Chapter 61 061

Chapter 61 061
Chapter 61

Aria's POV
Spring arrived with construction noise and chaos.

The dormitory project started exactly on schedule. Derek coordinated three separate work crews, each funded by a different pack. It should have been a disaster but somehow it worked.

Mostly because Derek refused to let anyone slow things down with territorial nonsense.

"I don't care which Alpha is paying for what," he told a group of workers arguing about whose methods to follow. "You're all building the same structure. Figure out how to work together or go home."

They figured it out.

I visited the site daily to check progress. Watching the foundation go in, then the frame, then walls. It was satisfying seeing something take physical shape from just an idea.

"It's bigger than I expected," I mentioned to Derek one afternoon.

"Had to expand the plans. With three packs contributing, they each wanted assurance their students would have adequate space. Ended up designing for sixty students instead of forty."

"Can we manage that many residential students?"

"You'll have to. The funding contracts guarantee spots for each contributing pack. That's already fifty students committed. Add in Shadow Peak locals and you're at sixty minimum."

The reality of what we'd agreed to was starting to sink in. Sixty students living on campus full-time meant round-the-clock supervision, meal planning, security concerns I hadn't fully considered.

"We're going to need house staff," I realized. "People dedicated to managing residential life."

"Already on Beth's list. She's recruiting now."

Of course Beth was already handling it. She'd become indispensable to the school's operation.

Later that week, she presented me with a staffing plan.

"Two residential supervisors, one for each floor. A night watchman for security. Kitchen staff to prepare three meals daily. And a residential coordinator to oversee everything."

"That's a lot of new hires."

"That's what running a residential school requires. We can't do this halfway."

"Do we have funding for all these positions?"

"The pack contributions included operational costs for the first year. After that, we'll need to reassess. Possibly raise enrollment fees or find additional funding sources."

"Additional funding sources like what?"

Beth shrugged. "Haven't figured that out yet. But we have a year to work on it."

I brought the staffing plan to Drogo that evening. He reviewed it while we ate dinner in our quarters.

"This is comprehensive. Beth did good work."

"It's also expensive. Even with the pack contributions, we're pushing our resources."

"Everything about this school pushes our resources. But it's worth it."

"Is it? Sometimes I wonder if we're overextending. Trying to do too much too fast."

Drogo set down the papers and looked at me directly. "Are you having second thoughts about the expansion?"

"Not second thoughts exactly. More like concerns about sustainability. We keep growing and adding complexity. At some point, it becomes unmanageable."

"So we set limits. Decide how big we're willing to let this get and stick to those limits."

"What limits though? We've already committed to sixty residential students plus day students. That's over a hundred children total."

"Then that's our limit. We cap enrollment at a hundred. Tell any new packs interested that they need to wait until we have capacity."

"Some Alphas won't like being told to wait."

"Some Alphas don't like a lot of things. They'll deal with it."

I appreciated his confidence even if I didn't entirely share it.

The next challenge came from an unexpected source.

One of the residential supervisors Beth hired turned out to be from Aldric's pack. A woman named Catherine who'd worked with children there for years.

I didn't realize the connection until she'd already been hired and started work. When I found out, I immediately went to Beth.

"Did you know she was from Northern Pack when you hired her?"

"Of course I knew. It was in her background information. Why does it matter?"

"Because Aldric is my father. Because there's history and complications. Because I don't trust anyone connected to him."

Beth's expression shifted. "You think she's a spy?"

"I don't know what she is. But I don't like coincidences. Catherine just happens to apply right when we need residential staff? Right when my father has been increasing contact about trade and alliances?"

"Or she's a qualified candidate who wants a job. Not everything is a conspiracy."

"With Aldric, everything could be."

Beth sighed. "What do you want me to do? Fire her based on suspicion alone? That's not fair."

"I want you to be careful. Watch her. Make sure she's actually here to work and not to report back to Aldric."

"I can do that. But I'm not firing her without cause."

I didn't like it but Beth was right. Firing someone just for their pack affiliation was wrong. Even if my instincts screamed that Catherine was more than she appeared.

I decided to confront the situation directly. Called Catherine to my office and asked her plainly.

"Did my father send you here?"

Catherine looked surprised. "Alpha Aldric? No. I applied because I needed work and heard you were hiring. I didn't even know you were his daughter until after I was hired."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Believe what you want. But I'm here to work with children, not play politics. If you have a problem with my pack affiliation, fire me. Otherwise, let me do my job."

Her directness was disarming. Most people connected to Aldric were more manipulative, more careful with their words.

"I'll be watching you," I warned.

"Watch all you want. You'll see I'm exactly what I claim to be. A woman who's good with children and needed a position."

I let her go but kept my guard up. Asked other staff to quietly observe Catherine's interactions. Look for anything suspicious.

Two weeks later, everyone reported the same thing. Catherine was excellent at her job. Kind with students. Fair in discipline. No suspicious behavior at all.

"Maybe you were wrong about her," Drogo suggested when I told him.

"Maybe. Or maybe she's just better at hiding her real purpose."

"You can't live your whole life suspicious of everyone connected to your father."

"Why not? It's kept me safe so far."

"Has it? Or has it just kept you isolated and paranoid?"

That stung because it was true. I'd been so focused on protecting myself from Aldric's manipulation that I'd started seeing threats everywhere.

"I'll back off the surveillance," I conceded. "But I'm keeping my eyes open."

"That's all I'm asking."

The dormitory construction finished on schedule in late spring. Derek's crews had worked efficiently despite coming from different packs with different methods.

We held a dedication ceremony with representatives from all three contributing packs present. Alpha Sera, Alpha Kieran, and Alpha Thomas all attended.

"This represents more than just a building," Sera announced to the assembled crowd. "It represents cooperation between packs. Shared investment in our children's futures. This is how we build lasting peace."

It was a good speech. The kind that made the project feel important and meaningful.

After the ceremony, the three Alphas asked to meet with Drogo and me privately.

"We want to formalize our partnership," Kieran explained. "Make this more than just a financial arrangement."

"What did you have in mind?" Drogo asked.

"An education council. Representatives from each contributing pack plus Shadow Peak. We meet quarterly to discuss curriculum, expansion, policies. Give everyone input on major decisions."

I felt my defenses rise immediately. "Input or control?"

"Input," Thomas clarified. "We're not trying to take over your school. But we do have stakes in its success. Our investment, our students. We should have some voice in how it operates."

"As long as that voice doesn't override ours," I stated firmly. "This is still a Shadow Peak institution. We welcome collaboration but we retain final authority on educational decisions."

The three Alphas exchanged glances. Sera spoke for them.

"We can agree to that. Advisory input, not control. But we want it formalized. Clear procedures for how decisions get made and how concerns get addressed."

Drogo and I asked for time to discuss it privately. Stepped away from the meeting to talk.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I think they're trying to get more influence over the school. But I also think they have legitimate interests to protect. Their funding and their students."

"So we agree but with clear boundaries?"

"Clear boundaries and written procedures. Everything documented so there's no room for interpretation later."

We returned to the meeting and spent the next two hours hammering out details. Who would serve on the education council. How often they'd meet. What topics fell under their advisory role versus what remained solely Shadow Peak's decision.

By the end, we had an agreement everyone could accept. Not perfect, but workable.

"This is good," Kieran acknowledged. "Fair to all parties."

After they left, I felt exhausted but satisfied.

"We did it," I told Drogo. "Navigated that without giving up control or alienating our partners."

"We make a good team."

"We really do."

That night, lying in bed, Drogo pulled me close.

"I've been thinking about something," he mentioned.

"What?"

"About us. About our future. We've rebuilt our marriage and built this school. What comes next?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Because I want to make sure we're not just existing. That we're actually planning for things we want, not just reacting to what happens."

"What do you want?"

He was quiet for a moment. "Children. Eventually. When things are more stable. I want us to have a family."

The subject we'd touched on before but never fully discussed. Children had always seemed like something distant and theoretical.

"I think I want that too," I admitted. "But not yet. Not while the school is still this demanding."

"I'm not saying now. I'm saying someday. When we're ready."

"Someday sounds good."

We fell asleep like that, talking about futures that felt possible instead of impossible. About building lives instead of just surviving them.

The school opened its residential program the following month. Sixty students moved into the new dormitory. Catherine and the other residential staff managed the transition smoothly.

I watched students settling into their new rooms, making friends with hallway neighbors, adjusting to communal living. It was chaotic and loud and wonderful.

"This is what we built," Beth observed, standing beside me. "A place where pack divisions don't matter. Where children just get to be children."

"Think it'll last?"

"I think we'll fight to make it last. That's all we can do."

She was right. The school's future wasn't guaranteed. We'd face more challenges, more crises, more moments where everything seemed about to fall apart.

But we'd face them together. With partnership and determination and the belief that education could actually change things.

And for now, that was everything.