Page 5 of Alpha's Claim

“I’m glad you could make it here so quickly, Mr. Silverstreak. I felt the need to reach out as soon as possible when I found out that your pack was here.” He said, and I sat back slightly when lunch was served in front of us. I had expected something kind of uppity like finger sandwiches and cucumber water, but we were instead served steak and, if I wasn’t incorrect, two fingers of bourbon. “I hope my reaching out to you didn’t cause you any kind of upset. I simply make it a point to get to know the leaders of any new families who move in near us, of course.”

“No- of course not. We’re just finishing moving in. I did intend to reach out to the local packs, but I wanted to be somewhat settled before I started making the rounds. You caught me as I was finishing my office, actually.” I felt like I was rattling off a bunch of information that Henry couldn’t possibly care about, but at least he had a pleasant smile on his face. That reassured me just slightly, but in reality being the Alpha of such a powerful pack he must have dealt with people as unprepared as I was before. He seemed nicer than I was led to expect. The problem was that I just couldn’t tell if it was the truth or a very clever lie and it bothered me that I couldn’t tell. I had a good handle of the dynamics of our old home and the packs there, but this was different.

“What made you decide on Schuylkill for your new home?” Henry asked pleasantly, starting in on his food. I weighed my options in my head, but lying to this man seemed so wrong. A man like Henry Onyxian wasn’t the kind of man you wanted to lie to.

“We wanted to get closer to the city.” I said simply, choosing to simply give him the information he wanted as he wanted it without giving too much information out. That way I wasn’t rambling on about things he didn’t care about.

“Closer to the city. Have you spent much time in Philadelphia? I assume that’s the city you mean. Most of the young people I know seem to like it. My own daughter visits frequently. I visit on occasion, myself. I’ve always found it pleasant.” Henry looked up from his food to look me in the eye as we spoke. It was nice that he timed it so that the conversation flowed while we ate so that he didn’t wait for me to take a bite to ask a question. That was manners, I guessed.

“I haven’t spent much time in Philly, honestly. I’ve spent most of my time learning how to lead the pack from my mother and we lived pretty far away. I’ve been there, I just haven’t spent much time in the city. I’m sure that’ll change now that we live so much closer.” I answered, hoping that was the correct answer.

“Just don’t let it ruin you. The city can consume you if you’re not careful.” He warned, raising his eyebrows at me. “So I know a little bit about the circumstances of your move. If you don’t mind my asking, exactly what made your pack decide to move away from Wilkes-Barre?”

“We were having problems with a local pack. They were isolating and ambushing members of my own pack. Several of us got hurt and finally my mother was killed. In my opinion we didn’t have too much of a choice. Moving gives us a chance to regroup. Hopefully the problem doesn’t follow us here.” I explained, tapping my fork once against the plate in front of me without thinking. “I have to protect my family. I just couldn’t sit back and let them all get slaughtered.” I pulled my attention back to the man in front of me. He looked up at me and nodded, steepling his fingers as he thought. A few moments passed in silence before he leaned forward on the table.

“As the Alpha of the Silverstreak pack it’s your job to make sure your family is safe.” Something in his tone had changed. My nerves were set on edge instantly. “Just like it’s my responsibility to protect my family. As an Alpha it’s your duty to do what it takes to keep your people safe. Around here, in Schuylkill, the way you do that is to pay a tithe to us. Our pack will keep yours safe in exchange for a small fee.” He said, leaning back in his chair. “It’s just the way things work around here. We’re all peaceful, you know.”

“We’ve had threatening encounters with a few packs since we’ve been here.” I said, setting my silverware down to focus on what was happening. I still felt like I was drowning and the only thing I could do was rebut his information with my own.

“That’s too bad. I guess they’re not really aware of your pack and how you fit into this town. That’s what I’m here for. I’m here to make sure everyone gets along, like one big happy family. Doesn’t that sound nice?” He grinned at me. I recognized another predator in that grin. A more powerful predator than I was yet.

“What happens if we don’t?” I asked, speaking before my brain could stop me from doing so.

“Well, you’ve got a few options.” He started, sipping at his bourbon before he continued. “There’s the obvious one- just pay and everything goes well for you and your family. Then there’s the option where you get out. That would be a shame considering you’ve just moved here and, really, you don’t have the resources to move again, do you?” That was a good point. It had taken a good chunk of our resources just to make it here with our own small estate. “You can always fight us if neither of those work for you, of course.”

It wasn’t even a veiled threat. This was the outcome I’d been afraid of before I even set foot on this property. I knew I needed to talk to Yari. She would be angry, but she was smarter than I was. Maybe she could see something I just couldn’t see. Some way out or some compromise we could make. It would take us time to get established in the area- to get our books right, as my mom would say. We may not be able to pay anything at first.

“We’re not really fully ingrained here yet.” I said finally, looking back up at him.

“That’s okay. You’ve got time. We’ll work it out for you, kiddo.” He said. Henry stood and I stood as well before I even realized what I was doing. Truthfully at that moment I could only hope my mouth was closed and not hanging open. Henry had already reduced me to the status of an idiot by his mere presence. I’d hate to prove him right. “I’ll give you a call in a few weeks and we’ll see what we can do. What do you say? Sound good?” He offered his hand again and I took it, giving him another, less firm handshake.

“Yeah.” I responded after just a moment. “Sounds good.”

“If you just go through those doors there someone will be waiting to show you out. It was very nice to meet you, Weston Silverstreak. I’m sure we’ll be doing business in the near future.” He smiled amiably.

“I’m sure we will.” I agreed stiffly before I simply turned and walked away.

True to his word there was a servant just inside the doors. She led me out of the house with her hands folded in front of her. Thankfully she didn’t try to engage me in conversation as we walked because I wouldn’t have been able to say anything intelligent at all. I was far too deep into my own thoughts for that.

By the time I reached the doors there was a man in a fine suit stood with the door propped open and the keys to my car in his hand. It was right out front of the estate just as if it had never been taken by valet. I got in almost robotically and made my way back to my house. I parked in my driveway next to Yari’s car and got out, only now really getting angry. I stormed up the steps and through the door, tossing my keys carelessly near the entrance somewhere.

“Whoa, dude.” Yari said, leaning in the doorway at the end of the front hallway. “How bad was it?” she asked, a genuine look of concern on her face. I rubbed my face with my hands and leaned back against the door.

“Apparently we’re gonna owe them some kind of protection money if we’re gonna stay here peacefully.” I grumbled, and she nodded.

“Yeah, I thought it would be something stupid like that,” she said softly, crossing her arms over her chest. “That type of pack always likes to throw their weight around about stuff like this. It’s all so stupid, really.” She said, and I nodded. “This is why I hate politics, you know. This kind of stuff is stupid popular with those kinds of jerks.”

“You’re right.” I said softly.

“Yeah, of course I am. I know what I’m talking about, bud, and I’ve met guys like that before. They like to play mafia. The problem is when you’re as rich as the Onyxfangs, you can kind of do what you want, and most people won’t even attempt to fight back. And in fairness I don’t think we should. We can stick it out for a while, you know? And if it’s too bad we’ll just leave again and take a deeper look into the HOA before we decide to settle in.” I laughed at that. Reframing this situation as something so ultimately useless was exactly the right thing to say to make me feel better. She was always so good at that. “Listen, why don’t we finish putting your office together and then you get out of here. I can handle things for a night, and you could use a night out on the town, okay? Just go. It’s been literal ages since you’ve done anything for yourself. You need to do a little self-care at like a bar or a club or something.”

And that’s what we did. We finished my office, we had dinner together, and then I left. I headed into the night with the intention of getting to know the nightlife in the city. I wanted to know the best place to go- and where shifters went for fun. I wanted to find a place to relax a little. Yari was right, I did need it. I couldn’t spread myself too thin and still be able to effectively lead. Thus, I walked into the city looking for a place to tear it up for a while.

Chapter six

Cora

ForawhileIjust sort of sat with my bag, going through what I had packed mentally. I wanted to be absolutely certain before I left that I had everything I could want or need for a few nights on my own in my apartment. I had already been back and forth once today. I wasn’t about to go all the way there and then be pulled back because I forgot something stupid.

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