by Lisa Oliver
“I’ll do it,” Talon said quickly. His grin at Rowan was open and Shadow noticed he was a good-looking guy now his scowl and attitude were gone. “I always wanted to know what you do with all your book smarts anyway. This way, I might get some ideas about what I want for my own future.”
Nailed it. Shadow kept his smirk to himself. Talon probably didn’t realize it, but with just a few choice words he’d stripped any argument Rowan might have had about having someone watch out for him. It was close. Rowan’s mouth even opened, but then with a long sigh, he closed it again.
“I live a boring life,” he said to Talon. “Or at least I did until the alpha came home. What do you know about computers?”
“Not a lot,” Talon’s grin widened. “But I’m keen to learn.”
“That’s settled then,” Shadow said, reaching out his hand for his mate, to help him up this time. “Take the rest of the day to get any stuff you have together. Speak to Dominic about anything you need. Take one of the spare rooms – you’ll scent which ones are taken, and you’ll probably need some cleaning gear too because a lot of this house hasn’t been touched by a duster in at least ten years. Report to us here, at six o’clock tonight, just before the pack meeting, and you can start then.”
“I won’t let you down, Alpha.” Talon nodded respectfully. “You’ve given me this one chance and I won’t blow it. You have my word.”
“I’ll see you at six.” Shadow watched as Talon sprinted off, trusting his instincts wouldn’t let him down. He knew Rowan was watching him and allowed himself a smirk. Deciding action was better than listening to his mate tell him off when they’d only been mated for less than a day, he stood, reaching down to scoop Rowan into his arms.
“Shadow…”
“Hush, little red. We’re going to have that bath I promised you,” Shadow strode out of the living room, Rowan safe in his arms. He saw Dominic poke his head out of his father’s office, but when his friend saw the determined look on his face, he ducked away again. Yes, he was sure Dominic had a lot to say about how the pack finances and goodness knows what else he found in the office, but that could wait until after he’d seen to his mate.
Chapter Ten
“This is just obscene,” Rowan said, scanning the figures on the printed sheets Dominic had given him. “Look at this. Over thirty families, contributing up to a thousand dollars every single week as pack tithe, and the money’s not going anywhere to help the pack at all. Cash withdrawals, strip clubs, takeaway bars, and liquor shops.” He looked up at Shadow who was looking over papers of his own. “Please tell me that’s the first thing you’re going to do tonight. Reduce this tithe.”
“The investments my father set up years ago are paying good dividends. That means the payouts to people like your grandmother were paid despite what Percy was doing,” Shadow said. “But there’s also begging letters here from the school, the food program, and the elders for money for ‘impoverished’ pack members.”
“Yeah, don’t be so sure the elders want that money for anything more than a vacation,” Rowan said absently. He was reading a list of rents collected by the Alpha family. In most packs, houses were included as part of the benefits that came from lending their strength and support to the alpha. But Percy had been charging rent to most families, on top of the tithe. “These rents shouldn’t be charged either,” he said, looking up to see Shadow with a shocked look on his face.
“I’ll stop them immediately.” Shadow looked at his friends then back at Rowan. “What did you mean about the elders using the money for vacation purposes?”
Rowan couldn’t see what the problem was. That was one of the pack’s worse kept secrets. “They each do it at least four times a year. Because of the way the pack finances are set up, the elders can request money for ‘services’ every quarter to allocate as they see fit to help the pack.”
“That’s standard in most packs. A payment was made to Elder Clinton last week for twenty thousand dollars,” Craven said, handing over a bank statement.
“That’s about right,” Rowan glanced at the paper and handed it back. “He’s not likely to be at the meeting tonight unless someone’s called him to tell him what’s going on. He’ll be in Italy getting a tan. He goes there at least twice a year.”
“But the elders are meant to ensure the alpha doesn’t victimize any pack members, ensuring that everyone is treated fairly and has access to all they need.” Marco looked around the office. “What am I missing here?”
“The level of corruption in this pack, maybe?” Talon said from where he was leaning on the doorframe. “I did try to explain this to you guys this afternoon. Well, not the alpha and alpha mate, obviously, because the alpha mate was getting his leg tended to.” Only Talon could make that sound obscene. Rowan flushed, because his new friend wasn’t wrong in his assumption. Rowan found he didn’t have to worry about his bad leg at all, if Shadow stood over him in the bath and fed him his cock. “Percy was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. He knew paying off the elders would keep them quiet about anything else that he got up to in the pack.”
“Corrupt elders, starving pack members, the houses are so rundown a decent wind will blow them down.” Shadow huffed out a long sigh. “And I’ve got to get these people to trust me tonight.”
“I’ve got a list of things that can help,” Rowan said brightly, then he flushed under Shadow’s searching gaze. “I didn’t really need that nap you insisted on this afternoon.”
“You knew about all this?” Dominic shook the handful of papers he’d been going through.
“Not the finances, no,” Rowan said. “I don’t think even Percy or any of his friends knew much about it either. They had a cash card, they just kept drawing on the accounts and didn’t really care about the balances. If they did hit a week where their card declined, they’d just find another tax to slap on the pack, or raise the tithes, or sell another pack house.”
“So, how can your list help?” Shadow asked slowly. “If you didn’t know all this shit,” he snarled, flinging his hands to show the mounds of papers Dominic had been working on, “how can you know how to get these people to trust us?”
“It’s just as well I know your anger is simply frustration at the mess you’ve been left to deal with,” Rowan said calmly. “If I thought it was directed at me, we’d be having words, Alpha.”
Craven, Dominic, and Marco laughed, and even Talon covered his mouth with his hand, his eyes shining above it.
“It’s simple. I’ve lived this and so has Talon, although he was on the baddie side of the equation a lot of the time,” Rowan flashed a smile at the young man to show he was teasing, “so he didn’t really know either. But it’s basic psychology. Pack members need food, shelter, and to feel safe. With the exception of the elders and the people who thought Percy shit golden cupcakes, no other pack member has had that. That’s what you have to give them.”
“Which means doing what exactly?” Shadow asked.
“I’ve got the list here.” Rowan dug it out of his pocket.
/~/~/~/~/
The hall was in disrepair. It was just as well it was a dry evening, otherwise Shadow would be handing out umbrellas. From the rotten floorboards on the stage, to the ragged net curtains that were brown with dirt, it was clear no one had been in the community hall for years.
Standing in front of over a hundred people wasn’t a new thing for Shadow. He’d trained men in the military, given the troops under his command a pep talk when necessary, but looking around at his audience now, he wasn’t sure what to say. Men, women, children; most of them family groups although there were a group of teens standing across the wall at the back. The one thing they had in common was they were all looking at him expectantly. Wary, suspicious, and worn down. What a fucking mess, he thought grimly.
Shadow caught Rowan’s grandmother’s eye. She alone was smiling, along with two of her friends. On the other side of the hall stood four of the five elders. It seemed no one c
alled Elder Clinton home after all. The rest was a sea of faces, some he recognized, others he didn’t. It was clear not a lot of the pack recognized him. He held up his hands for quiet.
“Pack members, for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Shadow, eldest son of Alpha Patrick. Many of you might remember me as Gray. Yesterday,” fuck, has it only been a day, “Yesterday my father handed over the responsibility of the pack to me. I’m sure you’ve heard rumors of his long-term health issues. Regretfully, those are true. Your former alpha is currently in a rest home in advanced stages of canine dementia.”
It was interesting that only a few of the older members showed any sign of remorse or sadness about his father’s condition.
“You should also know, one of my first acts as your new alpha, was to kill my brother Percy and four of his goons who were caught engaging in abusive acts towards one of our own.”
That elicited more of a response – the crowd nudging each other and whispering, while the elders looked wary. “You will find, that despite my military background, and the alpha training my father gave me before I left, that I do not condone violence of any kind except as quick and necessary punishment against those bullies who mistreat those weaker among us. I don’t expect you to trust this yet, but hopefully over time you will see the truth of my words.”
Shadow glanced over to Rowan who was standing with Marco, Craven, Dominic and Talon. Rowan gave a small nod, Marco gave him a thumbs up, but that support was enough for Shadow to continue. He turned back to the pack.
“It breaks my heart to come home and see the pack in such disrepair. However, there is no point in dwelling on what has happened, or who was responsible. My father is beyond making restitution to anyone, and my brother is dead. It is my hope that we can all work together to bring this pack, and our territory back to its former glory.”
Looking down at the piece of paper, lovingly etched in his mate’s handwriting, Shadow said strongly, “It is with this end in mind, the following changes will be made, effective immediately.”
“Excuse me, Alpha Gray, is it?” Elder Simon raised his hand. “The elders weren’t consulted about any changes you were going to make. Indeed, we weren’t even formally notified the pack had changed hands. It was a huge shock to be told we had to attend this evening without being spoken to beforehand.”
Shadow could feel his wolf lurking behind his eyes. “The name is Shadow,” he bit out. “Gray was a hopeless kid who believed the lies he was told by his father about how only the strong survive. I was named by my army friends, who saw me for who I was and what I could do. I am not the child you watched being raised here anymore. Furthermore, you elders were not consulted because a brief study of the pack finances this afternoon shows you four are part of the problem. You should know, I’ve commissioned a full audit of all the monies paid to you for pack services. I will be demanding to see evidence of how that money was spent bettering the lives of the pack, as it was intended to do. Should any of you be found to have used a single cent of that money for personal gain or benefit, you will face the pack and answer for your crimes.”
Yeah, I thought that would shut you up, Shadow thought as Simon tried to blend in with the walls. He faced the rest of the pack. “Effective immediately, the pack tithe rate is reduced to five percent of household income, per household, not per individual as it was before. For those of you struggling to pay that amount, there will be hardship forms available in the new community office being opened in two days’ time.”
Shadow had wanted to put off the paying of tithe’s completely, seeing as the system had been abused so badly, but Rowan convinced him that pack members took pride in contributing what they could afford.
“Secondly,” he continued, “There will be no rents payable on the houses currently owned by my family being used exclusively for pack members. This will also come into effect immediately. It has come to my attention that some of you have had family homes sold out from under you, under Percy’s orders and where possible I will be buying them back for you. Any of you directly impacted by this, there will be forms for that at the community office too. You and your families have a right to be secure in your homes and I will do my best to honor that.”
That did generate more excitement and Shadow could see some of the men and women with children doing the math in their heads. With a lot smaller tithe, and no rents to pay, financially their lives were going to be a lot easier. Shadow only hoped that some of the pack would use the extra money to make improvements on their home. It seemed some of the pack members were feeling the same way.
“Alpha.” A woman stepped forward, a small child clinging to her hip. “Meaning no disrespect, but I have to ask. Does this mean I can get my mate to fix our roof now? Only, none of us dared fix anything before, because if we did someone would come along and charge us a tax on the repairs.”
Shadow could only guess who was demanding the tax and he cursed his brother under his breath. “Can I ask who you are? I do recognize some of you, but it’s going to take a while for me to put names to all of your faces.”
“Molly Tyne, Alpha.” Molly respectfully tilted her head to one side. “My mate is Robby Tyne, and we have three children. Devin here is our youngest.”
“You have a lovely family,” Shadow said honestly. Molly looked tired, and far too thin for her age and the fact she’d had children, but the children were all clean and clearly cared for. Her mate hovered behind her protectively but didn’t do more than tilt his neck in Shadow’s direction.
“You can tell your Robby to order the supplies for the roof tomorrow, and for him to book them up to a new pack account that will be opened first thing in the morning. That goes for all of you,” Shadow added, addressing the crowd. “If you have house repairs that need doing, and you’re happy to do the work yourselves, then all of the materials will be supplied by us. If you need a qualified tradesperson, and you can’t work out a barter between yourself and other pack members, then there will be request forms you can submit at the community office to get the work done.”
“Someone is going to be buried under a mountain of paperwork,” Molly said with a smile, and then she blushed. “Sorry, Alpha.”
“No apologies needed,” Shadow smiled. “You are right. Unfortunately, I can’t wind back time, or wave a magic wand and make all of our problems disappear in five minutes. There is a lot of work the inner circle and I need to do. Our first priority will be to clear out Rogue Alley and claim back our land there. I will, over the next week or so, be visiting you all at your homes, so you will all get your chance to talk to me personally about changes you want to see in this pack. For now, I have already allocated the funds the school had been asking for, ensured the food bank will be stocked by tomorrow morning at the latest, and workers will be coming in to help fix up this hall early next week.”
It was actually Dominic who’d done all that, while Shadow had been with his mate, but Shadow felt it was important the pack know their Alpha and inner circle were working for the betterment of the pack.
The mood in the hall was a lot lighter now. Shadow could feel it, and he mentally thanked his mate for his list. Rowan was right. Most of the pack members did just want a chance to better themselves and their homes. He was just about to introduce his mate and the members of his inner circle, when someone else pushed forward. The man looked to be in his mid-twenties, which wasn’t much of an age indicator, given he smelled strongly of wolf, among other things. But the surly expression on the man’s face, caused Shadow’s wolf to bristle.
“How you gonna do all this, aye?” The man snarled, slouching with his hands deep in his pockets. “I see only two of your military buddies, sharing the stage with a traitor and a no-good omega. You might have thought your fucking brother ran this pack, but he was just a petty nuisance. There’re forces lurking around the fringes of this pack, strong forces that don’t give a shit about fixing roofs or feeding mealy mouthed kids who don’t give nothing back. You don’t know
nothing about them, or what they’ll do and if that’s the best you can do for an inner circle, you are going to end up fertilizing the pine trees within a week.”
“That sounds a hell of a lot like a threat to me.” Shadow flexed his fists, showing his claws, determined to eviscerate the man if he said one thing further.
Rowan’s yell stopped him. “Shadow, don’t, please. Harry doesn’t mean to sound like that.” Shadow heard him limping over, although he refused to take his eyes off the threat. Rowan’s hand was a comforting weight on his arm. “Harry’s not threatening you. He’s telling it like it is, as he sees it, like a lot of people from Rogue Alley see it. His son, his only son Bart died because of some bad drugs only six months ago. Harry had already lost his wife when Bart was born. That boy was the only thing in his life, and drugs took him. Drugs that were pushed onto pack members by Percy and a handful of others in this pack.”
“Human drugs don’t work on shifters.” Shadow willed his claws away. Harry’s surliness had dropped the moment Rowan mentioned his son’s name and now Shadow could see the man’s grief for what it was.
“They do if they’re cut with wolfsbane,” Harry said sadly. “My boy, my poor boy. He just wanted to fit in. I begged Percy. I gave him absolutely everything I had, including the house if he’d just leave my boy alone. But your brother laughed at me. Took everything I offered and then told me it was Bart’s choice. Next thing I know Bart is Percy’s new best friend. Two months later he was dead.”
“I will ensure you get restitution,” Shadow said quietly, although he knew nothing would ever make up for losing a son. “I’ve already said, I can’t change things overnight, but the one thing I will not allow in this pack is drugs of any kind. I need you to help me, Harry. Can you do that? Can you come to Rogue Alley with me and help me weed out these forces you talk about?”
