Alpha's Arrangement (Troubled Fork Shifters (Book 2)) (2 page)

Most folks knew the Malthorns were one of the richest families in Silver Gulch. Their wealth came from a combination of extensive land holdings as well as logging
and mining operations.

It seemed Theodore and his brother, Colin, had founded the company more than thirty years earlier. However, the brothers didn’t own equal shares. Because of rankings within the pack, the clan elders determined an ownership structure the brothers had to obey. Their decision
decreed Colin would keep fifty-one percent ownership of the business while Theodore would be left with a forty-nine percent share. Since Alexander was still young when Colin died, the ownership passed onto his grandmother, Millie Malthorn. She was to hold the share in trust until it could be passed to Alexander.

As Theodore’s back story came to a close, Albondiel interrupted and asked, “When is the trust transfer supposed to occur?”

Theodore nodded. “Yes, good question,” he replied. “The transfer would happen either at the discretion of my mother or as part of an automatic clause upon her death. Whichever comes first.”

“I see.” Albondiel said.

“But, I have strong suspicions Alex has grown impatient with waiting for his share of the business to transfer.”

“What do you mean, Theodore?
Impatient?
” Albondiel asked.

“Well as I explained, my mother controls my late brother’s share of the company. It was held in trust for Alex, with her as the trustee but Alex’s behavior has always been…
reckless
. If Alex were to gain control of the company, there’s no telling what he might do.”

“What do you mean? What do you fear might happen?” Albondiel asked.

“It’s a long story my friend but much is at risk. In truth, I have reason to believe Alex has been stealing from the company, but I’m not able to prove that,
yet.
”

“Did you confront Alexander with your suspicions?” Albondiel asked.

“No. At least not this time,” he replied. “I need proof first. Besides, if I was to accuse Alex, it might give him time to cover his tracks. You know, conceal the evidence. But, once it can be shown he’s a thief, his share of the company would transfer to me. At that point, the company would be safe from harm and well-positioned to grow for many decades into the future.”

“I understand.” Albondiel replied.

“However, there isn’t much time. My mother is quite elderly and her health is frail. As I explained, if she were to die, the trust would confer ownership to Alex. If that were to occur, everything I’ve worked so hard to build over the last three plus decades would be at risk.
That
is the reason Emma’s help is required.”

Albondiel and Emma both nodded as Theodore spoke.

After a moment of silence, Emma asked, “I don’t understand how I can help.”

“Don’t worry about the details for now. I’ll tell you everything there is to know when the time is right. For now, what matters is Alex believes you are there for the reason we discussed.”

“The marriage?” Emma asked.

“Yes.”

“And he is okay with all of this? Considering his reputation with women, I guess I’m just surprised he’s going for this.” She said.

“Yes, that’s true. Alex has a wandering eye.” Theodore said. “However, he’s not yet found his true mate. If I decide a pack member is unlikely to find a true mate, I have the ability to compel a union for the good of the pack as a whole. Alex has no choice in the matter. Does that make sense, Emma?”

“Yes. I suppose so.” she replied.

“Good. I cannot overstate the importance of your role in all of this.”

Emma nodded.

“Your uncle has also informed me you are good with numbers.” Theodore said. “Albondiel said that you have kept the books in this business since you were a teenager. Is that true?”

“Yes. My degree is in accounting as well.” Emma replied.

“Well that is excellent news.” Theodore said.

“Why?”

“Forgive me.” Theodore replied. “I didn’t mention
I believe Alex might have help in this criminal enterprise from
within
the company. I am almost positive about this but I have not been able to figure out who might be aiding him. So, it makes it impossible for me to conduct the investigation on an internal basis. What I need is a neutral third party. It would be someone who reports to me without any interference and I’d like that to be you, Emma. Would you feel comfortable with such a thing?”

“I suppose I am. But, wouldn’t he be suspicious of me?”

“No. Before my journey here, I informed Alex of your accounting qualifications. In our pack, it is customary for females to work until they bear young. Believe me; it will not seem unusual at all.”

“Well, if it will seem normal then I guess I’m okay with it.” Emma said.

“Very good. We will discuss the specifics of your tasks once we are in Silver Gulch.” He said. “For now, I just wanted to make you aware of everything. Of course I realize it’s an awful lot to ask of anyone. Because of that, I want you to understand how grateful I am to you and your uncle for coming to our aid. This past year has been a very difficult period. It saddens me so to have to be the one to do this to my own nephew. However, not all decisions one makes as alpha are easy ones. Isn’t that true Albondiel?”

“Yes.” Albondiel said. “It is.”

Theodore nodded. “Well, Emma, do you have any questions for me at the moment?”

Emma looked down towards her lap. She hadn’t realized she’d fidgeted with her fingers for the past few minutes.

However, Albondiel had observed her discomfort and just as she was about to respond he said, “Um, Theodore, would you mind giving Emma and me a moment, in private?”

“No, of course not.” He replied as he stood up and walked towards the office door. As he did, Albondiel came around his desk and followed close behind him.

“It’ll just be a few minutes.” Albondiel said. “Make yourself comfortable. There’s fresh coffee in the pot if you change your mind.”

“Thank you, Albondiel.”

As the two of them chatted behind her, Emma sat and looked out the large windows which framed the backdrop of her uncle’s office. It was another beautiful day in Troubled Fork. Yet in spite the warmth of the sun’s rays upon her cheek, she couldn’t help but feel a chill within her body. The truth was that she was nervous to do what it was they asked of her and she was far from convinced she would be able to pull it off.

Just then, she heard the door close behind her.

“Emma?” Albondiel said from across the room. “Is everything alright?”

She heard his footsteps come up from behind and in the next second, his hands were upon her shoulders.

Emma shrugged. “Yes, I guess so.”

Albondiel walked around in front of her and helped her to stand. “I promise you have nothing to be concerned about here
.” he said. “This will all be over soon and you’ll be back in Troubled Fork and seeing Devon again before you even realize it.”

Shit.

Devon.

The last day had been su
ch a blur; she’d forgotten about him. Even worse, she had no idea what she would say when they did talk. She couldn’t tell him the real reason she had to go to Silver Gulch. Even so, she had to tell him something but, what that was, she didn’t yet know.

“Uncle…” she said as she stood to face him. “I need to go. Is it alright if I leave?”

“Yes.” he replied. “That’s fine. But remember you leave tomorrow morning for Silver Gulch.”

“Right. What time again?”

“I seem to recall Theodore saying he wanted to be on the road not later than nine or so. In any case, I’ll give him your cell phone number. I’m sure he’ll be in touch later with the details.”

Albondiel placed his hands on Emma’s shoulders again and said, “Remember,
all you have to do is what Theodore requires of you. Everything will be fine.”

Emma smiled and said, “I know.”

***

Emma grew up as a big girl in a pack full of lean shifter females. That had not been an easy thing to do.

The competition for mates was fierce and being chunkier than the rest of the girls around town didn’t make things any simpler. While she may not have been the thinnest chick in the Fork, Emma
was pretty
.

There was no question about that.

Yet, Emma always seemed to either pick the wrong type of guy or the guys who picked her are the kind better off ignored.

In essence, her dating history was a hot mess.

But not long ago, she’d met Devon Dalton and hoped her luck might change. The peculiar thing is that Emma wasn’t crazy about Devon right away. Even more strange was she didn’t understand why. This was the
polar opposite
of the way Emma behaved most of the time in a relationship. At a young age, she had already perfected her technique.

Step one.
Meet hot, bad boy with a predictable tragic flaw.

Step two.
Go crazy for said bad boy and shift into a
doormat
instead of a wolf.

Step three.
Get dumped and try to heal emotional wounds with calories.

Step four.
Repeat.

And that had been Emma’s pattern for as long as she cared to remember. But Devo
n had been such a good guy, she figured a trial period would at least be worth a shot.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t good looking enough,
he was.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t nice enough to her,
he was.

Hell, it wasn’t even that the sex wasn’t any good,
it was.

Emma just wasn’t
gaga
.

But, she didn’t want to give up on the whole thing so she promised herself she’d stay patient with things as they unfolded. Emma imagined that perhaps she had become more mature and ready for an adult relationship. And, anything had to be better than what she’d been through so far. Since
zero
of her relationships had ever worked before, Emma knew her emotional walls had to be up. And try as she might, she couldn’t seem to let the barricades down for anyone.

Maybe Devon could be the one Emma would trust but she wasn’t in a rush
to find out. Yet more and more, he’d sent up relationship smoke signals. When they first started to date, Devon called Emma once or twice a week. Now, that had climbed up to four, five and sometimes more. Or rather than phone ahead, he would drop by unannounced which she…
hated.

Stuff like that.

Things had shifted around in the relationship and she wasn’t certain that was alright.

Not yet, anyway.

In any case, that was all about to change whether she liked it or not. Emma had arranged to meet up with Devon over dinner. She told him she needed to be up early for an out-of-town business trip and they had to meet prior to that. The time had come to cut things off for a while, no way around it.

Emma sat in the bar of the Angry Otter as he arrived.

“Hey babe, how are you?” Devon said as walked up to her.

Emma
hated
the word ‘babe’ but somehow when he said the word it seemed genuine, as if he meant it, so she let the term slide when Devon used it.

“I’m good.” Emma said as she smiled.

Devon was a big, thick man with caramel colored hair and chocolate brown eyes. He was handsome and rugged. There was nothing to complain about when it came to his looks, that much was certain.

Devon leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Whatcha drinkin’?”

“Oh, um, a glass of Merlot.” Emma replied as her finger caressed the stem of the glass.

“Any good?”

She passed the glass over to him. He swirled it for a moment and took a sip.

“Mm, not bad.”

Devon handed the glass back to Emma and nodded towards the bartender.

“Another Merlot when you get a second.” Devon said.

“No problem.” The bartender replied. He picked up a glass and the wine bottle and walked over to them. “Any interest in menus or are you not eating?”

Emma felt starved but she didn’t want to drag this out any longer than required.

“Just the wine, thanks.” She replied.

Devon nodded and said, “Yeah, wine’s fine for me as well.”

“Okay. If you change your mind, give me a shout.” The bartender said.

“Thanks.” Emma replied.

Devon scooted his stool up the bar.

“So, where are you headed for the trip?”

“Oh… Um, Silver Gulch.”

“Oh yeah? That’s pretty country out that way. What’s going on up there?”

Emma shrugged. “Oh nothing, just some family business.”

“Ah.” He said. “Thrilling.”

Unease washed over Emma. There was no time to waste. She had to get the conversation over with and move on past the small talk.