by Crystal Dawn
“No one ever breathed a word of it.” Unis observed.
“There was no need to as long as she left me alone. Now I worry she will interfere with me claiming my mate.” Ciaro admitted.
“Any female would be proud to mate you.” Unis offered.
“Even among our own kind that’s not entirely true.”
“She’s not our kind?”
“No.”
“What is she?”
“She’s human.”
“Our people will not accept her.”
“Those that know her already have. Enough about me. Do you wish to know more about your new home?” Ciaro asked.
“Can I see it?”
“You are aware it isn’t finished?”
“I am, but I’m so excited.” Unis admitted.
“Let’s see if Jezzie is back so she can go as well.”
They walked back out into the yard and a minute later Jezzie pulled in. Ciaro took shotgun letting Jezzie drive and Unis got the backseat. “Take us to Unis’ place. She wants to see it.”
When they pulled up he saw Fiaro was there with one crew. They entered and the place was like an anthill of activity. “Hello Brother, Sister. I didn’t know you were coming by. Did you tell Mairi? You just missed her.”
“Unis just arrived and desired to see her place.”
“Let me tour you through so you can see it all safely.” Fiaro said as he gave them hardhats to wear. “We are still doing dangerous work so please be careful.”
He led them upstairs where things looked nearly done. It would give Unis a place to stay since it would be her living quarters. The bathroom looked like a spa and there were two bedrooms, one larger the other just large enough to be functional. One large open area was the main living space with a one wall kitchen, an island that could seat four, and a small space reserved for a living room.
“It’s nicer than I expected.”
Fiaro then led them downstairs where most of the work was being done. The wood floors were being finished up in one of the back rooms. One of the rooms was being painted, and a small room little bigger than a closet was being outfitted as a bathroom with a small corner shower. The space was being used to its full potential. A small kitchenette was in one corner of a room that would serve as an office and place to meet clients. Most of his sister’s work came in as custom orders.
The front of the house had a small showroom area and the back would be her studio. “This is set up perfectly. I couldn’t have done it better myself.” Unis exclaimed. This sister painted, mostly portraits. She had work in museums, but most of her work was for wealthy families.
“I’m glad you like it.” Said a familiar feminine voice.
“I’ll get back to work.” Fiaro said as he disappeared.
“Who are you?” Unis asked.
“I’m the contractor on this house. I assume you’re the buyer. It’s always good when a buyer is pleased.” Mairi assured.
“How do you know so much about what creative types need?” Unis asked.
“This isn’t the first place I’ve worked on for an artist. I’m hoping an art community will build up here that helps all of you get customers. There is one in Eureka Springs. It draws tourists who support that community. Locals also help support it.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“There are already several artists with places like yours nearby. Home/studios work well for them. Seb and Titus both have artistic sisters already working on building their businesses.”
“I’d heard something about that. I wanted to settle in before I contacted them.”
“When you’re ready here’s their contact information. Andi and Beth are very interested in giving you artists a hand.”
“Who are they?” Unis asked.
“Seb’s and Titus’ mates. They can give you a lot of support.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’d best get back to work before Ariel gets me.” Mairi giggled and walked away.
“Ariel the white wolf?” Unis asked.
“Yes.”
“She knows the white wolf?”
“Ariel is just a person. She has contact with many other people.”
“You’ve met her?”
“Several times. Mairi works for her running a crew.”
“I’m buying a house from the white wolf?”
“No, this is Mairi’s own crew. Ariel doesn’t usually come this far away from her home.” Ciaro admitted.
“Too bad. I would like to buy a home from the white wolf.” Unis admitted.
“You won’t be this time. Maybe if you move further away.”
“We can go back to your house now.” Unis said.
“It’s lunchtime. Let’s go to Sara’s.” Ciaro said.
“Is that your female?”
“No. It’s a diner.”
“When will I meet your human?”
“Whenever it becomes necessary.” He wasn’t sure he liked Unis attitude toward humans.
“What does that mean?”
“Let’s go have lunch.” Ciaro said. Jezzie hurried out ahead of them.
She had the SUV unlocked and started waiting on them. Once they were inside, she took off. About ten minutes later, they were at Sara’s. She was doing a brisk business. Mairi was there picking up a to go order.
“Had I known you were getting an order, we would have went back and eaten with you.” Ciaro said.
“Hi! I didn’t know you were eating here either. It’s the social hangout around here.”
“Let me help you carry out the boxes.” He offered and picked up a large one carrying it out with Mairi following him. One of Sara’s workers carried another. “Where is this for?”
“The party house crew. Fiaro handles the other guys.”
“Want to come to supper at my house? Jezzie is a great cook.”
“I have to work at Liaro’s place tonight. Your people keep me hopping.”
“What if I bring something to eat to you?” He offered.
“If you want to. I’d better go.”
He watched her as he drove away. When he got back inside, the food was there. Jezzie had ordered him the special. Unis was giving him a look. “Did Mairi say how Liaro’s place was coming along?” Jezzie asked.
“They are just getting started.”
“Liaro is getting a place too?” Unis asked.
“He is. It’s in the country where it’s isolated.”
“Where is he?” Unis wondered.
“He’s staying with me.” Ciaro replied.
“He and his friends left early this morning.” Jezzie offered.
“What will he be doing?” Unis asked.
“He and his friends will work for my security firm. I have the building, but it isn’t functional yet.” He admitted.
“What about our other brothers?” Unis wondered.
“What about them?’ Ciaro asked.
“Which ones are coming and what are they doing?” she asked.
“Only Quiaro has said he is coming and soon, whatever that means. He’s not asked about housing or work. Maybe you should contact him and see if you can help him.” He observed.
“How could I help him? I just got here.” Unis declared.
“None of us have been here long.” Ciaro noted. Maybe he was testy, because he’d missed a chance to have lunch with Mairi. Unis stopped talking and he said nothing else.
They pulled into the driveway and they were home. But without Mairi here, it didn’t feel like home. He saw Liaro and his friends were back. “Hey, Bro.”
“Hey, Ciaro, Unis, and Jezzie. Nice to see you. We found a place to live so you won’t have to worry about us anymore.” Liaro said.
“Where is it?” Ciaro asked.
“There’s a cute little human who bought a fixer upper hotel. We’re working for her until you get the company going and she’s letting us camp there for free. Once the cabins are done, she’ll give the guys choice to rent one.”
“Bot
h of them in one cabin?” Ciaro asked and chuckled.
“No way. They’ll each have their own. There are only ten. She said something about putting in a camper park. I don’t know what that is.”
“You’re talking about Mairi?” Jezzie asked.
“Yeah, I think that’s what her name was. She’s teaching us to do construction on Sunday. Hard to believe that little human can lift such heavy things.” Liaro commented.
Ciaro and Jezzie chuckled. “Did you give her your name, Uncle?”
“No, Dash talked to her mostly.”
“Had you introduced yourself, she would have known who you were.” Jezzie said.
“How?”
“She’s supervising the work on the apartment house.” Jezzie informed.
“I didn’t know that. Maybe I’ll go over there and see if she’s there.” Liaro said.
“I’ll take you.” Ciaro said. “Take care of things here, Jezzie.”
Liaro jumped in his SUV so Ciaro got in with him. His friends had stayed at the new hotel Mairi had bought. They were at the construction site in no time. Ciaro got out and walked around the outside of the building. Some of the guys walked out carrying things. “Mairi’s not here. I think she’s at the latest construction site. We got ahead a bit so she could go.”
“Thanks.” Ciaro told the guy. He didn’t know his name.
Now he gave Liaro directions to what would be his new home. He didn’t tell him that’s what it was. He was annoyed that Liaro seemed to be interested in Mairi. It wasn’t a surprise since she was hot. Pulling into the driveway it was clear the crew was here too. He got our and Liaro followed him in. The second he saw Mairi standing there directing some of her guys, he pulled her into his embrace and laid a fiery kiss on her. When he let her go, he was confused because she and his brother began laughing.
“Liaro is jerking your chain. He smelled you on me and I told him we were sort of seeing each other. We had a bet and I won. Give me my money!” Mairi said and several guys came over to give her twenties. “This will pay for my winter garden. Thanks guys.” There was some grumbling, but apparently they all paid.
“What was this bet exactly?” Ciaro asked.
“Liaro said you would argue your claim with him. I said you would come wherever I was and show him your claim. Why do alphas never know what other alphas will do?” Mairi chuckled some more.
“You were playing with me?” Ciaro looked at his brother not sure if he was angry or relieved that everyone except Unis immediately knew Mairi was his. He breathed deeply. “You don’t scent like me now.”
“No, I did some dirty work and had to shower.” Mairi admitted. “The new place has septic troubles.” She made a nasty face.
“I will see you later tonight.” Ciaro told her as he walked back out to his brother’s SUV.
“You’re not mad?” Liaro asked.
“When you find your mate, I will get even.”
“I have no plan to mate.”
“Neither did I. when you meet them, it just happens.” Now Liaro looked nervous.
“Why don’t you take me to the building the business will be in?” Liaro asked.
He did and they toured it, but he wanted Mairi to see it before he worked on it. Her advice would be the best. They went home where Jezzie cooked supper. There was a basket on the table.
“What is this?” He asked.
“It is for you and your female.” Jezzie replied. Unis raised a brow, but she didn’t ask a thing.
“Thank you.” He said. His niece was the only one he wouldn’t be hard on when they found a mate.
First he went to his room to shower and change. He always felt excited when he went to see his Mairi. Someday his claim would be on her neck for all to see. Ciaro hoped it would be soon. For now, he had to kill a little time so when he went back to Liaro’s only Mairi would be there. He went to the kitchen, sat at his computer, and pulled up his email.
It was easy to see that Jezzie had gone through some of it for him. There were other things she wouldn’t be able to deal with so he started on them. Some were related to his businesses and one was an inquiry about security. Liaro could handle that so he forwarded it to him and marked it a priority. It would be wonderful if they could get business started before the building was ready. The businesses own money would help pay for it to get off the ground.
When he was done, he shut everything down, grabbed the basket and headed out. A thrill went through him as he thought about Mairi waiting for him. Once he was in his SUV, he placed the basket in the passenger seat before he drove away. It was his strongest hope that she would be alone. When he arrived, several lights were on, but he only saw her crew truck.
Making his way into the house, he heard loud noises that let him know Mairi was at work. He headed upstairs where she was hard at work tearing out a wall. All he did was stand there staring at his beautiful female as she tore the wall apart. She him saw when she turned to begin carrying the destroyed wall down to the dumpster.
“Let me help you.” Ciaro said. He picked up some of the heavy boards and followed her downstairs. They dropped it into the trash and headed back in. “You want to eat now or do more work?”
“I need to clean up the mess before I take a break.” She headed back upstairs where he followed her.
One more trip downstairs and they had the mess cleaned up. “Where do you want to sit to eat?” Ciaro asked.
“Let’s sit on the porch. It’s a nice wide stairway.” She suggested. She went out sitting on the steps while he went in to grab the basket.
He had no clue what was in it, but there was a rose on top. “This for you.” Ciaro said as he held it out to her. It was peach colored. He’d never known roses came in that color.
“It’s beautiful.” She whispered and he leaned in giving her a gentle kiss.
The basket had two bottles of tea, peach or raspberry flavored. He held them up so Mairi could pick and she took the peach tea. There were two platters full of food and he gave Mairi one and kept the other. Also a small loaf of bread and two pieces of pie were hidden in the bottom. Jezzie had looked out for him big time.
“Roast?” Mairi asked.
“Yes, you do like roast?”
“I sure do especially like this with mashed potatoes and drowning in gravy.” She smiled then she began to eat.
He spoke to her about some of his problems with new people. His party house would soon be full, but more planned to come. They finished eating their meal and the bread, when he pulled the dessert out.
“Pecan pie? I love that.” Mairi exclaimed. “So you’re going to have to go wider before the new folk come and steal those places too. This little area can’t contain all the new people trying to force their way in. Many of Blake’s wolves live within a twenty five mile radius. Many of the law enforcement and government workers live closer to where they work. In Missouri, Cassville has a lot of that, Galena, and Forsyth, but it’s a bit further. Both options are good for paranormals. In law enforcement why they’re good is obvious, but even in government jobs sometimes stamina is needed as well as patience. That means you need to choose carefully.”
“Won’t that spread us out too far?” Ciaro asked.
“You’ll manage to keep half you people in easy driving distance. As far as military goes, there are no close bases. You’re out of luck there except for special teams.”
“What are those?”
“I have some cousins on those teams. The closest ones are Max and Will. Only the baddest badasses are accepted. You won’t get enough people on those teams to help and they’re always gone.”
“So government and law enforcement in the local community. What if there aren’t enough openings for them?” Ciaro asked.
“I would get them a part time job like in construction and have them help out Damon part time. That way they’ll get a recommendation and show recent law enforcement work. Damon has a lot of influence. The people he works with are the best. Right now I think t
hey’re still running down the remnants of Chief’s organization. If they find stuff of value, the volunteers might get paid later.”
“Okay. I need someone in charge of law enforcement recruits.”
“If you have someone already in it, try to get them to help. They may even know someone they’d like to work with. Each person settled can potentially help you settle others in the place they work. They’ll know if any positions are available and what the boss is looking for.”
“That makes crazy sense, but I have to admit, my people aren’t used to helping each other.”
“It has to start somewhere.” Ciaro knew she was right. Once it started, they would increase it one step at a time. “Write out your goals and what you need. Then use what you have enough of to help you get what you’re in need of.”
The only thing he had enough of was money, but he wanted his people to eventually be self-subsistent. They would soon have a lot of people so he needed to get more businesses going. Right now he wanted to make love to his mate, but she wanted to get back to work.
“You need to work less. It’s after nine and you have to get up in the morning.” Ciaro pointed out.
“I need more help, but until I get it, I have to do what I can.” Mairi said.
Maybe he needed to work at getting people with the right job skills to come first. He knew there were some construction workers that were considering relocating. Why they hadn’t he wasn’t sure. There was all the work they could handle.
Ciaro kissed his sweet mate goodbye then left. He would plot and plan with Jezzie in the morning and see what they could come up with. He made it home early and Unis and Jezzie were in the living room talking.
“Hello Ladies.” He said as he entered the room.
“How did the basket work out?” Jezzie asked.
“I owe you one.” Ciaro admitted.
“This mysterious human must have a hold on you.” Unis grouched.
“She does and with good reason. I’m going to go to bed early. Good night.”
Both Jezzie and his sister wished him a goodnight too. His sister was being difficult. Was she upset that he had no interest in Carol? He’d never thought they had been close or even more than casual acquaintances. Maybe in the morning he would see if Jezzie knew.
Taking a long hot shower, he relaxed before he went to bed. He’d been asleep for a while when something woke him. Something fell on his bed, no, it was someone. Taking a deep breath, he recognized the scent. It was that damn Carol and she was naked.
