Chapter Twenty-Three

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The conference room down the hall from the apartment was large enough to hold all of the Clan members who had taken part in yesterday’s action. Colt recognized a lot of familiar faces from both the meeting at Gavin’s house and the battle at the Rollins estate. This time, he got a chance to exchange greetings with most of them as they ate breakfast from the lavish buffet laid out along one side of the room.

He and Faith ended up sitting next to the selkie SEALs, Nathan and Gunnar, as well as two other shifters that smelled a little different. Still of the sea, but if Colt had to put money on it, he’d say they weren’t selkies. The mystery was cleared up about half-way through the meal when Nathan revealed that the two guys sitting next to him and Gunnar were shark shifters.

“But I thought most sharks were batting for the other team?” Colt said to Nathan, shooting the shark shifters a somewhat apologetic glance.

“Oh, these boys did make a bit of a mistake a while back, but they’ve been on the straight and narrow since they’ve been with us. I reckon you’re aware of Haliwell’s unit back in New York?”

Surprised, Colt nodded. “We worked with them from time to time when we were still in the Navy,” Colt replied. “And we became reacquainted with them just recently during the action on Long Island.”

“Well, our friends here took a very unwise contract to do some damage to Hal’s people. One of the ladies came up with a plan to stop them, and they were captured and interrogated by Lester, then sent to us for safekeeping.”

“It was all a big misunderstanding,” the older of the two dark-haired men said from down the table. “We were just trying to make some money so we could buy houses and attract mates like those crazy bears we heard about in Washington State.”

“Fat chance, Miguel,” Gunnar said. “Those bears built a whole town. You’ve got to do something big to attract that many women to come check you out.”

“My brother and I decided to start smaller,” Miguel replied. “We’d already gotten a new pod of hammerheads together, which is something that hasn’t been done in a long time. Right, Jose?” Miguel elbowed the guy sitting next to him who had to be his brother, Jose.

“Hammerheads?” Colt asked in disbelief.

The younger of the two shark shifters nodded. “Yeah, we’re downright prehistoric.” Jose laughed as he shoveled a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

“Besides, it’s the great whites who are all running drugs and other even less savory things. We hammerheads are…” He paused, tilting his head to the side, then went on. “We’re a little different.”

“You can say that again,” Gunnar said, chuckling.

“I still can’t figure out if they’ll stay on the straight and narrow, though,” Nathan put in. “And until we have that settled, they’re working for Kinkaid, out in the deep. We have a few contracts for high-paying underwater work on some of the offshore oil rigs out in the Gulf,” he clarified. “Miguel, Jose, and the rest of their pod have been earning an honest living for some very specialized work that doesn’t involve taking shots at innocent women or trying to capture Hal’s group. As if anybody could capture even one of those guys now.” Nathan chuckled, and the other men joined in.

Colt knew that Hal’s men had all been changed by their time in the desert. Magically changed. Each and every member of his Green Beret unit now had some kind of freaky supernatural ability that made them even more lethal and cunning than they’d already been.

“I’m glad you were here to help. Do you have to stay on a boat or something when you’re working that far out?” Faith asked, seeming genuinely intrigued.

“Well, there is a boat,” Miguel said, “but we usually stay in the water. It’s easier.”

“But we keep the boat for appearances. Not everyone who works on the rigs is a shifter,” Nathan added.

“But I thought sharks ate seals in the wild,” Faith said, scrunching up her nose in that adorable way Colt loved. Then, she seemed to realize she’d been indelicate, and her eyes widened. “Oh! I’m so sorry.”

Nathan and Gunnar bellowed with laughter. When they finally subsided, it was Gunnar who answered. “We’re selkies, lass. We’re much more magical than the average shifter, which is why we were able to protect most of the others while the magic was flying so fast and loose today. Our wild counterparts may be a bit more vulnerable to sharks, but hammerheads don’t usually prey on seals anyway.”

“In the wild, our kind like to eat stingrays and skates,” Jose added. “We’re pretty much immune to the poisonous barbs.”

“Huh,” Nathan said, sitting back in his chair and looking pensive for a moment. “I’d hadn’t thought of that. You fellows may yet come in handy after all.”

He said no more and began to eat again as the room filled up. Sam had arrived, and everybody was finishing their breakfast as the Alpha took his place at the conference table.

With the Alpha’s arrival, the meeting came to order quickly. They started with a recap of the events leading up to yesterday’s battle, and then a report from the leaders of each group that had participated in the action. Colt was impressed. He hadn’t realized the full extent of the planning that had gone into the operation.

Oh, he’d seen some of it when they went through certain parts of the plan at Gavin’s house before the battle, but the overall strategy was even larger and more detailed than he had realized. Sam, for instance, had been the point of contact between the Clan and Granny Tucker. In fact, he had a report from her which he contributed to the debrief.

“I’m happy to report that Granny Tucker’s people took no serious injuries, though many are a little burnt out energy-wise today. But she assures me they will heal with time, and the experience of their first real mage battle may stand them in good stead if these sorts of things continue to happen,” Sam said as everybody listened attentively. “Granny Tucker isn’t really known for training combat mages, but she feels very strongly that she can work with Florence Rollins, as her magic seems more suited to protection than combat.”

“I saw the same thing,” Gavin added to the conversation. “Either she is a much better actress than anyone I’ve ever seen and is playing a very deep game, indeed, or she’s exactly what she appears. Someone born into a bad situation who was ill-suited to what her family expected of her.” Gavin’s brow furrowed. “While I have no doubt that she would have performed the summoning spells if we had not intervened, we all saw that look on her face. She didn’t want to be there. She didn’t want to summon demons, even though she had been taught how to do it. Time will tell if she is truly evil, but for now, I’m very willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. What she did for our side once the shit hit the fan earned that much, at least. She saved a lot of lives out there yesterday, and I can’t discount that.”

“Well said,” the Alpha concurred. “Regardless, Granny Tucker is the expert in this matter, and she has agreed to take on responsibility for her. We’ll have to wait and see what Granny says after she’s had time to work with Florence a bit more.” Sam shuffled some papers in the small briefcase he’d brought with him. “Now, I’ve had my researchers digging into things, and it turns out that Florence is the Rollins heir. She is now the oldest surviving child of the patriarch, and his will stipulates that his children take precedence in inheritance over his siblings and the children of his siblings. Which means, she owns that estate now, among other things. When I spoke to Granny Tucker this morning, I had a short discussion with Florence as well. My current interest is in that estate, which is so close to one of our larger housing developments. I offered to buy it from Florence, but she had a better idea. One of Granny’s current students happens to be a lawyer, and they’re going to draw up some paperwork and send it over as soon as it’s ready, but the upshot of it is—Florence wants to give the estate to you, Colt. Outright. No strings attached, she assured me.”

Colt was floored and didn’t know what to say. He looked at Faith. She was smiling softly, and though he wasn’t yet sure how to interpret all of her expressions, he took it to mean that she was happy with this turn of events. But the Alpha wasn’t finished speaking, and Colt was relieved he didn’t have to say anything just yet.

“From my perspective—and the Clan’s perspective—this is a good result. If you ever want to sell the property, Colt, I’d like first crack at it. After yesterday, it’s clear the place is too close to our vulnerable for comfort. But if you want to keep it, I want you to know that you are welcome in my territory on a permanent basis. You are family, Colt. Whether you want to be or not, I consider you a part of the Clan. Your brothers too. Though I’m sure they’re going to have to come to terms with that in their own good time. Still, it’s clear we’re all on the same side. We serve the Light. And there’s no reason we shouldn’t do that together. As a family. You’re Clan, Colt. And you always were. If I had been Alpha back when your parents got together, I like to think that things would have gone a lot different, but I wasn’t, and I can’t change the past. What I can do, is offer the Clan’s official apology for letting your parents disappear and for not keeping track of you. We should have been there for you and your brothers when your parents were killed. For that, and all the bad feelings the actions of the past may have caused, I humbly apologize.”

Stunned all over again, Colt really didn’t know what to say this time. The king of all lions didn’t often apologize. And in public. He was humbling himself in front of everyone, which meant this was that important to him. Wow .

His brothers were going to have a cow. But somewhere deep in his soul, Colt felt the rightness of this moment. Those words. The Alpha’s bold statements rang true deep in Colt’s soul. The Alpha was right. They were family. It was silly to fight against something so basic and true. Especially now that Colt knew a lot of them.

Of course, if the Rollinses had tried to claim him, Colt would have fought that tooth and claw, but the Kinkaids had always been on the side of Light. Just like Colt and his brothers. Rich and Billy would come around. Eventually.

Colt had to clear his throat before he could speak past the emotion clogging it. He stood and addressed them all. This was too important not to make a little ceremony out of it.

“Thank you, Alpha. I am honored and, frankly, humbled by your generosity of spirit. Faith and I have talked this possibility over, and she has helped me see the sense in accepting what I can no longer deny. Since meeting Liam and Lester back on Long Island, and all the interactions since arriving here in Houston, the Clan has been nothing but welcoming and accepting of me. Frankly, I didn’t expect that. And I wasn’t sure how to interpret it.” Colt shook his head, knowing he probably looked as chagrinned as he felt. “Faith helped me see things more clearly, and I am glad now to embrace the Kinkaid side of my heritage. Thank you for welcoming me and supporting us through this ordeal. I swear fealty to the Kinkaid Alpha with a glad heart and humble soul.” Colt bowed his head toward Sam, though he didn’t lower his eyes. Such was the way among warriors, as a sign of respect.

Sam nodded in return. “I accept your oath, Colton Kinkaid, and welcome you officially to the family.”