by Crystal Dawn
Today was a nice day for a ride. He couldn’t see anything at the construction site and Beth wouldn’t be in today. Seeing Ariel was always a positive thing. As he pulled over the cattle guard, he had a funny feeling. Only once before had he come here and that had been with Sebastian on business matters. Once he was parked, he headed to the house. Knocking on the door, a small female let him in.
“It took you long enough. No surprise you made it before breakfast was cleared away, but lunch was getting set out. Best time to eat here, you know? Get a plate and we’ll sit in here to talk.” Ariel suggested.
She already had her plate and the here she was referring to was a nook in the kitchen. Short of the office she’d met him and Sabastian in last time, it would allow the most privacy. The food smelled marvelous and he filled his plate with steak, eggs, biscuits and gravy, and lasagna. Dessert beckoned, but he’d have to go back because his plate was full.
“A good shifter appetite.” Ariel commented. “Tell me your problem.” She smirked. The she-wolf already knew the problem.
“I think I’ve found my mate in Boss, but I feel drawn to Beth as well.” He began to eat while Ariel replied.
“Why is that a problem?”
“Why?” He choked. “Neither of them seem like the sharing kind.”
“They aren’t.”
“Then what do I do?”
“I can’t tell you, but I can give you a hint. If I do, you’ll owe me big regardless of how it turns out.”
“You don’t feel like the cats owe you enough as it is?” Titus asked. She had done a lot for them.
“No, this is you personally. If she finds out, she’ll be royally pissed at me.”
“Who, Boss or Beth?”
“Both.”
Then why hadn’t she said they? “Okay. I’m lost otherwise.”
“You need to look deeper. You’re just looking at the surface of things. Maybe if you had a notebook where you could write down your observations? I’m not sure why your cat won’t help you. He knows the answer.” Ariel said.
“It was worth the trip for the food, but your riddle is too complicated. I’ll try to get my cat to help, but lately he just laughs at me. I’ll get some dessert and we can discuss business before I go if you’ve the time.”
“If you hurry. This is my time to eat and get my head wrapped around the day’s business. I have a new crew boss coming in.”
“You’re not replacing Boss, are you?”
“Go get dessert and we’ll discuss it.” Ariel said. There were so many choices he got a little of everything then hurried back to his seat. “Boss only took the job for the summer. Mairi will be taking my crew which was originally Matt’s. Once school starts, I’ll have to find a replacement for Boss. I hope she can find a good second who can step up to take her place. I know that’s a lot to ask when most of her crew is newly hired.”
“I thought only Mack and Monroe were new?”
“If only. Most of her crew are not only new, but new to construction when they started. She’s done an amazing job of pulling them together. I’ll admit I outsourced more work than usual, but some work just has to be done by experienced people.”
“Doors, windows, roof, plumbing, and electricity?” Titus guessed.
“Exactly. Her crew isn’t able to do those things.”
“What about her?”
“She hates to do electricity, although she did it on her own house. The rest is no problem for her when she’s just working, not supervising.” Ariel admitted.
“Why is she quitting when school starts?”
“I didn’t think you caught that. She has another job that suits her better. I think she’ll still work part time when I need her. Boss is also continuing her education online.”
“Continuing?”
“She has a masters. Next will be a doctorate’s.”
“I never thought she had an academic bent.”
“You’re just not looking deep enough. If you don’t take advice…”
“Thank you for the incredible meal. I’ll give your words a lot of thought. Thank you for that too.” Titus declared.
“Have a lovely day and good luck!” Ariel said.
He left feeling full and sated physically, but confused otherwise. There was no doubt he was missing something big. His cat was uncharacteristically silent. Was his cat sabotaging his romance? It was unusual for his human and cat halves not to be in sync.
You’re being too stupid for words. His cat growled at him. What did that mean? What was he missing that everyone else seemed to know? Maybe Ariel was on to something when she suggested writing everything down. He’d start with what they had in common. Both were about the same height. Body size or weight was impossible to tell since Beth wore the equivalent of a bag.
They had the same hair and eye color. Their skin was the same tone, what he could see of Beth’s since she covered it up. The way they talked was similar since they both had a local accent. It was common down here. Even those who came in from other places picked up the lingo. Beth was more studious, or was she? Boss was working towards the highest degree available and he knew Beth was too. Boss was more physical, or at least she was as far as he could tell.
Beth was a bit warmer. Not much, but she’d actually warmed up when they spoke about the kids. How would Boss be if he approached her about kids? There was a family moving down that needed help. Setbacks had plagued them and he was prepared to help them get on track here. Maybe he should ask Boss for help and see how she reacted. Yes, that was a plan. He needed to test them both.
Boss would help, but how much and would she do all she could as he suspected Beth would? It was time to find out. When he arrived work was still going on at the site. He approached Boss and waited until she stopped for a moment.
“Hey, Boss. I wanted to ask you something. I have a family coming soon that has had a lot of troubles. Neither parent is working, but both are hard workers. They used all their savings to survive until they could find a place to start over. Between them, they have seven kids from one to fifteen. Three are adopted because his brother didn’t want to be a father when his mate died. The brother is barely hanging on and they expect him to pass anytime.”
“Wow. Does that happen much?” Boss asked.
“That they get in trouble financially or that losing a mate ruins a family?”
“Both.”
“No, they could have come to their acting alpha to get help, but they were embarrassed. Most parents put their children first, but losing a fated mate is a difficult thing to get over.”
“What does she do?” Boss asked.
“She was a lawyer.”
“How’d she lose that gig?”
“She was helping out a couple in trouble for free. Since her company always said they helped people, she thought it would be alright. When they found out, they fired her, blacklisted her, and told every company they knew not to hire her. They went so far as to threaten the place her husband worked until they let him go.”
“That sounds excessive.” Boss said.
“I thought so too. One of her bosses was hitting on her. He didn’t like being rejected.”
“What an asshole.”
“Exactly what I thought.”
“What’s the husband do?”
“He is an extremely talented glass blower. Apparently it’s hard to find a job in his field.”
Boss smiled. “Maybe not down here. I have a cousin that sells crafts like that and at least two that do it as a hobby. I’m sure jobs are no problem for either of them. Does you group have a lawyer? Ariel’s does and you ought to hire her yourself.”
“I’ve been thinking about it, but she’s really good and was making big money in New Jersey where she worked.”
“She needs to get reestablished before she gets a position like that again. Also your position wouldn’t be as time consuming and she might want time with her kids. It would do for a while and she could take outside work to supplement he
r income.”
“That does make sense. I’ll offer her the position after I talk to Seb. It would be for all the cats. The next problem is finding them a house.”
“You’ll need Ariel for that. She’s got a list of every place available nearby. Didn’t you know that?” Boss asked.
“I must have forgotten. The last thing is they’ll need furniture, clothes, toys, and other things for the kids. Their stuff is so bad, they said it’s not worth moving.”
“You don’t know much about what goes on, do you?” Boss shot him a pitying look. “At the school parents donate those items that their kids are through with for the needier parents that can use them. The program already has a storage shed full of items.”
“What storage shed?”
“One donated by a cousin for indefinite use by the school. Someone must know who to talk to.” Boss chuckled.
“That would be Beth.” Titus knew his voice caressed her name when he said it. He found a great deal to admire in her. Boss noticed and smirked at him. “Someone you’re interested in?”
He just shrugged neither confirming nor denying. His situation was hopeless because neither Boss nor Beth was interested in him while he found reasons to be interested in both. At least he’d figured out what to do for the family coming soon. The personal welfare of his people was the part that he found the hardest to deal with. Normally an Alpha Tiger had a mate to help with that as well as other things. He had to rely on the help of humans and wolves.
Going back to the house he rented from Ariel, he sat down and composed a short email to Ariel telling her the situation of the family and asking about a house for them as soon as possible. Once that was off, he cut and pasted the first part about the family’s situation and told Beth what he hoped she could do. Next he sent an email to the Vestos family expressing hope for their situation and offering Patty, the mother, a part time job. Yes, he should have checked with Seb first, but didn’t he say he was overworked and needed Titus to make more decisions?
Next he went through his emails finding half a dozen more families and singles planning to move here. Many of the families had older kids and it was easy to see their hopes for finding mates for their children. The singles thinking was the same. That might be why almost no couples were responding to the offer. They would worry about it when their children were much older.
Something suddenly occurred to him and he pulled up an email from Beth then one from Boss. They looked a lot alike. The sites advertised at the bottom were the same too. Even Beth advertised Ariel’s, Roc’s, and several other white wolves’ books. Marissa’s site or others that sold Marissa’s lingerie were also there. He’d bet if he checked out each of the large number of sites on the page, they would all be owned by white wolves. Beth and Boss were both white wolves and therefore related.
Boss neither advertised nor denied it, but Beth actively hid it. That meant if he stripped away her camouflage, Beth was a beautiful woman. That must be what his cat meant when it called him stupid. You’re getting closer. His cat growled at him again.
“You don’t want us to lose our mate because you won’t help, do you?” He said out loud.
There’s still time for you to learn on your own. Why do I have to figure everything out? His cat grumbled in his head. Why couldn’t anything be easy? Titus began to search through Beth’s resume. He’d glanced at it before, but now it surprised him. She had construction experience working for Ariel. Beth had even run a crew for a while to fill in during emergencies, just like Boss. Although he’d thought they had little in common, he’d been wrong. Tomorrow he would go see Beth.
The day dawned bright and Boss was on site working hard. He noticed her as he drove by, but he wasn’t stopping, not now. He was on his way to Beth’s house. Once he arrived, he noticed there wasn’t a car in the drive. There was no way to be sure Beth was home. Knocking on the door, he waited and he heard someone coming to the door.
“Yeah?” The young guy asked.
“Is Beth home?”
“Who are you?” He questioned. The young man had a funny scent Titus didn’t like.
“Her boss.”
“Ha ha. Did someone set you up to come here? Beth doesn’t like anyone, but family, coming over.”
“I assure you, I’m her boss from school.”
“Oh, school. That doesn’t start until the end of August. Give her a call instead. That works better.” He said.
“Can you just tell me where she is?” Titus asked.
“She’s working at her summer job. Beth is a busy girl. You must not know her well.”
“Where is her summer job?”
“It moves around and it doesn’t really interest me. Call Ariel and ask her. She always knows everything.” The rude boy closed the door.
He knew now that Ariel and Beth knew each other as well as Ariel and Boss did. Titus also knew Beth had taken on a relative with problems. Even though he suspected Ariel wouldn’t tell him a thing, he called her anyway.
“Writer under deadline. Leave a message if possible.”
“What?”
“Titus? Whatever it is, say it quick.”
“Where’s Beth?”
“On her summer job.”
“Where’s that?”
“It’s confidential.” Ariel affirmed.
“For her sake or yours?”
“Both.”
“Who is the kid at her house?”
“A cousin.”
“One of yours?”
“Not by blood.” Ariel admitted.
“Thanks for nothing.”
“You’re welcome. Keep working at it.” Ariel suggested cheerfully.
Titus wanted to scream. If Beth worked days on her summer job, maybe he should come visit her at night? Doing office work which never seemed to get caught up, he worked until lunch time. Hungry as hell, he headed to Sara’s diner. It was past the prime lunchtime and it wasn’t as crowded as usual. Sara came to take his order herself.
“You’re Beth’s boss, aren’t you?” Sara asked.
“I’m in charge at the school.”
“You like her.”
“She’s hard not to like.” He admitted.
“Keep an eye on her, will you?”
“Why?”
“The boy is a sweetheart normally, but he’s getting over an addiction to blood drug. It can change the sweetest person.”
“Why did they let her take him without help?”
“The treatment facility is packed. If they find someone dumb enough to be responsible for a patient, they release them.” Sara admitted.
“I was planning on going by there tonight anyway.”
“Good.” Sara said. She took his order and left.
As he waited for his lunch, her concern for Beth weighed on him. He was familiar with the blood drug epidemic that had hit hard and rolled over the mid United States. Damon McDougal was spearheading the effort to bring it under control. This was something he should know. Pulling out his phone, he scrolled until he found the number and pressed it.
“McDougal.”
“Damon? This is Titus, leader of the tigers.”
“What can I help you with?”
“It’s just been brought to my attention that Beth has been given custody of her cousin. The one that was recently addicted to blood drugs. I saw him earlier and you can still smell them on him faintly. She lives alone and I think this is dangerous.” Damon was already cussing up a storm.
“He was supposed to be kept longer. They weren’t supposed to release him to her without my approval. I’m in St. Louis, but I’ll check on her as soon as I get into town. If you’re worried, check on her as soon as you can.”
Titus didn’t need the invitation. Once he was done eating, he’d see if Boss was still at the job site. It was four right now and they’d been going home as soon as they finished whatever project they were on. The point was to stay out of the way of the crews hired to do other jobs. They were being paid for the whole d
ay regardless so the workers were happy.
Lunch was great with lots of extras he’d swear didn’t come with this meal last time he’d gotten it. Extras that weren’t even on the menu. It paid to know people. Once he was done, he paid, left a good tip, and headed out the door. He drove to the site first where he saw Boss’ crew were gone. There were people still there, but they didn’t work for Ariel.
With Boss out of his reach, he headed back to Beth’s house. Parking, he felt a tingle run over him. It was a sign something was wrong. Once he was out of his truck, he shifted to his tiger and he could scent the faint smell of blood. Boss or was it Beth? He wasn’t sure but it worried him. He was right by the door when it flew open and the young guy from earlier started to step out with keys and a purse in his hand. He saw Titus and fell backwards on his ass dropping the keys and the purse.
That was good because he didn’t think the purse was his color and the keys probably weren’t his. Titus stepped closer and the boy crab crawled backwards looking terrified. Titus continued to approach and the boy stood near the steps. The roar Titus let loose made the boy pale before he turned running up the steps. He heard a door shut and the lock click. Good.
Now he turned back to his human form and looked for Beth. Instead he found Boss collapsed on the floor with blood on her head and a pot lying next to her. The stove was on, but nothing was cooking yet. A suspicion was beginning to make itself known.
He could hear her heart beating, its speed and rhythm smooth. Her breaths were normal for someone asleep, but he couldn’t tell how hard she’d been hit. Changing to his human form, he picked her up and carried her to a nice overstuffed soft leather couch. Putting a pillow under her head, he now had no idea what to do. Pulling out his phone, he called Ariel.
“Ariel.”
“This is Titus. I spoke to Damon who was unaware the cousin had been released to her. He asked me to come check on her. She needs a doctor. Her cousin knocked her over the head with a pot so he could take her purse and her keys.”