Chapter Six #2
Tansy felt her heart pounding in delight as her beautiful mate moved into the circle of Morphates loosely surrounding Ambrose.
Everyone waited with patience, knowing what would come even before he displayed obeisance to his Alpha.
The gorgeous warrior reached to wrap a possessive hand around the back of Tansy’s neck and he dragged her against him for a hard, hungry kiss.
As he kissed her, his hand absently wrapped her long red braid around his fist again and again.
Finally he reached the end of the rope and used his hold to tug her back away.
Jacan glanced away from his woman to look at Ambrose.
The Alpha was watching them with obvious pleasure and a small hint of revulsion as well.
Pleasure because his sister had wed the most powerful Morphate man in all the clans who wasn’t an Alpha, the one man who might give Ambrose concern if it ever came down to a contest for his position as Alpha; but the revulsion was actually because he would never understand the feelings they had for one another.
Nor could he stomach the idea of monogamy.
Jacan smiled at his clan leader, a small quirk of compressed lips.
He released Tansy and made his obeisance with a kneel.
He rose quickly, holding out an arm to Tansy, who slid herself against his side like a holstered weapon.
Knowing Tansy for the cutthroat fighter that she was, he thought it a very accurate piece of imagery.
“Tansy and I will obtain this target for you,” he said at last, finishing his leading entrance statement.
Ambrose flared up like a Siamese fighting fish, but instead of gills fanning out, he took in a breath of indignation and flexed his not inconsiderable muscles. His face flushed a rosy hue of outrage that clashed terribly with the bright red-gold tint of his hair.
“Jacan, we have finished this conversation and I won’t tolerate…!”
“I hardly call you spouting dictates based on emotional whim to be the makings of a conversation.”
One could have vacuumed the world with the sudden intake of breath in that room.
Very few people stood up to Ambrose, and none dared do so in public.
But Jacan was no ordinary Morphate. If not for the fact that Jacan was completely loyal to Ambrose, the Alpha leader might consider him a dire threat.
His sister’s mate, it was rumored, was even more powerful than he was.
However, Ambrose’s first lieutenant was devoted to his lady, and therefore her family as well. He would do nothing to hurt Tansy.
“Tansy won’t be put at risk,” Ambrose said with finality, although in a far calmer tone than was expected.
“I’d never risk Tansy, you know that well enough.
But if you continue to send these lesser assassins instead of your best, then you’ll continue to get less than satisfactory results.
” Jacan’s tone turned casual as he moved to take a seat in a comfortable chair, tugging Tansy in his wake until she slid into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
It never ceased to amaze the Dark Phoenix Clan members how openly affectionate these two deadliest of creatures could be.
There wasn’t a Morphate among them that didn’t fear the wrath of either one of them alone; as a united team they were an unstoppable force.
“Tansy, my lover, wouldn’t you like to kill the Morphate traitor? ”
“Oh, ever so much, my darling,” she breathed with excitement flashing in her mocha colored eyes.
Her hands slid forward over his face to cradle it, holding him for her slow, sensual kiss.
She smiled as she pulled away, turning to look at her brother as she pressed her cheek against Jacan’s.
“However, I’m also willing to stay here making love to you, amusing ourselves by watching the next few failures. ”
“Good point, minx,” he laughed with delight. “My woman has shown me the error of my ways, Ambrose. I’ll wait patiently for you to conclude you require us.”
Jacan hurled himself out of his chair, sweeping up Tansy in the same movement.
Without even another word or glance at their Alpha, they took to the halls, heading for the suite they occupied.
Ambrose watched them go with a mixture of irritation and amusement, and then his attention shifted to Alda, who passed the couple as she moved smoothly into the room and then toward him.
She was wearing white, his favorite color on her because of the fascinating contradiction to her ebony skin.
Ambrose chuckled in spite of his earlier temper. He held out an arm to Alda. She took it, letting him lead her deeper into the reception room. Seeing his good humor return, his clan relaxed back into what they’d been doing.
The clan headquarters was an enormous skyscraper that, once upon a time, had been a luxury hotel with all the finest trimmings money could buy.
Then, after the gangs had overrun Phoenix, the hotel, like all the other grand buildings of the city, had been left to fall into disrepair.
But the Morphates had rescued it from such a sad fate.
The main body of the second floor, which had once been part of the convention rooms, was now a clubroom.
There were pockets of chairs grouped against corners, walls, and surrounding gaming tables.
There was a long bar that filled the entire room with the rich scent of exotic coffee roasts and other unusual treats.
“Perhaps this calls for a temporary relocation,” Ambrose mused aloud. It was an unwritten law that Morphates must remain inside their territories, but he didn’t see Devona adhering to that law, and since he had never agreed to the law, he didn’t see any reason why he should either.
They would relocate to his property in the lower Adirondacks. ‘They’ meaning his entourage of the moment, his security forces, and a few more of those assassins Jacan had been speaking of. It would put him within striking distance of the traitor, making her more easily accessible.
Privacy and security would also be provided by their location in the farthest reaches of the Adirondacks.
It was a property with acreage that stretched for miles in all directions.
The main house was for gatherings and served as residence to the upper echelon of the clan; extended wings held suites for those closest to Ambrose by blood or by favor.
The vast property held a number of smaller buildings, houses, and cottages to contain the rest. In all, the crème de la crème of his clan ran almost to 400 brethren.
In Dark Phoenix his clan was known for being the largest grouping of Morphates around, and therefore the most powerful.
Splitting away could weaken his position somewhat.
But he felt it was a risk he had to take.
“So what do you think, Alda? Am I foolish to want to keep Jacan and Tansy away from the danger the traitor poses?”
“Considering the weaponry she terrorizes us with, I think you’re wise to show reserve,” she commended soothingly, smiling as he led her to their prominent seats at the head of the room.
“However, you must also consider that there are none so skilled, nor so ruthless as your baby sister and her beloved.”
“As always, the measured voice of reason, pet,” he said expansively as he pulled up her hand to kiss her knuckles. “And you’ve always had that keen vision of the future, haven’t you?”
“Ambrose, I’ve already told you what I’ve seen of the future,” she said.
“Yes. I have seen it too,” Ambrose mused, stroking his beard.
Soon, very soon, he’d subjugate all of the other Cities, forcing them to name him undisputed leader of all Morphates.
All Cities would become his clan, and he would be Alpha over them all.
There were six major Cities to contend with, but although his was the largest, his enemies were also powerful in their own ways.
Lucky for him their ideals prevented the other Cities from ever forming true alliances.
They depended on their Alpha Council to keep things calm and orderly.
But neither he nor the Alpha of Los Angeles had found following the rules to his taste.
And Ambrose was quite close with that other Alpha. Quite close indeed.
As for the sects that had broken off from all of the Dark cities, he thought them of little consequence. They were neither large enough or organized enough to be worth his time or interest.
“You have no specific advice or opinions on this issue?” he coaxed her as they settled in and a servant hurried to set out footstools and provide the little comforts they usually desired.
“Only what I’ve said. Devona has betrayed her own breed with mercury.
She will clearly become aggressive toward you.
” Alda’s attention seemed to slowly fade out, her patois thicker as she turned contemplative.
“She must be stopped soon before she gains any footholds within the Morphate political structure.”
Ambrose almost scoffed aloud at the idea. No Morphate would side with her once it became widely known what she had done to betray her own people.
“This other thing is different.” Alda tilted her head thoughtfully. “By taking the humans under her hand, she surrounds herself with an unusual resource.”
This time Ambrose couldn’t contain his derision.
“Ha! I hardly call them a resource! I give them credit for stumbling into the schemes of the one Morphate who could give them a real weapon against us. But all prey has defenses. It will only make the hunt more worthwhile.” Ambrose waved her comment off with another huff.
“Don’t be so quick to dismiss this resource,” Alda warned him. “It could make the difference in Devona’s campaign for power. Perhaps you should consider sending Tansy and Jacan. Send them now while she’s still vulnerable.”