Rise

by Heather MacKinnon

   I sighed and held out a hand. “Wait. Maybe I can help. Let’s go sit in the conference room and you can tell me what’s going on. If nothing else, I can go to Abraham myself and make sure he addresses whatever issue you’re having. Deal?”

   She pursed her lips and scanned my face with her dark brown eyes. Finally, she sighed. “Okay, yeah. We can do that.”

   I smiled wide and waved her over. “Okay. Let’s go down here and talk.”

   I let her walk ahead of me but paused when I remembered something. “Hey, Aubrey, if the next one comes and I’m not done, could you just ask them to wait out here for me?”

   Aubrey’s shoulders tensed before she turned to face me. “Is that an order?”

   I jerked back like she’d hit me. What the hell was her problem?

   I ground my teeth together and spoke through them. “No. That was a request because you’re the only one in the kitchen. Can you do it or not?”

   She shrugged a shoulder and turned back to whatever she was doing. “I guess.”

   I tipped my head back and stared at the ceiling for a moment, reminding myself that I was still new there. My pack mates and I were all still trying to figure out where I belonged and what role I would play.

   That was the only explanation I could come up with for her attitude.

   I took a deep breath. “Thanks, Aubrey.”

   She ignored me, and I sighed before heading down the hall to where I’d sent my first appointment.

   When I walked into the conference room, the woman was clutching her bag in front of her and looking around the space like she was searching for an exit. I closed the door behind me and gave her a big smile.

   “First of all, I know we’ve met, but I’m really bad with names. Can you remind me of yours?”

   “My name’s Madison, but people call me Maddy.”

   I took a seat at the table, waving at a chair for her. “Great. Nice to meet you again, Maddy. I’m Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Ellie out here.”

   She slowly took her seat. “I know who you are.”

   “Great. Now that we’re done with introductions, tell me why you’re here.”

   She sighed and looked down at the table. “Are you sure Abraham isn’t available?”

   I grit my teeth and pasted the best smile I could on my face. “I’m sure. But I’d really like to help if you’ll let me.”

   She sighed again and met my eyes. “It’s my neighbor.”

   I nodded slowly as I realized I should have brought some paper and something to write with. Scanning the room, I saw a small table pushed to the side with notepads and a box of pens. I held up a finger. “Give me one second.”

   I ran across the room, grabbed a pad and pen, and sat back down. “Okay, so your neighbor. What’s his name?”

   “It’s Brad McDermott. He’s in house ten and I’m in twelve.”

   I jotted down a few notes, nodding. “Okay, got it.” I looked back up at her. “What’s going on with him?”

   She let out a deep breath and sat forward in her chair. “He’s got a new car he’s working on and he’s out there blaring music and banging around at all hours of the night. I’ve been late to work three times in the last week because I overslept after being kept up all night.”

   “Okay, and what are the quiet hours around here?”

   She frowned. “Quiet hours?”

   I set my pen down and looked up at her. “Yeah, quiet hours. My apartment complex in Raleigh had mandatory quiet hours from ten at night to eight in the morning Monday through Friday. We all signed agreements stating we’d be quiet during those times out of respect for our neighbors.”

   Her eyes were wide as she shook her head. “We don’t have anything like that here.”

   “Huh. Okay, well maybe we should start there. I can have Abraham implement some quiet hours. That way you should be able to get a full night’s rest.”

   “You can really do that?”

   I shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

   A wide smile spread across her face. “That would be great!”

   My grin matched hers. “Consider it done. We’ll get them implemented as soon as possible, and if there’re any issues after that, you can come to me and I’ll address them personally. Okay?”

   She nodded quickly. “Yeah, that’s perfect. Thanks so much, Ellie.”

   “My pleasure. Is there anything else you needed to talk about?”

   “No. That’s it. Thanks again. This was great.”

   She stood and so did I. I held out a hand for her to shake, but she stepped up and wrapped her arms around my shoulders instead. I returned her embrace, squeezing her tight for a moment before letting go.

   “Thanks for bringing this issue to me. I’ll make sure we sort it out as soon as possible,” I said as I led her out of the conference room and back into the kitchen.

   “Thanks for helping. Have a good day, Ellie.”

   I watched her walk out of the lodge with a smile on my face.

   That hadn’t been too bad. I actually thought I did a pretty good job solving that issue. I couldn’t believe there were no quiet hours yet, and I’d be talking to Abraham about that immediately.

   Aubrey was still banging around the kitchen, but I ignored her and mindlessly scrolled through my phone while I waited for the next pack member to arrive.

   Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long until another werewolf came through the sliding glass door. I stood to greet him, actually remembering his name.

   “Hey, Elliot.”

   The brown-haired man had been at the first pack barbecue I attended. He was about my height at 5’9” and had freckles all over his face.

   “Hey, Elizabeth. Abraham around?”

   I shook my head. “I’m taking care of his appointments today. Let’s go in the conference room and you can tell me about what brought you here.”

   I turned without waiting for him to respond and started off down the hallway. I had a feeling he’d try to argue too, and I was hoping I could avoid that.

   When I made it to the conference room, I held the door open and waited until Elliot walked through.

   “Are you sure Abraham isn’t available?” he asked.

   I pressed my lips together and pulled them into the best smile I could manage. “I’m afraid not. But I can help, and if I can’t, I’ll make sure Abraham takes care of it.” I took my seat and motioned for him to take one as well. “What’s going on, Elliot?”

   With a resigned sigh, he sat down and folded his hands on the table in front of him. “Well, I’m havin’ an issue with Craig.”

   I wrote down the name. “Okay, and who is Craig?”

   He huffed, and it looked like he was going to ask to speak to Abraham again, but instead, he answered. “He’s the mechanic. We all bring him our cars here and he’s supposed to give us a break.”

   I took a few more notes. “Has that not been the case?”

   He leaned forward. “No. It hasn’t. That jackass tried to charge me fifty bucks for a damn oil change!”

   “That is pretty steep.”

   He slammed a hand on the table. “You’re goddamn right it’s steep. It’s criminal is what it is. He said the rate went up due to product price increases, but he just changed my oil a couple months ago and only charged me twenty-five. I don’t see how the price could double in just a couple months.”

   I shook my head. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound right.”

   He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “So, what are you gonna do about it?”

   I slowly raised my head. “Well, I’ll probably start off by talking to him. See what his reasoning is and try to work out a solution with him.”

   He raised his brows. “And? If that doesn’t work?”

   I shrugged. “Then I guess we’ll all be looking for a new mechanic, won’t we?”

&
nbsp;  Elliot looked unimpressed, almost as if he was daring me to do something about the issue. Like he thought I couldn’t. Little did he know that Elizabeth Montgomery was born to rise to a challenge like this.

   I’d talk to this Craig guy and figure out what his deal was. If I could talk him into lowering his prices, great. But, if he wanted to stick to his guns, I wasn’t lying when I said we’d bring our business elsewhere. Sure, it was convenient to have a mechanic on pack lands, but that didn’t mean he could charge outrageous prices and we’d all just pay them. There had to be a solution, and I was determined to figure it out on my own.

  Chapter 5

  After I led Elliot out of the lodge, I sat waiting in the kitchen for the next appointment. When I’d been there fifteen minutes and no one had showed up, I pulled out my phone and texted Abraham.

   Me: How many appointments were there?

   Sexiest Man Alive: Just two for today.

   I groaned and texted him back.

   Me: For today? Does that mean there’s more on a different day?

   Sexiest Man Alive: You’ve got another three tomorrow.

   I sighed loudly and let my head fall back. Even though the first two appointments had been relatively easy, I wasn’t fooling myself into thinking they’d all be like that. And I’d only actually come up with a solution for one of their problems. The other I still had to figure out.

   Me: Do you know where Craig lives?

   Sexiest Man Alive: House 4. Why?

   Me: I have to go talk to him.

   There was a long pause as I watched the little dots dance, indicating he was typing.

   Sexiest Man Alive: Give me a minute and I’ll go with you.

   Me: That’s okay, I got this.

   I waited another minute before he responded.

   Sexiest Man Alive: I don’t know how I feel about that, El.

   I rolled my eyes and typed out a response. I knew he was overprotective, but if I was going to step into this alpha role, I had to do it on my own. Relying on Abraham would get me no respect. I needed to earn it, starting today.

   Me: I’ll be fine. I’ll still be on pack lands.

   Sexiest Man Alive: Pack lands haven’t always been safe for you.

   My stomach fell at the reminder. Not too long ago, there’d been a serial killer stalking me. It all started when he attacked me in the woods one night and altered the course of my life forever. He’d bitten me but was scared off before he could finish the job.

   We’d later come to the conclusion that not only did the serial killer have to be a member of this pack, but that he was also likely one of the enforcers. That hadn’t sat well with Abraham. He’d been devastated to learn that one of his team, the men he trusted the most, was killing women in the woods.

   When we’d learned that not only was it an enforcer, but his cousin Calvin, it almost destroyed him. This was a man he grew up with, who he loved like a brother, and it turned out he was a psychopathic serial killer.

   But that was all behind us now.

   Calvin was dead, and the threat was gone. I knew it hadn’t been that long ago, but we needed to move past it. Abraham needed to move past it. He couldn’t keep me in a protective bubble the rest of my life. He couldn’t shadow my every step. Abraham needed to learn that I could handle myself and that I’d be all right without his constant supervision.

   Me: But they’re safe now. I won’t be gone long, and I’ll have my phone on me the whole time.

   Sexiest Man Alive: Can you come find me when you’re back?

   I rolled my eyes, but there was a smile twitching the corners of my lips. He was trying to rein himself in and I had to give him some credit for that.

   Me: Yes, baby. I’ll come find you.

   Sexiest Man Alive: You know what it does to me when you call me that.

   I bit my lip and glanced around the kitchen, making sure no one was around to see my cheeks turn pink. Aubrey was still there, but she was on the other side of the room and working real hard to ignore me.

   Me: I believe I do.

   Sexiest Man Alive: Are you trying to get fucked again before dinner, Ms. Montgomery?

   My eyes darted to Aubrey again like she could hear the dirty things Abraham was texting. I crossed my legs and took a deep breath before responding.

   Me: You know I’d never say no to you.

   Sexiest Man Alive: You better quit now before I come down there and show you what you’re doing to me.

   Me: I’d love to see.

   Sexiest Man Alive: El…

   I laughed softly and shook my head. Sometimes it was so much fun messing with him.

   Me: Okay, okay. I’ll behave. I’ll see you soon.

   Sexiest Man Alive: Now I’m hard and I have to be on a conference call in a minute.

   Another laugh spilled from my lips and I heard Aubrey huff from across the room.

   Me: Sorry, baby.

   Sexiest Man Alive: You’re killing me.

   Me: Love you.

   Sexiest Man Alive: I love you too, El.

   With the smile still firmly planted on my face, I stood up and tucked my phone into my pocket. As much fun as it was to flirt with Abraham, I had a mechanic to see, and I had a feeling this issue wouldn’t be as easy to fix as Maddy’s had been.

   I left the lodge without another word to Aubrey. If she was going to be rude to me, I wouldn’t go out of my way to be nice to her.

   It was hot outside, the sticky July heat instantly making me wish I was back in the air-conditioned lodge. But I had a job to do, so I walked down the stairs and over to the gravel drive that led to the other pack members’ houses.

   I hadn’t had much of a reason to come back here before. In fact, the only time I had was when Abraham gave me a tour a few weeks ago.

   The pack houses were like a little village of their own, hidden by a wall of trees with only the width of the gravel drive to allow access. The homes were small, most of them only one or two bedrooms, but they looked cozy and inviting. I walked past the first few, waving to pack members as I went.

   When I made it to house four, I knew I didn’t have to look much farther for Craig. There was an older man with a potbelly and a long, scraggly grey beard hanging off his face. He had a bandana tied around the top of his head and was bent over the engine of a car in his driveway.

   I took a fortifying breath and walked up the drive to talk to him. “Hey. Craig?”

   The man lifted his head and eyed me up and down. “Yeah?”

   “My name’s Elizabeth–”

   “I know who you are,” he interrupted.

   I pulled my lips into the best smile I could manage. “Okay, great. Do you have a minute?”

   Craig stood up straight and pulled a dirty rag from the back pocket of his jeans. He methodically wiped his grease-stained hands as he watched me. “What do you want?”

   Oh, great. He was friendly. That would make this so much easier.

   I walked up the rest of his drive until I was only a few feet away. “I want to talk to you about the prices you’re charging the pack. We’ve had some complaints that they’ve been raised without notice and I wanted to get your side of the story.”

   He shrugged a shoulder and turned his head to spit on the ground. “You ever heard of inflation?

   I pressed my lips together for a moment before I tried again. “Yes, I have. But I’m not sure how inflation could explain a one-hundred percent price increase in just a few short months.”

   He narrowed his eyes and tucked the rag back into his pocket. “Who’s the one bitchin’? Was it that asshole Elliot?”

   I shook my head. “It’s not important. If you’re trying to rip off even one of us, it’s a problem for everyone.”

   “Us?” He laughed derisively. “What us? You’ve barely been here a whole moon cycle.”

   I gritted my teet
h and fought to keep the smile on my face. “I don’t think the length of time I’ve been a pack member should matter here.”

   He took a step forward and put a hand on his hip. “Listen, little girl, I don’t need to hear shit from you. It’s my business and my clients, and I’ll charge ‘em what I want.”

   I took a step forward too. “Don’t patronize me.”

   “Your fancy words don’t impress me, sugar.”

   The slightest tremble started in my hands and I clenched them into fists. I’d gotten a lot better at containing my wolf in the past month. It helped that there weren’t people in my life who purposely antagonized me anymore. But Craig was toeing the line.

   “Craig, I’m going to level with you. If you can’t charge reasonable prices for your services, we’re going to take our business somewhere else.”

   He took another step forward and my shoulders tensed in warning. “Are you threatening me?”

   Do not show weakness.

   The voice in my head was back, and like every other time, I listened to it.

   I tipped my chin up and straightened my spine. “I’m giving you the courtesy of informing you. You can treat your business and your clients however you like, but if you can’t charge a reasonable price, the rest of the pack and I are going to find a mechanic who will.”

   He turned to spit again, this time closer to where I was standing. “And who the hell are you? What gives you the authority to do this?”

   I stood up even straighter. “I’m the future alpha of this pack. That’s what gives me the authority to do this.”

   He watched me silently for a moment before speaking again. “I’ll take this up with Abraham,” he said and moved to turn away from me.

   I took a deep breath, puffing my chest out and filling my body with determination. “He’ll tell you the same thing I am.”

   He spun back around to face me. “So, because he decided to shack up with some bitten wolf bitch, that means I just have to do whatever you say? Fuck that.”

   I took a step closer and lowered my voice. “I’m going to tell you one more time. Lower your prices or you’re done here.”