The Alpha's Daughter (24 page)

"Doc used someone else's name while they
were…" Donna blurted and blushed. She rolled her hand to encourage
someone else to finish her sentence for her and finally swatted the
air "You know."

The old Mate nodded. "Bumpin' uglies."

Donna's eyes bugged out as she choked on her
shock. Her mouth opened and closed several times without saying a
word. She looked like one of those bug-eye goldfish and Jazz had to
laugh in spite of being annoyed with the woman. She didn't think it
was possible to shut Donna up, but the Mate had found a way.

"There," Miz Mary went on with a gleam of
mischief in her eye, "It can't be that bad if you can still laugh.
What was the name?"

"Angelica." Jazz answered only because Donna
would have said it anyway once she got her voice back.

Miz Mary didn't look surprised and she only
hesitated a moment before she said, "There's no Angelica in Gilead,
so the name's from his past, a shadow of what was or what might
have been. You're flesh and blood, here and now." She paused,
cocked her head and frowned at the distant roar of engines. "Donna,
go on out there and see what kind of fool has the nerve to come
speeding up our road during a frolic."

She turned back to Jazz. "What's your wolf
got to say about it?" Her irritation at the speeder colored her
words.

"I don't care what she says," Jazz said
firmly as she could without swearing. "I'm done with her."

"Well I got a feeling she's not done with
you." She shook an admonishing finger. "You been fighting your
whole life, Jasmine Phillips. Maybe it's time you figured out
what's worth fighting for."

Jazz was about to answer when a commotion
outside caught both women's attention. She went to the window,
looked out to where a crowd was gathering, and slammed her hand
against the frame.

"Damnit to hell," she said, "How'd the old
bastard find me?"

Jazz's father emerged from the black
limousine without so much as a nod to the driver who held the door.
The SUV that pulled up behind the limo sat dark and silent, the
number of its occupants a mystery behind tinted windows. The SUV
was followed by two motorcycles, big and beautiful, their drivers
clad in black leather, their metal ornamentation gleaming orange in
the setting sun.

Two more motorcycles had pulled over farther
down the road, not nearly as impressive and Jazz knew instantly
that they were not part of her father's contingent. Her father's
men would have moved closer to intimidate or hidden themselves
completely.

"You forgot the heralds on white horses to
announce your arrival." Jazz said from the porch.

Her father raised his chin. "Shut the fuck up
and get in the car."

"Now you know where my mouth comes from,"
Jazz muttered to Miz Mary who stood right behind her.

The expensive suit and white silk shirt
emphasized the powerful body beneath. Custom tailoring accentuated
his massive shoulders and barrel chest. The cut of the trousers
hung loose enough to allow free movement, but left no doubt as to
the size and strength of the thighs beneath. His face looked older,
though, the age lines more pronounced and there were dark circles
under his eyes. He must have been losing sleep over this.

The car and clothing were both parts of the
look he adopted for 'business', but neither could disguise what he
really was. Nothing could be done to erase the cruelty in the lines
of his face or the flat, black look of his eyes.

"Not happening," she said to her father. Her
insides were shaking in remembrance of the last time she refused
him, but her voice was steady and contemptuous.

Her father motioned with his head to the SUV.
Three burly men got out. Jazz recognized two of them immediately as
her father's bodyguards. Big, dumb and obedient, they weren't
really bodyguards at all. They were his muscle, his enforcers. They
couldn't think for themselves so did as they were told. They had
names, but mostly answered to 'You' as they did now.

"You," her father said, poking his chin at
one of them so they'd know which 'you' he meant. "If she doesn't
get in the fucking car, put her in."

A small crowd had gathered and more were
coming to see who was visiting in such a fancy car. Those at the
front recognized that this wasn't a friendly visit and word quickly
spread.

Jazz felt the Mate's comforting hand at her
back.

"I'm gonna assume you've forgot what your
Mama taught you about coming into another pack's territory without
introducing yourself and give you a chance to rectify that
situation. My mate, the Alpha, will be here in a minute. In the
meantime, I'm Mary. Friends call me Miz Mary. You can call me
Ma'am." Miz Mary's rebuke was said with a smile, but there was no
mistaking the lack of friendliness in her eyes.

The man's jaw tightened, but he didn't answer
the Mate. "Get in the fucking car," he said once more to Jazz.

"No."

Two other voices joined Jazz's refusal.

"No."

"Now wait just one minute there."

The crowd parted to allow their Alpha and
their doctor through.

The old Alpha looked the younger up and down
and said over his shoulder, "Milt? You forget to tell me we was
expecting company?"

"Nope," said the Second who was following
close behind.

"Well, no matter. You're here now and there's
plenty for all. I'm Leonard Coburn, Alpha of the Gilead pack.
You're welcome to have a bite to eat and to go over the moon with
us if you've a mind to. Pretty country for a run," the Alpha said,
reaching out his right hand to shake.

"Bronson Phillips and we won't be staying.
I've come for my daughter," the other Alpha said without taking
Leonard's hand.

"Hate to see you come such a long way for
nothing," Leonard went on ignoring the other man's rudeness. "Miz
Jasmine seems to like it here and she ain't of a mind to go. You
might as well have a bite to eat and a good run before you head
back out." Like his Mate, the friendliness never reached the
Alpha's eyes.

"I don't care whether she fucking wants to or
not. She's coming with me. She has obligations to her pack."
Phillips looked over the crowd and changed his tactics. "She's a
thief and she's gone rogue. She stole a motorcycle and money from
her pack and she has to answer for that."

A murmur ran through the crowd.

"Bull shit! Tell them about the money you
stole from me, the money my mother left me, the bike you locked
away," Jazz called over Griz's head.

He'd taken a position at the foot of the
stairs, putting his body between the newcomers and the Mate. When
Jazz started down the steps, he put out an arm to restrain her.

"Let the Alpha handle it, Hellcat," he warned
quietly.

"I can't steal what I already own," Phillips
sneered. "Your mother had no money to give you. It was mine. You
had no motorcycle. It was mine. Everything you are, everything you
have belongs to me including the clothes on your back. I've
invested a lot of time and money in you, girl. It's time you paid
it back. I own you and you'll do as I say."

Jazz was about to tell him what she thought
of the idea, but Leonard raised his hand to silence her.

"Around these parts, we own a pig or a cow or
two and if our luck holds out and we pay off the loan, we might own
our vehicle, but we don't hold with owning kin," the Gilead Alpha
said and the power of the mantle rolled off of him in waves. "We
may be stuck with 'em, but we don't own 'em and as we're in my
territory and I consider Miz Jasmine kin, Gilead rules apply."

"She's not a member of your pack. She's got
no release and she's sure as hell not mated."

The old Alpha shrugged. "You said she'd gone
rogue. We took her in. No motorcycle, no money and if I'm not
mistaken, those clothes she's wearing belong to folks hereabouts so
they ain't yours neither." The air around the Alpha rippled with
power. He was enjoying the verbal sparring.

Phillips began throwing off power of his own.
It battered the old man and forced him to step back.

"Be careful, old man. If I challenge for her,
I'll challenge for this pack and then where will you be?"

"Right where he is."

A third force had entered the contest. It
enveloped and contained the circle of power thrown by the two
Alpha's. Wolvers moved back and a nervous murmur ran over the
crowd. Some looked to Roger Wilson who stood next to Milt. His
usual blustering voice was singularly mute and he, too, stepped
back.

Jazz could no longer see beyond Griz's broad
shoulders and barely recognized his voice.

"Because you won't challenge him, you'll
challenge me," he growled.

"No you don't!" Jazz's fists looked tiny
pounding against Griz's broad back. "I don't need your help."

"Stay out of it, Hellcat," Griz said from the
corner of his mouth.

Stay out of it? This was her life they were
arguing over. Challenges were made over property. Owned by a good
man or owned by a bad one, it was still owned!

"Ah, a Challenge by Moonlight," he father
laughed derisively. "How quaint. Next month? Three on three with
three witnesses?"

This was the traditional Challenge by
Moonlight; a fair fight between two rivals with three
representatives each. Three neutral, outside judges would bear
witness to the fairness of the contest. The fight could be between
two packs or two individuals within a pack. It didn't have to be to
the death, but it could be.

Her father's laughter turned into a snarl,
"Fine with me. In the meantime, since I had prior claim, she's
mine."

"No!" Jazz shouted again, though she was no
longer sure who she was shouting at. She'd run in the first place
to avoid what was happening now.

"It's not the same at all, dear," Miz Mary
whispered in her ear and Jazz wondered if she'd spoken her thoughts
aloud.

"I can't go back," she whispered to the woman
standing beside her. Her father would make her pay for her
defiance. All bravery drained from her at the memory of the beating
she received for her last rebellion. This one would be worse. Jazz
bowed her head to hide the fear in her eyes.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, child, you're not
going anywhere. Listen to your wolf."

"Which one," Jazz thought sourly. Her inner
wolf was almost purring with happiness. If she was allowed free,
she'd be rolling on her back and kicking her paws in the air.

Her grizzly, however, had reverted to his
bearlike behavior. His massive back was hunched. His head hung low.
His shoulders heaved in an effort to control the power that swelled
around him, more power than she ever seen in any alpha male, even
one in his prime, as Griz most definitely was.

"No," he said to her father. "We do it now or
you walk away. Those are my terms. State yours."

Bronson Phillips' smile showed too many
teeth. Jazz knew that look. Her father thought he'd won. Griz had
agreed to terms without hearing them.

"Son, you need to slow it down." Leonard
reached out to place his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "You
need witnesses."

"You call witnesses and we'll wait another
month." Her father was pushing buttons, setting everyone on
edge.

"Then we'll wait, but the girl stays here,"
the old Alpha said.

"Not happening," Griz repeated Jazz's earlier
words with the same contempt and then seemed to remember who he was
talking to. "With all due respect to your concerns, Alpha, I know
what I'm doing. We have witnesses."

He turned, whistled loudly and with his hand,
motioned forward a young man standing beyond the edge of the
crowd.

It was Livvy's boyfriend, Brad. He pointed to
himself, questioning who the doctor wanted.

"Yeah, you," Griz called and when the young
wolver came hesitantly forward, Gris pointed down the road. "Go get
your brother and the two of you pick a third. You'll be witnesses
to the challenge."

"Yeah. Sure. Okay." Brad nodded and then
asked suspiciously, "You sure you want Cho?" It was clear he found
the request unbelievable.

"Can't get any fairer than that," Griz said
and turned to Phillips. "They hold no love for us nor we for them.
They don't know you, so that makes them neutral. Agreed?" he asked
his Alpha.

Leonard nodded reluctantly. "I suppose, but I
don't like it."

"Agreed?" Griz asked the other Alpha and when
the man nodded, the doctor continued, "Bring it on, one or all, but
if it's all, beware. When I'm done with them, I'm coming after
you."

"Like you could, pup," Phillips sneered. He
seemed to grow as the Alpha's power swirled through the air.

"That's enough!" Leonard shouted.

"It's never enough and I'm tired of playing
your games." Phillips' voice was like the crack of a whip.

"You accepted a fair Challenge!" Leonard
shouted, but the other Alpha ignored him and Leonard's own power
was overwhelmed.

Jazz had seen her father bring another wolver
to his knees by exerting his power alone. She remembered it
clearly. She was ten and it was the first time she realized that
the power of the mantle was greater than any king's crown.

She never knew what that wolver did to bring
down her father's wrath. She was too young back then to understand
how the pack earned its money. She only knew that he'd betrayed the
pack in some awful way and the entire pack was called to bear
witness. It was his scream that frightened her and then, gripping
his head, he'd fallen to his knees. Jazz had held her head, too. It
felt like the air pressure doubled in that meeting hall and then
tripled and then it was gone and her father flashed both he and the
man to wolf and then he tore out the betrayer's throat.

That memory stayed with her during her own
beating. She tried to tell herself he wouldn't kill her, she was
too valuable to him, but all she could see was that wolver with his
throat torn out. If her father was angry, there was no holding him
back.