates—and that was his own fault. His mate would only see it as another ploy by Reeve to control him.Shit!He had to talk to Jackson and find out if what Kahn said about him was true. “Okay…but will you give me two days before you leave? Please!”
Biting his lower lip, Kahn considered his request. He really wouldn’t be doing anything other than what he’d planned. This morning he was going to have a conversation with his mother and then with his sisters, and he’d figured it would be late afternoon before any decision would be made concerning his father’s burial. And after such an emotional day, all of them would need the oblivion sleep would provide. The next day would be taken up with his father’s service and cajoling his sisters into packing their belongings so they’d be ready to leave early the morning after. As much as he wanted to leave sooner, Kahn knew it wasn’t going to happen. “Fine, two days…but I want your word that my family and I will be free to leave after that.”
