Shifting Love's Hunger

by Jeff D Ellis

  He set the monitors to manual and started checking each camera. Only the two original ones were responding. “It seems like the extra cameras haven’t been connected to the system yet. Checking for the access control software. Nope.”

  Chloe put a hand on Mark’s shoulder. “So they didn’t do any of the work here? I thought the plan was to launch here first tomorrow night?”

  “That was my plan for an easy launch. It’s mostly interacting with Humans and it’s in a high-profile location for an easy win with Greta.”

  “I thought you were working with the guys yesterday.”

  “I was going to, but I was so worried about you that I asked Sam to manage it. I’ll call him.”

  He pulled out his cell. “Sam, I am at Greta’s Place and the nightclub does not seem to have any of the install work done.”

  “What? Why are you there? I thought we were opening at the B&K tomorrow so had them working there all weekend.”

  “It was all in the project plans. Did you or Greta change them on Friday? She was going to give us the approvals while I was at the mating ceremony.”

  “Let me double check…”

  Mark held his hand over the phone. “He is checking the approvals.”

  “You there?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re right. We were to do a soft launch tomorrow at the nightclub. Sorry for the mix up. We can still have our guys take over without the security extras.”

  “Were we to start some support today? I don’t see any security and the door was unlocked and no one in the security room.”

  “No, the approval shows we bring our guys in tomorrow afternoon for training and start tomorrow night.”

  “What is the status on the law office then? Are they done?”

  “Let me call you back.”

  Mark took a deep breath and let it out. “Chloe, they were working on the law office instead of here. I know keycards for the nightclub and Second Circle were to be phased in over a matter of a couple of weeks, but the hardware was to be working by tomorrow night and nothing has been done.”

  “It’s okay, Mark. Things happen.”

  “Not to me, they don’t. We are more professional than this and we need to make a good impression.”

  Mark’s phone rang. “Status?”

  “They are still working, but should have the work done in the next day or two.”

  “Not only did we get not get the small job done, but we can’t say we finished the bigger one early. How long will it take to get this place wired and set up?”

  “I expect it’s about a day’s work.”

  “Our guys need to be here and trained and ready to work by happy hour tomorrow. Do we still have the hardware to install or did it all get used at the law office?”

  “We should have lots of everything on hand.”

  “Even the two hidden cameras? One for the back door here and the one for the elevator?”

  “Ah… I will have them tomorrow.”

  “Those cameras have to be installed during early afternoon. We can’t risk their customers seeing them put in. I would think our window is between two and three P.M.”

  “I will make it happen, Mark.”

  “Can we pull a crew to work overtime and put the rest of the system in here tonight?”

  “Trust me.”

  Mark’s jaw was clenched. “Sam said he is going to take care of things. Why don’t we go look around for the security people and check in with Greta.”

  “Good idea, if they know they are being fired tomorrow, they may not do their best job today.”

  “They aren’t being fired tomorrow. Where did you hear that?”

  “What? I thought that was the plan.”

  “No, my plan was to have some overlap so they could help train my guys in what to look for here.”

  Mark and Chloe walked around the nightclub and it was empty. They took the elevator down to Second Circle.

  Onyx smiled and waved to the couple. “There is my happy couple! Marriage looks good on you, Chloe.”

  Chloe gave Onyx a hug. “Thanks, it’s a big adjustment. Mark is helping me understand Pack life.”

  “I bet he is. You stopping by for a friendly chat or need to give Greta status?”

  Mark looked at Greta’s closed door. “I would like to have a quick status meeting if she is available.”

  Onyx looked down at the computer display hidden in the desk. “She can see you now. Go right on in.”

  Greta looked up from her day planner. “Well, it’s my two favorite dogs come to see me. Please take a seat.”

  Mark let Chloe sit and then took the other chair. “Don’t you mean wolf?”

  “Well I can’t say my favorite wolves, can I? With Chloe being a coyote and all.”

  Chloe gasped. “How did you know? I just found out myself yesterday.”

  “I always knew you were special, Chloe, which is why I selected you for all of this, but I didn’t know you were coyote special until seeing you just now. When you get to be my age, you can tell a lot about someone by reading their aura.”

  “Does this affect my position in the Clan?”

  Greta shook her head. “Not for me, since we are all half-breeds. Your mother was not Human. I expect some might question your loyalty, but you will have to rise above it.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. Mark, maybe you can go over what we saw upstairs.”

  “Sure, Chloe. Greta, I checked in at the nightclub and nothing has been done and no one is watching the place. Anyone could walk in the backdoor and do or steal anything they wanted.”

  “I thought your people would be here today.”

  “That was not in the project plan I made. I had them working security starting tomorrow and the current staff staying on to train them in what they know for a couple of weeks.”

  “That is what I would have expected, but when the project said you had other ideas, I trusted you.”

  “Please send me a copy of the project. Sam must have sent something he had before I had come and toured your facilities. Can your manager bring her people back for tonight?”

  Greta called her nightclub manager. “She will get them here with a promise of two weeks employment. Her day guy should be here in thirty minutes.”

  “Thank you, Greta. I am really sorry things got screwed up. I can’t believe they would send you a project plan with my people starting today and then not have them here. I’m sorry my mating ceremony kept me from overseeing things the way it should have been done.”

  “I’m encouraged that you showed up to work at a time like this for you both. If we didn’t have security when the nightclub was scheduled to open, it might have been the end of the contract.”

  Mark nodded grimly. “Again, I am sorry about the mix-up. I better go act as security until your normal guy shows up. Then I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  “Mark, I think there is something you need to know. We got some threats which prompted us to beef up security.”

  “Why are we just hearing about this now?”

  “I wanted to see how you and Chloe were together and make sure you were truly part of our family before letting you know the need was more urgent.”

  “Thank you, Greta, for trusting me. I will not let you down.”

  Chloe decided to hang back and chat with Onyx while Mark went back up to watch the bar. The longer he waited for the guard to show up, the more pissed off he got about how the Pack somehow dropped the ball. His Wolf growled in anticipation of a hunt. He was happy Chloe stayed with Onyx while he waited. The last thing he wanted was to let her see him like this.

  One of the security guards he met the other day came in to relieve him.

  “Thanks for coming. I am sorry there was a miscommunication.”

  “It’s fine. At least I will have the job for a bit longer. Not sure what they want me to do next.”

  “There should be some guys coming soon to do some installation of the card key system. Other t
han that, it will be business as usual for you. Can you give the place a once-over and make sure everything is as it should be?”

  Everything came back good. That was a load off Mark’s mind. Now it was time for a call to Sam.

  “Sam, what the hell happened here? Greta was not sent my project plan and they were left with no security during the day today!”

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Mark. Your plan was a little too conservative so I made some changes to increase our profits, and I sent a revised one. I didn’t change the start dates. Our guys were not to start until tomorrow afternoon like you planned.”

  “Then how did they get the wrong file? Also, where did you get off changing my project without telling me? This is my Alpha-appointed job.”

  “I was trying to help you on your mating day, brother. I have been doing this much longer than you have.”

  “I can do this, brother. When will the installers be here?”

  “They should have been there by now.”

  “I’ll make sure they get started.”

  Chloe came up the elevator. “What’s the news?”

  “The normal day guard is here and I am waiting for the installers.”

  “Anything I can do?”

  “Not that I know of. I need to supervise and make sure everything gets done correctly.”

  One of the Pack installers showed up. “Ready to get to work, boss.”

  “Where is the rest of your crew?”

  “It’s just me.”

  “Are you going to be able to get everything done by yourself before the nightclub opens?”

  “Let’s see. One exterior card key and electronic strike plate on this door, two offices, hallway from the club, and an elevator. And alarm sensors for the main entrance and emergency exits. Yes, I can get it all done.”

  “Prioritize the exterior and elevator and do the offices last. The offices can be worked on while the nightclub is open.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  “Call me if you need anything. I will be back to check on things later.”

  ***

  It was not normal business hours for The Second Circle, so Chloe felt it was okay to take up Onyx’s time talking. They had been friends most of her life. Chloe was one of the few kids raised by the Clan over the years, and Onyx would come and spend time with them. She was the big sister to them all. Greta was the strict mother to be feared.

  “I meant what I said. I think marriage suits you. I know there will be troubles, but it’s a much better life than working here.”

  “I thought you liked your job.”

  “I do like it, but I get a life away from here as well. It may seem like I live at this desk, but I don’t. Did you like the car I sent you?”

  “I love it! Thank you.”

  “So, spill! What’s it like to sleep with a Wolf? Is he all hairy?”

  “I was surprised to find he is not hairy, but sleek. He has a strong hard body and he’s so incredibly sensitive and caring.”

  Chloe smiled a little, remembering his protective arms around her.

  Onyx grinned. “If you ever want to share, I will be right over.”

  “I will keep that in mind, but we have a bigger connection than physical. The mating ceremony was not like getting married, but something deeper. They made a magical connection between us both and to the Pack. It also awoke something I didn’t know I had, and it scared me.”

  “That must be why you feel different to me, but you seem fine now.”

  “I am for the most part, but it’s going to be a lot of changes I was not ready for. I also met my grandparents!”

  “Really? I knew you must have had them, but didn’t expect you would ever find them after joining us so young.”

  “They are Native Americans and Veiled!”

  “That’s what I felt from you! I should have known that from the start. I wonder what changed.”

  “It was the mating ceremony. For Wolves, it not only bonds the man to the woman, but their inner Wolves to each other. In my case, it awoke my inner Coyote.”

  Onyx looked concerned. “But Wolves and Coyotes don’t get along.”

  “Apparently, but Mark doesn’t care. My grandparents met Mark and my grandpa walked out in a huff.”

  “I guess holidays are going to be a challenge in your family.”

  Chloe laughed. “I hadn’t thought of that. I hope they learn to accept Mark.”

  “They have lost too many years to let such a thing get in the way of finally getting to know you. In a way, Mark brought you to them.”

  “That is a good way of looking at it. I will try to get some time to get together as soon as the business is launched.”

  “Chloe, don’t wait too long. You deserve to know them.”

  “That’s true, but even my honeymoon is taking a backseat to the launch and I also deserve to know Mark better as well.”

  “Then I hope things move forward better than they did today.”

  “Me too.”

  Onyx looked down at the screen hidden in her desk. “Greta wants to see you for a private talk. You better go right in.”

  Chloe frowned and went back into Greta’s office.

  “Please take a seat. I will not keep you long. I just wanted to ask some questions about Mark.”

  “What would you like to know?”

  “Do you trust him? Is he going to be loyal to us if he needs to keep some things private from the Pack?”

  “He would not do anything to hurt me, but he would not keep things from his father if he was asked about it. I think he would be able to handle keeping things from the rest of the Pack, but his bond to the Alpha can’t be ignored.”

  “That is fine. His father already knows what I am going to tell you, but no one else in the Pack does.”

  “Then he can be trusted.”

  “The threat to the Clan is real and the Pack could be on the verge of a takeover. Not long ago, John had to eliminate a threat to both the Clan and the local Sylph. I expect you know of our alliance with the Sylph.”

  “I did hear something about it, but never needed to know the details.”

  “Now you need to know more. In order to protect both the Clan and Sylph, John had to duel a Russian Vukodlak, which is a type of Werewolf. In the process, we took over their crime syndicate and are making them more legitimate. We are also integrating them into our company’s network of information. It seems that the Vukodlak’s old masters want revenge.”

  “What is the connection to the Pack?”

  “Alistair thinks they have turned some of his Pack against him and will be helping in an attack on us.”

  “Then why did we bring the Pack in to protect us?”

  “We needed the help. I have relied on our reputation too long and now we need real security. I also want to uncover who we can trust. I trust Alistair as Alpha. We now need to work together to end the threat against us and make the Clan stronger.”

  “What can I do?”

  “If you trust Mark, let him know what I told you and that he can’t trust anybody in the Pack but Alistair.”

  Chloe decided to check on Mark. She gave Onyx a big hug on her way out.

  She found Mark going over the situation with the current staff. He kept scanning the room for threats. He must be worried about how things got so out of sync.

  “Everything okay, Mark?”

  “No damage was done. We can head out now, but I want to come back later to check on the progress of the work being done.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Nothing changes

  MARK AND CHLOE got in the car.

  He looked over at her. “I don’t know what went wrong today; I feel like some of it was my fault for not checking things like I should have yesterday, but that does not explain why Greta was given the wrong project plan. I feel like I can’t trust anybody. Well, anybody but you.”

  “I think I know why. Greta gave me more information to share with you today. She wanted to make su
re I trusted you before you found out. I know I can trust you, but you can’t tell anybody in the Pack.”

  “Chloe, you are scaring me; tell me what is going on.”

  She filled him in on what Greta had said.

  “Thank you for trusting me with this. It does make me feel like today’s mix-up might have been to get us tossed off the project. Whoever is behind the attack knows I am not part of it.”

  “You could be right. Are you sure you want to go along with your father’s plan and help Greta? It would mean you are at odds with the rest of the Pack.”

  He growled. “I won’t side with drug dealers and human traffickers, even if they are more like me than Vampires. I am fully committed.”

  “I knew we thought alike on that.”

  “What would have happened if I had not sided with Greta?”

  “I actually don’t know, but I expect your father and Greta would push us away until the situation was all over, one way or the other.”

  “At least we would be on the sidelines together.”

  “Mark, would you leave me if that had happened?”

  “Chloe, I will never leave you.”

  “Even if your Alpha demands it?”

  “It would be hard to disobey my connection to the Alpha, but if there was any option, I would choose you. Don’t worry, my father would never ask that of me.”

  “What if something happened to your father and someone else became Alpha?”

  “If one of these traitors somehow became Alpha, I would leave the Pack instead of making my bond of loyalty to the new Alpha. Depending on the Alpha, we might have to go on the run, but I would do it. I think that is enough of the what-ifs. We should get back to what we can control.”

  “So what next?”

  “I think it’s time to talk to my father.”