Page 16 of The Healer

On the table beside him, a chilled glass of beer appeared out of nowhere. He hated that they could summon shit out of the ether.

“Thanks,” he grumbled. He took a long pull from his beer. The smoky, bitter flavor, and the lingering after taste, hinted at imported. Go figure.

Dimi faced the room, with the fireplace behind him. He’d slid his hands deep into his pockets and rocked on his toes. “I’m glad you came over. Callie raised a few concerns about the state of your pack.”

“What?” Rhys jerked, spilling beer down his T-shirt. He didn’t care that the cold liquid saturated his jeans or pooled onto the leather. “Why the fuck would you discuss my pack?”

How dare they? He shifted to put the glass down, but it filled, just as his T-shirt dried and the beer mess vanished. Fuck, cleaning up after him like he was a cub? He gritted his teeth, willing his agitated bear to calm.

“Our alliance is long-term. She wants a contract drawn up so alphas after you for generations to come adhere to the agreement. This includes investment capital to build your infrastructure, schools, and such.”

Rhys blinked, torn between the warm pleasure at her concern and forethought and the fiery anger at her implication he was incapable of seeing to his people.

“An amount will be transferred to your account, matched by the Vasiliev Hold.”

Rhys stiffened and sliced a glance at Noah, wishing he had a moment to confer with his beta. “I don’t like handouts.”

Dimi closed his eyes for a second. “It’s for George, her future, and her pack’s stability.” Exploding into action, he blurred and appeared in the chair beside Rhys. “Wealth means nothing to vamps, Rhys. We’ve accumulated so much property, investments, bonds, shares, masterpieces, it’s like oxygen to us. There to use but not necessary to survive.” A tumbler of burnished liquid formed in his hand from which he sipped. “Callie has made a sizable donation to the Inner City precinct, as well.”

Noah laughed, cutting through Rhys’s tension. “She’s spending her husband’s money.”

Dimi grinned. “True, but to be fair, neither of us will feel it.”

Rhys frowned. Money was money, and it held its own power over people. “Who receives the status reports on what I spend it on?” He swallowed past the lump in his throat, tightening his shoulders as if he negotiated with the devil.

“No one.” Dimi swirled the golden liquid in his tumbler. “The other holds think we’re foolish to boost the shifters, our mortal enemies, but I agree with Callie. Those are antiquated thoughts, mired in tradition, and silly superstition. Just like we donate to human charities, why can’t we invest in shifters too?”

“Charity?’ Rhys thumped his empty glass onto the polished wooden table. “We don’t need charity.”

Dimi sighed, pinching his brow like he held back a headache.

Rhys grimaced. “I’ll talk to my pack and let them decide.” They did need the money, and it could fill holes Alrik’s neglect had created. But it shouldn’t be at the cost of Rhys’s soul, and it certainly shouldn’t make him or the pack beholden to suckbloods. “What are we going to do with Callie?”

“I’d suggest you go with her, and take Johanna along. Like a formal survey of the teams’ performance.” Dimi’s lips curled into a wicked grin. “If there is anyone who can calm, manipulate, or reason with Callie, it’s her old captain.”

Rhys frowned at having not thought to include Jo-jo. How tired was he? His eyes burned with grit. Exhaustion saturated every inch of him. His bear didn’t rear his head as much as he used to unless enraged, which he was, pacing across Rhys’s nerves, getting his point across.

“I have plans to take a few days off and head north.” He sighed, taking a leap of faith his beta could handle this. “Noah or Sawyer will escort the ladies.”

Noah grinned, squaring his shoulders. “Happy to.”

Dimi rose and offered Rhys a hand up. He hesitated but accepted the suckblood’s assistance. “You have my number. Call if you need anything. I mean it, Rhys. Anything.”

On the drive out the complex, Noah’s features wavered between concern and joyful hope. “Shit, Rhys, if the money has no strings attached, we could do so much. All those repairs, build better roads, upgrade the schools, and the lodge. Not to mention our digital infrastructure.”

“And start that skill-share training you mentioned?” Rhys couldn’t help but wallow in Noah’s excitement at the holes they could plug.

“I’d have our people slot in with the contractors we hire, make their tuition part of the contracts.” Noah laughed, slapping the steering wheel as they drove through the massive gate. “Imagine being able to do our repairs without having to pay an outsider.”

“Depending on how much money it is, we might be able to afford proper equipment for our clinic.” The research lab Alrik had started took care of itself, earning funding as well as hiring human staff. But this money could give them the boost they needed. The possibilities were endless. “Let’s discuss the donations first before we spend it all.”

“Investments.”

Rhys shook his head. “No, donations. Investments imply they’re expecting something in return. Either way, I don’t like owing anyone.”

“Then let’s take a portion, invest it somewhere else, and repay their donation. We only need the initial capital to get started.” Noah changed gears and floored it, a grin brightening his face.

“It’s your baby, then.” Rhys was happy to assign it to him. “We have enough cash to eke out a normal life. If more and more shifters find work outside the pack, then that cash will grow with their tithing, and we’ve survived with the slow progress we’ve made so far on our infrastructure.”

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