Chapter 10
Answers
Bindi didn’t know much about her
family, and no one here had been able or willing to tell her more.
What did that mean? The surprise came when the former alpha bitch
issued an invitation. She said she had information about her
mother. This information was for her only. That sounded like a nice
way to say come alone. Duroc did not want her to do this, but he
understood this had to be done. All her life she had wondered about
her mom.
Her mate was concerned about her. He
insisted that she take two guards even if she left them outside. To
avoid a disagreement, she gave in. Now she was ready to go. The
guards seemed to know exactly where this house Al's wife was
staying in was. As they headed there, she was nervous and excited.
What would she find out and how would it make her feel?
The house in question,question looked
like a 3 bedroom ranch. It was not the small cozy home she had
expected. This house had clearly been updated in the not too
distant past. Her guards began to follow her to the
door.
“You two will have to stay outside the
door.” Bindi directed.
She knocked on the door and it was
answered by a pleasant looking lady. In the human world, this woman
would not be much older than her. But she could scentsmell that she
was a wolf and that made it hard to even guess how old she might
be.
“Bindi?” The lady asked. Bindi nodded.
“I'm Jolene. You and I are related.”
“How are we related? I'm sure you are
not my mom.”
“No. but I am your aunt. Your mom is
my sister. When Al’s brother, John met my sister, Kathy, Al saw how
in love they seemed to be. It made him wonder if her sister who he
knew to be wolf might be his mate. I'm not sure how it happened,
and our family does have some human blood in the past, but I was
born wolfwolf, and your mother was born human.”
“It doesn't matter how. Although it
seems to have shaped the lives of my mother and I.”
“Don't forget your father. He suffered
too.” Jolene observed.
“He could have done something to
change all this.”
“John would have died. The one thing
Al had going for him was that he was an exceptional fighter. Your
father was the oldest son, but his fighting skills could not hold
up to those of Al. He was basically given a choice. Step down or
die.”
“It was his intention to fight and die
well. Your mother wouldn't let him do that. She loved him too
much.”
“Why didn't they leave?” Bindi
asked.
“Al never allowed anyone to leave.
They would have been hunted and when they were found they would
have been killed.”
“What happened to my
mother?”
“John wasn't allowed to mate her, but
Al had no issue with them being lovers. That was until your mother
became pregnant. After you were born and you turned out to be
human, every time Al saw you it made him resent your mother. He
finally sent her away when you were five and deemed old enough to
be sent to the packhouse. At that age, kids living in the packhouse
could begin to do some kind of work.” Jolene explained.
“So is my mother alive?”
“She is alive, and she is living a
town over. John managed to get her some money so she could buy a
house and she started a business. Kathy has a rooming house. John
is staying there with her right now. I'll write down the address
for you.” Jolene did that then handed her the paper.
“Thank you for doing this. Are you
doing alright, and do you need anything?”
“I wasn't sure if I would be welcome.
It's true things are changing but it's hard to tell when a new
alpha takes over if he will go by the old standard or the new
one.”
“Not as hard as it once was. The
council is trying to see that it is the new standard that is
followed. It is a slow process, but old and cruel alphas are being
taken out and the new ones are being monitored. They will not allow
any of these new alphas to follow the old ways. Things are getting
better, but it will take time before all the older, harsher alphas
are rooted out.”
“Al did not allow us to speak to those
from other packs. TVs and radios weren't allowed. There were still
those who got information but if they were caught sharing it, they
were punished severely sometimes even killed. Our own alpha was our
worst enemy. He always said he was my fated mate, but I didn't
believe he could treat me the way he did if that was true. We had a
child you know. Our daughter left the second she found a way to
escape.” Jolene explained.
“Maybe you can find her now and have a
close relationship.”
“That is my fondest wish. But I
wouldn't even know how to go about it.”
“You are in luck. I know someone who
has an excellent record of finding people even those who don't want
to be found. I will give you his name and number and if you need
help, this is what he does.” Bindi quickly wrote down Tyne’s name
and number.
“You are probably ready to go now, but
know this, your family has always loved you. We felt any place was
better for you at that time. Also, your mom and dad did try to find
you. They simply did not know what to do or where those resources
could be found.”
Jolene gave her a hug. When she pulled
away, she was crying. Bindi decided this was a good time to leave.
She supposed she was much like a man in that she didn't know what
to do with someone when they cried. Her guards were waiting for her
when she left the house.
“I have somewhere else I need to go
now.” Bindi informed. That's when she handedhanded the paper to the
guard who was driving with the address to her mother's house on
it.
“This is in the next town.” He
mentioned.
“I know.” The driver looked curious,
but he didn’t ask.
They arrived at this enormous
Victorian style home. It was perfect for a boarding house. The
house was well kept and in good shape. She couldn't tell how many
rooms it had and that probably depended on how it was laid out. The
porch was large and seemed to wrap around the house. Bindi walked
up the wide stairs to a large front door.
She hesitated a moment then knocked on
the door. The lady that answered resembled Jolene. “I'm so sorry
but we're all out of rooms.”
“I guess business is doing well,
Mom.”
“Bindi?” She asked.
“I am.”
Her mom move forward to hug her, but
she stepped back. “I guess it's too soon for that. We'll have to
get to know each other a little first. Come in and we can talk a
little while.”
She led the way to the kitchen. Her
mom motioned for her to sit at the table. Then she fetched two
coffee mugsmugs, filled them with coffee and got a tray with sugar
and creamer on it. Then she walked over and set the tray on the
table before sitting in the chair across from her.
“Tell me how you found me and what's
going on now?”
“My mate challenged Al and won. The
pack is now ours and your sister gave me your address.” Bindi
explained.
“Wow I never thought I'd see the day.
Your father is out looking for a job. I don't know when he'll be
back. He'll have mixed feelings since it was his brother. Al wasn't
a very good brother, so he'll also be relieved that he is gone. I
assume the fight was to the death. How is the change in leadership
going?”
“We found there are many in high
positions we can't trust that will have to be removed. Some of them
will not go easily. But we do have the support of the council and I
hope that will help. The manager at the fish plant is already in
the council prison.”
“John told Al that some serious
skimming was going on, but he didn't seem to care. As long as he
got a certain amount that was all he cared about. That should have
been stopped years ago. Have you gotten to the casino yet?” Kathy
asked.
“No, at least not very far. An
accountant is looking into it and things will change a great deal
soon. The mill was where we started and massive changes have been
undertaken. Very few of the upper management remain and several are
also in the council prison.”
Kathy observed, “Many of his betas and
managers were stealing the pack blind and had assistants that did
all the work for them.”
“Why did he let them do
that?”
“He considered them friends even if
they had to be bought and paid for with whatever they could steal
off the top.”
“That’s sad. They were little more
than leeches.” Bindi explained.
“Not to him. He and Jolene had a poor
relationship. They were all he had.”
It was a sad statement for a social
wolf to basically have no one that cared about him. His personal
life cost his pack a great deal of money and caused suffering for
many. She was sure in time that things would get back to where they
needed to be. But meanwhile she saw a lot of work in her
future.
Bindi and her mother talked for a
while until she remembered the guards waiting outside. “Mom there
are others waiting outside and I really need to go. Maybe you can
come over to the alpha house and visit with me.”
Her mother walked her to the door. “I
know how busy you must be so I will call before I come. Will you
mind if I bring your father with me?”
“No that will be alright. I look
forward to hearing from you soon.” They hugged then Bindi had to go
to her car.
“Where would you like to go now
Alpha?” the driver asked.
“We will go back home.”
It took about 20 minutes before they
were there. Looking around, she could see a lot of changes. Two of
the apartment buildings were complete and one was nearly so. The
gas station with a convenience store had just been finished by
their own construction crew. A small café using a premade building
sat on the corner and had just opened for business. The grocery
store I had just now begun construction. This area around the alpha
house was beginning to look like a community. Several of their
volunteers were gone now with only a handful remaining that seemed
to either enjoy being here or were pursuing romance or possibly job
experience.
They had gotten a grant for a police
officer and would be building a police station soon. There was also
a deal in the works to get them their own zip code, a small post
office, and a person they could choose to run it. Things we're
looking up. Bindi would also be finding some teachers for the
school they would be building next year. One of those teachers
hopefully would be able to run it as a Superintendent.