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“That man is worth his weight in gold,” Liv muses, blatantly checking him out as he walks down the road, heading toward what must be the packhouse in the distance.
We stand in silence, Liv giving me a chance to gather my thoughts. When she takes my hand in hers and pulls me against her, I know it’s time to spill. Her red hair tickles my face as she wraps an arm around my shoulder, coaxing me to give up my secrets. Stroking my hair, she slowly drags her fingers through the tangled lengths; it’s hypnotising. Her hushed voice and familiar scent lull me into a trance.
“Start from the very beginning.”
12
ETHAN
Joseph watches me check my phone, again, and frowns.
“Am I keeping you from something?”
I can’t blame him for being annoyed. All morning, while he’s been running through the boring aspects of this pack’s business, I’ve been distracted.
“Sorry, Joseph.” Turning the phone face down on the table, I hold my hands up in an admission of guilt and he sighs, returning to the numbers displayed on the slides in front of me. They make for grim reading.
When it comes to business, the Andersons are predominantly involved in hospitality. The original business deal between our packs, the one that caused all this trouble, was the sale of a hotel. Toby was trying to offload it in a rush, because he knew major fire safety issues had just been uncovered.
“This has obviously been the main headache.” A picture of what used to be the crown jewel in the Anderson property portfolio appears on the screen - currently being as good as torn down. The rebuild will cost the pack millions. It’s money they don’t have, but they also can’t afford not to do the project. The loans on the property must be repaid, and that will never happen if it’s left to rot.
“How long until you can re-open it?”
Joseph rubs his eyes, throwing his pen down on the notepad in front of him in frustration.
“The builders say three months, but we need to find the next lump sum to pay them, or they’ll lay down their tools. We’ve already sold two smaller guesthouses to fund this. I’m not sure where Lucia is going to find the funds.” With a shake of his head, he swallows hard, reluctant to tell me more but needing to get something off his chest. “Between the two of us?”
“Of course.” Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on the table, keen to hear his take on what’s going on. He knows the numbers inside and out; it’s clear he has taken most of this work on his own shoulders.
“If Toby hadn’t spent so much money on flashy cars and turning this place into the Ritz, we might have been okay. Most of the pack doesn’t want to hear that. He convinced them that Grey Ridge screwed us over by pulling out of the deal. Many of them think Grey Ridge should pick up the tab. Which obviously isn’t the case.”
I can see how Toby was able to convince some of them he was doing great things for the pack when he was splashing cash around and they were feeling the benefits, but, surely, they’ve realised the truth by now?
“What does Lucia say?” She downplayed Toby’s recklessness and the extent of the financial hole they now find themselves trying to escape. Before Toby died, I had myself so convinced that I was her fated mate that I didn’t care about any of it.
Joseph sighs again. “She’s in denial. It’s hard for her to accept that her own mate did this to the pack. Even though he’s gone, he was still hers. That doesn’t just go away. Sorry.” He’s not trying to rub my face in the fact that Lucia was already mated to someone else, he’s just stating the facts. The mate bond is a powerful thing, even between chosen mates.
Although right now, I wish it wasn’t quite as intense. My skin practically crawls with the need to hunt down my mate. It’s like my wolf is expecting her to appear any second.
“What about Alpha Anderson? I thought he was watching over things while Toby and Lucia gradually took charge.” Alpha Anderson was disgusted when he discovered that Toby had tried to sell Grey Ridge the hotel, knowing it was a ticking time bomb. Afterwards, when he refused to hand his pack to Toby, Toby challenged him and lost after a vicious battle. That’s when Lucia rejected him and Toby was forced to go into hiding. Anderson is no pushover.
“He’s wrapped around Lucia’s finger, and he wants to believe she’ll be able to run things once she has a strong partner by her side. Since that challenge, though, he has been too unwell to properly keep an eye on things. The day for Lucia to step up is coming fast, I’m afraid. That’s why I’m glad you’re here. At the moment, there’s nothing to stop someone else from taking over. I’m not strong enough or well liked enough to stop anyone from trying, and Lucia’s not a fighter.”
While very intelligent and undoubtedly passionate about his pack, I can tell Joseph isn’t a strong wolf. I’m surprised Lucia put him in the role of beta.
“I know what you’re thinking. There wasn’t anyone else that Alpha Anderson could trust to support Lucia while also getting the businesses back on track. He didn’t give Lucia a choice, but, to be fair, we work well together, and she didn’t have many other options.”
Interesting. Even though he’s ill, Anderson is still alpha enough to dictate who runs the pack. If Joseph is doing what Alpha Anderson would be doing himself, then what is Lucia doing?
It’s not fair to put Joseph in an awkward position by asking him that, so I sit back and mull over what he’s just told me. The pack's strongest wolves supported Toby, and Alpha Anderson doesn’t trust them enough to give them senior roles within the pack, despite the fact that Joseph needs help. But idle hands do the devil’s work. Left to their own devices, these other wolves worked with Toby to attack Grey Ridge, and then enlisted Leon Lennox’s help to hide Toby from the authorities.
“Have you had anyone that could help you?” Standing, I stretch and glance at the expanse of open grass surrounding the packhouse.
“No. Unfortunately, the wolves that should be stepping up seem to think they’re entitled to just waltz in and out as they please.” With a sigh, he shrugs. “Although, to be honest, I wouldn’t want most of them involved in the finances.”
He doesn’t need to elaborate on why. From what I’ve seen, I wouldn’t trust any of them as far as I could throw them either. Joseph has a pregnant mate, a role that’s too big for one man to do alone, and nobody to help him. No wonder he’s stressed.
“Do you think the Alpha would be up for a visitor over the next couple of days?”
