Chapter 12 12
Chapter 12 – Crossroads
Dimitri’s Beta, Niko, led me to a guest room so I could shower and get dressed.
“Elaina is the best cook in Greece, and there’s plenty of moussaka in the kitchen if you’re hungry.” Moussaka is probably the most beloved traditional meal in Greece, and I could never resist a good homemade moussaka.
“Thank you,” I said as we stopped in front of a door.
“Odessa is on a different floor, I know you’re mates, but don’t get any ideas. Dimitri is very protective of her, we all are. I’m sure he needs to speak with you about important matters before he lets you near his sister,” he warned.
I could feel Haze trying to push to the surface, he was not going to be told by some Beta to stay away from our mate. No one had a right to interfere with the plans of the Moon Goddess. I had to fight to keep Haze under control. “I have important business to take care of. I won’t intrude on your hospitality longer than necessary. I should be gone before sunrise.”
“Sunrise?” Niko looked puzzled.
“I need to make a few calls and get back to Cyprus.” “Cyprus?” He asked. “What about Odessa?”
“I’m no good for her,” I told him flatly. I needed to have this conversation with her brother before I left. I’m sure he’ll see reason and agree with me. Wolves are pack creatures, and I was a lone wolf for the most part. I was emotionally closed off and a real Alphahole most of the time. “Where’s your Alpha?”
“He’s at the clinic with his mate, making sure she’s okay. You’re going to have to wait until morning,” he told me as he considered me. I could sense his anger and confusion.
“I just need a few minutes of his time, I can go to the clinic.”
“It’s our job to love and protect our mate and he’s taking care of his mate right now. He won’t leave her side,” I could read between the lines, questioning the type of mate I would make. “Look, Hades—”
“Alpha Hades,” I corrected the Beta.
“Right, Alpha Hades. I’ve known Odessa since she was born, she’s one of the finest and strongest she-wolves I know. Someone would have to be especially deserving in the eyes of the Moon Goddess to get her.” He pushed the door open to the guest room. “Don’t mess it up,” he walked away.
Especially deserving, did he have a crush on her? Maybe an old boyfriend or secret admirer? Odessa was indeed a fine little she-wolf, and I could imagine all the ways to claim her. To ruin her for all others and make her mine. To stripe her ass red with my cane and soothe it with my tongue.
“I want our mate,” Haze growled at me.
I wasn’t sure what I had gotten myself into. Everything had happened so quickly. The world had many Alphas without a pack. Siblings like Kazimir who were not born first and would have to settle as Beta or Gamma to their older brother or challenge another Alpha for his pack. I could find someone else for the pack and finally be done with it.
“We claimed the pack.” Haze reminded me, and he was right.
I was in pure Alpha mode on the battlefield today. Maybe it was the high of ripping rogues to shreds or the adrenaline pumping, but I had challenged Stefanos for trying to take my pack. My Pack. The warriors who had come with Stefanos would be returning to the Moon Warriors to tell the
others I claimed my birthright as the Alpha. But did I really want it? That was the burning question.
After the shower, I dressed in the clothes set on top of the dresser and noticed a phone on the nightstand. I quickly dialed Kazimir, and he answered on the second ring.
“Dah,” he always answered with yes in Russian. “Kazimir.”
“Hades! Where the hell have you been? Ninos is booked on the morning flight to come look for you.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Why? Did you forget how to use a phone? Whose number are you calling from?”
“I don’t have my phone or wallet.”
“I can wire you money and express another passport and credit cards in twenty-four hours,” Kazimir told me. “Where are you? Why didn’t you call sooner?” Another loaded question, where to start?
I told him my father had killed Leo, then about Alpha Georgios and Stefanos. How they tranquilized, shackled, and collared me with silver. I could feel his fury through the phone. He listened as I told him about Odessa and her brother. How I ended up at Olympus Blood Moon fighting off an attack and watching my father’s partner in crime die.
Kazimir was quiet for a few long moments before he finally spoke. “So you’re taking the pack?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing,” I groaned, waiting for the answer to magically appear to me.
“What about your mate?” He asked.
“I don’t know Kazimir. You know I’m no good for her. She’s everything anyone could want in a mate,” I paused feeling like a dick. Kazimir was given a human and I was bragging about the strong she-wolf I was paired with.
“Is that Hades?” I heard Ninos in the background.
“Yes. Give me a moment, and get that damn cat out of here,” Kazimir yelled.
“Cat?” I asked.
“That stupid bag of fleas Ninos feeds. Alina keeps sneaking to the kitchen door to bring him inside. If he sprays anything, I’m going to let Kuzma eat him!”
“I take it Alina is feeling a little more comfortable?” “She hasn’t made any attempts to escape.”
“How’s the information mission coming along with her?” “Like trying to crack a safe open,” he sighed.
“Did he get lost in an Athens brothel?” Ninos asked. “Hades found his mate,” I heard Kazimir tell him. “In a brothel?”
“Nyet!” Kazimir snapped no in Russian. “Be quiet and let the adults talk.”
“Put him on speaker,” Ninos demanded, and I could hear Kazimir sigh as he switched to speakerphone.
“What did I miss on the phone conference with Aleksei?” I asked.
“The CEO of SiberianOil is going to be forced to step down and relinquish his shares of the company in two months. This will allow us to buy more shares, but we’ll need more cash.”
“Does anyone else know about the CEO’s unfortunate circumstance?” I asked.
“Only my brother.”
This confirmed even the CEO had no idea he was going to be dethroned. Kazimir’s brother would use his Bratva leverage to oust the man so we could continue with our plan and buy more shares. Aleksei would become the next Pahkan, he needed to operate in the shadows. He needed someone he trusted that wasn’t linked to Russian corruption to hide behind.
If he owned a large portion of the company shares, but not enough to have the majority, no one would worry about his Bratva ties. He wouldn’t have direct control over board decisions. I was a Greek businessman on the surface, with a legitimate investment company. No one would suspect we were conspiring together because Russians did not trust outsiders.
“So we have two more months to fatten our bank accounts and prepare to pounce when the other shares are available in two months?”
“His ousting will cause shares to drop in price. We should be able to pick them up on the cheap and ride the profits on the way up,” Kazimir replied.
“It’s election season in the U.S., Kazimir and I have been working on increasing our transactions and funds. They have a lot of slush funds set up there, corrupt politicians at every turn with fat bank accounts,” Ninos replied.
“Let’s make sure we don’t get sloppy.”
“We could even target the cartels. They float around a lot of cash in some of these accounts?” Kazimir suggested.
“No. We stay away from cartels. They’re just as bad as the mafia,” I told them. American politicians were dirty, but even if they discovered a loss in their slush funds, they wouldn’t report it for fear of triggering an audit that would expose the rest of their illegal activities. This made them perfect targets.
“Speaking of mafia, any idea what kind of assets your father had access to? It’s not like the mob boss is going to need it in hell.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to do anything. I’ve been locked up in cells.”
“We’ll come help you,” Ninos said.
“Now who wants to get lost in an Athens brothel?” I chuckled.
“If you want to keep the pack, we’ll support—” Kazimir stopped speaking.
“Did you hear that?” Ninos whispered.
“We’ve got company,” Kazimir said quietly. “I’m sensing three,” Ninos added.
“Maybe four, all human.” As an Alpha, Kazimir would have a keen sense of auras.
“Leave one alive so you can question him,” I told them.
“Go upstairs and guard Alina. It shouldn’t take me long,” Kazimir instructed Ninos. “We’ll call you back.” The phone disconnected.
Haze released a growl that rumbled in my throat. I wondered who the unexpected company was. Our villa was situated at the end of a long drive and the closest neighbor was about a hundred meters away. This wasn’t someone who accidentally stumbled on the villa. This was a planned attack, but how, we were virtually invisible. Ghosts. We used the best technology, with no digital footprints. Someone found us and I wanted to know who.
I paced in my room, waiting by the phone. Ten minutes passed and still nothing. Twenty minutes passed and I was considering our next relocation to the Azores. There were no packs in the Azores, they had technology, beautiful landscapes, forests, beaches, culture, and food. Not to mention, the Portuguese women were hot.
“We have that in Greece too,” Haze reminded me.
With the business we were in, we shouldn’t have stayed longer than a year in Cyprus. Thirty minutes later and I was still waiting. Maybe they weren’t looking for us? Maybe they were looking for Alina? The phone finally rang, and I answered.
“What happened?”
“Four humans, all Russian. They work for someone named Boris in Moscow, sent to kill Alina and us. They were trained assassins for hire given a job.”
“No one would know about Alina except her organization. They were hired by whoever sent her. Who the hell is Boris and how did he find us?” I asked.
“All of our equipment is secure. Our phones can’t even be tracked,” he told me. “Unless…” he sounded thoughtful. “Where is your laptop?”
“Which one?”
“The one you took to Moscow that Alina hacked. There’s a chance she installed a tracking virus. I haven’t had a chance to sweep it.”
“It’s on my desk. I haven’t used it since I checked my emails when we returned.”
“I have an idea, but I need to confirm with Alina,” Kazimir growled. “You can’t stay there. They have the location and will try again.”
“I know. We’ll be leaving the villa in about twenty minutes. I need to take care of a few things and pack up electronics. We should be at your pack by tomorrow night.”
“My pack?”
“It would be the safest place at the moment. No?”
He had a good point. No human hitman, Russian or otherwise, would survive on pack lands. We could regroup and figure things out. Maybe stay a few months until the oil deal was complete and the pack was thriving.
“Are you bringing Alina?” He would need her to cooperate if he was going to bring her to Greece.
“It depends if she’s willing to tell the truth,” he snarled.
“Have Ninos dump the bodies out to sea. The current will take them in the direction of Limassol. Oh, and Kazimir… make sure Alina sees the bodies of the men sent to kill her. It might loosen her lips.”
“Excellent idea. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
The pack house I grew up in wasn’t as big as others. It was more of a large manor with about twenty bedrooms housing only our ranked wolves, their offspring, and guests. The others all had family homes and cottages scattered in the woods on our land. I would have to prepare the pack for a human who had no idea of our kind.
I sensed his aura before he knocked, Alpha Diesel LaRue.
I pulled the door open. His hair was raven black like his daughter and his eyes just as blue. “Good evening, Alpha.”
“I hear there’s some incredible moussaka in the kitchen. I was hoping to have the opportunity for that talk before we return to Zeus’ Howlers in the morning.”
“Ah yes, I understand your mate claimed Georgios’ pack.”
“I have five Alpha sons. Giving the pack to one of them will allow my daughter Raven to have family on this side of the globe.”
I walked with Alpha Diesel to the kitchen. We were greeted by an older she-wolf who looked as if she could run a kitchen with one arm tied behind her back. After going days without any food, I was ready to devour an entire lamb. She moved quickly and handed us two full plates of moussaka.
“We also have Greek salad and bread on the counter behind me, please help yourselves,” she smiled. I could smell the feta cheese on the salad and helped myself.
We sat at the end of a long table alone with our food and started eating. Neither of us spoke for a few minutes as we chewed and savored the food. Ninos was a great cook, but this incredible dish was made with decades of experience that could give my grandmother's cooking a run for her money.
“Alpha Hades, I wanted to talk to you about your pack.” “Is this official shifters council business?”
“No. Not at all.” He considered me for a moment. “I’m aware of your strained relationship with your father and your preference to live outside of pack life. I was wondering if you were planning to keep the pack?”
“I’m not sure, Alpha. If I decide not to keep it, I now know an Alpha with five Alpha sons who might want it,” I chuckled.
“I don’t want your pack, but I want you to want it. Being on the shifters council allowed me the opportunity to watch as your father neglected the pack. He did the minimum to take care of the pack, but he didn’t violate any shifter laws…”
“Because he was operating in the human world,” I added.
“Yes,” he nodded his head. “Your great-grandfather served on the shifters council. The Kappas family name has held a lot of respect in our world for centuries. The line will live or die with you.”
“Die with me?” I questioned.
“You found your mate and I understand you’re conflicted. If you decide to reject your mate, you may never have offspring. It would mean the end of your family. You’re the last Kappas,” he reminded me.
He had a good point, but I was also not the product of my father and his true mate. So there was still a small chance I could have an heir someday. I wasn’t sure if I wanted pups, but I knew Haze did. Visions of a smiling Odessa cradling a pup to her chest filled my mind.
“Alpha, I have yet to find a wolf who lived a happy and full life without their mate. My brother thought he could when he rejected his mate, and we’ve watched him suffer in silence.”
“Thank you, Alpha Diesel. I plan on returning to the pack in the morning and spending a few months evaluating and organizing things. The pack has been neglected and I’m sure the finances are a mess. I expect the shifters council will send someone out soon enough to assess the situation. My first priority should be to the pack.”
“And your mate?” He pressed.
“I don’t want to rip her away from her pack, I believe she is also conflicted.”
“I’ll be spending more time in Greece now that Raven is part of Olympus Blood Moon, and my son will be taking over Zeus’ Howlers,” he said as he considered something else. “Hades, I know your father probably didn’t prepare you to run a pack and there are so many aspects to keeping a pack running smoothly. If you ever need any help or guidance, I’m a phone call away,” he offered as he slipped me his business card.