Fagin's Folly

by Lisa Oliver

  “No more difficult than you having to force Jerome to submit the other day,” Buster pointed out.

  “Yeah, I still don’t know why he challenged me the way he did.” Fagin hadn’t talked to anyone about the fight, even Cooper, who had been happy to spend the night after the fight letting Fagin distract himself with his sexy body. Fagin felt his cock plump up just thinking about it. Thoughts about his dad made it go down again. “What was Jerome thinking, Buster? Yes, he’d been called out by the council and yes, he was going to have to pay restitution. But we weren’t even looking at laying any charges against him. We basically wanted him to leave us alone. Why challenge me, when he had to know he wouldn’t win and he lost everything in the process? All he kept saying was I should have listened to him, but why?”

  “You think maybe there’s something else going on in the pack we don’t know about?” Buster leaned on the counter, thinking hard. Fagin took another swig of his drink.

  “You know,” Buster added, “We haven’t been around much at all in the last year or so. What with the business, and living in town, who knows what could have been going on here. I mean, none of us knew about Missy carrying Jerome’s pups until the challenge.”

  “Yeah, that was a hell of a shock. I’d never dreamed dad would cheat on mom that way. I always believed their marriage was solid.” Fagin still couldn’t believe his mom was holding up as well as she was. She’d been amazing, happily helping Cooper adjust to being the alpha mate, barely mentioning the fact her husband and two of her sons were in jail.

  “Well, maybe there’s more stuff going on,” Buster said. “Has Cooper said anything about the pack finances? Is the pack in any trouble?”

  “Not that I know of,” Fagin smiled as Cooper came scurrying in clutching some papers to his chest. “Here’s our resident financial whizz now? Any problems, babe?”

  “Not with the accounts, no,” Cooper frowned as he held out a piece of paper Fagin could now see was a printed email. “Didn’t you say the pack that was visiting the other night, were just passing through on the off chance that you might bond with the alpha’s daughter?”

  “Yes,” Fagin said slowly. “That’s what my dad told me, but I told him I was already mated, and I wasn’t going to be a party to it.”

  “Well, this email suggests there was a lot more to it. Alpha Snells has emailed wanting to know when the date for the bonding ceremony will take place to cement the alliance between the two packs.”

  “Maybe the young lady bonded with one of the enforcers here or something,” Fagin took the paper and scanned the contents.

  Cooper reached over and tapped the bottom of the page. “It’s your name that’s been listed as the one to do the bonding and failure to do so will result in the penalties discussed.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “What penalties?” Fagin’s gut churned. There was nothing on the email about the specifics.

  “I’ve been through all their previous emails, but there’s nothing down on paper,” Cooper held up the other printouts he had. “I figure there has to be an original contract signed somewhere but I haven’t come across it yet.”

  “This could be why Jerome made the challenge when he did. What are the chances, he’d already gone ahead and made the alliance deal with this Alpha Snells and then realized he’d have to forfeit once you said you were mated?” Buster made a good point, but Fagin hated the thought his father had been so underhanded.

  “We have to find that contract,” he said urgently. “In most cases, I’d say this isn’t an issue. The pack has a new alpha so any mergers, alliances or anything like that would have to be renegotiated especially seeing as I won the pack through a challenge.”

  “But you sharing a last name with the previous alpha might be a problem as well as the fact it’s your name mentioned as the one to bond with Vanessa. Not the alpha’s eldest son, or the son of the alpha or anything like that. Your name.” Cooper looked up at him worriedly and Fagin mentally cursed his father all over again. It seemed like every time he turned around he was causing more grief to his mate. “This Alpha Snells must believe you agreed to the bonding. He talks about Vanessa’s excitement since meeting you in the email.”

  “It does.” Fagin read the paper in his hand again. Sure enough, the Alpha said quite plainly that Vanessa, and Fagin had to assume that was his daughter, had been excitedly talking about their bonding since their meeting the night of the pack run.

  “Well, she sure as heck didn’t meet one of us,” Buster said firmly. “The night of the pack run was when Fagin was being mauled by Missy and I was drugged and chained to my bed. So, who the hell was passing themselves off as you during the pack run?”

  “We’ve got bigger problems than that,” Fagin looked across at his mate and best friend who both wore worried expressions. “If someone passed themselves off as me, at the pack run, then it means the whole pack was complicit in this.”

  “Not necessarily,” Buster said. “You know your dad was always funny about running with the rest of the pack. If he sent the pack off for a run before the Snells arrived, then only the immediate family would know what he was up to.”

  “And his inner circle. My mom wouldn’t have been there as she’d have been busy getting the party ready for when they returned.” Fagin was thinking hard.

  “And not all of the inner circle,” Buster reminded him. “You said there were two enforcers guarding the door at your apartment when Missy took you there. My dad was in on my beating as well, so it’s unlikely he and whoever was with him went on the pack run.”

  “Jonas,” Fagin snarled. “That was the other enforcer with him outside of my door.”

  “That’s not important right now,” Cooper insisted. “Instead of thinking who could be in on this, think about who would be stupid enough to impersonate you? Think about it. Jerome hears you’re mated to a guy, but for some reason, kidnaps you and tries to get you to bond with Missy because she’s carrying his pups. That would suggest he still wanted you in the alpha spot – in fact, didn’t you say Missy said as much?”

  Fagin nodded.

  “Then no matter who impersonated you, they had to know that sooner or later they’d get found out. You aren’t the person Vanessa met. Even if you had a secret twin somewhere, your doppelgänger wouldn’t share your scent. Wolves can scent a lie. So maybe your father planned on ripping off this alpha all along. It certainly sounds strange that he wanted you bonded to Vanessa for the pack deal but was also throwing you at Missy to be the possible father of her pups. Goodness, this is too weird.”

  “It doesn’t make sense,” Fagin agreed. “What could my father get out of making an alliance deal with this other pack, when he wanted me to take responsibility for Missy’s pups.”

  “Maybe one thing came before the other,” Buster suggested. “Pack mergers and alliances all take time and you would be the natural choice to do it. But then what if Missy told him she was pregnant. Remember, she did want to mate with Bobby Joe. It’s possible your dad thought he could convince you Missy’s pups were yours, and then he could still push you to go through with the bonding with Vanessa.”

  “You could have a point. Either way, I’d still be alpha of this pack. If Missy announced her pregnancy and said I was responsible, then Dad could step down as Alpha with no one being the wiser. Maybe this deal with Snells has been in the pipeline for some time, and he thought he could get Missy mated to Bobby Joe with the status in the pack she wanted or that he probably promised her, and still bond me to Vanessa to get the alliance he agreed to.”

  “It sounds like he’s playing fast and loose with your genetics. I don’t know what’s going on, but I know what I’m going to do now.” Cooper took the paper from Fagin’s hand.

  “What are you going to do, babe?”

  “As your alpha mate, I’m going to find out who this Vanessa believes she’s getting bonded to. I’m going to call Alpha Snells personally.”

  “Babe, wait….”

 
; But Cooper was already gone. Sighing, Fagin reached for another beer. “Hawaii might be nice this time of year,” he said, cracking open another bottle.

  “Aren’t you going to go after Cooper?”

  Shaking his head, Fagin said, “No. This is one instance where him being an omega might work in our favor. We don’t have the contract, so we don’t know what my father agreed to. Cooper’s right in that my having my father’s surname could be problematic. If I call him and demand to know what’s going on, Snells would think he was being played for a fool. And face it, when the worst case scenario is me losing this pack and us having to go and live somewhere else, would it really be that bad? It’s not as though anyone here is making us feel welcome. I know as an alpha I should be fighting for my pack, but gods I sometimes wish I was anywhere but here.”

  “I wish we’d had the chance to take that road trip,” Buster agreed. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled you found little dude when you did, but this place and the way they want to cling to their old ways like the world will implode if we don’t…The bitching, the back fighting; it’s only been what? Two days?”

  “Yeah. Imagine a lifetime of this.” Fagin took another swallow of his drink and then voiced what he’d wanted to say from the start. “I’m seriously considering contacting that Noah Harris from the council and tell him to find someone else to take over the pack.”

  “Are you sure? I thought we both decided it wasn’t fair on Cooper if we moved.”

  “It still isn’t fair on him, but he’s moved anyway; first into my house and then into this one. It’s all done bar the packing. I didn’t want him to lose his job either. But if we stay here there’s no way he can manage to hold down a job and run the pack finances and be the alpha mate. I’ve barely seen him these past two days without him talking about it’s ‘almost being tax season’. I never wanted this,” Fagin swung his bottle to indicate the formal living room. “I was raised for it, trained for it and told my whole life this is who I was going to be, but I never wanted it. Either one of my brothers would have been better suited to be alpha in a pack that doesn’t embrace change. I find even just living in this house stifling. It’s like having a collar around my neck.”

  “I know what you mean,” Buster said. “I think that’s why I was so looking forward to our trip. I mean, yeah, I want to find my mate, but it was more than that, you know? A chance to be out on the road; to be who we wanted to be with no expectations and no one hustling us into a mating we don’t want. My dad used to tell me horror stories of lone wolves all the time; how hard it was to live without a pack, but he was just preaching propaganda. Look at the number of alphas that get kicked out of packs because they are a threat to the head of the pack. They can’t all go off sobbing in their beer and fall to pieces. Some of them must make good lives for themselves.”

  “Gods, I wanted that too,” Fagin sighed. “I know it took me ages to come to the decision, but when Jerome said I could have that month off, all I felt was relief and excitement. The chance to travel beyond this state; to be out on the open road with the wind in my hair. The opportunity to find somewhere to live that appeals to us, not just staying in the place we grew up in. Don’t get me wrong. I am over the moon I met Cooper. He settled into that empty space in my heart like he was meant to be there. But all of this – the nagging elders, the whining enforcers, the threat of challenges, this business with Alpha Snells. I’m not cut out for the politics of a pack. I never was. That’s what my father wanted for me, not what I wanted.”

  “Then why didn’t you say so?” Cooper’s voice came from the door and Fagin turned to see him still clutching the same piece of paper he was before. A piece of paper he threw on the ground as he raced over into Fagin’s arms. Fagin caught him as he jumped, cradling his mate to his chest as Cooper wound his slender arms around his neck. “All you had to do was say you weren’t happy here and I’d have our bags packed in five minutes flat.”

  “We’d have to leave town,” Fagin warned, unsure if his mate was fully aware of the implications of leaving. “We’d likely never come back. We wouldn’t be able to. You’d have to leave your job and your friends. We’d be fine for money, more so if I sell the club, but I couldn’t tell you how long it would be until we had a proper home to call our own.”

  “Do you think I want to be here?” Cooper’s eyes were wide and as honest as the day is long. “I can’t go outside without someone spitting in my direction or growling at me. We both know my job was over the moment I said yes to you. I have one really good friend, Beth, who racks up frequent flyer points so no matter where we go, she can still come and visit. I talked to her only yesterday and told her to write up my resignation. When we do settle somewhere, I can set up my own private practice and work from home, or a new bar, or wherever we decide to go. The only person I’d be worried about is your mom, but she’s happy here. Her friends look out for her and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon.”

  “You’re serious.” Fagin had to be sure. This was a huge step. “You don’t care that my name will be mud if I just walk away from all this? We’d be going on the bikes. We’d only be able to take a couple of changes of clothes and our wallets.” Fagin felt a flicker of hope and as he stole a quick look at Buster, he could see his friend holding his breath.

  “When I escaped my old pack, I was terrified to be on my own. But I got jobs, worked my way through college and learned to stand on my own two feet. It won’t be like that this time. We’ll be together; the three of us,” Cooper smiled over at Buster. “Four when your second finds his mate. We’ll be a wandering pack; no territory to speak of until we find the place that speaks in our hearts. So long as we stay out of other territories, we’ll be fine. It’ll be a great adventure.”

  “A wonderful adventure,” Fagin echoed.

  “An epic adventure,” Buster agreed. “How soon can we leave?”

  “I’d suggest in the next hour and a half,” Cooper said. “My phone call with Alpha Snells was brief and not pleasant. He has already petitioned to the council to take over this pack. Not yours; he didn’t know about that one. Just this one. Apparently, Vanessa told him this morning she’s expecting and demanded to have the bonding ceremony right away. When he learned Jerome was in jail, he demanded restitution. Jerome signed away everything he owned on this deal if it fell through. Alpha Snells doesn’t have any idea who the father of the pups is once I told him it definitely wasn’t you, but he’s on his way here to find out.”

  “I’m sure the elders can handle that seeing as I’m sure they had to know about all this,” Fagin grinned. “Why else would they want my darling mate culled from the pack? They still thought they could pressure me to go through with the bonding and the alliance. We’ll be long gone by the time he arrives.”

  “Are you sure?” Cooper’s hand was a warm comfort on Fagin’s face. “This place was your home. You should at least tell your mom.”

  “You go pack our things, remember keep it light. Buster, you pack and then see to our bikes. I’ll send out a text to all pack members letting them know I’m stepping down and that Alpha Snells will be in the area in time for the planned meeting tonight and then I’ll have a quick word with mom. We should be all ready to go in twenty minutes, yep?”

  “You have to put me down first,” Cooper laughed. “I have to find something to wear that’s not a suit.”

  “Hmm, I love you in your suits,” Fagin growled. “Make sure you pack one for the trip.” Dropping a quick kiss on Cooper’s ready lips, Fagin set him back on his feet and watched as Cooper sprinted from the room.

  “What’s the bet, he has all the pack accounts printed out and laying on the desk ready for when Alpha Snells arrives,” he said fondly.

  “I ain’t taking that bet,” Buster laughed. “I’m surprised he didn’t demand an itinerary before we left. I bet he even organizes his sock drawer.”

  “He did mine too.” Taking in a long breath, Fagin looked at the man who’d been by his side for ove
r twenty-five years. “You ready for this?”

  “I was born ready,” Buster assured him. “And don’t you worry about little dude. Between the two of us, we’ll keep him safe.”

  “Have you ever called him little dude to his face?” Fagin asked as he pulled out his phone to draft a group text.

  “Apart from that one time when I was pulling him out of the food bunker, that would be a no. He told me, if I ever did it again, he’d get the IRS to audit me for the past ten years.” Buster looked pained. “You know I never keep receipts – man, that would’ve killed me.”

  “The joys of having a smart mate.” Fagin started composing his text; the shackles of leadership falling off his shoulders link by link with every word he typed.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Cooper sat on the edge of the bed he’d only shared with Fagin for two nights. The saddle bags Buster brought up to him were packed and ready by the door. He’d already sent his farewell text to Beth, promising her she could come for a visit as soon as they reached a beachside location. Looking at his phone, he saw he still had five minutes before Fagin expected him by the front door.

  Looking around the room, Cooper had thought it was nice enough when he first saw it. Comfortable solid wood furniture, plain white walls and heavy drapes to combat the winter chill. Margaret said he could renovate it in any style he liked, but Cooper hadn’t been filled with any urge to make this place home as he usually did when he found a new place.

  I was never going to fit in a large pack, Cooper thought sadly as he plucked at the covers. Hearing the elders wanted him culled; an archaic practice outlawed so long ago Cooper was surprised anyone even remembered shifters used to do such a horrible thing, didn’t surprise him. He meant what he said to Fagin. He’d only gone outside to walk the short distance between the pack house and the little cottage where Margaret was staying.