When a Hurricane Hits, Prepare for a Landslide

Balsa Fiir

The door to his office opens and Balsa lifts his head from this months order listings. with the increase of the demand for bloodwine, hes been having to exaust more witches than he would like to. His mind strays to his long lost relative and he wonders when would be an appropiate time to ask for her insight on how to make the production work in a way that doesnt require so much essense from the witches he has in his eployment. He looks at one of his top casters as she timidley stands by the entrance to his study. her nervouse energy making Balt's nervous on edge. he keeps a neutral face and waits for her to speak. He had implimented a no nock policy when it he realized that knocking made them more nervous than what they already are on a regular basis. If he called out for them to enter he could smell their fear and anxiety skyrocket. no mattter how many scent blocker spells they casted, nothing could drown out the stench, and he has since told them to not waste the energy. Hopfefully some day soon , they wont be so scared to work here. " Yes Harmony, did you need something?" she jumps when she hears Balsa speak, as though she didnt realize she had walked into his office. ' Oh yes, sorry Mr Fiir, i was sent to infrom you that your father has requested that you meet him in the pack house, he requires your asistance. " She bows her head and steps aside as Balsa gets up and walks out the door, closing it behind them. "Thank you for delivering the message, you can tell the rest of the team they can have the rest of the day off, youve all been working very hard and i still haven't found and part time employees that can help with the growing demand weve been experiencing. i dont want you ladies burnt out, plus, its the holdays." Harmony looks up in alarm. " Mr fiir, we still have the fae and the vampire orders to complete. and we've just recieved the order from the Dragon clans. We cannot stop now, i appreciate you thinking of our welbeing, but this job to us means more than you think. its not just about having a great pay and benefits, its about the reputation of all witches, our work here, can change how we are seen out there." Balsa stops and really looks at her, she was one of the first witches who had taken a chance on what the entire pryches thought was a fools dream. Now he was the creator of one of the best selling nutritional and recreational beverage. "I wont tell you to leave, but i will tell you dont stay too late, thank you for your dedication to my dream Harmony, i really appreciate everything you and the others do. with out you, this wouldnt be what it is today." She Stares at the ground and her face turns a soft pink color. " You are the brains behind everything sir, we are just happy you asked, and even happier that you didnt expect it for free. SO thank you, thank you for the opportunites youve given us. we will see you tomorrow." She turns to head to the manufacturing floor and he replys " See you in the morning Harmony, i mean ti, no staying late tonight. im going to see if i can get us some help." She bows her head and leaves him alone in the hallway. *And to think, if it hadnt been for me, you wouldn't have even thought to create blood wine.* *we should call Libbah, she's arriving in a few days and we've barely had time to speak to her because of paperwork and alpha duties.* Balt remarks as they head to the main house.

" I heard you wanted to speak with me." Balsa states as he walks into a room that is cluttered with papers and journals on any surface that was available. " Dad, what are you looking for?" Alpha Fiir turns around and holds up a letter. "what is that?" Balsa asks as he closes the door and walks further into the room. he begins to move some of the books his father is not rumaging through. "I need you to have one of your witches send this to their coven leader immediately. I'm still waiting for a few more papers to come in but i feel that it was time i told you the secret our family has been hiding since i finished my alpha trials. " Balsa stops in his tracks and stares at his dad. That was the last thing he had expected him to say. *Why would he need to send a letter to the coven of witches* Balt asks, more curious about why his father would need to engage with his employees or the witch community at this time. " What secret. we don't have secrets inside this family. You and mom have made it a point to make sure we always share everything and we seek council from eachother because of what happened in the past." His father father keeps looking for something then holds up a book that had been at the bottom of a pile. *Ask him whats his sudden intrest with witches , we dont need him jeoprodizing our company. our mate wont be able to survive healthily without blood wine, I need to make sure she is safe* " Dad , seriously, what are you talking about." Balsa asks with an impatient growl. " Balt watch your tone, your mate if safe this has to do with acloser family tie." Alpha Fiir states, " As for your question Balsa, this has to do with a certain witch. one that cant seem to handle her powers and who her father keeps hidden away from the world. " Alpha Fiir sits on the couches that face a large window overlooking their pack. He pats the space next to him and waits for his Balsa to sit down. " Now, yes, me and your mother have mad it a law in this family to never keep secrets. that was something my mother instilled in me and my sister. " Balsa looks at his dad and says, " But you dont have a sister, you only have uncle Hal. " Alpha Fiir caresses the journal in his hands be fore saying " Yes, well thats where the secret part comes in. its no secret that your uncle never wanted to be alpha, even though hes older than me and could. He never had the mind for it. he wanted the freedom of a farmer. the truth is, i didnt meet your uncle Hal until i was forced into the alpha trials because of a dare. " Balsa stares at his father in confusion. " How could you have met your own brother until you were an adult if you both grew up here. " His father stares out the window with a far away look and a sad smile. " I didn't meet him until i was an adult because my last name isnt Fiir, its Burk. or at least thats what my father's last name was. my mother was a Fiir though. " *where is he going with this? does this have something to do with the witches? "*im going to keep talking since you havent interupted me yet, i know this is shocking, but i need you to understand just how porud i am of you, especially because you found Neem. " at the mention of Neem's name Balsa jolts adn does look at his dad. " What does any of this have to do with neem? how does she play into this family secret. i mean you just told me im not a Fiir by name, or not where it counts, do you undertsand what this means?, for our family? for the pack! " Balsa's voice begins to increase in volume as he becomes more agitated. " Lower your voice, you are a Fiir, by blood and in name, now sit down and let me finish telling you my story. My real story." When Balsa Sits back down his father picks up the journal again and opens it to a page with feminine handwriting. " This book belonged to my sister. this and a few other items are all that i have left to remember her by."