Therian Promise(62)
The crowd parted as the elder moved closer, but his hostile gaze was now focused on Bruce. “I can understand how you were discovered, but why did the cat accuse you of attempted murder? Ava is no use to us dead.”
“She said he threatened the current Omni Prime,” Nate reminded. “He must have threatened Carissa.”
“I was trying to get Ava to come with me.” Bruce rolled his eyes, belligerence the only weapon available to him now. “I wouldn’t have hurt Carissa.”
Nate crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “And the cats sensed your weakness so they charged you.”
“I had no other choice! She was—”
“There are always other choices,” the elder snapped. “Your father is right to be angry. Your actions have forced us to do the cats’ bidding or prepare for war! Are you really so shortsighted that you risked this entire pack to further your own ambitions?”
“You’re crazy, old man! I only did what I was told.” The other guards emerged from the crowd, circling Bruce with grim determination.
Nate fought back a triumphant smile yet sorrow coiled in his belly. He’d wanted Bruce to succeed, had given him every opportunity to temper his aggression with reason. Besides, with Landon supporting the rebellion, Nate’s only hope for a worthy successor was Dhane. And Dahane was still more child than man.
“If you’d done what you were told, you’d be fucking Ava right now.” Nate moved to one side as the guards closed in, relieved that they’d taken the task out of his hands. Setting Bruce up for failure was one thing, actually ripping out his heart was another.
Bruce looked at him as the color drained from his face. “Dad! What the hell’s wrong with you? Do something!”
Someone touched his arm and Nate looked back and into Dhane’s pleading gaze. “Can’t you—”
Nate silenced his youngest son with a scathing glare. “He did this to himself. Never forget that.”
“Dad!” Bruce screamed as the guards dragged him toward the back door of the Clubhouse. Stunned yet resigned, the crowd parted for them. When Nate failed to intervene, Bruce went wild. He twisted and jerked against the guards’ restraining hands, screaming obscenities and hollow threats.
The back door slammed closed behind them and Bruce’s indignation soon turned to screams of pain. Nate crossed to the bar and accepted the shot glass waiting for him. He’d known how this would end. Still, the sorrow twisting through him caught him by surprise. Landon had betrayed him, chosen the rebels over his own family. And Bruce had proven unworthy to take his place.
If two out of his three sons were failures, what did that say about him?
He motioned for the bartender to refill his glass and quickly tossed back the shot. Closing his eyes, he tuned out the room and waited for the fiery liquid to burn away the bitterness of regret.
* * * * *
Ava spent the next day with Carissa and Erin just as Kyle had suggested. Erin’s stories still seemed a bit fantastical, but her knowledge was impressive. Every question Ava asked Erin answered with patience and thoroughness. Carissa added her perspective whenever she could and soon Ava felt less overwhelmed by the choices before her.
It really wasn’t that complicated once she accepted the fact that she was part of a nation of shapeshifters. Erin would determine whether or not she was really a potential Omni Prime. Apparently, her bloodline wasn’t the only prerequisite. The ancients needed to accept her into their ranks. If they did, she would choose six males she wanted to participate in her definition. The ritual would probably make her sexually aggressive, but she wasn’t required to have sex with any of the men.
She would be safer once she chose her mate and the bonding would make her stronger, but she could take as long as she liked to make that decision. As long as they kept Osric away from her, of course.
“So what’s my next step?” Ava asked after a long pause.
“When we return to the sanctuary, I’ll take you to the vault,” Erin explained.
“That’s where you keep all the artifacts and your journals?”
“Yes. If you react to the artifacts as Carissa did and if you’re able to read the ancient language, it will prove you’re worthy of your calling.” Erin didn’t look old enough to be Kyle’s mother. There wasn’t a strand of gray in her brown hair and her face was still unlined. Her eyes were the same vivid green as her son’s, but hers possessed a thoughtful wisdom Kyle had yet to achieve. Dressed in jeans and a fine-gauge sweater, Erin appeared far too normal to be clan healer and Historian.
Ava looked at her sister, amazed by the changes evident in her bearing and demeanor. Carissa had always been fun loving and adventurous, but the quiet confidence Ava sensed now hadn’t been there before. “You just looked at the journals and suddenly you could read them?”