CALIFF
“The boy is telling the truth.” Zack leaned against the opened window of the car. “I just dropped the medical supplies to their apartment. Two small bedrooms, not a good neighborhood.”
“Is he here?”
Zack tipped his head. “Yes. He’s working eight hours. Later, a dish-pig at the diner.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m thirsty.” Shadow had already got out of the car.
“His mother was surprised, and she said thank you.” He pulled the door open for me.
“She raised a good son and would do anything for his mother, even risking his life.” I got out and buttoned my suit.
“What’s your plan with the boy?” He kept saying boy when August was an adult.
“He’s twenty, Zack.” I entered the convenience store.
“Well-”
“Fill the tank, will you? And don’t worry, he’s human, and you’re a werewolf.”
Zack just stared at me. I knew he had a special place in Shadow’s heart, and he might just scared of the undivided attention we were giving him.
I looked around, and I didn’t find August.
“He’s over there.” Shadow had a cone of ice cream and flavored water in her hand and drank half of it. “So you’re a softie, huh? What did you see in August aside from saving your ass?”
“Why did you risk your life for him, baby?”
She pursed her lips first before speaking. “I kinda saw myself in him when you were in the last place you wanted to be. He didn’t know what he walked into for a small cash to buy his mother medicine. I think that’s admirable.”
“You got the answer.” I saw August piling the canned goods on the shelves.
“Aw. That’s why I love you so.” She tiptoed to kiss me quickly.
August suddenly stopped when he felt someone was looking at him.
Then he turned around with wide eyes as he recognized me. He whispered, “Alpha?”
“August.” Shadow and I came closer.
“Can I help you, sir?” This time, he said in his normal voice. He then looked around.
“How’s work?” Shadow asked. I heard the humor in her question.
“Good. It pays the bill, but you didn’t come here to buy something, didn’t you?” He looked at us. “Am I in trouble?”
“No. Are you?” She teased August.
I couldn’t help but smile at her. Now, she was licking her ice cream. “Behave, Shadow.”
August looked alarmed. “Um, is this about what happened in the forest?”
“What forest?” Shadow was still eating the ice cream and didn’t pay much attention to August’s sudden discomfort. She was messing with him.
“Are you done there, August?” said the taut man, probably the store manager.
“Almost done, sir.”
“What took you so long? You have a lot of work to do. Move faster, or I will cut it on your paycheck.”
“He’s an ass, isn’t he?” Shadow asked, still making fun of the poor boy. “You want me to scare him a little?”
“Kind of, but no. He’s just doing his job.” He continued stocking on the shelf.
“Hey, mister?” I called the taut man.
“Fires.” He pointed at the name tag on his chest.
“Fires. August quit. You better look for his replacement if you can find someone more hard-working than him. Good luck.”
“He can’t quit,” he barked.
“Well, he just did.” I stuffed my hands in my pocket. “If you can’t pay him twice his earnings, he is done with your little intimidation.”
August was still shocked to interfere.
“And you’re supposed to intimidate me?”
“No. But maybe the next time I come here, I already own this store. So be nice and give him his last paycheck in full.” I turned to August. “Go get your things. I’ll give you another job. You can quit the job at the diner, too. You don’t need it anymore.”
“Let’s go, big guy, before you maul Fires.” Shadow dragged me away from the taut man.
I looked at August one more time. “I’ll be waiting in the car.”
Shadow and I went back to the car.
“You’re enjoying this a lot, aren’t you?” Zack was done filling the tank.
“What? Being normal, more human, going to a convenience store, eating cheap ice cream? Yes.”
“How about you, Alpha?”
“I like to use my power to the right person. August’s boss is an ass.”
“You should get out more often, Zack. Get drunk and get laid. It’s only a matter of time before you find your mate.”
“Hard pass.”
August just walked out of the door with his small backpack. “Do I get a job, Alpha?”
“Get in the car. I will tell you later. My mate is hungry.” I got in the car.
Shadow went in, asking me, “How do you know?”
“Your stomach had been grumbling.”
Zack pulled off to the main road as soon as August wore the seat belt, sitting in the passenger seat.
“My mom just called me, sir. She said a man was there giving her a nebulizer kit and medicines supply good for a year.”
“You saved our Alpha. You’re our little hero now. So anyone laying a hand on you will get his limbs ripped off his body.”
“You don’t have to do that.” August was frightened as he turned his head to Zack in the driver’s seat. His heartbeat was racing.
“Not exactly, but you know what I mean.”
“Oh, thank God.” He breathed deeply. “I don’t want someone getting hurt because of me. Fires is sometimes a jerk, and he’d worked there for the last fifteen years. I say he deserves that position because he worked hard, too.”
“I know just someone like you, with a heart of gold.”
“Who?”
When Shadow did not get the answer but my smile, she shrugged. “That doesn’t give him the right to mistreat you.”
“I agree, ma’am.”
“Did you just call me ma’am?” Shadow laughed out loud. “Call me Shadow.”
“Shadow, it is. Where are we going? If I may ask.”
“To eat. You will go to college this school year, August. Take the course you want. I’ll pay for all your expenses until you finish college. I take it you don’t have a car?”
“Mom had, but it always costs me to fix something then another, so I took the train, and sometimes, I borrow a bike.”
“I’ll take care of the car.”
“No, sir. I can’t take that. What you gave for Mom is already too much. I was planning to go to college, and if you give me a job, I can save some money.”
“I don’t accept no for an answer, August. This is my way of showing my gratitude. And if you need anything, don’t take an extra job. Come to me, or I will be very mad at you if you decline my offer, and you know if I get mad.”
“Understood, sir.”
“It’s Califf.”
“Califf. So, what’s my job?”
“I have a distribution warehouse for wine and spirit. You will be one of the distributors. Once you go to college, you can choose a convenient time. The salary is good, plus with commission, health benefits and all.”
“I take it as long as it doesn’t involve clawing and biting me in a full moon,” he replied quickly. “I’ll be twenty-one in two months.”
Shadow chuckled.
“Hmm. Someone did his assignment.” Zack grinned.
“No. Alpha told us while he was in a cage.”
“Good.”
We arrived at the restaurant. The food was terrific. Shadow surprised me with her appetite. Zack and August were still up for the dessert while I was stuffed.
When my phone rang, the call came from Sheriff.
“Is it bad news?”
“Not really,” he answered quickly.
“Tell me about it.”
“Claire is dead. The housekeeping staff found her at the hotel with a bullet hole in her jaw, brain’s all over. Close range. I hope you don’t mind me-”
“I did not. Trust me. I’m going to tell you if I ordered that hit.”
“I couldn’t say she deserved it, but you no longer have to find her. The cops ruled it out as suicide.”
“Is it, though?”
“For your kind? Knowing she just lost her soulmate, I say, it was.”
“Thanks for telling me, Sheriff.”
“Anytime.” The call ended. I wasn’t aware they were waiting for me until I looked at them. “Ready?”
Shadow got a frown on her forehead. “Why is Sheriff calling you?”
“I’ll tell you on the way.”
August decided not to join us. I paid the cab to send him home while we went back to the compound. On our way, I told Lyon to call for an emergency meeting.
When we arrived, everyone and the representative of the family were already in the receiving area in the pack house.
Shadow and I went upstairs so they could see me.
“As of today, I will be more strict. As you all know, Aciano betrayed me. He planned a vengeance against my family for years and wanted to take me out of my rank. If anyone wants to challenge my authority, my office is open, and I will arrange the challenge. However, going behind my back is not an option, and the punishment is unquestionably merciless.”
They nodded in understanding. The pack house went silent.
“Aciano was dead, and earlier today, his mate, Claire, shot herself and was found dead in a hotel room.”
The pack members gasped, including Shadow, but no one murmured or interrupted me.
“I am giving you this chance to report to my office if you wish to unbind your loyalty to join other packs. That’s all. Dismissed.”
Shadow went to our room to hit the shower while I waited in my office for the members to challenge or unbind with me. I checked my watch. It passed one hour, and no one came to knock.
I rose from my seat when I heard a soft knock behind the door. “Come in.”
The door swung open. Duke came in. “There’s a lot of things I missed.”
“You took care of the pack while I was away. How’s Kindra?”
“Pregnant and moody.” The way he smiled, he looked so happy.
The door opened again. This time, it was Shadow. “Hey, Duke. I missed Kindra. How’s she? How are the babies?”
“Healthy. Thank you for asking. Um, I’m here because we are planning a small picnic near the stream. I would love it if you could-”
“Yes. We’ll be there. When?” Shadow said excitedly.
“Saturday.”
“We won’t miss it.”
“She can’t wait to hear it. Thank you, both of you.”
Once Duke left, Shadow approached me and wrapped her arms around me. “We’ll gonna have our turn.”
“Not in a hurry anymore, but the house is halfway done.” I looked at her. “We will have all the time in the world.”
She shook her head. Pain crossed her eyes. “No, we don’t. Not for me, Alpha, but I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. If I have fifty years, then I will spend fifty years of my life with my soulmate.”