focused his careening emotions.
“No.” A single firm word. “I’m not leaving. My place is with you.”
When had his gentle, loving mate gotten so hard and strong? Before he could speak, fingertips pressed to his lips.
“Not here, my king, not like this. Let’s go upstairs so I can see for myself that you’re all right, and I won’t be reassured until I’ve examined every inch of you.”
He managed a faint smile. “And then?”
“And then you’re going to sleep and let me carry the burden of your dreams.” Before he could relax, she concluded, “Tomorrow, we’ll have that discussion.”
A chagrinned, “Yes, my queen.” And as she led him past the partially opened door to the parlor, he called in to his brothers, “Tomorrow we get down to business. But not too early.”
They had the decency not to chuckle until he was out of earshot.
– – –
The next morning, for a brief respite, the old plantation home on River Road filled with sounds of joy instead of sadness. Turow’s flamboyant mate, Sylvia, had ferried not only their queen but Colin’s three sisters from the safety of her casino hideaway in Pahrump, Nevada for a tearfully overdue reunion. They hadn’t seen each other since he’d secretly sent them off the mountain while their stubborn mother refused to leave . . . and had died on it. Kip brought his younger siblings, increasing the noise level as they mixed and mingled.
While the women and children exchanged updates and stories in the parlor, Max addressed Cale and his brothers over artery-stripping coffee.
“I know a thing or two about losing the only home you know. Mine was stolen from me when I was child, and for a time, I believed I had one here, in this house. But like you, I was just a tool in the hand of a tyrant.” He paused, letting that similar truth settle in deep. “I’m free now. My life is my own. How can I help release you?”
Five unblinking stares fixed upon him. Silence forced him to continue.
“I invited you into our territory and my home to recover, but also to help you rebuild. Is it your plan to do that in Nevada?”
“There’s nothing but ashes and ghosts there,” Colin answered for all, the destruction he’d witnessed upon a brief return evident in his lifeless tone. “We can’t move toward the future until the past is dealt with. A monster’s been released from the hell of his own making, and if we don’t stuff him back into those fires fast, he’s going to burn down the rest of our world.”
Bram the Beast, father of the royal sons of different mothers, once numbering twelve.
“As long as he’s free, our clan is divided. There’ll be no rebuilding, no home, no stability for anyone. He’ll come after you, after all of us,” Colin laid out, matter-of-factly looking from Cale to each of his brothers. “He has to if he’s going to regain control of our clan.”
“Who still follows him?” Max needed to know.
“For starters, our brothers Stephen and Lee, who helped free him.” Kip shook his head. “What the hell were they thinking?”
“Stephen’s a stupid, jealous bastard,” Cale answered, “but Lee, I can’t figure. He’s not ambitious.”
“But,” Turow interrupted, “he might think it’s a safer road for his mate and children to travel.”
Max understood that powerful draw of strength and safety. Hadn’t he almost succumbed to that deadly illusion himself? “A tyrant,” he mused, “holding all in a familiar fist or a visionary opening the way to an uncertain future? The pack mentality versus that of the individual. An interesting, and in this case, dangerous division.”
Cale heaved a weary sigh, troubled by his people’s and his brothers’ disunion. “We need to find him and stop them before they get those who’ve nothing at stake thinking that the old way was safer, and that my ideas are what got everyone killed.”
Max addressed Cale directly. “Is that what you think?” When Cale didn’t answer and his brothers failed to speak up in his defense, Max withdrew the question to offer another. “What do you plan to do about it?”
“It’s my problem. I’ll take care of it.”
The low, fierce tone alerted Cale’s brothers. Colin jumped in first, demanding, “How? You have the look of doing something stupid all over you, Cale.” No respectful my king this time. “If you think we’re gonna let you go off on some reckless crusade alone, it’s so not happening. None of us are eager to step into your job, and none