Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
VIDAR
Magnus didn't wait for an invitation. He dropped into the leather armchair opposite my desk and stretched his long legs out, looking entirely too relaxed for a man who spent his nights dealing with the dregs of the underworld.
"I have to hand it to you, bro," Magnus said, glancing toward the one-way glass wall where the office buzzed; a hive of busy workers under my direction. "Everyone is moving twice as fast as usual. Is it a new management style, or are they all as much in love with the green dress as you?"
A muscle twitched in my jaw. I inhaled slowly, knowing better than to let another predator see any signs of weakness. Love was a red flag; a red flag I had no intention of waving.
I didn't love my wife. Doubted I ever would. I just wanted to fuck her ten ways to Sunday, fill her belly with my pups, watch her curves swell as I fed her food from my hand, and rip the throats out of any man who dared lust after her.
"I run a tight ship, Maggie. This is what it looks like every day. You need a pen to take some notes?"
The wolf was in Magnus's grin. "Maybe we should swap for a week. You go handle the pack sit-down, and I’ll sit here in the AC and tell people to move numbers around."
"Is it bad?" I asked, leaning back.
Magnus’s smile faded, replaced by the weary gravity of an Alpha who carries the weight of a pack. I'd seen this look on Dad's face many times. Dad had his sons to lean on. Magnus knew he had me and Gunnar.
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "There are rumblings. The Ironwood Massacre sent a shockwave through the Six. Word has gotten out about you mating the Vane princess and that the little prince is working for us. They see it as a consolidation of power they weren't invited to."
He paused, just long enough to be deliberate. "That, and they’re all watching the clock for my upcoming mating with the Lobo princess."
He smoothed a nonexistent crease from his cuff. Magnus didn’t fidget. Except when he did.
"They think we’re getting too big, too fast."
I shrugged, purposefully not commenting on the prior statement.
When we did show a sign of weakness, we didn't talk about it.
"This isn't a democracy. If the Volki or the Lupettos want a bigger seat at this table, they’re welcome to come and try to take it.
Or be comfortable with their booster seats. "
Magnus’s grin returned, echoing my own. We were Blackwoods. We didn't fear warfare. We didn't welcome it either, but we were built for it.
"I could use the exercise." Magnus chuckled. He shifted gears, looking at the stack of folders on my desk. "I took a look at the Sterling & Associates acquisition. It’s a brilliant move, Viddo. You’ve basically cornered the commercial infrastructure for the entire tri-state area. I have to compliment you."
"I want to gut the entire company," I said flatly. "The leadership is incompetent. The Sterlings are worthless. Addie ran the whole company herself."
Magnus tilted his head. "Anyone worth saving? Or are we going total scorched-earth?"
My mind flashed to Petronella Odhiambo, standing in that doorway with her arms crossed and her eyes full of fire. I started to shake my head no, then paused.
"She did have some help from a Ms. Odhiambo. She’s capable.
Set her up with a satellite company on the West Coast or in Anchorage.
Give her a title, a massive salary, and a non-compete that keeps her three thousand miles away from Manhattan.
If she’s as smart as Addie says, she’ll take the golden parachute. "
"It’s cleaner than a bullet." Magnus stood up, smoothing his jacket. "Speaking of Vanes, Elias is proving to be a valuable asset. He’s found three different data-leaks we missed. But he still has divided loyalties."
"Addie is the same," I muttered, looking toward the door where she was currently out-thinking my best analysts. "An amazing asset, but she’s not yet loyal to the pack."
"Well, we’ll just have to give them more reasons to be loyal, won't we? Show them that being a Blackwood is better than being a Vane."
"I'm working on it," I said.
Magnus walked toward the door, pausing with his hand on the handle. "Mom wants you and Addie over at the estate this weekend for dinner. Apparently, there’s wedding planning to be done, and she’s not taking business as an excuse."
I let out a long, heavy sigh. Dealing with a pack war sounded preferable to a weekend of flower arrangements and seating charts.
"We'll be there," I grumbled.
Magnus opened the door, glancing back one last time with a wink. "Don't work too hard, little brother. Enjoy your wife. That dress is doing half the work for you."
He dodged the stapler I threw at him.