The Avestan Viewer -- A Wolf Love Story

Chapter 14 -- What's Past is Prologue

Whitehorse looked like most of the towns we had travelled through with mountains, snow, and evergreen trees- and I was getting tired of riding in the car. Stephen told me we would travel by private planes next summer, and take a long cruise on his yacht. I kept forgetting that Stephen was rich. He lived simply, but he was also a corporate mogul in charge of billions of dollars. The pack portfolio was diverse, and supported all aspects of pack life. He invested in private phone and electric systems, was heavily involved in sustainable timber harvests and protecting as much wild land as possible. Mining was off limits since it poisoned the land making it unlivable, greed was a powerful force and hard to stop. But us weres were tied to our land. Most of his efforts happened behind the scenes, and he had fostered relationships with many human government land managers and officials, then hired them after they retired. This made him in essence his own private government lobby, and had skilled diplomats working constantly to ensure the continuing privacy and safety of the pack.

Most of the pack's wealth was in the form of land and development. His corporations ran lodges, hotel chains, cargo freighters, private air delivery, car rental fleets (all of these things free to pack members), technology and communications development companies, and anything surrounding pack business. I was also getting involved in clarifying the financial aspects since that was my specialty in my former life. I was able to navigate the hundreds of reports and financial channels to shore up weak areas, and change some of the investment strategies. But Stephen's enterprises were mostly sound, and mostly secret with minimal public exposure. He had a strong team running each area, and offered investment advice for any pack members who wanted to invest their own money.

We were meeting Alpha Bodin at the Northern Klondike Restaurant, which was known for its delicious salmon and local cuisine. There was absolutely no way Stephen would go to the Alpha's pack house, it was too dangerous. We entered the elegant restaurant and were immediately welcomed by Alpha Bodin and his mate Sandra and shown to a private room. The room had a wall entirely made of glass, which showed the northern landscape that included stunning views of distant tall mountains, snow, and forests. The Bodins were gracious and inviting, and soon the alcohol and stories were flowing. I couldn't drink anything of course, and felt huge. 

I would sometimes look longingly outside, what I would give to shift and run in the wild snow here, to track the wild game and sniff delicious new scents. I caught Elise looking at me pointedly, silently telling not to think about escaping. My Guard was naturally spaced around the room enjoying a nice dinner but constantly on alert. I just huffed at her. Stephen had also brought in a few men from the Atlin Lake pack as enforcers to balance out Alpha Bodins own bodyguards. Stephen took my hand after I huffed, and squeezed it refusing to let go of me. He kept up his conversation with the other Alpha, but told me in our mate-link to relax. He knew I wanted to go outside. I wouldn't do it, but I wanted to.

There's no way anyone would let me out of their sight. I had tricked them a few times and they never let me forget it. And my actions inadvertently spawned a silent, underground freedom movement, mostly for women. I just sighed. As the night progressed, I became more edgy and restless for some reason. I also watched the Northern Lights as they became visible in the dark. Whole ribbons of energetic color rippled in the sky over our heads, it was a wonderful sight and made the hairs stand up on my neck. Wait, there was something else that was making my hairs stand up, and Stephen felt it at the same time.

Zeke. The distinguished looking werewolf-wizard had entered the private room and everyone stopped talking to look at him. Obviously Alpha Bodin had encountered Zeke before and immediately stood up. Zeke was looking directly at me and Stephen started to lunge at him. Like before, Zeke simply held up his hand and shouted 'Stay!' And once again the entire room froze, still as statues. I put my hand protectively on my stomach and Zeke looked down at it, then back up to my face.