Malcolm just wanted to celebrate this one good thing before he had to go back and deal with all the rest. He’d handed off the fundraiser incident to his people who were trained to deal with it. The morning news would talk about the spin put on the incident and try not to put a damper on the event. He’d feel bad for them later and offer his money and time to compensate for any losses. The hotel would see business from him to help compensate them as well. His people would say nothing bad about either group publicly. “Malcolm, I need to talk to you. It’s about your mother.” Ellie and Jordan were gone now. They’d headed back to their condo so they could rest. They’d spoken of enlarging the penthouse floor eventually so that both families could share the space. Their pups and kits growing up together, living as an extended family. Not unheard of within the shifter communities. All adults parented, taught, and guided the pack’s pups to some extent. It meant there w
Jordan took Ellie home, and they happily settled into their space for the night. “I’m glad you’re finally trusting me.” He just listened to the voicemail from the healer, and he was glad he did. It changed everything tomorrow. Malcolm understood that he’d have to deal with things alone tomorrow. Jordan couldn’t be in two places at once. He was glad Malcolm was a reasonable Alpha and expected this. They would have to change ranks soon within the pack now that they added the firm to the pack’s portfolio. Malcolm needed Jordan’s assistance to handle the pack’s needs, and they’d have to train someone to assist with the firm, among other businesses. This happened with many prosperous packs. Malcolm was slowly gaining a staff and command structure. With a potential war, they’d have to step up their fighting forces too. That meant Jordan would be second only to Malcolm, and he’d speak for him when he couldn’t. There would be three others beneath him he’d delegate to. This w
Malcolm and Melody were up and out the door with David in daycare. He hated Melody going to the shop without him. But he ensured the daycare was well guarded and Melody had several guards in addition to her staff. But he wouldn’t be happy until she was back within the safety of his territory and his pack was all around her again. Ellie now had her own security within the atrium of the pack’s building after what had happened with the sick fox the night before. But that would be after she visited the pack healer. Malcolm hoped the pack healer would insist she take a day off work after everything she’d been through. Right now, he needed to deal with more attacks and supervise the move into his new work offices. At least, no one would question Jordan actually supervising the move, while he worked offsite. He had to visit two construction sites within his territory to survey the damage that occurred overnight. They’d been sabotaged during the night, and
Malcolm just got knee deep in the mess of the first site. He was speaking with the site manager and supervisor. Seeing the damage to himself when the call came through. The call he feared to get. The call he’d done everything possible to avoid. They had attacked Melody in broad daylight. An attempted kidnapping of his mate. Her security team could prevent it, but that wasn’t the point. It had happened. Two attacks in two days. Both are unrelated to each other. The police and media were having a heyday with it. First her partner and now her. What was so special about these women and their company? Was the connection between their husbands? Their money? This is what the police wanted to know. The media were no better when they latched onto the story. The police were now looking more closely at the incidents and questioning them as something other than random violence. It was a nightmare that pulled Malcolm away from his work and his mate. The two shifter
It took hours to get through the paperwork and Malcolm was tired of it. Two nights ruined and constant worry for his mate. They returned home, and Melody decided she’d spend time with David. Malcolm took them up to spend an evening into garden on the roof. While he satisfied himself with keeping them in sight at all times, Malcolm spoke to the enforcers that protected her. The media didn’t bat an eye after the first attack that Malcolm insisted; she has bodyguards. This put unnecessary attention on them from the media. They all wanted to be the first to get the scoop on the next attack. “Now I couldn’t ask for the real details. You’ll fill in the missing details.” The short enforcer, Brian, took up his report on the attack. “We objected when she left the building Alpha, but she wouldn’t listen. We kept her in sight and were keeping the entrance secure when the two appeared. The Luna never left our sight and was never far from us.”
Ellie listened to Jordan as they made their way to the police station. The man was in full damage control. He wouldn’t let her out of his sight right now, and she witnessed the confusion of several pack members. Melody and Ellie weren’t tough shifters known for fighting. They were cute fluffy foxes, and they weren’t sure if they should worry or be relieved that this happened. It hurt Ellie’s feelings that some felt she and Melody didn’t measure up in their opinion. What were they supposed to do to earn their respect? Could they earn it? Or was it a losing battle? Jordan wasn’t paying all that much attention to the quiet comments. When he did, he growled at them and warned them that Malcolm wouldn’t put up with those words. But he didn’t waste his breath as he was passing through to get into the car to follow Malcolm. Ellie just wanted to know that Melody was okay. Two attacks in two days. That wasn’t normal and now she was afraid to go out alone.
“That’s it? We’re just leaving this to a could of shifters that have no connections to us. I don’t get it.” Ellie had watched Jordan work, Melody’s statement was taken, and the media in general got a highly edited version of the story.That version mentioned nothing about shifters and pack wars. Only that it was a mugging gone wrong, and it had no connection to anything else that has happened in recent days. Mrs. Richards wasn’t injured, and they are pursuing leads now. Ellie watched as the officer and Jordan spoke in a type of code, right under the watchful gaze of their very human superiors.“Those shifters may not be known to you, but they’re known by the Ruling Council. They don’t answer to us, but to the council themselves. They have the contacts needed to keep what we want quiet. I’ve done business with them before, and they do very through work.”“Oh, I don’t know a lot about the Ruling Council. It’s not like we have any business with them.” Fox shifters as a whole didn’t
“Okay, I feel like crap but let’s get this done.” Melody watched Ellie say this, but she’d been in her position with both accounts. Only not at the same time. She was feeling the side effects of the vaccines and morning sickness. She looked like death warmed over. “Now, what are we going to do? Do we close that shop? I don’t know if I want to risk ours or anyone else’s lives there. If they pull something publicly while the market is open there’s no way to get help fast enough in there. There’s just too many people in the way.” “Well, the floor most likely must be replaced as well as the lower half of all the walls. You were correct our base ingredients were fine, but the packaging did take a hit. We could back out. We have until Friday to get the request in for that. If we do choose to leave, I want the request in on Thursday so they can’t pull any stunts with it.” Melody watched Ellie making notes to herself from her seat across the table from her. “So, what ar