“It would secure her succession,” Luciano finished. “They’d elect her tomorrow, because they need someone that cold to make the hard decisions.”
Derek tried to imagine wanting something so badly that he’d accept the possibility of Kat’s death as worth the price. The only thing he wanted right now was Nick, and she certainly wasn’t to blame for what had happened. Even if they’d never gotten romantically involved, Kat still would have been Alec’s secretary. She still would have been in the path of harm. None of it was Nick’s fault, though it was her world.
If there was one thing he knew by now about that world, it was the brutality of its laws. “What if mediation doesn’t work? You said the challenge keeps escalating.”
She glanced at Luciano, so quickly Derek almost missed it. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
He almost shut up, but something in that look made him uncomfortable. “Why? I can’t tap dance political circles around anyone, but if things get physical I’m not helpless. I could fight.”
“I don’t—” She didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, she turned and hurried out the door.
Derek turned to Luciano. “What was that?”
The man didn’t answer. He just shook his head.
Frustration sharpened until he realized what that sharp look at Luciano had really meant. The challenge escalated until it was resolved…and if it ended in violence, it would be Luciano’s mother. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” Luciano sank into a chair. “Oh.”
He didn’t much like feeling sympathy for Luciano, but it was hard to choke it back. “Sorry.”
“You should go after her.”
“Planning on it. I just…” What? I’m sorry I talked about killing your mother? Not exactly a Hallmark greeting-card sentiment.
In the end there was nothing to say, so he rose and followed Nick up the stairs.
She was in the sunlit kitchen, speaking to Alec in low, terse tones. “Of course I did. What other choice do I have at this point?”
“Shit, Peyton. I dunno. Draw horns on a picture of her and email it to the Conclave?”
Derek could hear her teeth grind from the hallway. “Can you try not to be a jackass for five seconds, Alec? Please?”
A sigh—Alec’s, and it sounded tired. “Well, at least you lit a fire under the Conclave’s ass. I bet they’ll have Enrica on a plane and touching down in New Orleans this afternoon.”
“Except we’re losing Luciano now, which means one less person looking out for Michelle.”
“You’ve got a soft spot for Luke, Nicole, but you need to face facts. That kid’s nice enough, but he’s got no damn backbone when it comes to telling his family to shove it. He was never on your side, not enough to count on.”
Even though they both would have heard his footsteps, standing in the hall felt perilously close to eavesdropping. Two long strides brought him into the kitchen, where Alec acknowledged him with a short nod before looking back to Nick. “You’re the only Conclave kid not under her parents’ thumbs one way or another, and you need to get right with that before this goes any further.”
Still, she argued, “I think you’re selling him short.”
“Think all you like, Peyton. Doesn’t change the fact that he jumps when Enrica says frog.”
Derek was surprised to find his wolf had no compunctions about facing Alec down, not when his words put that defensive, upset look in Nick’s eyes. “Jesus, Alec, give it a rest.”
Nick handed Derek a mug of coffee and leaned into his side. “I didn’t want to talk about the challenge in front of Luciano. You understand that, right?”
“Not as quickly as I like, but yeah. I got it.”
She was still too pale. “I’m going to call Jackson.” She ducked out of the room before either of them could say anything.
Derek waited until she was gone to turn to Alec. “Maybe I don’t get it.”
Alec shrugged. “Enrica’s not a huge woman, and Nick’s got youth and stamina on her side. If it came to a throw-down, Nick would probably win. Conclave knows that. Hell, some of them probably won’t be able to decide if they want Nick to win just to get rid of Enrica, because they all resent the hell out of her.”
Which still didn’t explain that tight look in Nick’s eyes. “And?”
“And if the Conclave finds out Nick’s got a hulking boy-toy down here who’s as big as most of them and younger to boot?”
Derek didn’t know whether to laugh or punch the man. “Hulking boy-toy? Can I put that on my business card?”
Amusement curved Alec’s lips into a smile, but it held a dark edge. “Sure. Then send a few to the Conclave, and they’ll get riled up so fast there’ll be no hope of solving this short of violence.”
“Straight talk, Alec. What are the chances of solving this without violence?”
The amusement faded. “No idea. Not great.”
“So what do I do?”
“For now? Nothing.” Alec pushed off the counter. “Maybe I’m a cynical old bastard and John Peyton really does have a chokehold on the Conclave’s brutal tendencies. But if I’m not…”
The silence dragged on too long, and Derek finally prompted him. “If you’re not?”
“Then maybe you should be thinking about how far you’re willing to go. Conclave challenges are usually fights to the death.”
Derek closed his eyes. To the death. He tracked Alec’s movements by the soft sound of boots on hardwood as Alec left the kitchen and returned to the basement stairs, which creaked slightly under his weight. The faintest whisper of Nick’s voice drifted in from outside, more tone than words, a soft rise and fall as she talked to Jackson.
To the death. The past week had blurred into a confusing jumble of days, punctuated by fear and frustration, but the clearest moments were Nick. Her body under his hands on her kitchen floor the first time they’d given in to lust. Her laughter as she beat him at poker or destroyed a batch of waffles. How good it felt to run with her on four paws, the earth under their feet and nothing but joy and the chase.
He was no stranger to combat. Alec had insisted on the training at first because pushing his body had been the only way to learn it again when everything had turned upside down. Hard physical labor, endless bouts of sparring, running, weight lifting—anything that would teach him his new limits and weaknesses. In time, he’d started to enjoy it.
None of that answered the question of how far he was willing to go. Maybe it was a question he didn’t need to answer, because an unsettling truth stirred inside him, something born of instincts that had nothing to do with mating and everything to do with brutal, savage possession. His human half could balk at the prospect, but it was already too late. The wolf’s answer was primal and unwavering.
All the way.
Chapter 14
Nick made another turn toward the city and flexed her hands. They ached from gripping the steering wheel too tightly, but she couldn’t relax. Not now.
The hours since Wynne’s unexpected visit had passed in a bizarre haze of worrying and waiting. Alec hadn’t been wrong about the effect of Nick’s declaration on the Conclave. A phone call to Mahalia had revealed that, as expected, Enrica and the Alpha had boarded a plane less than an hour after the psychic’s departure. They’d already touched down in New Orleans, and Nick would have already been at Franklin’s clinic to meet them if custom hadn’t dictated that she make something of a grand entrance.
At least Alec had gone ahead with Luciano. If nothing else, Enrica might be more inclined to listen to reason if she saw for herself that her son was fine instead of having to rely on Wynne’s reports.
Nick exhaled. Derek still had no idea what he was getting himself into, but it couldn’t be helped. All she could do now was try to prepare him as best she could.