Chapter Three
Gabe
Father and I had completed yet another nonproductive conversation a week after my return to the pack.
I did not see it as permanent, but that was not a hill I was prepared to die on just yet.
I hated not having any siblings who might take this weight from my shoulders.
When I was a child, I’d wished for a brother or sister to play with, but growing older, my reasoning changed.
A sibling might have been thrilled to take on being the alpha, freeing me to search for my mate and live my life according to my own desires and skills.
After spending so little time on the lands for the past few years, I didn’t have any official jobs to do while trying to find a way to resolve my differences with Father.
Dad begged me not to just go away while we were at such odds.
He was baking himself into a frenzy in his panic at our argument coming to a head, and I couldn’t leave him like that.
So, I hung around, helped out where I saw a need.
All my experience growing up with the different tasks made me excellent day labor.
One morning, I drove a tractor pulling a cultivator to weed between rows in the fields.
Another, I mended harnesses for the horses.
And one evening, I carried firewood we’d spent the afternoon splitting, to some of the elders who could no longer do that for themselves.
My packmates were the best, and I wished I could serve as their alpha, but my fated was out there somewhere…
While talking to our pack mechanic about a difficult repair he was making on a pack SUV, I got a message that my father wanted to speak to me. “Shit,” I muttered before I managed to stop myself.
The mechanic, Ronny, who I grew up with, looked away, but I caught the edge of a grin on his lips.
“I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, probably not.” He faced me again, his smile gone, but eyes still dancing. “But we all have our moments. He may be the pack alpha, but he’s also your father.”
“Thank you for understanding.” And since we had enough youthful incidents of mischief on each other for blackmail purposes, I knew I could trust him not to repeat my goof. “It’s just…yeah.”
“You’d better go though. I might be able to put my dad off, but he is only the farm manager.”
I made my way to the alpha house with great reluctance, already formulating my arguments when I entered the office.
“Took you long enough,” Father growled.
“Sorry, I was in the shop.” I couldn’t decide which of my responses to give until he opened the discussion. “Did you need something, Father?”
“Why would I call you if I didn’t?” He lifted some stacks of paper on his desk and found a thick manila envelope. “Here it is.”
Some kind of a contract? Could he actually be getting me to sign off on the alpha role? In order to avoid any sort of challenge that could create disharmony in the pack, I reached for the envelope. Maybe it came from the legal rep we had in town. About to open it, my father’s next words stopped me.
“Take this to the Erreldell pack and give it to their alpha. Stick around until he has had a chance to review and sign everything.” He picked up another sheet of paper and began to read, while I wondered if I was dismissed. Finally, he sighed and looked up at me. “Still here?”
Dismissed.
A half hour later, having packed a duffel with a couple of days’ worth of clothes, I was on the road again, this time on a thinly veiled errand for Father.
Waiting only until I cleared the lands, I pulled over and looked to see what was so important that it couldn’t be mailed. Or emailed and signed digitally.
A quick scan revealed a list of items we were planning to purchase from them.
The Erreldell pack were famous for their pottery, and apparently our pack wanted a few crates of bowls and cups and such.
It was a purchase order. Definitely could have been an email.
And the fact I was to wait for it to be signed?
What a crock. If I had to guess what the purpose was of this facade, Father was “getting me out there” to meet and greet.
I’d be stuck for a few days while passing time with the other pack, who would likely understand the purpose.
Heirs apparent in our local packs often were sent to meet the others.
To visit, be wined and dined, and generally give them an opportunity to show their respect to the sitting alpha by their treatment of the next.
They might even have a potential mate for me, a way to create a stronger bond between packs.
Not my fated. I’d met everyone in their pack at various gatherings, and my mate was not among them.
I could not do this.
Could not take a step designed to convince others I had accepted the job.
But I also did not want to go home and face the amped-up pressure.
So, I pulled back onto the highway and drove.
And drove. Stopped in a small town to mail the envelope, which was fortunately already addressed, then got back on the road.
When I was exhausted, I spotted a motel by the side of the road and decided to stop before I fell asleep behind the wheel and caused an accident.
In addition to sleep, I needed to think.
Until I figured out a way to resolve my differences with my father, convince him that I wouldn’t change my mind, home was off the table.