“I get it. It’s plain as day now. You want to marry a human so you can buy the old estate that your grandfather lost before he died. The one he lived in when he was Alpha. The one that was seized by the County. Don’t you?” Autumn asked, and then paused for Simon's confirmation, but he kept a straight face. “I may be a human, but I know a thing or two about this Pack. That estate has been vacant for years. And every time someone comes around to buy it, something happens mysteriously to stop them from closing on it.”
As she processed the circumstances, the missing pieces started coming together. The former Cross City Wolf Pack Alpha had been found dead, and now the Pack was in trouble. With Simon as the current Beta, he had fair claim to compete for the position. Rumors were also going around that Simon had been involved in the extortion of money from other business owners by using his gang of followers to deliver threats if they didn’t comply. Coincidently, he’d probably scrounged up just enough money to buy the estate.
“You have money to buy it back, don’t you?” she demanded.
Simon clapped his hands. “Bingo. And I’ll buy it once we are mated and married. Any more questions?”
Autumn huffed.
“So…” Simon pushed the contract back across the table to her. “Shall we carry on with this?”
“No, we shall not carry on with anything.”
“Your father signed the contract,” the lawyer reminded her.
“According to the laws, a shifter must be married to a human for six weeks before the marriage is considered valid.”
“Exactly,” Simon said. “It’s done all the time. We take a human bride as we see fit to get what we need, stay in the marriage for the duration, and then split up. Assets are then divvied up according to the agreement set in place.”
“But yet the documents here have been adjusted from the original terms of six weeks to one year. The difference in six weeks and one year is outrageous, just in case you haven’t noticed. The contract is re-amendable last time I checked.”
“Revision isn’t an option at this point,” the lawyer said.
“Things have changed since the agreement was worked up. The year-long term was placed there by my lawyer for a reason,” Simon interjected. “I’ll be acquiring more than just the old estate back. I have plans for County and possibly statewide acquisitions. These things take time. Possibly years. But with my team of professionals, I can do it within the year. Finding a human woman every six weeks to marry for money could get costly. I’m at an advantage. I already have a human woman according to this contract.” He smiled slowly.
“You are full of yourself,” she grumbled.
“Why so much hostility? It was my father, after all, who saved that rundown tavern of yours. At the time and despite the questionable return on investment, this agreement between our families was done with good intentions. It was intended that neither party would leave the table empty-handed after the execution of the agreement. I pick the property, you sign, we acquire. Once the year is up, you’ll have your tavern free and clear if that’s what you want. Can we make a deal on that?”
Autumn frowned. “No. We can’t.”
Simon sighed and his shoulders slumped slightly. “Let’s make the most of this,” he said. “Let’s be good friends. Our families were never enemies and we worked together. Didn’t your daddy tell you before he kicked the bucket?”
“I wished that he had realized how much of a jackass you were before he got me into this mess. He never would’ve signed it otherwise,” she stated.
“That’s what you think,” Simon said. “You don’t have many options anyway. You could refuse and renege, but what I know is that your little sister just celebrated her eighteenth birthday. Maybe…”
“You sick, miserable sly bastard.”
He chuckled. “One year isn’t a lot to ask, especially with what’s at stake.” Simon linked his fingers together and placed them on top of the table.
“You’re asking me to be married to you for a year and I can hardly stand being in the same room with you for three minutes.”
“It’s unfortunate that you’re disobeying your dead father’s orders. Although he wasn’t a member of our Pack, he was fully supportive of our ways, including the mating rituals. Now you can either cooperate or I’ll be forced to shut down that little tavern for good, and you’ll never get it back. You won’t be able to send money to your sister for her college bills anymore and that hag Melisandra will be without a job.” He grinned. “And so will you. Stick with me and you’ll be set for life, whether we continue our marriage past the year mark or not.”
Autumn ground her fingertips into her palms. That tavern had been the family’s main source of income for years. If she followed through with her plan B of going AWOL before the mating, her decision would affect more than herself. But here she was between a rock and a hard place and Simon, his lawyer, and the contract was staring her right in the face.
“So, it’s possible that this whole thing could be completed before the year mark.”
“It’s quite possible if you cooperate. Remember, I pick, you sign, we acquire. In the end, what you’ll have is your tavern, debt free. You’re in a whole ass load of debt, by the way.”
She rolled her eyes and pulled the contract toward her. Her gaze ran across the terms once more. She had read the thing over and over again already. She should have known it by heart by now. Everything in her power was telling her to stop, turn around, and flee just as she had planned.
But she picked up the pen anyway.
“I’ll need another day.”
Simon groaned. “Seriously?”
“You changed the terms, and then you forced me here without giving me a chance to call my lawyer. If you’re getting something extra out of the deal, I want something too.”
Simon pointed to his wristwatch. “Time is money. And you do know that I don’t need your written consent, don’t you?”
She glared at him. “Are you threatening me?”
“No threat is required, but a deal is a deal.”
She pulled away from the table and snatched up the contract. “I won’t sign anything as one-sided as this contract here. Give me twenty-four hours to discuss the terms with my lawyer. Stay away from me during that time or I’ll call the County Sheriff and place a restraining order against you.”
“Twenty-four hours…starting now,” he said. “And don’t think about running…”
“I’m not running from my tavern,” she stated, defiantly. I’m running from you.
She half meant it, and she knew it was in her best interest to hold onto what was hers. No matter what it took. If she had to leave this town for her safety, she would. But she’d be back for what was hers.
3
“So, you need help from us to capture your Beta?” Garrett asked as he glanced out at Benjamin Sr., Alejandro, and a third Cross City wolf they’d brought with them.
The old former Alpha, who was nearly eighty years old, nodded slowly. “He’s hard to catch, and he’s turned some of the non-ranking Pack members against their leaders. We’re leaning toward Pack disbandment.”
“He has people working for him,” Garrett said. “I saw a handful of his bodyguards last night.”
“They’ve kept his whereabouts a secret and whenever he’s spotted, the attempts to apprehend him always leads to altercations that increase our death count. We don’t want any more bodies. Finding dead bodies of wolf shifters all over the County doesn’t look good to the human authorities and to the shifter population as a whole.”
Garrett gnawed at the inside of his bottom lip, still a little perplexed at how dysfunctional a Pack could become in a short period and with the absence of an Alpha. He sat on top of haystacks inside of a large barn alongside Joshua, Edward, and Rick—the three wolves who’d traveled with him. Evidently, the old man owned so much land that he barely had use for this one other than to hold secret meetings with his most trusted. It looked like the road leading
to the barn hadn’t been used in months. There weren’t any animals or anything else kept inside the place. Just barrels of hay, some old beaten down farm equipment, and a few old picnic tables and benches.
“Is there a plan b for taking him down,” Garrett asked.
“We understand that you have a history of completing missions involving the live capture of dangerous persons,” Benjamin replied.
“Dangerous persons? I guess you thought this through and looked at all of the evidence,” Garrett articulated, but he’d seen the hard truth. There was something morally wrong about the man.
“We have good reasons for wanting to get rid of him. With my limited resources, I haven’t been able to capture him. We’ll take over from the point of capture.”
“What did he do?”
“He murdered my son, the Alpha. Calling the human authorities would only complicate things more. They won’t prosecute anyone for murdering a wolf.”
“Wait…” Garrett said. “You think your son was murdered, instead of succumbing to his injuries in the accident.”
“I’m certain of it. I’m even more certain that Simon is the prime suspect.”
There were no reasons for Garrett not to believe the man. The old guy had nothing left to lose, except his life. From the looks of it, he was barely hanging on. Alejandro and the third shifter had to roll him in here in a wheelchair.
“The cause of death was registered as blunt force trauma from being hit by a car—a rather large one—maybe even a truck. My son never even had a chance to fight for his life. He was struck while he was traveling across town in wolf form. He must’ve died instantly because he never shifted back. If one of our Pack members hadn’t driven by the accident site when he did, the County Road Commission would have had him scraped off the highway and disposed of like road kill.”
“And what about what’s left of your council and the rest of your leaders? Have they tried to take Simon down with whatever resources you have remaining?” Garrett asked.
“The ones who care have tried. Alejandro and Theo are the only ones I trust completely now,” Benjamin Sr. exclaimed, gesturing to the two men to the left and right of him. “Not that I don’t hold respect for the others, but it’s best to keep my plans unknown until I know for sure who has sided with Simon.”
“Your plans?”
“Our Pack has been declining in numbers for the past few years. If something isn’t done, not only will we have to disband, but we’ll also lose what little resources we have, and that includes real estate. I don’t have any sons left and I’m the only male left of my bloodline. At this age, I’m not interested in another mating and I can’t produce more pups.”
“Who’s the next in line for the Alpha position outside of your bloodline…and not including Simon?”
A hush fell over the group, and Garrett’s inquiry lingered in the air.
“No one?” Garrett asked.
“There are a couple others who haven’t expressed any remote interest,” Benjamin Sr. replied. “Alejandro has been our Enforcer for ten years now and doesn’t fancy breaking family tradition. His younger son is next in line. We weren’t planning on there being two suspicious deaths of the only two males groomed to take the Alpha position over the next two decades. My nephew Roger died in a construction accident last year. And now my only son is dead. Our Pack is small. We’re just shy of two hundred wolves.”
“Then you’d rather risk your Pack disbanding than placing an interim Alpha in the position?”
“That’s why we’re asking your Pack for help. We want to enact a union. Just like my son and I planned before he died. That hasn’t changed, but we can’t do this if we can’t keep Simon from bidding for the position.”
Garrett and his men looked back and forth between each other.
“As you know, this isn’t the first time a union between our Packs have been entertained,” Benjamin Sr. said. “Your late father offered us the chance to join forces about five years ago when things started going south for us. I didn’t take him up on the offer because I thought my son could turn the Pack around. I never said anything, but I forced the position on him because I believed in him. When my son failed, we started losing members. Now my son is dead and Simon—who has become a spearhead in leading the Pack down this backward path while under my son’s leadership—has made it clear that he wants us under his complete control. This isn’t about keeping the Alpha title close to home; this is about protecting our kind. The union would have ensured that. I see that now. And I didn’t take his offer when I had the chance.”
“I remember when my dad told us about his plans,” Garrett said. “He was really counting on a union like that to build wealth for both Packs and to form a stronger alliance for putting up with any foe, human or otherwise. We’re neighboring Packs, so it would’ve worked in our best interests. That’s the extent of my knowledge. But then, I wasn’t being paid to play nice with other Packs or anyone else. I’m an outlaw and my loyalty has always been with Aspen Valley. As Alpha, playing nice and offering unions was my dad’s prerogative and now it’s my brother Dane’s responsibility. I’m not sure Dane will be so forgiving of you turning down the offer the first time or picking up where you last Alpha failed.”
Garrett hated being so blunt to the old man, but it was the truth.
Benjamin Sr. shook his head in disappointment. “That would be unfortunate for us. If Simon steps up, he’ll never agree to a union like that. More than likely, he’ll cause issues for your Pack down the road just like he tried to convince my son to raid another neighboring Pack for their land.”
“I seriously doubt he’ll be causing any issues for us. We protect our borders with deadly force,” Garrett warned. “Turning Simon over to you is no problem. I’ve handled situations more difficult than this. What makes it especially easy is that it doesn’t appear that Simon will run away. He wants this Pack, which means he won’t go very far,” Garrett said. “Your issue is convincing Dane to accept that offer you’re talking about once again.”
“I’m prepared to offer more than I did last time,” Benjamin Sr. replied. “I understand that real estate is something you have less of down in Tellevue County. I know how important land is when it comes to us wolves who like to roam free and in our natural habitats.”
“I can’t speak for my brother,” he said.
Yet, Garrett knew the old man spoke the absolute truth. Aspen Valley Pack had the numbers, but they were weak in the area of working capital and land. It wasn’t in Garrett’s place to reveal that information either.
“Then you can get word to him about our intentions once we get rid of Simon?” the old man asked eagerly.
“I will, but how long will it take you to have a Pack that is free and clear of a leader who’d be opposed to this type of union?” Garrett asked.
“That’s where I knew you might come in handy.”
“Right. The research.” Garrett cast a knowing look at Alejandro and then folded his arms across his chest. “Seems like you’ve been planning a lot lately.”
“I’ve also been saving a lot.” Benjamin Sr. pulled out a suitcase and revealed wads of cash inside. “I need Simon captured, immobilized, and brought to me. Preferably alive, not dead.”
“I’m not a wolf slayer if I don’t have to be,” Garrett said. “I don’t end lives unless my life or the lives of any of my Pack members are in jeopardy. Just so you understand that up front. Sometimes potential clients misunderstand my intentions.”
“I’m not in search of a slayer. I want Simon to suffer before he perishes, and that’ll be up to me. I have a connection out west that tells me what your normal rates are, and I’ve doubled it. It’s all in the suitcase. All up front. What say you? Or do I need to find another outlaw willing to do the job? I heard your brothers are in the same profession.”
“You can consider it a done deal.”
In under a minute, the old man sent Alejandro across the room with the suitcase.
&nb
sp; “I never fail an assignment, so it looks like you’ll be killing two birds with one stone,” Garrett said. “I’ll get rid of Simon and you’ll have a Pack free and clear of any Alpha to bargain with my brother.”
“Let’s hope that your brother accepts.”
“I’ll tell you one thing, you’ll have to bring more than money to the table.”
Benjamin Sr. nodded. “I’ve heard the rumors that your family is well off, but hides it well.”
“Then you know we mean business. Give me at least a week at the most,” Garrett said, turning with the suitcase in his hand. “I’ll give Dane a heads up in the meantime.”
4
“You’re leaving out on the next bus out of that town, right? You better be…” Hope’s voice sounded frantic on the other side of the line as she tried to convince Autumn to leave right away.
“Not now…soon,” Autumn replied, stuffing handfuls of toiletries into a pink duffle bag and then rushed over to her closet. “He thinks I’m going to cooperate with him. If I can get over to the tavern and out before he realizes that Melisandra left town he won’t notice anything. I told him to stay out of my hair for twenty-four hours, but I’m not waiting around that long.”
“I can’t believe you’re going back to the tavern!”
Autumn sighed. “Honestly, you don’t know how relieved I am to find out that you and Melisandra are out of Cross City, but I have to go back. All of Dad’s legal documents are in the safe. Even the check we just got from that life insurance policy he had is still there.”
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