He outlined his ideas and Kandis piped in, adding her tuppenceworth to his explanation and Seann and Garrett let him speak without interruption. He told them about meeting Nate and all of the empty property currently available for purchase and he was spurred on by Seann’s occasional nodding.
“Our current mountain retreat is just so far away and we are still very restricted by the human population that lives in and around the area. This is a little more secluded and there is much more potential for growth as the pack keeps getting bigger each year.”
“If Garrett did buy the property that Liam mentioned.” Kandis piped in, “Then with Seann’s property and Liam’s we would own the entire top of the mountain and Nate thinks we could buy up the vacant cabins fairly easily and build more on the empty lots. Some of our families may want to invest in their own cabin and the pack could own and rent the others, just like we do here. There are also a lot of houses, a few lofts and several businesses in the small town that are or could be up for grabs and it’s a hotspot for vacationers in the summer. The shops already make a nice profit from the holiday village a few miles away and if pack members bought up the businesses too, we could be autonomous while still keeping the mountain private.”
Sean leaned forward in his chair and clasped his hands as he listened to them speak, Liam could see that Kandis had definitely sparked his interest with her detailed research and enthusiasm.
“There is also a farm for sale and their land borders the mountain on three sides, it would be ideal for our pack runs with a clear path up the mountainside away from the town. The farmhouse would also make a perfect Den, it needs a little work but it’s huge and there is another newer house that Nate thinks was built for the farmer’s son that maybe Garrett and India would prefer as it’s closer to the farmhouse than the cabin we mentioned.” Liam added.
“What do you suggest we do with the compound if we do decide to move up north?” Seann asked and Kandis answered again while Liam watched her proudly as she fielded his questions.
“We could sell to a developer and get an instant influx of cash, it’s a nice area and close to the national park, or we could run it as a business, renting out the individual cabins for an ongoing income while keeping ownership. Apart from the obvious draw of the national park, there is a great fishing river and a fully accessible town. We would need to hire some local people for the day to day renting, cleaning etc. or we could employ a management company to oversee the entire project with less profit but also less work from our end.”
“We also have the existing mountain camp that we have had for many years but it’s closer to the city and I think we could sell it easily. The land alone is worth a chunk of money and would certainly go a long way to setting us up in a permanent new home.” Garrett added.
“How do you think everyone else in the pack will feel about uprooting and moving to a new area?” Imogen asked.
“We have moved en masse, between the old mountain camp and the compound four times since I was a child,” Seann said. “The mountain camp has been empty for years and occasionally we have a team go up there and spend some time maintaining the cabins but we don’t generate any income from them and I for one would love to put down roots and have a permanent home. You really think we could buy up all the businesses and homes and keep it a completely shifter friendly zone.”
“I do,” Liam said confidently. We also have Nate already compiling a list of available homes, businesses and potential problems. He would like to come out here and meet everyone soon. He wants to meet you with a view to joining the pack.”
“Then let’s call a whole pack meeting first, in a few days, when hopefully little Sophia is through the worst of her ordeal. I would like to hear everyone’s input, but I think it sounds like the answer to our problems. Kandis, you’re in charge of arranging the meeting and the move if we are going to go forward with it.”
Seann stood up from the table and his face changed in an instant into hard ass alpha mode.
“Garrett, Liam, bring Lucas Green to my office.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Kandis
She could hear Seann’s deep voice booming through the reinforced door and felt a pang of pity for the kid. She wanted to strangle him for being so damn irresponsible but after she had calmed down she knew that he was only doing what Sophia had begged him to and he was too young and stupid to realize how dangerous it was for her. Sophia, however, had known and she was extremely disappointed in her.
“I have a good feeling that she will be okay, Kandis,” Imogen said as Roisin put another cup of hot coffee into her hand.
“I hope you’re right.” she smiled wryly, “That kid has gotten under my skin and I want to protect her and smack her at the same time.”
“Imogen is always right, I think it’s about time we all started listening to what she says.” India teased.
She stood up slowly when she heard Rafe’s voice coming down the corridor and when he appeared, he smiled and she let out the breath she had been holding while Bethany jumped to her feet!
“I have sedated her to help her body heal but her heartbeat is already stronger than a couple of hours ago, she has come through the worst already. Hope will sit with her until her fever breaks but you can go in and see her for a couple of minutes.
Kandis held out her hand and Bethany clutched it as she walked down the corridor to see her sister. She was barely more than a kid herself but at least she was an adult when she was bitten and it was done to save her life.
Sophia looked so peaceful asleep and Kandis could hear her strong, steady heartbeat when she sat down at the side of the bed. Her face was tinged pink with fever and Hope was diligently keeping her cool, wiping her brow.
Kandis kissed her on the forehead and said a silent prayer to the gods to keep her safe from harm. She had taken this kid under her wing and she was extremely fond of her. Hope smiled at her as she stood up and left the room to give Bethany a little alone time with her little sister.
Lucas came out of Seann’s office and ran straight out the front door but not before she saw his tear-streaked face. She felt a little sympathy for him, she had been on the receiving end of Seann Donovan’s wrath not so long ago and didn’t really wish it on the kid, he could be brutal.
Roisin ushered them all to the table to eat while it was still hot and Liam slid into the seat beside her. She felt the heat from his body reach hers and always felt complete when he was near her. Bethany and Zac joined them too and Imogen helped Roisin put the dishes of steaming hot food on the table. Roisin’s steak and gravy pie was legendary and Kandis put a large slice on her plate and added carrots and baby potatoes. Thank the gods for shifter genes or she would have an ass the size of Texas.
Roisin didn’t eat with them. Jay and Anjelica were cooking dinner for her in her cabin and Kandis wondered if there was more than friendship between her and the police chief. She had been on her own for so long, she deserved a little happiness too and Anjelica clearly adored her.
Seann didn’t mention Lucas’s punishment and her respect for him rose a notch that he didn’t gossip about other pack members, Liam would tell her later anyway but she was glad that Seann probably hadn’t gossiped about her when she was locked in the dungeon. Although the pack were notorious for finding out everything about everyone, nothing was sacred.
The food was melt-in-the-mouth delicious and she took a second piece and savored it before pushing her empty plate away and leaning back in her seat.
“That was divine.
“I made apple pie, Kandis, I hope you left enough room for dessert.” Imogen teased her.
“Barely.” she grinned, “But I can manage a slice.”
“Maybe she is already eating for two,” India added and she felt her face flush.
“India!” Imogen chastised her sister but the speculation in her eyes was clear too as she bounced baby Everly on her knee.
“You’ll be the first to know.” she teased back and Liam s
queezed her hand under the table.
“Leave her alone,” Garrett said with a smile as he rubbed his mate's huge belly, she was due any day now and looked like a ripe watermelon.
“Only two more days until the full moon run,” Imogen said, “I can’t wait, India is on babysitting duty as she is too near her time to shift.”
“I’ll stay home with you, babe,” Garrett said.
Kandis suddenly had an idea.
“I am going to call the meeting for the same night to talk about the move, get everyone's input and feelings on the subject, a little earlier in the evening, everyone can eat afterward and then the adults can go on the run when the sun goes down. Could we organize a grill? Burgers, beans, hotdogs, something easy that will feed the whole pack.” she looked to Imogen.
“Consider it done, I will have the girls from our catering company get the supplies and we can do easy desserts, cheesecake, brownies, cookies, keep it simple,” she said smiling. “I am sure Roisin will help, she is never happier than when she is organizing food.”
“Garrett, when Kandis has the details, can you get the teenagers out notifying everyone door to door, I want everyone there if possible, this is important,” Seann added and stood up from the table, “Sorry but I still have some things I need to get done tonight.”
“We need to get this little one home to bed.” Garrett swung a giggling Kali onto his shoulders, “But I will come back afterward.”
“No need, Garrett, go home with India and Kali, this won’t take long and I fully intend to spend what’s left of the evening with my two best girls.” Seann kissed his mate and his baby daughter before heading off into his office.
Bethany wanted to stay near her sister so Bree made up a bed for her and Zac in one of the guest rooms next door to Sophia.
Kandis and Liam said goodnight and she linked her arm in his as they walked slowly home together.
“Seann seemed interested in moving us all to the mountain but he also seemed a little distracted, don’t you think,” Kandis said.
“It will cost a fortune to move everyone and the organization will be monumental. Some of us own our cabins, some rent from the pack and there will be some who don’t want to move at all. It happens even when we move between the mountain camp and the compound, every time without fail. Seann will make the final decision though but he will rely heavily on my opinion and Garrett’s even more.”
“I thought the pack was wealthy.”
“Very wealthy compared to most, but we would need to buy up all of the other property before we could sell or rent the compound, that’s a chunk of change. We could sell our existing mountain camp first though to generate some cash to get us started. I think that would be the best strategy all round. I would offer to inject some cash into it but I know Seann would refuse, he feels it’s his place as alpha.”
“I hope I am up for the challenge of organizing this move if we go ahead, I am surprised Seann didn’t give the job to someone more qualified,” she said looking up at him.
“You sold him on the idea tonight, I think everyone else is just seeing what I do, Kandis, you are smart and savvy and more than capable of carrying this off. I will help in any way I can, we all will.”
They reached their new home and she couldn’t stop smiling. It was such a nice change for her to be in a position of trust, she was officially in the ‘In crowd’.
She hung up her jacket and looked around her new home again while Liam went into his office to check for messages and answer email. The two smaller bedrooms were empty apart from a weight bench in one and the other had some of her boxed items from her own cabin that her parents had brought here while she was still in the mountains.
She sometimes helped her Dad when she was younger and she had helped decorate her own cabin and would have liked to have gone ahead and updated these two rooms but was there any point if they were going to be moving on to a new home. Liam said she could decorate the new cabin any way she wanted and she wanted to create a nursery. Watching Imogen with her baby daughter tonight she knew that she wanted this more than anything else in the world.
She closed the door and went into the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. She warmed some milk and spooned chocolate into two mugs. It still felt a little strange being in someone else’s cabin but she knew she would get used to it. Home was wherever Liam McGuire was.
She took Liam’s chocolate and put it on his desk. He was talking on the phone so she carried her drink out onto the porch and sat on the swing. They had such a blessed life here with the pack but she had never really appreciated it until she got together with Liam and he helped her exorcise the ghosts from her past. She pushed the memories away, she wouldn’t go down that road tonight, not when she had so much to be happy about. She sat there for an age, just loving the silence, an occasional owl hooting in the distance.
Jay Donovan came out of the woods in front of their cabin with Roisin and Anjelica and came toward her as the other two waved and kept walking toward Roisin’s cabin.
“Hey, Kandis, do you have a minute?” he asked.
“Sure, Jay, would you like something to drink?”
“No thanks, just a few minutes of your time.”
She liked Jay Donovan, he was Seann’s uncle and used to be the police chief in another town before he retired and came here recently to be part of his nephew’s pack.
“I hear the pack may be moving to a permanent home,” he said.
“We are talking about it and will have a meeting to fill everyone in and get their opinion before the run on Friday night.”
“I know the town pretty well and have a few friends on the town council. I made a call tonight which was very encouraging. Do you think there would be any objection from the pack to me taking over as chief of police? A town that size probably only needs a police presence, maybe two or three officers at the moment. I know they rely on the neighboring town’s sheriff’s office for law and order but we could double the population in an instant and would warrant our own police force again. There is a police station there already but it’s only manned part-time for now.”
“I’m not sure that this would be my decision, Jay, you should talk to Seann but I agree we need a police presence and I can think of no-one better to lead. We also want to keep the town free from outside interference so it will probably be a bigger job than you may think.”
“I did talk to Seann a short time ago and he is keen to have me take over but he said I had to run it past you, that you were in charge of the whole operation and nothing happened without your stamp of approval.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Liam
Kandis was pacing the floor of the bedroom when he finally finished up and he had never seen her as agitated as she was right now. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and it smothered her, coming right down to her thighs. She looked as sexy as hell and he wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with her and explore her beautiful body, but it would have to wait, something was clearly wrong.
“I can’t do this, Liam!” she stopped pacing for a moment to look at him, “I’m not qualified to decide what a whole town needs to function, how the hell do I know if we will need a police chief or how many teachers for the school or any other damn thing. I thought Seann meant that I would be organizing the move, not deciding on all of these things that are far above my pay grade!”
He reached out and guided her toward the bed and sat down beside her.
“What happened to get you so upset, babe.”
“Jay was here,” she said and filled him in on their conversation about policing the town, “Then that got me thinking about the high school and the doctor’s office and all the other things that are needed for the town to function.”
“You already schedule everyone’s workdays for us here in the compound and make sure everyone gets paid, this is just on a bigger scale and Nate will help us with the legal side. Jay is perfect to take over policing and once he has the funds, he can organize
his own employees. Having a police force will take a little of the pressure off us Kandis but we can still keep the teenagers on roster, they enjoy it and they earn pocket money the old-fashioned way.”
“What about the school and all of the other things?”
“I spoke to Seann and I realize that he wasn’t clear earlier. He does want you to coordinate the move because you are super organized but he is only expecting you to take charge of pack security, not everything else and I will help. Rafe will open a clinic there and Bree and Bethany are going to take care of schooling for the kids, Bree is a qualified teacher and is going to coordinate all of the pack's educational needs. I am hopeful that for the first time ever we can school the younger kids too instead of homeschooling them. Lachlan and the other business managers will be in charge of coordinating their own moves but Seann wants us to take another look at the vacant buildings etc. to see where everyone could go, see how quickly we need to build, all of that practical stuff. He just wants you to be their go-to person with questions and you direct them to Rafe, Nate or whoever you think best to deal with it. No-one could do all of that on their own and Seann wouldn’t expect it.”
She blew out a long breath and smiled at him.
“I was getting my panties in a bunch for a moment there.”
He pushed her back onto the bed and reached up under her t-shirt.
“No panties here to be bunched, lucky me.” he grinned and she saw his eyes were already glowing and she mewed like a kitten as he covered her body with his and his fangs scraped the mark on her neck.
Her belly filled with heat as he nipped her with his teeth and she fisted her hands in his hair and bit down on his mark and he growled with pleasure. Biting was erotic foreplay for a shifter and she was already wet and eager to feel him inside her but he was taking his sweet time and removed her shirt to tease her rock-hard nipples instead of giving her what she craved.
“Liam, I need you inside me,” she ground out but he ignored her and changed sides to tease the other side with his tongue.
Children of the Moon: Book Three Page 10