Chapter 7 - Brandon
I stood in what was my father’s office. I stared at the piles of paperwork and the dusty books of records, wondering what he did with his time. “Jesus,” Kaleb whistled next to me as he took the space in. “Wow. This is a cluster fuck of a mess.”
“The fuck did my father do with his time?”
“Maybe he didn’t use his office,” Kaleb said, instantly trying to go for my father’s defense. I glared at him. My father was always at the office. It was his space, where he could handle everything without having to bring it home. He still brought his issues home.
I shook my head, grabbing at the first paper on a pile.
It was a request for money to help a single mother.
I looked at the next one and found another.
I flipped through the pile, finding they were all requests for something.
I rubbed at my eyes. I knew this was going to be a lot of work, but I didn’t realize just how much.
“Asher and Westley should be here in a few minutes. Do you want to use the meeting room instead?”
I shook my head. I wasn’t sure if there were sound barriers in the other rooms, but I knew my father’s office had them. We needed to make sure no one could hear us, so we would have to use this space. Even if it was a cluster fuck in here.
I grabbed at the piles, moving them to clear off the desk.
“Do you want me to throw these?”
“No,” I said, pointing toward a filing cabinet. “Just put them on there for now. I’ll go through them.”
Kaleb’s eyebrows went up. “Brandon, some of these requests are from two years ago. Just state that you want new ones put in.”
“And no one will,” I said simply. “If my father didn’t listen to them, what makes them think I will? I’m going to go through all of those.”
“That’s a lot of work,” Kaleb said, giving me a pitiful expression. “And not that I don’t think this isn’t important, but we have a bigger picture to look at here.”
I placed my hands on the desk. “Kaleb, I’m aware of the picture.
But I also know that stopping the hunters is only half of the problem.
The pack is weak. It’s an easy target, and it needs a guiding hand.
It starts with acknowledging that without proper training and getting these people what they need, another problem could arise. ”
Kaleb went silent for a moment. “And what about after the mission?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “What about when we do what we need, and Chelsey has us go back and start on another job? Have you thought about that?”
I was waiting for Kaleb to question why I took the Alpha role. It was a great way to avoid people questioning why I was home now after three years.
“I’ll manage.”
“You can’t be captain and be Alpha when this is done, Brandon. You are going to get drained during this job.”
“Then it sounds like one of them is going to have to give.”
Kaleb stared at me, a little surprised. “Are you saying you’d leave the team?”
“I don’t know, Kaleb. How would you react if you went home and suddenly found out you were the father of a three-year-old? Or that your father was the Alpha and just let the entire pack go to shit?” I felt responsible, and I had to do something.
Kaleb sighed softly. “Yeah…there is that.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “I just…I need time to sort everything out. This was supposed to be simple, and it’s not.”
“Should we get into how you slept with my sister now or later?”
I glared at him. “It wasn’t like that.”
“Really? You’re saying you didn’t sleep with her once and then leave her?”
I forced a laugh. “I’m sorry, I was a little busy with my father threatening me.”
Kaleb went silent. We both know leaving wasn’t my decision. Kaleb didn’t have to go, but he chose to follow me. He’d stated he needed space from his family.
“I was wrong to do it, but I don’t regret it.” Jade had felt like home. That was how I described us. We’d always gotten along. We didn’t even have to talk because we grew up together. And when we slept together, I thought it had been perfect. A way to add a cherry to a sundae.
Kaleb tapped his hand on the desk. “Brandon, you’d better treat my sister respectfully because if you don’t, you’re going to see a side of me you didn’t even know existed.”
I’d seen Kaleb protect his sister. I’d seen him lose his cool, but I’d never seen him angry beyond return.
I’d heard stories from Jade. How she’s been shoved at the playground, and her brother beat the shit out of the guy.
She had to yank him off him. Another time, when she was fifteen, a guy was trying to feel her up at the fair. The police were called for that one.
“Believe it or not, Kaleb, I do care about your sister. I didn’t sleep with her for the fun of it. She is my mate, and I will do what I must to keep her safe.”
There was a knock, and we both looked up at Asher and Westley. They looked tired as they stood there.
“Morning,” Asher said, walking into the office first. He looked around and frowned. “Jesus, it’s a mess in here.”
Kaleb shook his head. “Aren’t you observant?”
“Any news?” Westley asked, shutting the office door.
Kaleb smirked. “He’s married and has a three-year-old.”
Asher and Westley both looked at me with wide eyes, and their mouths dropped.
“His kid, too, by the way. Secret child my sister bore for him.”
I rolled my eyes. “Jesus Christ, Kaleb.”
“Wait a second, you have a kid?” Asher asked, waving his hands. “How the fuck did that happen? How did we not know? How did you not know?”
“I slept with her,” I stated. “We had sex before I left. She got pregnant and had the kid. Can we move on now?”
“Shit, seriously? A three-year-old kid? Holy shit.”
“Let’s move on,” I countered. “How is the stacking going? Notice anything?”
Westley frowned. “You guys have shit for parameters here. You have a lot of land to cover, but you don’t have anyone maintaining or watching it. The amount of other shifters sniffing around is alarming.”
I sighed. “And any sign of hunters?”
“Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time,” Asher added. “There are certainly parts of the pack that were taken care of, while others are run down. The hunters will go for the weak parts, so that needs to be taken care of sooner rather than later.”
I already knew that from the drive around with my father, which is why I had already started looking at things that could be done.
“I already canceled a few projects and redirected the money.”
“What?” Kaleb looked at me, shocked. “How?”
“The park near my house does need to be remodeled, but we do need streetlights in the northern part of town. We do need a program for single moms to look to for money and help.”
“Is your dad going to be okay with that?”
“He isn’t Alpha,” I snapped.
“Oh yeah, Brandon took over that role too,” Kaleb added.
Asher’s eyebrows went up. “And what about after?”
“When this job is done, I can deal with everything else after.”
“What I need is a training group set up to strengthen everyone who is here. I want training on movements, stamina, and focus.” I looked at all three of them. “I already printed the letters.”
I slid on toward the guys, and they all leaned forward, reading it. “Pack strengthening program?”
“Shut up, I came up with the first thing that came to mind.”
“And who exactly is going to join this?”
“The plan is for everyone. I want everyone to at least learn something.”
“They are going to question why,” Kaleb countered.
I shook my head. “Anyone can look around and see this pack is divided.”
“I’m not saying that’s not true, but they are going to question why they need to train.”
“I spoke with some other Alphas around the area and asked what they did to keep their packs vigilant, and they all have a training program. It’s nothing new. It’s something my father should have done but didn’t.”
I looked at Kaleb. “I already have everyone who works for the pack training starting on Friday. You are leading it. I already got belly aching about it, so make sure you prove a point.”
“What’s my point?”
“That you’re older than some, and younger than others, and can still kick all their asses.”
Kaleb smirked. “And I’m teaching it because I’m Beta to add salt into the wound?”
“Ding, ding, ding. I can’t teach it because everyone will expect to have their asses kicked, but they won’t with you. They will expect someone to beat you. People are going to question why you are Beta, and I want you to prove a point why you are.”
“I didn’t exactly ask for the position, nor do I recall accepting it.”
“And I didn’t want anyone else.” I looked at Asher and Westley. “I need you two to start surveying things around town. What needs fixing, what’s damaging beyond repair?”
I leaned back. “Get ready, guys. The shit show begins.”
By Friday, I had cleaned my father’s office and reviewed all the papers. I’d sat in my office for hours on end, but I did it. I decided after lunch that I needed to get out.
I left my office to find that Kaleb was in the middle of training with the guys. Asher and Westley were there as extra hands to show movements, and it seemed to be going well.
I walked over, and all the guys quickly seemed to straighten up. “Afternoon, Alpha.”
I nodded my head and surveyed the group. I counted, making sure they were all there. I scowled when I noticed they were two short. “Where are Petersen and Mr. White?”
“Didn’t show up,” Kaleb said, looking frustrated.
I nodded, looking over at Asher. “Call them. Tell them they have fifteen minutes to get their asses here, or they can look for another job.”
I watched as the group’s eyes widened, but no one said a word. I made it very clear that everyone was supposed to be here, and I wasn’t horsing around.
“So, what have we learned?” I asked, crossing my arms. Kaleb had worked up a sweat, which meant everyone else was sweating profusely as well. They all looked like they had showered, and I couldn’t help but smirk.
“We learned everyone is pretty fit, but everyone has something they need to work on. Clint is slow on foot. Frank is shit with arm-to-arm combat. Logan doesn’t know how to properly hold a knife.”
I nodded, taking that into account. “Alright, fifteen-minute break. Then you start up with me.”
The guys sighed, all groaning, but I smirked.
Because they had no idea what was coming.
I turned to Kaleb, getting the more detailed report on how it was going.
Kaleb said he was impressed with how well some of them held up, but it was clear no one had stamina.
Everyone was built, but not built to last.
I spotted a group of women crossing the street.
A baby was screaming as the mother pushed the stroller.
She looked exhausted, and it reminded me of Jade.
Had she looked like that when she was first a mother?
Tired to the bone but still forcing herself to move forward.
The second woman bent over trying to soothe the baby, but it only screamed louder.
“Jesus, all your job is to take care of the kid, and you can’t even do that.”
My head snapped around as the group of guys watched the set of women. One of the guys shook his head. “How hard is it to get a baby to stop crying?”
Anger hit me like a bus, and I marched over toward the group. I snapped my fingers. “Up.”
The guy looked at me with wide eyes and quickly pulled himself up. I grabbed his shirt, yanking him toward me. I bared my teeth as I growled. “Shut up.”
His eyes widened. “I…I …”
“You have no idea how hard it is to raise a child.” I looked at all of them. “How many of you have children?”
A handful of hands went up.
“And how many of you know the difference between a hungry scream and a constipated scream? How many of you have changed the diaper of your kid? How many of you have handled the day-to-day for your child?”
Some hands went down.
I looked back at the guy. “You have no idea how hard it is. You want to go across the street and try soothing that child?”
He shook his head quickly. “That’s not my job.”
I laughed. “No, no, it’s not.” I let go. Fifty push-ups. Now.”
I looked at everyone else. “And if I hear anything else like that, I will be sure to cut you.”
“Brandon, don’t you think you’re a little harsh?
” I turned to the sound of my father as he walked across the grass toward us.
“We all know it’s the woman’s job to handle the children.
The baby already stopped crying.” My father walked closer, looking like a proud man.
I glared at him, hating how his views had seeped into his men. That was the problem.
“If you want them to train properly, you should really be asking the women to do better at home. Would let the men focus more on their tasks.”
My father stopped just a foot in front of me. “It’s why I trained them at the training ground. No crying babies. Takes their focus.”
“And I recall that being past tense,” I growled at him. “I don’t see you training anyone now.”
He frowned.
I turned back to the guys. “You live in the real world, and I don’t believe in gender roles. So, get used to it.”
“Is this how you plan to run the pack now that you're the Alpha?” my father asked, his eyes narrowing slightly at me.
I stepped closer to him. “I plan to change a lot of things.
After we finished training, I sat down on the bench needing air. I had so many things that needed my attention, but I didn’t have the energy to handle any of them.
I rubbed at my eyes and stared across the street toward the trees.
My eyes froze when I spotted Jade’s run-down car.
She was getting out of it and walking into the trees.
But she looked over her shoulder as she moved, seeming to make sure no one was watching her.
I frowned and pulled myself up, hurrying across the street.
I hurried to her car and around it. I stared into the trees, watching her walk deeper into them.
Why the hell was she going into the woods?