Chapter 20
Driving to the Fox River Pack lands, Maximus noticed his son was grinning—and that was something new as Steel had always been a serious man.
Maximus was curious if he was drawing the right conclusion about the reason for his son’s change in demeanor.
“Well son, how are you and Jackson getting along? Are you happy with your mate?” he inquired.
“Jackson seems like a good person and he does look nice, but I think some of his brothers are even better looking.”
Steel’s jaw dropped, glaring at his father.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Jackson is the most beautiful person I’ve ever met.
Are you trying to piss me off—because you’re succeeding,” snarled Steel.
“He’s perfect for me and is beyond good—kind, generous, charitable, loving, and fair-minded.
He would give the shirt off his back if someone needed it. ”
Steel was getting worked up. “Look at how he handled Zane at the pack meeting. His response was measured and thoughtful, taking into account Zane’s issues.
What more can a pack want in a leader? Just the fact that he would sacrifice his own happiness for his pack tells you what kind of man he is. Why are you dissing my mate, Dad?”
Steel could hardly control his wolf during this tirade. He meant it when he told Jackson and Zane he wouldn’t allow anyone to disrespect his mate and that included his parents.
Maximus placed his hand on Steel’s forearm. “I meant no disrespect son. I was trying, in a rather foolish way, to see if your mate was responsible for the never-ending grin you wear these days. Do you love him already?”
“Yes, I do,” said Steel, calming down. “So much it scares me sometimes when I think of him giving birth and all the complications that can occur. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him. He’s my world, Dad,” Steel murmured, as his mind went to a dark place.
“Steel, stop, right now. Nothing’s going to happen—don’t let fear rule your mind. Be strong for your mate and everything will work out in the end,” Maximus said in a firm voice.
“Sorry. You’re right,” Steel said, unwilling to discuss his fears anymore and, changing the subject, announced, “Here’s our turn. Do you see it on the map?”
“Yes, turn here,” directed Maximus, “and then drive another two miles and we’ll be at the edge of the pack lands.”
After fifteen minutes of driving, Steel pulled off the dirt road into a clearing.
Leaving the pickup truck, they looked around to get their bearings in relation to the map they held.
Steel lifted his head and sniffed, murmuring, “We’ve got company—a wolf.
He’s close. Be careful. Jackson told me the land was deserted but…
Let’s move to the south of him so he won’t catch our scent. ”
Maximus nodded, turning south, leading the way through the forest. While he was hiking, Steel looked around, trying to figure out what was so valuable about this land but, so far, he could see nothing more than old growth forest with plenty of wildlife.
He knew from the map the Fox River land had a number of fields and it included a few foothills of the Western Mountains along the Fox River that the pack was named after.
He waited to ask his father what he thought until they could find out more about the wolf who was trespassing.
Steel saw Maximus raise his right hand, signaling he was stopping and then his dad pointed at someone standing about seventy-five feet upwind from them.
Steel looked at the wolf and let out a small gasp—there in front of them was the man from his last date before he’d found Jackson.
“I know him, Dad,” he whispered. Steel grabbed his father’s arm, leading him some distance away before telling him who the wolf was.
“Why is he on this land?” asked Maximus.
“I don’t know but I’m going to find out,” replied Steel. “I’ll lead this time, Dad.”
Maximus grabbed Steel’s arm. “Don’t disclose the real reason we are here.”
Nodding, Steel turned and hiked back to the wolf, making noise so they’d be heard. When they were within eyesight, the wolf turned to them with a guarded look on his face but then smiled when he saw Steel. “What a surprise,” he said, “and a very pleasant one at that.”
“Hi Khan, this is a surprise. I didn’t expect to see anyone out here,” Steel said, stopping in front of him.
“Oh, uhmm, I was looking for a place to build a house and someone told me about this land, so I came to check it out.”
“Someone owns it?” asked Steel innocently. “I didn’t realize that,” he said as he turned to his father and said, “I guess my map reading skills are rusty. It seems we’re trespassing.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Kahn reassured him, “the owner lives somewhere else, from what I understand.”
“This sure is a beautiful area. How much land is for sale?”
Khan hesitated, “I-I-I don’t know exactly.”
“We better go now,” Steel said, “since I want to get home before dark. See you around, Kahn.”
“Bye,” called Khan as Steel and Maximus turned to hike back to the pickup.
They didn’t talk until they were in the truck, driving away. Then Steel shattered the silence. “What bullshit! Building a house! Land for Sale! All lies! But what I want to know is, who is this guy? What connection does he have to the Silver Point Pack?”
“Didn’t you have lunch with him and talk about any of that?” asked Maximus.
“No, I knew once I met him, he wasn’t my fated mate so I just wanted to eat and get out of there as fast as I could. Conversation was just small talk. All I know about him is he has no problem lying to my face,” growled Steel.
“Do you think he’s a member of the Silver Point Pack?”
“That’s a fair assumption though I think we need more information to be absolutely sure.” Turning to his father, Steel said, “I don’t want to mention this to Jackson yet, Dad, until we find out for sure one way or the other. No sense worrying him.”
“Are you sure about that? I have never found it a good idea to keep things from your mother.”
“Nor have I, Dad,” Steel chuckled. “Slate and I found that out when we were younger, trying to prevent Mom from discovering our exploits.”
“Your mother would always tell me about your and Slate’s effort to hide your adventures, but that’s not what I meant, son. Jackson is your Alpha and you owe him full disclosure on anything that could affect the pack,” warned Maximus.
“But he’s pregnant and I won’t have him upset over this. It might turn out to be nothing more than what Khan said he was doing,” barked Steel, annoyed at his father’s suggestion.
They both fell silent as Steel headed home. He didn’t mean to snap at his father, but dammit, he was worried about what this extra stress might do to Jackson. His role was to ease his mate’s life, not add to the problems he was dealing with on a daily basis.
But intuitively Steel knew his father had a valid point—he should tell his Alpha about the sighting of the man on Fox River Pack land.
First, though, he wanted to do some research.
Maybe his brother, Slate, would have some information for him that could put this issue to rest and get some justice for his mate.
~/~/~/~/~
Hoping for some news from his brother, Steel sat down at his computer, opening his email program. Sorting through the messages, he soon found what he was looking for and clicked on it.
“Congratulations on your mating, dear brother of mine! I can’t wait to meet your mate as Mom and Dad speak highly of him.
Take a selfie of you two for me in the meantime.
I found an application from the Silver Point Pack asking Dire Enterprises for funds to start a mining operation on land the Alpha Josiah claims he inherited after his brother, Striker, died.
The funding has tentatively been approved, and will be released once they provide the required documents to complete the application.
The main document needed is proof of title to the land.
A warning, dear brother—the Silver Point pack has been notified of our tentative approval and the need for the proof of title, so guard your mate well.
If this pack has done what your mate has claimed, then he is now in greater danger.
Your brother, Slate. P.S. I have attached their application for you and Dad to review.
Steel slumped back in his chair as stark terror struck his heart, followed by the rage of his wolf at the threat on his mate’s life. This he absolutely needed to tell Jackson but first he must come up with a plan to neutralize this threat.
He sat there, going over different options, thinking about which his mate might accept. His mate would be angry to learn the reason for his family’s death, but he also knew Jackson wouldn’t take any measures against the Silver Point Pack that would require violence if it could be avoided.
Lost in thought, staring at the forest outside his windows, he didn’t hear his father enter the office. So, when Maximus asked, “Have you heard from Slate?” Steel whirled around with surprise.
“Jeez, Dad, don’t you knock anymore?”
“I did. What has you so deep in thought you didn’t hear me?”
Steel threw a copy of his brother’s email across the desk. “Read it and you’ll understand.” He waited until his father finished and then asked, “What do you think?”
Maximus studied his son. “Well, that explains why the massacre occurred. But what does Silver Point plan to mine?”
Steel handed his father the copy of the Silver Point Pack application, sitting back to wait for a response. He’d calmed down since first reading the email but was still agitated at Silver Point Pack’s deceit.
Of course, Silver Point had no way of knowing his mate would be one of their prime targets. An involuntary shiver coursed down his back when he thought of his mate being in harm’s way. Steel felt his restless wolf pacing back and forth, eager to hunt those who meant to hurt its mate.
Maximus sighed deeply, “This distresses me greatly, bringing back memories of the greed that consumed the Dire Wolf packs, fighting and killing for the treasure. I had hoped other wolves learned that an Alpha’s greed only ends up harming the pack.”
“It doesn’t seem so,” said Steel. “But what’s really scary here is Silver Point almost got the money from us for their mining operation.
You know it’s not easy for wolves to produce titles to land so, as has happened in the past, our company might have waived this requirement.
It’s made me realize we might have to change some of our procedures to prevent this from happening again. ”
“I agree,” said Maximus, “but I think that can wait. I’ll tell Slate to put the Silver Point application on hold while you deal with the situation over here.” Then he asked, “Are you going to tell Jackson about this?”
“Yes, I will, but first I want to come up with a game plan to recommend,” said Steel.
“Good thinking. I assume that’s what you were doing when I snuck up on you?” his father said, smiling.
“Yeah, I want Jackson to report the massacre to the Universal Paranormal High Council. I know my mate has told me it’s his word against theirs but I think this needs to be made public.
The High Council will investigate and it will take time, and during that period I’m hoping the Silver Point Alpha will call off his enforcers. ”
Steel paused for a moment in thought before continuing, “I also want to move the entire Blackwood Pack to my house. There’s plenty of room and it’s more isolated than where we are now. And finally, I want to hire a team of my own enforcers to patrol my land so my mate and his brothers are safe.”
Maximus nodded, thinking about the measures Steel had proposed, decided to add one more. “I’m going to ask Slate to come here as additional backup. He’s been after me to meet your mate, so it seems like a perfect time.”
“Good idea,” agreed Steel. ‘Now let’s go next door to see my mate and hear what he has to say about our plans.
” When they reached Jackson’s office, Steel gave one knock before entering and once inside, walked over to his mate.
“Hi babe, do you have time to talk? We have some information about the Silver Point Pack to share with you.”
Jackson reached up, pulling Steel down for a kiss, murmuring against his mate’s mouth, “I always have time for you, love.” Then Jackson turned, acknowledging Maximus. “This must be serious if you’re here. Is this about your visit to our pack lands?”
“Yes, in a way. I’ll let Steel tell you.”
“Babe, I asked Slate if our companies had any dealings with the Silver Point Pack and when I got back to my office this was waiting,” Steel said. Handing the email to his mate, Steel watched closely while Jackson read it, seeing the exact moment red hot rage crossed his mate’s face.