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As far as the werewolf council was concerned, Ace and Lauren completed their assignment and left our premises. Somewhere between here and home, they went missing. The reality was that I fed their corpses to our resident unicorn, who happily ground up their bones for a delectable lunch.
We’d wiped our security cameras, and there was no evidence that showed anything but Ace and Lauren getting in a car and driving away. Admittedly, they’d been leaving in a bit of a hurry, but that wasn’t captured by the camera footage.
When they’d gone missing, we willingly supplied the last footage we held of them that showed them walking through the hall and leaving the property. I’d suffered through a few Zoom interviews with council member Scott Larsden, but that was pretty much the end of my pack’s involvement.
Larsden had told me gruffly that we were off the hook. He’d seemed nice – entirely too nice. It made me wonder if he was one of the council members who’d started up the black tourneys with Ghost. Or, maybe I’m being cynical. Maybe he’s just a nice guy. Unfortunately, only the Red Guard had the blackmail material. With hindsight, I should have bargained for a copy of the information, but at the time I was happy to hand off responsibility to them. That had been a mistake.
And now here was Thea Frost knocking at my door. I couldn’t help wondering if she’d come to find Ace, though she didn’t seem like good spy material. But what did I know? A few months ago, I was an accountant whose biggest worry was clocking up chargeable hours. Now I’m responsible for a pack of sixty-plus werewolves who inhabit a magical realm full of every creature you can imagine, from centaurs and gargoyles to elementals and wizards. Life is nuts.
Chapter 5
Therewasaknockon my door, interrupting my reverie. ‘Come in,’ I called, assuming it was Greg. Instead, a friendly, youthful face greeted me: Bobby.
He bounced in with all the energy of a kid who’d had sugar for breakfast. ‘Alpha.’ He greeted me respectfully, but with a grin. ‘Is now a good time?’
I opened my mouth to tell him that it wasn’t before closing it again. If I were going to be the bad guy here, I might as well get it over and done with. ‘Sure thing. Take a seat Bobby.’ I pointed at the chair on the opposite side of my desk. ‘I understand from your mother that you want to gain permission to enter the Other realm formally before your recognised thirteenth birthday.’
Bobby nodded eagerly. ‘Yes alpha,’ he said confidently. ‘I know I can be an asset to the packnow.I’m sure that the wolf that I’m going to be given will be strong and fast, and I know that I’ll benefit the pack once I get my fur.’
‘There’s a reason why we wait until our thirteenth birthday before being allowed to transition into the Other,’ I explained patiently. ‘It is hard for any young werewolf to control the wolf within them. You need a certain strength of will to wrestle back control from your wolf so you don’t make poor decisions that would hurt yourself or others around you. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
I had little to no experience with kids, so I had no idea if my explanation would go over his head. How smart and world aware were eight year olds, anyway?
‘Yes, but I am very strong willed,’ said Bobby calmly. ‘My mum is always telling me I am as stubborn as a stone. I know I can do it.’
I tried a different tactic. ‘It’s annoying, Bobby, having to constantly ferry yourself back and forward through the portals. Once you start, you can’t stop. You always have to get your magical batteries recharged in the Common realm before you can return to the Other realm. Logistically, it would be extremely difficult for us to manage that whilst you’re still at primary school.’
He nodded seriously, as if he understood my point. ‘Well then, there’s an easy solution,’ he said pragmatically. ‘I’ll just give up school.’
I barely managed to keep the smile off my face. How wonderful it would be to see the world as simply as a child does.
‘I appreciate your willingness to sacrifice your schooling for the pack, but your education is too important,’ I managed to say with all due solemnity. ‘Each of the pack members has to attend school so they can become productive members of society and get jobs that will help fund and assist the pack’s progress. We need to place people in jobs where they can look out for the werewolves’ interests in all walks of life – we need paramedics and firefighters, teachers and doctors. If you don’t finish your schooling, you won’t be able to help the pack in the long term. I’m sorry, Bobby, but the answer is going to be no.
‘Your future in the pack is very bright and we need to maximise your potential. I have no doubt that you’re going to be a mighty werewolf who will show exemplary control of your wolf, but first you must complete your education. We’ll reassess the position in two years’ time,’ I promised emptily.
He puffed out his little chest. ‘I understand, alpha,’ he said and nodded. ‘I won’t let you down.’
He stood and headed for the door without giving me a backward glance. Well, that had gone better than I’d expected. As he opened the door, I heard him cry out, ‘Mum! She says I’m going to be an exemption werewolf and that my future is very bright. But I need to continue with school. We need to hurry or we’ll be late getting there! Let’s go!’
I heard his mother’s voice in the distance. ‘Exemplary,’ she corrected, with laughter in her voice. ‘Of course your future is bright – you’re a very clever young boy. We won’t be late, we still have plenty of time. Let’s say goodbye to everybody in the living room and then we’ll go to school. You’ve left the office door open,’ she chided.
Sonia popped her head in, and gave me a broad grin and a thumbs up. ‘Thank you,’ she mouthed as she closed my door.
I smiled; maybe I’d made another ally or two within the pack, even if one was only eight years old.
No sooner had my door closed than there was a brief knock on the door. I called an affirmative and it swung open; this time it was Greg who marched in. He looked amused. ‘I passed Bobby and Sonia on my way here,’ he said. ‘Did you get cornered about Bobby shifting early?’
I gave a rueful smile. ‘I sure did.’
‘And what did you tell young Bobby?’
‘The truth – that he needs to continue his education and work hard so he can be a good member for our pack in a few years’ time. How did it go settling in Miss Frost? Did she have much luggage?’
‘Just a solitary duffel bag.’ He paused. ‘She looks like someone who’s been bottom of the rung her whole life.’
‘Yeah, I got that impression, too, though her surname gives me pause. Did you manage to speak to her about her relationship to Beckett or Ace?’ I may be alpha, but I’m new to this gig. Greg has been running security for Emory, the prime elite of the Dragons, for a number of years and he lives and breathes the kind of detail that passes me by.
Greg nodded, ‘Yes, she was Ace’s cousin. And interestingly, that’s exactly how she put it too.’
