Chapter 25
Once Jackson had entered his study, he asked his cousin to shut the door. Sitting down, he waited until Tristan and Heath claimed the two chairs in front of his desk before he said, “Thanks for coming…”
“What’s up, Jackson?” asked Tristan. “Why didn’t you wanna talk on the phone? Does it have to do with my pack? Are they still in danger?”
Shaking his head, Jackson said, “Not that I know of. Josiah and Rudy are dead, and all the rest involved in Rudy’s attack have been captured.”
“There are still three unaccounted for,” Heath murmured.
“They would be foolish to try anything against me,” Tristan replied.
“I agree,” Jackson said. “Three against an entire pack would be suicide, and with Rudy dead, my bet is they’re putting as much distance between them and the Silver Point Pack as they can.”
“Probably finding a new pack to join,” Heath said.
“Or starting one of their own,” Jackson said.
“If they do, I doubt they’ll follow the law and tell the High Council about it,” Tristan replied.
Snorting, Jackson said, “Nope, but, on the other hand, they might be dumb enough to do it…I’ll talk to Frank and see what he can find out.”
“Thanks…that would be helpful,” Tristan said. Then, pausing for a moment, he glanced at his mate before returning his gaze to Jackson. “If my pack isn’t in danger, then I’m guessing this clandestine meeting is about your pack. And in that case, what can I do to help?”
“It’s not my pack, but about three of my members who need to disappear for a while,” Jackson said.
“Who are they?” asked Heath.
“Theo, Norm and Smokey…they’re Fated Mates,” Jackson replied.
Tristan studied his cousin for a moment, then said, “Okay, but before I agree, can I ask why they have to leave your pack?”
“It’s complicated,” Jackson began, before pausing to let out a deep breath.
Then he explained the situation about Theo and Norm’s arrest warrants and the bounty hunter who tried to take them in.
Finishing, he said, “Our lawyer is on it, but until he can get the matter before a judge, Theo and Norm are in danger if they stay here since it’s obvious their former Alpha now knows where they are.
I need somewhere they can stay that’s close by and with someone I can trust.”
“And I was the first person you thought of?” asked Tristan, grinning. “I’m honored.”
“As you should be,” Jackson said, smirking.
“All joking aside, Theo also needs to be near a medical facility. He’s pregnant and, according to Mac and Ian, it’s a high-risk pregnancy, which means he can’t be in an environment that could be stressful.
I can’t give him that here…at least not until a court rescinds the arrest warrants. ”
“Smokey killed Josiah,” Heath reminded Tristan. “He’s a grizzly bear shifter.”
“Theo and Norm are Ghost Bear shifters,” Jackson said, “but they won’t be a threat to any of your members…you have my word on it.”
Tristan remained silent for a moment, thinking about Jackson’s request, before saying, “Right now, our clinic isn’t functional.
From what I could see, Josiah stopped stocking it a long time ago, not to mention we’re missing qualified people to man it.
I know you offered to have Mac help with examinations of the children, which I’m grateful for, but I’m concerned Theo might need more than an occasional visit from him. ”
“You’re right,” Jackson agreed. “Theo needs access to a full-time doctor, and a fully equipped hospital…as do your pack members, so Steel has arranged for Dire Enterprises to expedite my request to renovate your existing clinic as an interim measure until their construction division can build a new building that will house both a clinic and a hospital for the Silver Point Pack. To oversee outfitting it, Mac and his mate Ollie, who is Theo’s cousin, will stay with your pack until Dire Enterprises can hire a doctor and nurses for you.
While they’re there, they’ll be in charge of Theo’s medical needs. ”
Stunned, Tristan stared at Jackson before shifting his gaze to Heath and exclaimed softly, “Holy shit! Can you fucking believe it?”
Shaking his head slowly, Heath grinned at his mate.
More than half the items on his to-do list would be resolved if they had a doctor.
Josiah had neglected the health needs of the pack, and it was a frequent topic he and Tristan had discussed, but with no resources to solve the problem, it was just one more thing that frustrated them.
The only solution he’d come up with was to ask for a loan from his father—something Tristan was adamantly against. But now, the solution to their problem had suddenly appeared, and all they had to do to make it happen was to hide three of Jackson’s pack members.
It was almost too good to be true. But that thought suddenly made his father’s words come to mind: “When something seems too good to be true, it usually is.”
Unable to shake that advice from his thoughts, Heath turned to Jackson and asked, “What happens if Tristan doesn’t agree to take in your pack members…does your offer regarding the medical staff and hospital disappear?”
“Heath!” Tristan muttered. “Don’t…”
Holding up his hand to stop his cousin from continuing, Jackson said, “It’s a fair question.
” Then shifting his gaze to Heath, he said, “No…the Board of Dire Enterprises has already voted to move the Silver Point Pack to the head of the list of packs needing medical personnel and faculties because of the years of neglect the members suffered. All I did was tell my mate how much it would mean to me if he could speed up the timeline a bit.”
Chuckling, Tristan said, “A happy mate means a happy life, hmm?”
Smiling, Jackson replied, “Something like that.”
Nodding, Tristan turned to Heath and asked, “Any other questions or objections?”
“Just that the only place that’s suitable for them to stay at this point is the Alpha house…and if they do, it would delay me from starting the renovations.”
“I don’t see that as a problem…I'd rather spend what money we have on renovating our pack members’ homes first.”
“I didn’t think you’d object,” Heath said, laughing. “Anything to avoid moving into that monstrosity, eh?”
“That’s one way to put it,” Tristan muttered. Then shifting his eyes to Jackson, he said, “I certainty owe you for all the help you gave me in fighting Rudy, so if having your pack members stay with my pack helps you, then my answer is yes.”
“I appreciate it, but you don’t owe me anything,” Jackson said. “There is one thing you should know about me, and that is I do what I want to do with no expectations of payment…especially when it’s family.”
“Duly noted,” Tristan replied. “But there’s one thing about me you should know, cousin.
I never forget when someone does me a good turn.
And now that we’ve settled that, you mentioned the restitution my pack owes you.
Unfortunately, I still can’t tell you when I can do it since Reeve still hasn’t finished his accounting of the money Josiah stole from the pack. ”
“About that,” Jackson said, “I have an idea that could benefit both our packs.”
“I’m all ears,” said Tristan with a grin.
“When I filed the complaint against Josiah, all I wanted was for him to let me and my brothers pick up the pieces of our lives without worrying about him trying to kill us,” Jackson said.
“I made it clear to my mate…and to Reeve…
that I neither needed nor wanted to become the Silver Point Alpha, nor did I want any money from Josiah.
“Fortunately, your appearance settled the issue of me or any of my brothers becoming Silver Point’s Alpha, but Reeve was insistent that restitution still would have to be made…something I thought would only make the members of your pack suffer more for the sins of their former Alpha.
“And yes…I know that according to the High Council, that doesn’t matter…
but it matters to me. Punishing the innocent by making them pay for the crimes of another is a line I cannot cross…
will not cross. Our world is facing enough problems without creating internal strife within it.
So, after thinking about it long and hard, I decided there had to be another way to satisfy the law. ”
“Did you figure out what that might be?” asked Tristan softly.
“I did,” Jackson replied, smiling and leaning back in his chair.
“Care to share it with me?” Tristan asked nonchalantly, trying to hide his curiosity.
Instead of answering his cousin’s question, Jackson asked, “Do you know why Josiah murdered the entire Fox River Pack, including my father and siblings?”
Shaking his head, Tristan said, “Sorry, I never asked.”
“He found gold in the river that runs through the Fox River Pack land, and he wanted it for himself,” Jackson said. “I learned about it because he’d applied for a grant from Dire Enterprises claiming he needed to mine it in order to feed his pack, who were starving.”
“That sonofabitch!” growled Heath.
“More like he wanted it for himself,” Tristan muttered.
“Probably,” Jackson replied. “I don’t know if there’s gold there or not, but now that Josiah and Rudy are dead, I intend to hire a geologist to determine if my uncle was right.”
“I can’t imagine he’d kill an entire pack on just a hunch,” Tristan said.
“Nor can I,” Jackson replied softly, shaking his head as dark memories welled up within him.
“What do you plan to do if there is gold?” asked Heath.
“The answer to that question ties in with the restitution that the High Council is demanding from your pack,” Jackson said.
Puzzled, Tristan glanced at Heath, but realizing his mate was just as confused as he was, he turned his attention back to Jackson. “I don’t follow…the gold belongs to you, not my pack, so…”
“I’ll explain in a second, but first, did Cody tell you about his home for young gay shifters?”
“No…but then we didn’t have much time to talk when Steel introduced us since Cody was watching a group of kids,” Tristan explained.
Chuckling, Jackson said, “More like trying to keep his daughter from attacking Eamon, who she has a big crush on. Anyway, after Cody and Dylon rescued Kieran, Theo, and Norm, he realized there were other young gay shifters out there whose families had kicked them out, so he came up with the idea of providing a home where they could be their authentic selves. When he approached me, I wholeheartedly supported it and gave him the entire bottom floor of one of the wings to use. My brother Logan designed the floor plan, and Steel has overseen the renovations…which are almost complete.”
“Wow! That’s a fantastic idea…how can we help?” asked Tristan.
“Glad you asked,” Jackson replied, smiling. “My brother plans to use his inheritance to operate the home, but after thinking it over, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
“Why?” asked Heath.
“For one, the responsibility to care for young shifters who have been rejected for who they are belongs to all of us. These young people are the future of our world, so it’s important to make sure they have an opportunity to grow and flourish in an environment filled with love instead of hate, especially since there’s an abundance of that in our world already. ”
“I agree,” Tristan murmured. “Even though my father rejected me, I grew up in a world filled with love and acceptance.” He paused for a second before he added, “Remind me to tell you about the time my mother gave me a book on gay sex. Shit, I couldn’t look her in the eye for days afterward.”
“I would’ve loved to have seen that,” Heath chuckled.
Laughing, Jackson said, “Luckily, Logan and I found the web to be a great source of information through another gay boy in school. To get back to the gold and my plan…”
“You want to use the gold to fund Cody’s Home,” Tristan interjected.
Grinning, Jackson said, “Yup…Josiah’s greed for it caused the massacre, but if someone used it for good, my siblings would not have died in vain.
And I can’t think of a better idea to bring meaning to their deaths than to use the cause of it to save other young shifters by giving them a home and a future. ”
“What a great idea!” exclaimed Heath.
“Where do we fit in?” asked Tristan. “And what does this have to do with the restitution I owe you?”
“I want you as a partner,” Jackson said. Then, raising his hand to stop Tristan from refusing, he continued, “Hear me out. Whatever money or assets Reeve can find rightly belongs to your pack—and they desperately need it—but the High Council won’t see it that way.”
“No,” murmured Heath, “they’ll believe the reason you won’t take the payment is that you are planning to extract your revenge another way.”
Rolling his eyes, Jackson said, “Like I would put any of my pack members at risk for something as juvenile as that.”
“I’m not saying you would,” Heath replied, “but other Alphas have done it…an eye for an eye type of crap. The High Council’s solution prevents that from happening anymore.”
“Fine, but even if I could, I believe it would only put my pack at further risk of harm.”
Raising an eyebrow, Tristan asked, “Why? My pack is too weak to mount an attack against your pack.”
“I know you won’t, but I also know no one can predict what someone in your pack might do if he thinks his back is against the wall,” replied Jackson. “The only way to make sure that doesn’t happen is to make sure your pack gets back on firm financial footing as soon as possible.”
“I can see that, but how does becoming your partner satisfy the High Council’s demand for restitution?” asked Tristan.
“Simple…you and your pack are responsible for the mining of the gold, and then we’ll split the profits 50-50, with a percentage of your profits going to Cody’s Home until the agreed-upon amount of restitution has been met.
The costs incurred by you and your pack to recover the gold will come off the top before any profits are divided. ”
Stunned, Tristan’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
Never in his wildest imagination could he ever have imagined Jackson’s proposed solution about the money his pack owed.
He’d spent many days going over the pack’s finances, each time reaching the same conclusion—he was fucked.
The damage Josiah did was too great for him to save the Silver Point Pack, and he hadn’t the heart to tell Heath or his members.
No wonder Reeve was only too happy to hand over the Alpha position to him.
But now, when he had just about given up, Jackson had thrown him a lifeline that gave him a way to save his pack.
And he knew he had to grab it. Snapping his mouth shut, he leaned over and kissed Heath before turning back to Jackson.
With a broad smile on his face, he said, “Hi, partner!”