Andrew and I stood in the office with Garrett and Lyon on the other side. I finished reading the contract and grabbed a pen. Once I signed I pass the paper to Lyon. He signs and we both shake hands.
"A pleasure doing business with you, Alpha Maddison."
"You as well, Alpha Blu."
Lyon turns to Andrew, "Brother," they shake hands. "So you will be leaving tomorrow morning?"
"Yes, but you have been a most gracious host. Thank you for welcoming me here."
"As I said, you two are welcomed anytime, even you, Andrew."
I watch as Drew's eye twitches. "Thank you."
&[]
James loads the cars again, this time having more bags then just ours. Andrew has a car as well that he and I will ride in back to Killer Wolf. The warriors mess around while James and Andrew do most of the work.
I couldn't wait to be home. Sure being the Alpha was stressful and I hated it, but my pack is where I belong. Plus these warriors miss their mates as well.
Once they are finished, Andrew opens the door for me to get into his car. The black SUV pulls out and we follow; the red SUV at the end of our line. Drew holds my hand over the center console.
"Now that we are going back, there are a few formalities we need to discuss," I break the silence one we get a mile out.
"Okay, shoot."
"What are the wolves going to call you?"
"I'm honestly fine with them just calling me Andrew or Dr. Blu." Since I found out Andrew is almost a full pack doctor, I was thrilled. We didn't have a real doctor, just a few nurses and field medics. Andrew didn't do much of the leading of his brother's pack, but he will be helpful in our growing into a prosperous pack.
"What about Alpha?"
He chuckles, "You have made it clear you are the Alpha."
"I don't mind sharing the title. We can have two."
"Alpha Andrew..." he tests the sound of it and I can't help but like it. "Alpha Maddison and Alpha Andrew, or do they call you Drake?"
"I am having them call me Maddison. Drake was my father and I'm not my father."
"Maddi and Drew..."
"That's my name for you, only mine," I fake growl and he laughs.
"Only yours," he kisses the back of my hand.
"Now, I know you aren't a full pack doctor yet, but when you are do you think you will help with pack work?"
"I imagine you'll still make me, so yeah."
"I won't make you," I nudge him before thinking. "I will need your advisement at times."
"And I will be there for you."
"Do you have any concerns?" I ask him, squeezing his hand.
"I believe in you, let me say that first," I do not like where this is going. "What's our failsafe. If the pack can't be saved?"
"Father got us in deep with the human banks. If I can't pay the debt back then they take our land. Red Sky is connected to Killer Wolf so they will most likely buy the land. As for the wolves, they will go where they wish. I assume I'll join Red Sky since that's where my brother is and where Jackson will go."
"Do they believe in you?"
My lips curve up, "I think Jackson has more faith in me then I have in me. Mason supports me unconditionally, but his knowledge of the rebuild is limited since he is the Delta of Red Sky."
"What's the first thing you want to get done?"
"A school, I have some pack members going to University for their teaching degree. We plan on building a new school, a high school first, since that is the age wolves shift, then down to elementary. New homes for my warriors. I quite like the idea of privacy so we won't build a pack house. I will renovate the warrior complexes to house any unmated members and smaller families, they will act as a pack house of sorts."
"Warrior complex?"
"Its a set of building with apartments that, for now, everyone but the Alpha and Beta families live in."
"What are the sizes of apartments?"
"They have one bed one bath, two bed one bath, three bed two bath, and four bed four bath."
"And all your members live there?"
"Yeah, and it's nasty. Father didn't care about the quality of life. The whole complexes are falling apart. I'm hoping at with the renovation of the mall the men can get construction training and bring that back here to help renovate the complexes before we start housing development."
"And the pack is dirt poor."
"Worst then dirt poor, we're mud poor, no we are so far under the ocean we're Mariana Trench poor."
"What if I got work for a hospital in the human town. Bring home some money and work for the pack on the side."
"That could work, would you do that?"
"Of course, we need to set up payments on these loans so we don't loose the land. What's your tax rate?"
"For now it's two percent. I want the pack members to feel like they have a chance to save as a family and not have to give every spare dime to the pack."
"It's low, but once you get a reasonable employment rate the money will start flowing. Have you called the Alpha of Fifth Night?"
"Not yet, I will do it when we get home."
&[]
"Hello this is Alpha Garcia of Fifth Night, who am I speaking with?"
"Alpha Maddison Drake of--"
"Of Killer Wolf, yes I've heard of you. I knew your father he was a very... well there aren't many words to describe a man like that."
"And the words there are are all bad," I say and he laughs. He has a deep throaty man laugh that you wouldn't expect to hear from a powerful Alpha.
"What can I do for you Alpha Drake?"
"Please use Maddison, I do not like that man's name tied to mine."
"Of course, Alpha Maddison."
"I'm calling about a debt that the Cider Hill pack had."
"Oh goddess," I wait for him to continue. "That was my cousin's pack. He had no right to be an Alpha, he was young and reckless. I have been trying to repair all the damage he caused but it seems I missed a pack."
"It seems my father allowed your cousin a loan and expected the interest would enrich Killer Wolf. When he didn't pay it back, my father got involved in the human banks for loans to compensate for the money Cider Hill took."
"What was the loan for?"
"Three million."
"Is that with interest," I hear him typing as we speak.
"No, I don't want the interest, just the initial loan back."
"Really?" he is surprised.
"Yes."
"Well, I'm sorry to say that I am not in the standing to give you all the money at once. Can we do 100,000 a week until the debt is paid?"
"That sounds perfect. Thank you Alpha Garcia."
"And Alpha Maddison, I visited Killer Wolf once, you have a beautiful spring and waterfall on your land."
"We do."
"I would love to come over and see it some time with my pups, if you do t mind."
"That would be delightful, Alpha Garcia." We hang up and I sigh in relief. I didn't expect him to give us the money so easily, but he did. I'm grateful he did because that money will help us pay back the debt and improve the pack.
I look in the spreadsheets to see where to the split the first payment into. It would take years to pay back our debt. Father didn't just take our a loan to compensate for what we gave Cider Hill, he took out more and the interest on it is crazy.
Alphas rarely take loans from human banks. They take the money from other Alphas so that if they can't pay back the humans don't take pack land. Considering father didn't have many friends in the Alpha community, I understand why he went the the human banks.
There is a knock before the door opens. Jack walks in with some more files to add to the pile I have. "How did it go?"
"Hundred thousand a week until the debt is paid. No interest."
"His term or yours?"
"Mine," I take the files from him to see that they are employment records.
"We are at a 10% employment rate, but it's better than zero. Of course 40% of the pack are warriors and 20% are school aged."
"I want you to select 100 to go work on the mall project."
"Done," he passed me more files. "And I got the permits to work on the building."
"I love you," I say as I look over the permits. "Have these faxed to Alpha Blu."
"Speaking of Blu..."
"How is Andrew adjusting, I feel bad I had to leave him alone while I work."
"He and mom are baking papanash."
"Mamă is making papanash?" I grab my desk with enthusiasm.
"I know!" Jack shares my excitement. Papanash are like donuts, but Romanian donuts that mamă used to make with her mamă before she moved here. "They just got put in the oil and they look so good!"
"I was also thinking we can have a pack garden," I say, thinking of Andrew. He had his own garden in Silver Wolf Moon and it was beautiful. "Cheap and good for the pack."
"I like the idea."
"I want Andrew to scout for a good location and pick out the plants."
Jack scrunches his eyebrows, "Are you trying to give him a project?"
"I want him to bond with the wolves."
"He will bond with them over training."
"He's not a warrior," I tell Jack and he sighs.
"So neither of our Alphas are warriors?" he looks at me annoyed.
"I'm going to start training, I told you that."
Jack is obsessed with the idea of Alphas being strong. This is because if we are challenged we have to be able to defend our position. Jack taught me some self defense when I was growing up, and my wolf is fast, but I was never really taught to fight.
"I'll expect you at training tomorrow."
"I'll be there."
This book is part of a series. There is a book before it called "Blonde Wolf of the Brown Haired Beauty" and one after called "Black Wolf Beauty."