Jace jogged down a set of steps that led directly to a rather large room his uncle used as an office. Roman and Kata had met hours earlier to discuss Kata’s men crossing over the border. Why didn’t he come to me sooner, or at least tell me he was back? Roman knew that Kira was a target. Was he hiding something?
Without knocking, Jace opened the door and let himself into the office. His uncle was standing in front of a window that overlooked the eastern part of the compound the warehouse sat on. Other than the line of trees off in the distance, nothing about the scenery was of much interest. The older lycan made no move except putting his half-empty tumbler to his lips to drink what Jace guessed was whiskey: Roman’s liquor of choice. “Uncle?”
No response.
“What did Kata say?”
“He said he would leave as soon as he got the girl.”
Jace felt his ire rising. Handing Kira over was out of the question. “And what did you say?”
“I said no, of course.”
Good. At least Jace could count on his uncle to safeguard his interests where Kira was concerned.
“Yet, he made an interesting argument.” Roman turned and faced Jace. There was something in his gaze Jace couldn’t decipher, and his warming blood now cooled. Was Kipper right? Would Roman lay claim to her?
“Have you claimed her?”
Jace blinked. “Have I what?”
Roman produced a tired smile. “I don’t have time for you to act as though you weren’t raised with our customs. Let me put it plainer. Have you mated with her?” He said the last few words slowly as if Jace was light on comprehension skills.
For real, or in his dreams? The thought of touching her skin — consuming her — it was nearly all he could think about when he was near her. It had taken every ounce of his will to keep his claws in and his lust at bay just a few hours before. “No,” he choked out.
Roman shrugged. “Then she’s free to choose the clan she’ll belong to.”
“What?” Jace practically shouted.
Roman pointed a finger at him. “You know the rules. She isn’t fully human, and therefore she has a choice. Kata suggests she will want to join his clan.”
“For what reason?”
“He has her father.” Roman’s curious gaze drew down the length of Jace’s form. “There might not be enough reason to stay here.”
Jace flushed. Oh, there was enough reason. She had given him every indication there was. Pheromones didn’t lie, and neither did the rest of her body. It was instantly on fire when their lips touched and he sensed her hunger for him. “She won’t choose Kata.”
“She might.”
“Never,” Jace said emphatically.
“Not even for her father?”
Jace paused. “We’ll rescue her father. Kipper and I can take a few men—”
“Jace…think! We don’t even know where he is.”
Jace crossed his arms over his chest. He walked to the window to view the night sky. A full moon was a day away. The sight of the giant glowing orb always calmed him. “We’ll hunt down his men. I know the smell of them intimately.” Jace sniffed, unable to get the scent of the hunchback out of his nose. He’s going to pay for clawing my face. “I could go out with Kipper tonight and track them. They’ll talk once we have them.”
His uncle grinned widely, a light of expectancy in his eyes. He marched over to his liquor chest and filled a second tumbler, holding it out for Jace. “So, you’re going to take your place, then.”
“My place?”
“By my side,” Roman pressed. “The Bana men leading the clan. You’re ready to return home?”
Side by side? The Bana men leading the clan… The notion shocked Jace. His uncle would share authority? Jace shook his head, not believing a word he just heard. “No, Uncle—”
“Then how do you think I’m going to allow you to claim the seer?” Roman shouted. He slammed the tumbler down. Liquid sloshed over the rim of the glass and coated his hand.
Jace didn’t breathe. His uncle’s moods were always tricky to navigate. If he pushed the elder Bana even more, Roman would claim Kira for himself — if he hadn’t already thought about it.
“If you’re by my side, Jace, then anything and everything is possible. But if you think for one second that I’m going to let you walk out of here a second time—”
Jace took a menacing step forward. “I’m willing to do what’s necessary to keep Kira safe. That doesn’t have to include giving up my life and commanding the clan.”
“Do you think after tonight that you’re going to be able to live a normal life? You are a lycan. It’s time you act like one.” Roman emptied his tumbler, followed by the second one.
Jace eyed the man curiously. “What else did Kata say?”
“Nothing of importance.”
Jace didn’t know what to believe. Anything his uncle said was suspect, and yet Jace had no choice but to take him at his word. If Kata had said anything crucial, would Roman mention it? The Bana leader was only interested in preserving himself and his power. If Max and the others want a coup, then my uncle would do well to keep me — his enemy — close.
Jace walked toward the fireplace. The blue gas flame burned beautifully around the ceramic logs, which remained unscarred by the blaze. “Why do you think I can’t live a normal life?” Jace asked quietly. For years, he’d been successful at avoiding any potential conflicts with other supernatural creatures. He could protect Kira; they could live normal lives elsewhere, away from Roman’s tight grip.
Roman groaned. “You really are tiresome, nephew. How long did you think your little experiment at playing human was going to last?”
“I wasn’t playing anything.”
“You’re in a world that doesn’t accept you. It hardly knows you exist!”
“But your world?”
“My world,” Roman said, a hand thumping his chest. “Our world is where you belong. This Kata will try to take our territory again, and now with the sighting of vampires…without you our clan is lost. Is that what you want? Do you want to see Kipper executed by the vampires, or your precious Kira a slave to their whims?”
“Without me?”
“Don’t for a minute think I don’t know how a few of the others looked at you when you walked into the wharf facility the other day. You’re a Bana. Even though the pack is loyal to me as the alpha, you still have a right to rule the clan when I’m gone. Are you going to leave this pack without an alpha?”
There were good and decent lycans in the Bana clan. Jace didn’t wish them harm, although he couldn’t say the same for his uncle. Jace didn’t doubt the strength of the clan against Kata, but vampires…if the nightwalkers were among them, then every lycan in the city was in danger.
“The full moon is tonight. We’ve missed the opportunity to gather more into our ranks as new wolves won’t be able to change until the next full moon — and that’s if they survive our bites until then. And even so, they’re a risk to try to control. Their appetites will be insatiable until they’ve learned to subject them to their will. Vampires can add to their numbers by the hour.”
“Kipper mentioned a sighting.”
“A confirmed sighting. A few lycan hunters were seen leaving Hollengraf Industries last night.”
“Hollengraf Industries specializes in weaponry,” Jace thought out loud. Owned by a very wealthy Linus Hollengraf, the company had a long history of maintaining their position on the precipice of innovation with weapons.
“Yes, it does. The nightwalkers will need all the weapons they can get to take on our clan. But they wouldn’t be stupid enough to do a full-on assault, which will alert the humans.”
“Still, uncle, you know what imprinting does. Kira is my first and ultimately only concern. She needs her father…if I do anything for you, it’ll have to be after I find him.”
“Kira is a seer, so perhaps she can locate her father. If we know where to look, it will make a rescue attempt easier. But”—he pointed a finger at
Jace and his green eyes flashed with warning—“you will rule by my side.”
Jace closed his eyes and covered them with a hand. “She can’t,” he said softly, afraid to admit the truth.
“What do you mean, she can’t?”
“She doesn’t know how to use her power,” Jace said with more force.
“A seer who can’t see?”
Jace expected the harsh laugh he was used to hearing from his uncle, but the room was silent. “No, she can’t. She just found out about her powers.”
“And she can’t control it?”
Jace shook his head…and then came his uncle’s blistering laugh.
“Well, I would love to see the look on Kata’s face when he realizes the seer he seeks is virtually useless. My, my, Malcolm…such power in your grasp and you failed to nurture it.”
Jace shot his uncle a hard look. Yes, Roman was technically correct, but Jace took the jab at Kira personally. Roman only continued to chuckle. “Why did Kata say he wanted Kira?” Jace asked to stop the sound of the gleeful laughter.
“He didn’t.”
Frustrated at the lack of information, Jace slammed his hands to his hips and sighed. “Well, did you ask?”
Roman’s green eyes flashed anger. “Of course I did.”
“And you think he’s planning to war with us?”
“Yes.” Roman placed his tumbler down on the nearby desk. He then proceeded to sit in his desk chair. He pulled a large map of the city close to him. Curious, Jace stood on the other side of the desk, looking down at the map. “Kata may need Kira to help him wage war, but she’ll be of no use to him, and even if she were, our numbers dwarf his by five to one.”
“But he still wants her.”
Roman kept his gaze on the map. “You might want to take her to the castle.”
Jace’s brows came together. “The castle?”
Roman glanced up. “You don’t remember it?”
Jace shook his head. “Vaguely. I remember playing in one with Kip as a boy.”
“Your father abandoned it for the city when you were a child. We still own it and it’s in a secluded area, far enough away from the city that the girl will be safe. I’ll have a few of my men escort her there.” Roman stood.
“I’ll take her.”
Roman frowned. “I need you here. If Kata is going to war, then you’ll need to do your duty to the clan. I promise Kira will be kept safe. I know you’ve imprinted, but try to multitask,” he said dryly.
Jace scoffed. He landed hard knuckles on the desk. “My duty is to Kira.”
Roman’s jaw hardened. Jace stilled at the shift in the air between them. He sensed his uncle was holding himself back. Jace had only sparred with his uncle once, years ago. It hadn’t ended well for Jace. It was utter humiliation; the only lycan that could beat Jace in the ring was his uncle.
“Do I have to remind you of what you’ve lost to this man?”
Jace kept his face rigid, but he actually wanted to smirk. He didn’t need to be reminded that Kata had killed his father; what he actually wanted was the man’s address so he could personally congratulate him. After the way his father had raped his mother — a female who was given no choice — he was glad the man was dead. Kata had done him a favor.
But you, uncle…I know what you’ve done. Killing his brother — the alpha of the clan — there was no greater betrayal. Jace hated feeling a loyalty to his father in his abhorrence for Roman. The idea of leading his own coup against Roman was suddenly more appealing to Jace.
“Kata,” Roman continued, “is a powerful lycan. Older than even your father was. Although his clan is small in number, we cannot afford to let him get away this time. I should’ve devoted more resources to hunting him down, but with your father dead, the clan was on the verge of implosion and strong leadership was an immediate necessity.”
“If he’s so powerful, then I don’t want Kira to fall into his hands.”
“That’s why we need to defeat him,” Roman urged with the fire of war in his eyes. “You’re one of the best fighters in this clan. I need you to lead our numbers in hunting down and killing his clan members. You can even find her father while you’re at it. When it’s all over, you can plan the rest of your life with Kira.”
The rest of his life. He hadn’t considered a future with a woman before now. Ever since that night in the elevator, he saw nothing in his future except Kira. Hunting down Kata and his followers would take time — time away from Kira. “Uncle, this isn’t my war. This is your fight with Kata. Kira and I have no part in it and will have no part of it. I’ll take her to our castle in the north and when this is all over, you can send word to us.”
“I don’t accept that answer,” Roman spat.
“That’s the only answer I’m giving you,” Jace said calmly.
“You’re my blood and I am the leader of this clan. You will obey me!”
“I’ve never truly been a part of this clan, by my own choice. And it is my choice. If Kata is as dangerous as you say, then Kira would be safest with me. I’m…” His voice faded at the start of an apology, but he reconsidered the words. He owed no one, least of all his uncle, an apology for his choice. It was his life and he would be as selfish with it as he wanted. Except now his life belonged to Kira — and he would have it no other way.
Jace turned on his heels and strode confidently from the room, ignoring the discontented shouts of his uncle. There was no changing his mind; Kira was the priority. While Roman was fighting Kata, Jace and Kip would find a way to free Kira’s father and forge ahead to the future, leaving the rest of the warring lycans behind.