Hundred and Nine
Alexander’s POV
With the amount of open folders and books on my table it was a wonder I was still able to understand what I was doing. I remember just before I took over from my father as Alpha; my mom had told me that it wasn’t as difficult as I thought. I think I’m gonna have to have a word with her pretty soon about how unfair it is to lie to your child. I have been multitasking since morning and it was a miracle that I could keep up.
I had folders on pack security, pack finance, border security, tourism and about twenty more topics all opened and spread out on my desk and believe it or not, we were simultaneously making progress in each one.
“Is Isabella’s replacement at the gallery really all that bad?”
Blake winced, “I’d like to believe that she was nominated because she’s great artist but apparently she doesn’t have enough managerial skill to actually do the work. Tourists have been complaining that the experience is not the same.”
I groaned, “I might have to ask the Luna for advice. I wouldn’t even mind if she laughs at the irony of it all. She didn’t step down from that position willingly, you know?”
“Nah, I don’t think she’d be like that about it.” Blake said. “Bella has done a good job in filling her Luna shoes, even with the sad loss of her parents. Her love for you and the pack is evident and I don’t think she holds any grudges towards having to leave her position at the gallery. She still paints,doesn’t she?”
“She does.” I said. She had stopped for a while, especially when the wound from her parents death was still so deep. It broke my heart to see
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her so hurt that she couldn’t do the one thing that makes her happy and relaxes her at the same time; that she couldn’t find the strength to dip her brush in paint and create magic on her canvas. When she began to paint again, it had been a relief. It had given me hope.
“I bet she’d be happy to help.” Blake encouraged and I nodded.
“What were you saying about our accounts?” I asked and Blake grinned.
“We’re doing very well. We’ve made more than three times more revenue than the last month even though we decided to collect less taxes.” Blake reported. “Our finances are doing well and would do even better once we fix our minor problems like the tourism sector where the gallery is a major role player.”
I nodded, “That’s good. It seems we’re doing something right after all.” I said, unable to hide my smile. “As for the tourism sector, we’ll fix it. What’s next?”
Blake made a face, “Security.”
I sighed, “Of course.”
Just then a knock came at the door and I when I called out ‘enter‘, the door was pushed open and Mason walked in. He took one look around the room and one sweep across the table and slapped his hand to his face, throwing his head back as he groaned.
“Why did I even come here?” He muttered. He subtly made to leave but Blake pulled him back with one hand before pulling out a chair and going ahead to pull Mason down unto it.
I looked between them both before going ahead with the topic. “So apparently, there’s this pack trying to form an alliance with us. What do we know about them.”
“I’m guessing that’s the Silver Moon pack.” Blake said, moving stuff
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around on the table until he found their letter to us. He flipped it open and nodded, “Yep, the Silver Moon pack. Their not a really small pack but their not a really big pack either.‘
“Why now? Why didn’t they form an alliance with us before?” I ask, stroking my chin.
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“There wasn’t any enmity if that’s where you’re going. The Alpha just has a lot of pride and I think at the time, he didn’t see the need to join hands with a pack he wanted to surpass one day.”
“Hmm, so he’s greedy and has competitive feelings towards our pack?”
“Could be a trap, don’t do it.” Mason said and I chuckled at the sudden delivery of his words.
“We might have to bring the matter to the council for a wider decision. While they may have been proud before, they have enough reason to choose to be humble now. Their pack is in need of both security and financial aid and if we refuse them when they truly have no bad intentions, we’re the ones who would be seen as proud.”
Blake sighed, “Something tells me that every pack in the region who’s not already allied with us is going to be sending letters like this really soon.”
It probably shouldn’t be satisfying to find out that rogue attacks have doubled drastically in other packs recently but I couldn’t help but be relieved that it wasn’t just us. The Red Moon pack has never been free of rogue attacks for as long as I’ve known. Our pack was wealthy and strong with a large population. We were the most powerful and the most coveted pack. It was no wonder why we were prone to getting attacked, both by rogues and other power hungry packs. But even with that, the attacks had increased by a drastic amount since I took over no matter how much effort I put in and I was beginning to wonder that my rule was the problem. It was something that depressed me. That people would talk about how I’m not as good of a leader as my forefathers were. Seeing that the entire
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region was in a deep mess helped a bit with my self–esteem even though it meant that we had a lot more responsibility on our hands.
“We should schedule a council meeting for the end of the week. By then we might have gotten more calls and letters so that we can discuss everything all at once.” I said and Blake nodded at that.
Someone’s ringtone suddenly went off and Blake had a guilty look on his face as he grabbed his phone from underneath a couple of papers. I waved him to go ahead and he quickly picked up the call and went to a corner of the room to talk to whoever it was on the phone. I had my suspicions though but I’d rather not make any comment. The call was short and when he was done he came back to the table.
“I’m guessing you need to leave now.” I said and he nodded.
“I’m sorry…” He began but I just shook my head.
“Nah, we were almost done anyway and Mason is still here.”
“Thanks man.” He said, bowing slightly before leaving while Mason made a face.
“Just help me with tidying up the table and then you can go.” I told him and he seemed slightly relieved.
There were a lot of files and folders spread out on my table so we had to put them all back in their correct positions on the shelf and when that was done, I kept my promise and let Mason go. I wondered briefly if he has found his mate too and hoped we didn’t have another rogue mate I the group. The next hour was filled with calls from different packs who were asking for financial assistance and I began to wonder if there was something really serious that was going down in our region and if I should be concerned. It didn’t take long after I put down the phone after my fifth call for my door to be pushed open to reveal my father.
I raised a brow as he walked in and took the seat across me where Blake
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had been sitting. I sat up higher out of reflex as I faced my father.
“Good morning, dad.” I said and he nodded.
“Good morning Alpha. I’ve come to ask for a favor.” He said and I cocked my head.
“Oh?”
He went straight to the point, “One of my good friends, an Alpha of one of our ally packs is seeking refuge for his only daughter in our pack. His pack is in a bad place security–wise and they’re constantly being infiltrated by rogues. His daughter is his only child and heir and he is afraid for her safety which is why he wants her to come over here for a while. I’d like you to consider it.”
I sighed exasperatedly, “Dad…”
“I don’t see any harm in it. The Alpha is my good friend and I know he would not try to harm our pack. He cannot even afford to if he was thinking about it. He would do the same for me.”
I narrowed my eyes, “It just feels like now that we’re more than financially stable all the packs are trying to stay close to us.” I said and my father just leaned back in his chair.
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