Chapter Seventeen
No one had an answer. He growled deeper and marched out of the room. Max was right behind him. It wasn’t hard to figure out where Sarah was.
The moment Blaine was close to the dungeon door he shoved it open, making it slam against the wall. The only reason it didn’t shatter was that it had been reinforced to withstand the strength of a werewolf.
Conor jumped to his feet when the door slammed against the wall.
“Where is she?” Blaine’s anger was making him shift. “Where are you hiding her?”
“Who?” Conor was smart enough to stay away from the cell door. He glanced at Max before keeping his focus on Blaine. “Your son locked me in here, alone.”
“Your lovely mate is missing from her room. Are you saying you don’t know where she is?”
“Well, since I haven’t seen her I’m going to have to say no.”
Blaine growled as he grabbed the cell bars and pulled. The bars didn’t budge.
James stepped forward, but one look from Max stopped him.
“Of all people, I would have thought you knew everything in here was reinforced to hold werewolves,” Max said, to draw his attention. He knew firsthand how dangerous Blaine was when he was angry.
The man turned his attention to Max as he shifted. Blaine growled as he circled Max. “You think you’re better than me.”
“I never used the word 'think'. I am better than you.” Max removed his shoes before he worked on removing his clothes.
A voice rang out. “Stop!”
That voice held the power to stop them. “Are you fighting over me?”
“Stupid girl!” Blaine turned toward Sarah. “Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“You? No.” She looked so calm and serene. “I was just hoping you wouldn’t show your ass.”
He charged the bars and only succeeded in shoving his muzzle in between them. Sarah moved quickly, pulling a cord from around her waist, and wrapping it around Blaine’s snout before he could react.
“I will ask again. Are you fighting over me?”
“What does it matter?” snarled Blaine. He fought against the cord but couldn’t budge its hold.
“Everything matters.” She looked at him. “You do realize the cord makes your snout wider than the bars? You won’t be released until I take that off.”
Her words just made him fight harder.
“I will not release you until my question is answered. You started this, Blaine. Why did you come here?”
“To look for you. Why are you out of your room?”
“This is my home. That should be answer enough.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “If you want to play games that’s fine. I can play too. Shall I wrap that cord all the way down your snout so you can’t answer the questions I want answers to?”
“You wouldn’t dare,” he growled.
“There is one thing I have learned from Max and Nana.” Sarah pulled another cord from around her waist. “Never bluff.”
She wrapped the second cord over the first one using this one to bind him so he couldn’t talk. “Now, you will listen instead. In order to challenge me, you have to follow our covenant. I’m assuming you read it.” She laughed. “What am I thinking? You have no clue what’s in the covenant. Thinking you can take over if you keep me locked away will get you nowhere. The only way to try to gain control is through a viewed match by the packs involved. If that is what you want to do you must put it in writing.”
“Writing?”
“Yes. I can make discretionary decisions on how I want to handle something like this, and I want it in writing. Your word isn’t good enough. It also needs to ask both packs to permit you to challenge me for control. I will pick my champion once you do this and not before. Do you agree to my terms?”
He just stared at her.
“Okay, then.” She opened the cell door separating her from everyone else. She freed Conor next. “Ready?”
“What about him?” he pointed to Blaine.
“What about him? He didn’t agree and with him trapped here I don’t have to worry about him causing trouble.” She bowed to Max. “May I have one of your men lock Blaine in the unused cell once we’re clear?”
“Of course.” Max took the key she held out to him. “I’d like to talk to Blaine for a minute anyway.”
Sarah took the arm Conor offered her and they headed up the main stairs from the dungeon.
“You were magnificent.”
“I was shaking the whole time. I’m amazed it didn’t show in my voice.”
“You seemed calm and serene. You pissed him off big time because you were so regal when you dealt with him. My question is what are we going to do with James?”
“I think he was doing what his father wanted, not what he wanted. I want to see what Blaine does. The ball is in his court.”
***
Max and his entourage moved into the castle when Nana came back. Although Nana didn’t agree Max felt they needed bodyguards and was allowing Jacques and Patrick to fill in when he didn’t need them. The whole group traveled as one. Nana hated it.
They sat at the large table in the formal dining room. Max was working on getting private guards for each of them. Since Jacques was his head of security he was in charge of finding the right people.
“I don’t need to be babysat,” she groused.
“Nana, please,” said Sarah. “I know this isn’t what you want but you know your brother. He can’t be trusted. Until the challenge happens we need to be careful. Besides if your guard is cute enough he can be your arm candy. No one needs to know a thing.”
Nana laughed. “You know they normally assign a woman to females.”
“I do, but knowing Max does have its perks. He’s looking for someone from his people that won’t make everyone think they are nothing but guards.”
“I thought the challenge was just a few weeks away?”
“This had to be cleared by three packs since Max wants to confront Blaine. We’re still waiting to see if the date works for Max’s pack.”
Nana sighed.
“I know, but it will be okay.” Sarah put her hands on one of Nana’s. “I am working hard on learning everything I need to know so when we start the challenge, I can steer it the way we want it if Blaine tries to mess things up.”
“You’re right. We have work to do.”
***
Sarah was the first to have her guard arrive. She was a little nervous. Max had asked her to wait in the sitting room. The way she felt it should have been called the pacing room because that was all she did. She heard voices coming down the hall, stopping herself and forcing herself to sit, she tried to look serene as the door opened.
"Your ward is the granddaughter of Mrs. Murphy.” Jacques’ voice floated into the room. “This is something she’s not looking forward to so if she doesn’t act the way she should you need to understand and gently steer her in the right direction.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sarah blinked. She knew that voice. “Becky?”
“Sarah?” Becky went around the corner before Jacques could stop her. “Oh my god. It is you!”
“What are you doing here? Wait. Are you my bodyguard?” Sarah looked at Jacques who had just entered the room.
“Max felt a friend would be a perfect blend. She’ll go everywhere you go, but most will assume she’s with you because you two are friends.”
He was right about that.
“Now I need to introduce Nana to her new guard.”
“Have fun with that.”
He gave her that toothy smile, then left the room.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when your mom passed.” Becky hugged her. “I feel like a terrible friend.”
“Everything happened so fast. I couldn’t think, if I had I would have asked Max to make sure you were notified.”
“You’re on a first-name basis with the strongest alpha out there? What the hell did I miss?” She took Sarah’s hand and led her to the love seat in the room. “Spill.”
***
Nana sat at one end of the table and Max sat at the other end. The new bodyguards joined them at the table, but Sarah knew they were nervous. They ate quietly, keeping their gazes down.
She didn’t want to upset anyone, but she knew she could give Becky a hard time. She was behaving the same way as the others. "You have to relax, Beck. If you don’t how are you going to protect me if all hell breaks loose?”
“I know how to do my job,” she said under her breath.
“Do you? You are letting the presence of Max and his entourage rattle you.”
Becky stared at her plate for a moment. “You’re right. Max is like a God to us. Whenever he walked around our area we always stopped what we were doing and bowed until he left.”
“Well, you better get used to this because they’re our closest friends. I can’t have you walking around on eggshells every time we’re around them.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Becky gave her friend and new boss a smile before she relaxed and enjoyed her meal.
“I heard back from the council,” said Max. “They have approved the venue, but they want to move up the date.”
“Nana, you should be happy about that,” said Sarah. She turned her attention to Max. “What date did they suggest?”
“Four days from now.”
“That doesn't give us a lot of time.”
“That’s the point. Blaine won’t have a lot of time either.”
***
James was the one who took the call. He didn’t recognize the voice and knew it was done on purpose. It was Max’s way to show they weren’t worthy.
“Who was that?”
He knew his father wouldn’t be happy. “They’ve set the date. Three days from now.”
“I thought we would have a couple of weeks,” commented Blaine.
James could almost see the wheels turning in his father’s head. “You knew it could be changed once his council made their decision. This is what you wanted isn’t it?”
“What I wanted was more time.” His father started to pace. “But I’ll still be ready. Max will learn once and for all that I am superior to him.”
***
Sarah knocked on Max and Alicia’s suite door. He opened it to see her smiling face. “We heard back from Blaine and he has agreed to the date.”
“Wonderful. Thank you.”
“He also had a special message for you.” She hesitated long enough to make him wonder if she didn’t want to tell him that special message. “This time he will finish what he started?”
“Thank you, again, Sarah.”
“Yes, sir. Um, dinner will be at six p.m.”
He spoke to her for a moment or two longer then closed the door.
Alicia tilted her head as she watched him. “So what does he want to finish?”
“You don’t miss a thing, do you?” Max sat beside his mate. “Blaine and I are close in age, but then he realized he would never be the alpha of his pack. I was being groomed to replace my father. Something he never got over. His sister and I became close because we were going to take over our packs and we compared notes and learned from each other.
“One night he was abusive to his sister and I stepped in to stop him. I became the focal point of his anger when I did that. He got me off kilter quickly and he probably would have gotten the best of me if his father hadn’t intervened.”
“And he thinks he can still take you? Is he mad?”
“He only sees me as the young wolf who became alpha. His mind blocks out everything else that has made me the alpha I am today.”
“Max, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean you will beat him. Of that, I have no doubt. But the type of anger he has been carrying around makes him untrustworthy and you know I will be dumb enough to jump in there if I think he’s harming my mate.”
“And you also know I would lose face if you did that.”
“I will not allow him to hurt you. I don’t care what the rules say. I want our children to grow up with their father.”
“Alicia.”
“Max.”
The determination on her face showed she was serious. “And if I promise to not get hurt?”
“Can you do that? Promise me he won’t touch you?” She moved on the bed so she could look him in the eyes. “You know I will support you but I sure would feel better if I knew he didn’t have a chance.”
“How can I fail with you in my corner?”
***
Sarah stepped back into her room with Conor. She leaned against the door.
“You okay?”
“Oh yeah.” She pushed off the door. “Did you know that Max and Blaine have a history?”
“No. Why?”
“When James called back to say the time and date chosen for the challenge was fine, Blaine sent a message for Max. It gives me the impression they might have been friends in the past.”
“There is only one person to ask.”
“Nana.”
Conor nodded. He stood and offered his hand to her. “We are supposed to meet her in the factory before we’re supposed to meet everyone for dinner.”
“Shouldn’t I ask Max?” Sarah walked to the door with him.
“You think he’s going to answer you?” Conor rapped his knuckles against the door before opening it. That was to warn their guards they were coming out.
“Nana could tell me to go ask Max.”
“Or she could answer your question.”
“Fine.” Everyone fell into step and headed toward the factory.
The noise was overwhelming. Sarah grabbed headphones for the four of them and handed them out. She gestured to the guards to put them on.
“Sorry. I should have called ahead and asked to have these waiting for us outside. Still learning the ropes.” She turned and walked toward the office, stopping to say hi to workers along the way.
Before they reached the office Nana came out to greet them. “Sarah, Conor. What a pleasant surprise.”
“Because we’re early?” Sarah stepped up to her and pressed a kiss against her cheek.
“Because you’re here. You could have waited until the appropriate time.”
“I see. So you want to know why I came early.”
Conor gave Nana a kiss on the cheek as well before they entered the office.
“Oh my.” Nana found she couldn’t reach her desk without climbing over someone. “I don’t think this office is big enough for the six of us.”
“Why don’t we go get some coffee?” Becky said to her counterpart.
The moment they left Nana sighed. “Much better.”
Sarah wasn’t sure how to broach the subject. “Um, did Max and your brother know each other when they were younger?”
“What did my brother do?”
“Oh, nothing.” When Nana just stared at her, she shrugged. “He added a comment that piqued my curiosity. He said he could finish what he started.”
“He wasn’t happy when I was being groomed to take over the pack. I’m not sure why, but he thought he would still lead the pack the way my father did. Our father explained that it would be my mate that would be the alpha. Blaine did everything he could to keep me from taking over when he learned that.
“Max was being trained to lead his pack as well so we became friends sharing everything we could to help each other.” She glanced at her guard for a moment. “Rumors started about us. I don’t know if our families were playing matchmaker or if people were jumping to conclusions, but Blaine became livid. He wasn’t about to let Max lead his pack.
“He sabotaged Max every chance he got. It came to a head when he came after me. Max stood up to him. Before either could harm the other our packs intervened. Needless to say, Blaine felt they only stopped them to protect Max.”
“This is great. Not only do I have to allow Max to be in harm's way I can’t warn him or he’ll know you told me the story.”
“Don’t you worry about that. Max hasn’t forgotten what my brother is capable of. This will give him the chance to show my brother that he never would have bested him.”
“Which is why you asked me to allow Max to be Sarah’s champion,” said Conor. “It makes sense. I’m assuming a lot of packs know their history?”
“Some do. They also know what an ass my brother is. Then some question Max’s ability to be the alpha everyone touts him to be. This is the perfect venue for Max to prove he is the one true alpha.”
Becky and her counterpart came back with coffees for everyone.
“It’s time to join Max and his crew,” said Conor.
Sarah nodded as Nana stood. Sarah waited for Nana to leave the room first, but Nana hadn’t moved.
“Nana?”
“You go first now.”
“Why?”
“Our people need to see you as our leader. It will make the transition easier when you do take over.”
Not what she wanted to hear. “Yes, ma’am.”
Max and his group walked in right after they did. Sarah knew it was done on purpose. The staff came in next bringing food and drinks. Everything was placed on side tables.
“We have two days before the challenge,” said Max. “My pack and my mate are not happy about this but they understand that it needs to be done.”
Sarah wanted to know why but didn’t feel comfortable asking. Angering Max wasn’t at the top of her list. Max took that moment to focus on her. As much as she didn’t want to react she couldn’t stop her eyes from widening.
“Are you ready?” asked Max.
Sarah nodded. Knowing she had to face several packs made her nervous but Nana had told her several times that she was born to do this.
“Nervous?”
“A little, but I did my homework and should be fine.”
Max gave her one of his megawatt smiles. “And Nana explained everything to you?”
“She did.” She felt her return smile spread across her face. He knew she had gone to Nana to explain the extra comment. Sarah did feel better knowing he wasn’t mad at her. If he was, she couldn’t see it.
“Why didn’t you ask Max?” Alicia pitched her voice.
“He didn’t offer any information. I didn’t think he wanted to tell me, and I knew Nana would tell me what I needed to know.”
“You didn’t care if you angered him?”
“Of course, I was afraid I’d do that, but I needed to know what was between them. We all know Blaine will do anything to throw us off-guard. I need to look like the leader I’m supposed to be. If it meant I upset Max I would face his anger because I feel I did the right thing.”
Alicia didn’t respond and Sarah knew she was filling Max in on their private conversation. Now she would know if he was mad at her. She was shocked when Max winked at her. What did that mean?
***
Sarah worked with Max one on one. It was frightening and exhilarating at the same time. Not giving her any information was a test. Somehow, she passed. Max wanted to see what she would do if she didn’t have the proper information. Going to Nana instead of begging him for the info showed she could take the initiative.
Max told her the whole story between him and Blaine. He explained how he went beyond being just the alpha of his pack. How people started to come to him for advice. He learned quickly that he was good at seeing issues in a different light. He also could make everything turn to gold.
He took her into his confidence. Max saw her as his equal. She saw him as a hero.
Her brain felt like it was melting but she was ready for anything Blaine could throw at her. Becky opened the door for her so she could enter her room. Conor was pacing as she walked in.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes.” She smiled as she stepped into his arms. “I’m tired but I’m good.”
“Was Max angry you went behind his back?”
“I don’t know. If he was, he never showed it. He told me it was a test. He needed to see if I would beg for the information or try to gain it my own way. Going to Nana was the right thing to do. She had the answers I needed and I didn’t reveal what I had learned. That man is a wealth of knowledge.”
“You’re in awe of him, aren’t you?”
“A little bit. I’ve never met anyone like him. He sees things differently.”
“If you weren’t my mate, I might be a little jealous.”
“There is only one man I want to be a groupie for and that is you. You are amazing in the kitchen. You make food like an angel. Plus, you’re the only man who can make my body sing.”
“Keep talking.”
She laughed. “Are you sure you want to talk more?” Sarah slipped her shoes off first, then pulled the dress she wore off. She now stood in front of him naked.
“Nope. Done talking.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Especially when I have such a beautiful woman standing in front of me. I do need to fix one problem first.”
“Feeling a little overdressed?”
“Very overdressed.” Conor shed his clothes then took her into his arms. “I’m amazed at how you have learned to be the leader our pack needs so quickly. I’m in awe of you.”
“Me? I’m playing this by ear. You know I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“Yet people are noticing how you’re holding yourself. They notice how you treat Nana with the respect she deserves. No one has missed that you handle the factory workers with the same respect.” His hands caressed her skin as he spoke. “I’m proud to be your mate.”
Sarah had been so focused on what was expected of her she never thought about how people viewed what she did. She was in the limelight all the time now.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“I am. I just never thought about how people see me.” She rested her head on his shoulder as his caresses relaxed and aroused her at the same time. Sarah lifted her head to look at him. Conor took that moment to dip his head down and capture her lips with his.
He steered her backward toward their bed. This was what she needed. Thinking about her new role in life frightened her. She wanted to go back to the life she had in the states.
“You are so tense, Sarah.”
“Sorry.” She tried to shake her fear off. This was her mate. He would protect her from harm. Something she knew he would do. He had told her several times that she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to do. She felt the soft mattress brush against the back of her thighs. The desire to forget everything but the two of them pushed her to take control.
She offered her lips to him then shifted them so he was the one with his calves against the bed. One gentle push had him sitting on it. Sarah followed him there. Conor seemed to know what she needed because he didn’t try to take control. She braced her hands on his chest as she eased herself down his length. She moaned as he filled her. “That feels so good.”
Conor helped her set a strong pace. One that had her wanting more. Shifting her body, she changed the pace and moaned again. Her body was on fire. She wanted more. Each time he filled her he brushed against just the right spot. It wasn’t long before she started losing control. Once again her mate was there to help her. He took control, flipping them over. He drove into her, pushing that need up higher.
Tendrils of her release wrapped around her heart, slowly working its way through her body. Her breath caught as her release intensified. Somewhere deep inside a howl worked its way out, showing how much she enjoyed this release. Joy filled her when she heard her mate howl too.