CHAPTER 43: SUCK IT UP AND SMILE

CHAPTER 43: SUCK IT UP AND SMILE
Alpha Leonard  

“You look very much like your father,” I remembered George saying years ago. The way George had smacked me on the shoulder and squeezed me tightly—it lingered in my memory.  

“No doubt you would make a great Alpha,” George had smiled, his oily nose causing the light to reflect and bounce off into my eyes.  

“Thank you,” I had said, sidestepping him and looking into the kitchen of his house that was open and revealing. That was the first time I had seen her—the first time I had met Florence. Even though I didn’t exactly meet her, all I had to do was take one look at her and know that she was mine.  

“Who is she?” I had asked.  

“Who is who?” George laughed. “Clearly, I’m guessing the only person young enough to catch your attention would be my daughter, Diana.”  

At that, I had smiled slowly.  

“Her name is Diana, like I said,” he had continued, smiling. “I only have the loveliest of ladies. She, unfortunately, lost her mother when she was quite young. Her mother—goddess, she was—was quite a sweet being, just as my daughter is.”  

He had sighed. “She took so much after her mother, and a little of my own cunningness,” George had laughed, waving his hand before pulling me deeper into the party.  

I distinctly remembered that night—a woman climbing into my bed. Unless, of course, it was all in my mind. But I remembered warmth—cool skin, soft in all the right places. Frustratingly perfect to me.  

“Do you think it’s the same cunningness?” I asked now, drumming my hand against the armrest. “Is it the same cunningness you used to handle me? Why can’t you use it to handle the rest of them?”  

“These things don’t work as simply as you make them out to be, you know.”  

He began to twiddle his thumb as he leaned forward, resting his elbow on his knee. The slight amber specks in his eyes seemed to glimmer with something—cunningness, perhaps?  

“You see, the elders like to stretch things out,” he said. “A process that would normally take two days? With them, it could take weeks. It would sometimes take them an entire five hours just to decide on the name of a particular meeting. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be part of that fold. I don’t want to become a bureaucrat. I like freedom. I like the ability to conduct business in any way I see fit.”  

That thought lingered.  

“That is precisely the reason why you should join the council of elders.”  

“You’re already attempting to take me,” George countered. “And I believe you know why they would never accept me. You know what Cassandra said? She said that if I ever came within ten feet of her, she’d be dead. Very dramatic. Another one said they wouldn’t touch me with a ten-foot pole.”  

“This was at the party, remember?” George went on. “The one where you gallantly declared my daughter to be your mate. And more accurately, I have one daughter. The other—my niece—is my sweetness. If you had told me you wanted my niece, then perhaps I would have come up with something else. But I’m sure I don’t need to remind you why you accepted her in the first place.”  

I found myself frowning.  

“You don’t need to remind me,” I said. “Trust me, I’m well aware of the dynamics we have going here. I need Michaela and Griffin convinced,” I added. “In fact, I need the council convinced that I didn’t do it.”  

“What?” George asked. “You didn’t do what?”  

George let out a long, barking laugh, clutching his slightly rotund belly.  

“I’m sorry,” he said, waving me off. “It’s just—this thing looks kind of funny, you know? That you want me, an outsider, to come help convince your council.”  

“Your daughter is my wife,” I said firmly. “I’m married to your daughter. What else do you want? You already have this level of control. You already have most of what you want. Why do I need to beg you to do this?”  

George leaned forward again.  

“It seems like you don’t understand something, Alpha,” he said, his tone low. “And I would really love to explain it to you. The world is not your playground. I have problems I would like to solve. I have personal issues every now and then.”  

“For instance?” I asked.  

“The massive personal issue of mine rises with MoonsidePack. They refuse to let me export a few things.”  

“What do you mean by ‘a few things?’” I asked, narrowing my eyes.  

“Ah, well, Alpha,” he said, grinning. “Moonstones. They are the next best thing—expensive, yes, but those jewels are the most beautiful things to touch this earth aside from the Moon Goddess herself. I have worked on a way of refining them to create a diamond-like look. Of course, it’s more valuable than diamonds. Harder, too. We’re still running some tests in my lab.”  

Of course, I thought to myself. George had a lab.  

The place was away from most authorities—even my own regulatory reach. He had barely submitted anything—especially requests for reports.  

“You don’t think your tax exemptions apply to just your private person, do you?” George smiled smugly.  

“Oh no,” I said.  

“I like to think they apply to everything,” he added smoothly.  

“You have to pay taxes,” I said. “The Pack runs off taxes and tariffs.”  

“You, being one of the most influential members of society—can’t you waive them?” he interrupted. “I’m sure that as the father of your Luna, I get to have some benefits,” he smiled. “One of them, obviously, should be this tax exemption. Right?”  

“You can only have tax exemption on your personal income when you are an elder,” I said slowly, smiling. “And that’s personal—it doesn’t apply to business. Elders can’t run businesses; it has to be under someone else’s name.”  

“So whose name do you want me to put this under?” he asked. “My daughter?”  

“Hardly,” he waved me off. “Good girl, but a little incompetent. What about your wife? And I do know about the life you keep,” he added.  

“The one you don’t bring outside. The one who stays away from the public. That wife,” I said darkly. “What about her?”  

His smile slowly faded, and what was left was simply a mask—chill and strangely full of promise.  

“I’ll do everything you want me to,” he said, his voice quieter. “I recognize that I am a man under authority, and I’m fully bound by that,” he added slowly. “But you do know how protective I am of her. I will not have anyone speak of her in any way. That’s simply how I see things, and I would expect you to stay away from talking about my wife.”  

He spoke with the most dominance an Alpha could muster, making me feel small—like a child.  

George was no person to be trifled with.  

At the same time, I was Alpha.  

He should know this.