Chapter 41

Sam

Meg had a cup of hot chocolate waiting for me on the counter and a large pot of coffee brewed by the time I exited the shower. The gesture warmed me more than the hot shower had, especially since the first half had been intentionally cold, and I found my eyes straying to her bed, the covers still rumpled, where I'd nearly lost my mind when I woke up with my arms still wrapped around her.

"How's your arm?" Meg's question jerked me back to the present. Her eyes skittered to my chest, bare since I still had a plastic bag taped over my arm and hadn't put my shirt on over it. I watched with satisfaction as her cheeks heated. Pushing it, I waited until she met my eyes again, a grin teasing my mouth, letting her know I'd caught her staring. She rolled her eyes and her flush darkened.

"Like what you see?"

"I don't know. Let's take the bag off and look," she retorted.

I smiled, sat down at the table, and held my arm out to her. She helped me peel the tape off around the plastic bag and then she gingerly peeled back the layer of gauze stained with iodine and blood.

A wide, red, ropy scar with protruding stitches stood out starkly from the flesh of my bicep.

"Well, that arm is never going to look the same," I mentioned as I flexed the muscle. It had healed together well. There wasn't much pain, and I could tell the muscles had healed properly. I didn't really care about the scar itself.

"It gives you character." Meg smiled. I realized she was flirting with me. Her hand was still wrapped around my arm below my scar. My eyes trailed to her lips as her gaze flew over my bare shoulders. Her lips parted and for the first time, desire flashed across her face. My blood roared in my ears as I slowly angled my head to kiss her.

A familiar fantasy theme song blared from her phone two feet away on the tabletop, yanking us out of what could have been one of the best moments of my life.

"That's Rachel," Meg stammered, heat flooding her cheeks again.

"That's Rachel," I repeated dryly and moved to finish getting dressed.

Meg and Rachel chatted while I found a short-sleeved shirt that covered about half of the new scar on my arm. Over that, I put a dark gray quarter-zip sweater. The skin pulled some as I moved my arms up over my head, and for a minute, I was tempted to play it up and see what happened if I asked Megan to help me. I sighed, biting the inside of my cheek. Last night had bonded us together more firmly than anything else had yet. There was something about two people surviving a major scare that had a way of knitting them together.

The corners of my mouth tugged down as I thought about the festival today. I was going to have to go to Dad's meet and greet for part of the morning. If I didn't, he'd be mad, and if he was involved—ice lodged in the pit of my stomach at the thought—it would make him suspicious. I didn't want to widen the circle of knowledge any larger than it already was. Cade was supposed to be there with me as my second. I wasn't sure who else I trusted at this point. It was a horrible, hollow feeling to question the trust of the pack I'd grown up with, embraced, and was poised to lead someday. Bitter emotion rose in my throat. I choked it back down and wracked my brain for a solution. Maybe I was asking the wrong question. It wasn't so much who I trusted, but who loved Megan, rather than had cause to remove her from the picture?

One person came to mind. Rev. He had been a part of Megan's life since she was born, and I was pretty sure that loyalty to her went every bit as deep as his loyalty to my father. Rev would not condone or take part in an act that hurt Megan. I didn't think he was above killing for the just cause—much like an officer of the law would be—Rev was, in many ways, an officer of the pack. He'd find a peaceful solution if at all possible. And it had been Rev that offered the way out for Megan if she stayed human.

"Rachel is significantly freaked out and angrier than she's ever been." Megan cut into my thoughts. "Only with the reading between the lines that she's done. She surmised you weren't sick."

"I can't say I blame her. I'm not exactly thrilled either," I said.

"So what's the plan today?" she asked, her eyes serious as she bit her lip.

"How do you feel about Rev?"

"What do you mean?"

"I need someone we both trust while I'm at the meet and greet this morning. I don't think there's any way I can get out of it and not look suspicious. Cade will have to be with me, too, so I can't leave him with you either."

"I trust Rev."

I looked her in the eye. There was no wavering, only confidence.

"All right. I'm calling him now. I'm only giving him sketchy details though, until I have more information."

She nodded. "Sam, I'm scared."

"Me, too," I whispered as I enfolded her in a tight hug.

****

I hadn't liked it, but I'd left Rev at the booth with Meg. She and Rachel were scurrying around, and I could tell the daylight hours and the business of the festival was distracting Meg enough that she was more or less enjoying herself, despite the cloud of terrifying uncertainty hanging over us. Jennifer had removed my stitches first thing without anyone else being the wiser. I ran into Kyp not long after that, and he was going to do a few rounds of patrols around and in the long building. I wasn't entirely sure I trusted him, but he had no motive to hurt Meg and only got to Rock Falls a few days before the sedan tried to crush Megan into the pavement. I suppressed a shudder. I was going to have to confront Dad. Soon. I couldn't let this sit. I wasn't sure I had the luxury of time.

"Sam, you look angry," Cade said quietly as we made our way to the enclosed space where we'd had our meetings last night.

I blew out a hard breath. "Right. Blank face." Concern flashed over Cade's face. "I'm fine. My arm is healing well. Just…thinking about a conversation I need to have."

"You want backup?"

I smiled at my friend. "Yes. But I have to do this alone. Thanks." He nodded, and we pushed through the door.

Sarah and Mr. Thornehill were there along with most of their top-ranking pack members. Most of our top pack members were present, sans Rev, though my attention was riveted on my father.

Nothing looked out of the ordinary. He even cracked a grin at a joke the man next to him shared. Mom flitted around in the background and smiled at me as I walked in. I waved back, never letting Dad leave my periphery.

He caught my eye, nodded once, and went back to his conversation. It felt like the casual gathering stretched on and on. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I used the link and checked in with Megan.

Are you okay?

The slight pause dragged on for eternity.

I'm fine. All is good here. I'm saving you a double-fudge chocolate-chunk cookie.

That drew a smile to my lips. Forty-five minutes later, most everyone had trickled out. The pressure built in my chest. I slowly approached my father, my palms sweating, Wolf pacing and tightly wound.

"Dad, I'd like to speak with you. Alone."

His eyebrows raised, uncertainty quickly crossing his features and sending my stomach plummeting to my toes. Wolf rose up, ready to act quickly. I didn't think it would come to an actual fight between us, but if it did, I had to come out on top for Megan's sake. I swallowed, my mouth like cotton. I looked at Cade. We nodded to each other once, and he left, making his way back to Megan.

"Give me a few minutes," Dad replied. With a few discreet murmurs, the room completely cleared. The door snicked shut behind the last wolf. We were alone. I felt the vein in my neck pulsate visibly.

"What is it, Samuel?" Dad turned fully to face me and for a moment, my courage fled completely. His features were stern, commanding. Every inch the Alpha.

Afraid my voice would crack if I tried to use it, I shrugged out of my sweater and pulled up the sleeve of my shirt to fully expose my still-healing scar.

Dad's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open.

"Last night someone shot an arrow at Megan from the archery station. I was able to get her out of the way in time." My teeth clenched as Dad's face drained of color. For a long minute, neither of us said anything.

"This is the second time someone has tried to kill my mate." Deep breath. Courage. "I have to know if you were behind it. Did you call for her death?"

Dad visibly started, his skin paling further as he stared, then blinked slowly at me.

"You think I was behind it?" His voice was quiet—almost childlike.

"I don't want to think you had anything to do with it," I replied. My muscles were tense. Wolf was ready to spring at any sign of aggression.

"Samuel, I swear to you both as your Alpha and your father, I would not do, and have not done, any such thing." My chest ached at his words. There was no lie in them. Dad wilted into a chair. "Why would you think I tried to kill her?"

I swallowed thickly as my dread slowly started to dissolve. "If Megan were dead, it would solve all the problems I created when I bit her. I would have no living mate. I'd be free to make a more political match. It saves face since I broke one of the big rules. You can hardly look at me without getting angry about it." Tears pricked my eyes. Mortified, I blinked them back.

Dad steepled his hands in front of his mouth as he looked at me, quiet for a long moment. "Oh, Samuel. When did I stop being a good father to you?" His voice was broken; anguish leaked out with his words.

I felt like I'd been punched. There was suddenly no air in the room.

"The day I became your Beta." The words strangled themselves past the fist of emotion closing on my windpipe. To my shock, a tear leaked out of the corner of my father's eye. I'd never seen my father cry—only rarely ever seen him show any kind of vulnerability.

"I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly.

Relief and hope burst from my chest in a wild rush that left me dizzy.

"I'm sorry," he said again as another tear followed the first. He stood and closed the distance between us. He looked me in the eye, and I realized that I no longer looked up to him. We were eye to eye. This giant of a man was now my equal, in stature, height, and possibly something more. Slowly his arms came up and drew me to his massive chest. He hugged me. Hard. Hugged me like I was six years old again and I'd run to him after he'd come home from work. My arms came up around him, and I hugged him back.

"I love you, son. I've always been proud of you. I am proud of you." He drew back to see my face. Something sweet bloomed inside my chest at his words. "A pack is only as strong as its Alpha and Beta. Our pack is not as strong as I thought. But we can fix that. More importantly, you are my son. Somewhere along the line I lost sight of that. I want you to know that I'm sorry, and that I want to fix this rift between us."

I couldn't speak. Instead, I hugged him back, a sob breaking loose from deep inside me. Chains broke free around a dark place I hadn't realized I held trapped inside. Feelings of inadequacy shriveled up like mist burned away under a hot sun, replaced by something whole and healthy. We held each other for a long time, words unnecessary as the bond between father and son began to repair itself after years askew.

Finally, we released each other, both of us swiping an unmanly tear or two. Dad cleared his throat, but I spoke first.

"So who is trying to kill Megan?"

Thunder and lightning shuddered across my father's face. "Someone is trying to tear this pack apart from the inside. We will find out who and deal with them." My father had never looked so lethal or sounded so protective. My heart beat steadily in my chest, hope kindled, and relief fresh that my dad, my Alpha, was behind me completely. That we'd face this thing head on and face it together. It was a new beginning for us both, and I planned to grab it with both hands.