Purple Sky (Pack #4)

Chapter 1

“It’s going well, really,” Brian Berger said.

He was lying on his bed in the middle of the day, hair disheveled from dragging his fingers through the curls, forearm draped over his closed eyes, and cell phone on his chest, all but whining to his oldest friend who was also his former pack’s Alpha.

He didn’t need to see Jobe Root’s face to know he likely hadn’t believed a word he’d said.

“Brian?” As usual, Jobe’s voice was even, his tone calm, and he asked a lot without using many words.

“I mean it.” He cleared his throat. “All things considered.”

“Do you want to talk about those things?”

“Not really, no.” Except wasn’t that why he had called Jobe?

“I’m here when you do.”

“I’m a little lonely,” he admitted.

“You hoped you’d move to your new pack and meet your mate. It’s understandable that you’re disappointed, especially after everything that happened with Ricky Marx.”

Ricky was a Psi Omega, a male omega who could birth children. He was also sweet and meek. Ricky fit the criteria of Brian’s ideal mate, so Brian had been disappointed that he was fated for someone else. Especially when Brian found that someone else lacking.

“That was a cluster fuck,” Brian agreed. “But Ricky and his parents insist that Morgan Peters is a great Alpha and a caring mate and they’re happy in Golden Valley now.”

Jobe chuckled, predictably reading his tone. “You don’t believe them?”

“If I believed them, I wouldn’t have attacked Morgan when he came here looking for Ricky.”

“Everyone makes mistakes.”

He grunted, not sure he had been wrong and unwilling to give any more mental space to that possibility.

“Mother Nature will bless you with a mate who’s perfect for you.”

“I’m thirty-three years old. She needs to hurry it along.”

“Sick of playing the field?” Jobe asked knowingly.

“Done playing the field,” Brian confirmed. “I’ve lost all appetite for it.”

“Maybe that means it’s time.”

If he hadn’t grown up with Jobe, he wouldn’t know what he meant because the man often spoke in concepts more than words.

But Brian’d had a lifetime to learn his good friend’s language, so he understood the implication—the time for him to find his mate was near.

“From your mouth to Mother Nature’s ears. ”

“Is not meeting your mate yet what has you down?”

“Partly.” He sighed. “And I’m homesick.” He had spent his first thirty-two years in the established, flourishing, harmonious Red River pack, same as his parents, their parents, and every one of his relatives.

Even though people born in Red River generally stayed in Red River, at some level Brian had always known that he’d have to leave because he couldn’t be the Alpha of that pack and his soul itched to lead.

But knowing and experiencing were two different things.

“That’s expected,” Jobe said. “But I imagine it’s still a challenge.”

“It is. I miss the obvious big things like my parents and my sister and you. But it’s the more subtle things too. I miss the sense of community, the underlying joy in my packmates. I even miss the land in Red River.”

“Our packlands exude strong energy.”

“Sure, and I don’t expect other packs to have that much power, but it’s more than what’s beneath surface. The landscape here is dry, more dead than alive. Nothing thrives in this land.”

“That’s worrying,” Jobe said thoughtfully. “If the land in your pack doesn’t flourish, how can your shifters?” Jobe was the most spiritual person Brian had ever met, and while his words could sometimes come across as hokey, he was rarely wrong. “Maybe that’s why they lack joy.”

“That’s a good point.” Brian evaluated the connection Jobe had drawn.

“Everyone here believes that Purple Sky was languishing because of the previous Alpha’s age and the succession gap.

They have this idea that my being here will be enough to turn it all around, but as flattering as that sounds, it hasn’t struck me as completely accurate. ”

“You’ve been the Purple Sky Alpha for almost half a year now. If you sense there’s more going on, then there probably is. And if you’re feeling a shortcoming with your land, that may be a big part of it.”

He nodded to himself, thinking that over. The shortcoming was deeper than the land the pack sat on, but it was a start.

“What does your land need?”

“Water.” The answer was obvious to someone who had grown up in a pack bordered by a river enriched with nutrients.

“Water is the source of life,” Jobe agreed. “I know a fair bit about Purple Sky because it’s Wes’s home pack. Isn’t there a river abutting your land?”

“Sort of. The river’s just past the far end of the packlands. It’s not part of our property. The river and the land it flows through are owned by humans.”

“Can you buy it and integrate it into your packlands?”

Brian reflected on Purple Sky’s finances. They were nothing like the affluent Red River pack. “Unfortunately, no. We don’t have the resources to acquire the river and expand our property line that far.”

“Hmm.” Jobe was quiet for a few moments. “On the other side of the river is the Green Field pack?”

“Yes.”

“What do you think about approaching them to see if you can join forces? They should want access to a water source just as much as you. Maybe between both packs, you can afford to buy the river from the humans and share in its offering. You can work in partnership with your neighbor pack to benefit you both.”

“They’re technically the closest pack to us as the crow flies, but because of the river, they’re not quick to get to by car, so I haven’t necessarily thought of them as a neighbor.

Plus, my understanding is that their reputation isn’t the best. But now that we’re talking about it, I’m thinking I should do exactly what you suggested. ”

“Heal the land and you’ll make great strides toward healing the pack,” Jobe said.

That made a lot of sense and Brian felt lighter having a plan to improve Purple Sky.

“I’ve missed this. Having you to talk things over with me.

” When he’d moved to Purple Sky so that he could be a pack’s Alpha, he hadn’t anticipated how much he’d miss sharing space with someone like Jobe, someone who understood an Alpha’s responsibilities and pressures.

“Makes me appreciate Red River’s custom in a new way.

” His home pack was unique in many ways and one of them was that it was always led by a mated Alpha pair, with one of those Alphas being from the Root family.

“Interesting,” Jobe said. “I didn’t expect that.”

“What?” Brian sat up. In his experience, Jobe sensed nearly everything so catching him off guard wasn’t typical.

“I always thought you were more traditional in nature. I never expected you to want to share the Alpha role.”

“I don’t want that. I just meant…” He wasn’t sure what he meant exactly. “Maybe I’m missing what’s familiar?” he offered.

“Hmm.” Jobe paused. “That’s one way to look at it.”

“What do you know about Green Field?” Brian asked the two pack members he had chosen to accompany him on his networking trip to the Green Field pack.

“I’ve never been there,” Steve said from the back seat.

“I haven’t either,” Jennifer agreed from beside Brian.

“I realize it’s faster for us to get to Golden Valley, but Green Field isn’t that far, even if we have to drive around the river to get there. You both grew up in Purple Sky, why haven’t you ever visited our neighboring pack?”

“They don’t have a good reputation, Alpha.” Jennifer scrunched her nose in distaste.

“She’s right,” Steve confirmed. “They used to be a big, healthy pack, but that was a long time ago. Before I was born.”

He had heard the same unfavorable description of Green Field, and he wondered how deep-seated it was. Steve was in his early twenties, so was Jennifer. Their lifetime wasn’t a short amount of time for a pack to suffer, but neither was it long enough to indicate generational shortcomings.

“Did they get a new Alpha around that time?” Brian guessed. A couple of decades of bad leadership could destabilize a pack.

“Probably.” Beside him, Jennifer nodded. “Their Alpha has a horrible reputation. Horrible.”

“Rupert Jackson,” Steve said. “I don’t know much about other packs, but even I know that guy sucks. If I remember the rumors correctly, he isn’t originally from Green Field. The Alpha before him died unexpectedly and he stepped in. People in the pack liked the other Alpha but they hate him.”

“His own pack members hate him?”

“I think so?” Steve asked more than said. “Jennifer, have you heard that?”

“Not that exactly, but I’m not sure how the guy can have such a bad reputation outside of his pack if he has a good one inside. Those rumors must be coming from people in Green Field.”

Brian almost felt sorry for this Rupert Jackson.

Leading any pack was hard, leading a new-to-you pack even harder, which was something he could attest to from personal experience.

He didn’t want to imagine doing it without the support of the very people he was leading.

One good thing about Purple Sky was that they had been thrilled to have him join their pack.

They were grateful to him for being their Alpha.

“Can I ask why we’re going to Green Field, Alpha?” Steve asked.

“We may have similar goals and I’m hoping we can work together to accomplish them.

” He didn’t want to share his thoughts about jointly acquiring the river between their packs when he didn’t know if it would be a viable option.

And even if it was, he would have to educate his pack members about the benefits of the river, explain to them that they could build canals and hydrate their land, ensure that they understood the reason the pack would invest so many resources in such a project.

All of that would take more time than a car ride.