Page 16 of Bitter Discord

Heath wasted little time texting his son, then went into his office to find Ranger at the filing cabinet. They made eye contact, and Heath could smell Ranger’s frustration, not that he needed to. It was all over Ranger’s face.

“He’s a rude punk,” Ranger growled the moment the door was closed. “You never would have tolerated it in Dallas.”

“I hope you weren’t listening to my conversation with him,” Heath said mildly. “You know better.”

“Of course not, but we need to talk. Jacky would have told you the moment you got home. You’ve already talked to him, so I know it’s my turn.”

“What were you thinking?” Heath demanded as he went to his desk, his position of power. He pointed at the spot where he wanted Ranger to stand. He didn’t need to impose his will on the other werewolf. Ranger moved as Heath sat down. He didn’t rush Ranger, watching him with his cane and prosthetic.

“I was talking to my Alpha’s mate. He was rude. I reprimanded…” Ranger lowered his head. The scent of his shame quickly overpowered the frustration, but it wasn’t strong enough for Heath. Not yet. “No… not reprimanded. I… I was an ass and talked down to him because it would make him angrier, and I figured…” Ranger trailed off, so Heath growled softly to keep him going. “Jacky tried to step in, but I ignored her. I wanted to fight him.”

“Yeah, I already know what you did. Jacky could see it. She didn’t tell me exactly what was said, and I don’tcare. The next time you purposefully push Dirk to the edge, Landon will be the werewolf fighting, not Dirk.”

Ranger nodded. Heath knew he understood but felt the need to drive the point home. Ranger was lucky Landon hadn’t witnessed it. Theonlyreason Landon took it calmly was because Jacky had handled it before it was bloody. She had seen and put her body in the middle, and that act was very good at shutting down the stupid werewolf shit. Landon respected that and considered it all resolved.

But if there had been a fight and Dirk had been hurt?

Heath knew how attached his son was to Dirk. Landon was in it for eternity if Dirk would give it to him. His son didn’t take emotional connections lightly, be it family or friendship. He’d never allowed himself romantic love. Now that he finally had that connection with someone, he wouldn’t let anyone jeopardize it.

Ranger would have died before the sun went down.

“He’s not as dominant as you. He’s not as physically strong as you. He’s on the high end of average for his age, probably thanks to this pack and his own upbringing, but he’s still a normal werewolf.” Heath growled wordlessly. “Picking a fight with him is an abuse of your power and your situation, and you know it. He’s young, and he’s family. I won’t have anyone in this pack putting him at more risk than healready is.” Heath was laying down the law.

“You knew he would challenge you when you talked down to him. He’s young, and you’re down a leg. He has some issues with you, and you took advantage of that. Pick a fight with Fenris for all I care, Ranger, but you will not abuse Dirk’s emotional control and confusion as a new werewolf to get what you want,” Heath snarled, finally frustrated with the ‘werewolf bullshit,’ as Landon had called it. He expected better from Ranger. Ranger was better than this. The curdling scent of his shame grew stronger telling Heath he hit the right nerve.

“Yes, sir.”

“Let’s get some work done before Shamus gets here for a quick meeting,” Heath ordered, grabbing a pile of papers he never got around to filing. Landon had done this for him for a few years, but the new pack put both of them behind on recordkeeping. It didn’t help that the pack came with hours more of filing in terms of paperwork.

Heath was the type of Alpha who liked a pack that provided for the entire pack. Not all were, but he set up businesses that funded the pack and employed werewolves who needed it. Instead of giving a portion of their earnings to the pack, those who worked for the pack gave their time and received a paycheck with benefits that others had. If they wanted to work for the companies in the pack’s control, they were given positions they qualified for, with full benefits at the highest pay option.

If they supported the pack, the pack supported them. In turn, the companies the pack controlled would turn more in profit and help the vulnerable of the pack. Young werewolves like Arlo and Benjamin would never have the chance to go to college if the pack didn’t have a college fund for them. Their parents and other biological family, who were out of the picture, had lived lean and off the grid. He would see them rise from that.

It also added a whole new level of management he had to handle, with piles and piles of paperwork he hated dealing with.

Fucking Tywin blew through their god damn college fund…

Heath stopped that train of thought, knowing if he could kill Tywin again, he would. Ranger was already back to work when Heath looked in his direction. Heath busied himself sorting through paychecks, invoices, legal documents, and more, while Ranger struggled to file it while standing with his prosthetic and trying to walk the short distance without his cane. He didn’t tell Ranger to sit down and sort while he filed. He wanted to, but the man’s self-confidence was battered enough for the day.

He looked up again and caught Ranger looking at him.

“The rage isn’t about you,” Heath said to answer the unasked. “I was thinking about Arlo and Benjamin.”

“What did the boys do? Teagan? Is something wrong?” Ranger’s concern warmed Heath. Ranger had his problems, but many of his priorities were still the right ones.

“No, no.” Heath shook his head. “I was thinking about all this paperwork and where it’s been coming from. My businesses haven’t been this difficult to manage in years. It’s all from starting a new pack practically from scratch, like setting up a new college fund for the boys after Tywin emptied and closed the ones I set up when they were left in the pack’s care.”

“Oh,” Ranger sighed. Heath paid attention to Ranger’s scent. Disappointment, regret, sadness, and anger—common emotions from Ranger and Shamus. Neither had been strong enough to take on Tywin. They had done what they could, but they regretted all of it. “I didn’t know Tywin did that.”

“I left him with the same access I had. There was enough in both of them to send them to ivy league colleges until they get PhDs,” Heath growled. “Now, I have piles of banking paperwork, setting up as much as I can again from scratch.” He went back to work, sorting.

He and Ranger were done when Shamus showed up. He let himself into the house, and Heath knew his third was smart enough to come straight to his office.

“Hey,” Shamus greeted, smiling. The smile dropped off after a second. “We got a fight about to go down? Am I in trouble? What’s going on, Heath?”

“Just a troubling afternoon,” Heath said, relaxing as Shamus nodded and found a seat. Ranger was a soldier with a great investigative mind and hard to relax with. Shamus was a man with an easy smile and a big heart, skilled at hiding his power until it was necessary. Heath and Shamus had been close, and he understood why distance was created after Heath left. Now, it felt as though they were falling right back in place with each other. Being around Shamus had the same feeling as getting a beer and sitting on the back porch with buddies, except you didn’t need the beer or the porch. You only needed Shamus.

“Well, shit has been troubling more often than not,” Shamus said, sighing. “Anything I can do?”

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