by L E Franks
Being young had been difficult—he snorted, remembering how much pain he’d endured when he’d met Joshua. Back then, the only thing that had saved him had been Con’s ability to see past the problems and find solutions that no one else could see.
It was good that Angelo didn’t jump to conclusions. Another pack, another Alpha, and Ted would be dead—gutted on the floor and they’d be searching for a place to bury him. Of course, here in South Carolina, surrounded by swamps and bayous, they wouldn’t have a problem finding a grave. What the water didn’t cover, the gators would eat.
Though Daniel wasn’t active in the Montefiore pack, he was still a wolf and many packs came to him when they needed advice. Delicate situations in other packs needed his attention and he tried, but sometimes the pack imploded. That wasn’t likely to happen in this case. Angelo had a good head on his shoulders, all he had to do was bring Carlo in line.
Midway through Angelo interrogating Ted, Sebastian strode in, stopping the second he got a whiff of the newcomer. The poor schmuck was basically caught with his pants down letting an unknown wolf close to his Alpha in the middle of the pack office, not an enviable position for an enforcer to be in.
Chastised, Ted and Joey took the opportunity to rush from the room, leaving a mess behind. In their wake, Daniel could either insert himself in the frozen relationship between Angelo and Carlo, or walk away and leave the particulars to Giorgio and Seb. The counselor’s eyes were wide, his face red; he hadn’t erupted in temper but one look at Seb and he could see that the enforcer was barely maintaining his control. Even Angelo’s air of calm was a façade. The next little thing could set anyone of them off.
Tilting his head, Daniel could hear the strains from the heated argument below in the kitchen. Carmine’s voice sifted up through the halls as he “talked” to Francesca. She was going to be an issue. Being gone for a few months with her injury, she was out of sync with her Alpha. Alpha and Beta needed to act as one, flowing seamlessly through life and difficult situations. Angelo wouldn’t admit it, but the divergence from his beta was too easy to see from the outside. Especially by one who used to be in the middle of this very pack.
Francesca was a loose cannon, one he would have to manage if he decided to stick his nose into the mix. Of course his allegiance to Con—the one man that meant as much to him as Joshua did—meant he would inevitably step in.
The storm was brewing, the players murmuring, and the shock almost gone by the time Francesca bolted into the room, eyes blazing, breath coming in huffs.
Daniel took one step forward, accessing his full height, throwing his shoulders back and holding his head high. Before Francesca could start in on Angelo, or anyone else for that matter, he spoke. “Constantine Montefiore was a great man. Before any of you say another word, or think anything that doesn’t line up with that thought, you had better remember that Carlo is Con’s only biological child, the heir to the throne—so to speak.”
He met each pair of eyes, holding the connection for longer than necessary, conveying the power he could wield over the Alpha if necessary—he was Con’s best friend and he knew things, secrets about every person in this room. “We will allow Angelo, your current Alpha—don’t forget he is the Alpha—” his gaze swung to Francesca, staring long enough for her to squirm—”the chance to decide what happens next.” Daniel paused before speaking again, he had one chance to get this right and he wasn’t going to waste it. “Angelo, may I have a word with you—in private?”
Daniel didn’t hesitate before moving to the French doors and out to the balcony. He strode down the wide stairs and out to the lawn, stopping under a huge oak tree—the tree he and Con climbed when they needed to talk in private. Con had told him later how Carlo and Joey used to hide in this same tree when they didn’t want to clean their rooms. He stroked the trunk, remembering the good times and the difficult decisions his Alpha had to make.
“Funny, you chose this tree.”
Daniel turned to Anglo and lifted a brow, “Really?”
“When I need a moment to think, I go up into the branches and sit. It’s amazing how easy it is to hide up there.”
“Con and I used this tree many times for privacy, and I heard Joey and Carlo preferred the branches when they wanted to hide.”
Angelo sighed and leaned against the trunk. “What in the hell am I going to do?”
Daniel’s lips curved up just a bit. “There are many paths you could take.”
“Yes, but which one?”
“Ah, my young friend, that is the rub. Tell me this, Angelo—” he stepped away from the tree, letting Angelo stay in physical contact with the old oak, “Con and I used to talk for hours, sitting in this old tree, or by the fire with a glass of cognac—Con’s favorite—or when we were resting after a hunt. Who do you have like that? Who is your confidant—the one person you could talk to about anything?”
Angelo stepped away from the tree and gazed across the front lawn. He shook his head once, then turned back to Daniel, pain flashing in his eyes. “I talk to many, asking advice, and besides Francesca who knows me well...I thought—never mind, there isn’t anyone.”
Daniel nodded once, his decision made. He would help Angelo navigate this issue. “Get Charles to ask Carlo to dinner.”
“He won’t say no to Charles. What about the other—”
“Say nothing. Stronger packs have fallen with less provocation.”
Angelo nodded. “Thank you. Your help in dealing with this matter is more precious to me than gold.”
Daniel laughed and slapped the young Alpha on his back. “I appreciate the compliment, but don’t let anyone else hear you say that.”
Angelo rubbed his shoulder as he rolled his arm. “Still got some arm on you, old man.”
“Best to remember that—and Angelo, trust few and keep your wits about you.”
Angelo nodded before turning his back and walking away—bold move for an Alpha, but it showed balls, which the man would need to tackle this issue, do what he needed to do and come out the other side intact.
He followed close after Angelo, returning to the office. The pack elders were whispering amongst themselves, broken up into little groups, like the lines had been drawn. When Angelo stepped through the doors, silence fell. Unease settled on Daniel.
Francesca looked up and stalked over, her mouth turned down in a frown. “Angelo, thank God you’re back. We need—”
He held up his hand, halting her progress. “This is what we are going to do.”
Daniel smiled to himself and caught Joshua’s gaze. He’d done right. Angelo continued speaking, his voice calm but powerful. No one raised any objections, and even Francesca stayed quiet as he directed his pack before leaving the room, not asking for any opinions or input. He’d been right, Angelo was strong enough to weather this storm.
CHAPTER FOUR
Joey raced to his car, glad that Ted wasn’t far behind. Angelo had been in a state, and Joey hated to be caught in the little snit parade. Before Ted closed his door, Joey already had the car in gear and was easing off the brake, the car rolling forward.
“What’s the hurry?” Ted asked.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No, what’s up?”
Joey waited until Ted shut the door before gunning the engine. They sped down the drive, the manila envelope sitting on the floor next to Ted’s feet. Ted bent to grab it and Joey yelped, slamming on the brakes.
“What has gotten into you?” Grabbing the envelope, Ted tucked his finger under the flap to open it.
Joey brought the car to a full stop, yanking the package from Ted’s hand and stuck the precious cargo between his thigh and the door. “Don’t. Ever. Touch. Angelo’s shit. That includes Carlo.”
“Carlo?”
“FuckFuckFuckFuckFuck—Scratch that. Carlo doesn’t belong to Angelo but there’s something brewing there that I, or for that matter, you, don’t want to be a part of. Did you not hear what he said about things belo
nging to Carlo belonged to him. Fuck, he’s intense.”
“Wow, hadn’t seen it. Of course since I hadn’t met Angelo until today...So he seems nice.”
Joey had just restarted the car but slammed on the breaks again. “Nice? Really, nice? That is a word I’d never use to describe Angelo.” He turned onto the main road, leaving the compound behind, his breath coming easier the more distance they traveled. There were two ways he could take today’s meeting: at face value, which is how Ted seemed to take it; or the underlying menace brewing below Angelo’s calm exterior. Joey shrugged, pushing away the last of the heebie-jeebies served up by none other than Alpha Angelo. “I guess he was nice back in the day, before this shit went down. He was like an older brother, but that was before they tagged him as Alpha.”
“So why did that happen? It sounded like, I don’t know...Hey, you know that Francesca lady, what is wrong with her?”
Joey rolled his eyes, wishing that Angelo had chosen a different beta. The woman was tough, too tough to be on the opposite side of a fight. But he guessed it was good for their pack, they did want the best beta to be protecting their Alpha. “Good question.”
“I really want to know. I mean, if she’s the beta, I don’t want to piss her off.”
“Okay, this is what happened, but you can’t say anything to her or any other pack member for that matter. I like you, I don’t want to see you lose your head over this.”
Ted’s lopsided grin made Joey’s heart squeeze. “Thanks, Joey.” Ted placed his hand on Joey’s knee, keeping it there. “I swear I won’t. Just tell me. I need to know.” Ted turned away from Joey though he kept in physical contact. Joey wondered again, not for the first time, why Ted really was here. He didn’t think Ted had been thrown out of his other pack, at least not in a violent manner, but something brewed just below the surface, leaving Joey questioning.
He gathered his thoughts and began, “When Angelo took over, he relied on Francesca. She was strong, stronger than any guy in wolf form, and as strong as most guys in human form. She’s also wicked fast and quick too. Anyway, I think she fell in love with Angelo, I’m not sure on that, but man, they had a lot of closed-door meetings, if you know what I mean. Then there was this one time when Angelo was all pouty and Francesca came in and took him to his bedroom. They stayed there all night long...Let me just say, there’s only one reason he came out of his bedroom the next morning with a smile on his face. At least that’s what it seemed like to me. But I was young and stupid back then, so maybe I’m just reading too much into it.
“Anyway, Angelo never returned her affection. He was stoic and stayed away from girls. You know, he and Carlo were inseparable at one point, then Carlo was sent away to school. Carlo was so angry, pissed as a wildcat, but Angelo was beside himself. So sad and depressed. It was like Angelo had lost the light that guided him. Francesca tried to help and he tossed her out of his bedroom. That last part is just hearsay. Really, I don’t know what to believe because they’ve spent the night in the same room more than once, but he’s also tossed her out more than once. Anyway, the maid told me about the tossing out thing, and I’m not sure if she knew the truth or not, but word is that Francesca was denied Angelo’s love. He almost switched betas, but then she saved his life—or maybe he was going to switch betas after she was hurt. I did hear that he felt he had to keep her, I mean, she’s still good, better than most men. But she’s not as good as she once was.”
Ted squeezed his thigh, his hand smoothing up Joey’s leg to rest at the crook of his hip. “When was that, like what happened?”
Joey glanced down, wondering if Ted knew or cared how much his touch affected him. They weren’t romantically involved, but that didn’t mean his dick didn’t react to Ted’s random touches. He cleared his throat, focusing on the story he was telling. “They were in Atlanta on pack business, and they were in a rough part of town—a classic drive by. Some gangbangers drove past and shot. She jumped in front of Angelo and took the bullet.”
“Wow.”
“Yep. She’s tough though. I wouldn’t want to fight her.”
“Makes sense,” Ted said, the statement delivered like Joey should know exactly what he was talking about.
“Okay, tell me what makes sense.”
“That she’s a better fighter. Did you see how quick she moves and the way she bends and positions herself? She doesn’t just move her feet, or her upper body, but her whole body at once. I’ve seen a lot of fighters and watched what they do. The good ones apply Newton’s third law. I bet in a fight she strikes hard and fast, using her mass—though small—and acceleration to her advantage, putting her body into the punch then recoiling quickly, leaving the force of the impact with the object she hit.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Joey never knew Ted was such a deep thinker for such a fluffy blond idiot, there had to be a reason he sat around staring at the ocean. Joey had always attributed it to the man having nothing in his head, but that was far from the truth. They stopped in Bluffton at the electronics store on the way home, picking up Carlo’s new phone. The traffic over the bridge wasn’t bad and they were back on the south end of the island, hitting The Circle less than a mile from home.
“You going to walk over to The Pig with me later to get the meat? We’ll have to bring the coolers to carry it all,” Joey asked.
Ted just shrugged. “Yeah, but I want a sandwich from Joe’s before we go.”
Joey was happy to drop by Joe’s for food. He enjoyed the laidback beachy atmosphere. The food wasn’t too bad either, and it would give him time to check out the local scenery, scoping out some action for later. “Sure, we’ll stop by before we go to the grocery store.”
“Joey?”
“Yeah Ted.”
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For being you. It’s nice just hanging out.”
Joey smiled over at Ted, glad that Carlo had brought him home. When he first met Ted, he wondered what Carlo had been thinking bringing home the big lug, but now he could see the good qualities Carlo must have seen from the beginning. Ted would make a great addition to their pack of three.
≈ ≈ ≈ ≈
When they rolled into town, Kevin had felt relief first, then annoyed about all the trash scattered over his car. He worried that Grady would see him as too much of an old woman if he complained and not want him later. So he squelched his irritation and suggested they head to the beach. The sun was bright, the tide perfect and a few of the guys were smokin’.
“Grady?”
“Mmm?”
“Check it out. Hot guy, twelve o’clock.”
Grady lifted his head, blinking as he scanned the area. “The one with the blue suit?”
“Nah, the one in green.” Kevin glanced over at the golden skin stretched out next to him on the white sand. Grady was only half paying attention, lying on his stomach, head cradled in his arms. They had a primo spot; the volleyball nets were at their back, the beach stretching out in front of them. Twelve hot dudes banged the ball over the net; they could watch, but the action on the beach was more enticing. Guys of every flavor strolled by and Kevin didn’t want to miss a thing.
He turned his attention back to his friend. Sleep was not what he had planned, sitting in his mom’s New York basement in the middle of winter, checking out beaches on the web.
“I’m horny.”
Grady opened his eyes, and glanced around. “Hey, there are kids around here.”
“So now I have your attention? We need to find some guys for tonight.”
“What, tired of me already?”
“As if...” Kevin snorted, “but... we’re on vacation! Look at all the bodies!”
The frown on Grady’s face spoke volumes.
“Kev… we just got in and I’m tired; unlike someone I could mention, I didn’t sleep through half the Eastern seaboard. Besides, what’s the rush? We’re here for two weeks.”
A whiny Grady was no fun, making Kevin ant
sy. He hopped to his feet. “I’m going to go grab some food. Maybe I’ll run into a hot guy on the way over.”
“Fine. Pick one up for me,” Grady called out before flipping over to stare at the men on the other end of the beach.
“Hell no. Come with me.”
“Nope. Wanna get more sun. Besides, you know what I like…”
“Yeah, I do. But the kids....”
Grady turned back to him, “Ass!” The grin spread across Grady’s face caused a little flutter in Kevin’s chest but he ignored it.
Bantering Grady was welcome to stay as long as he wanted. Horny Grady was the one he hoped would show up sooner rather than later. Clubbing with wet blanket Grady would suck, though Kevin hadn’t done any clubbing with the guy before. Hell, he wasn’t one to go clubbing. He’d wanted to, thought about it, but his friends at Princeton were more the nerdy kind, not the go-out-and-dance-all-night kind of friends.