Curran POV Vol II: Fathers and Sons

I watched the Council of the Pack run from the room with their tails between their legs. One by one, they fled, careful not to look at me or the Bear. Finally the last of the shapeshifters went through that doorway. It was just the two of us.

I looked at Mahon the way an alpha looks at the subject. Mahon crossed his massive arms.

“It comes to this, then.”

I didn’t answer.

“It’s about time. I’ve been waiting for this, boy. It needs to be sorted out.”

Good, we understood each other. “Do you want to settle this here, old man, or do you have some place in mind?”

Mahon considered it for a long moment. “We’re going to need space. This place is too small.”

“Up on the fourth floor balcony, then.”

The balcony, a flat top of one of the smaller towers, was a stone square, about twenty by fifty yards. In spring and summer we used it for outdoor dining and gatherings, but in winter it was deserted. It would provide us with plenty of room and give us some privacy as well.

This thing between Mahon and me wasn’t going to be an exhibition. It wasn’t a fight to the death either, but if any of the Pack happened to witness it, it would become one. I would have to kill Mahon, and I did not want to do that. Mahon wasn’t my father, but I was his son.

This was between the two of us and when it was over we would know once and for all who was the strongest.

I walked through the doorway. He followed. Outside the room Derek saw me and stepped away from the wall. I glanced at him, said, “Follow me,” and kept walking. The kid fell in step behind us. We would need a guard to keep the rest of the Pack from sticking their noses where they didn’t belong and it couldn’t be Jim or Kate. Jim was my best friend. He would interfere. Kate… This was something I didn’t want Kate to see. Derek would do what he was told and would keep the rest out.

The three of us made our way to the fourth floor. A solid wooden door barred the way to the balcony.

I looked at Derek. “You stand here. Nobody gets on the other side of this door.” I held his gaze for another long moment to make sure I had his attention. “No one.”

“Yes, m’lord.”

I opened the door and Mahon and I walked outside. The cold air hit my lungs.

The door shut behind us.