Violet Ashes: The Blood Ridge Alpha - Chapter 48: Chapter 48

"What are my options, Mark?" I ask the head of my legal team as we review the buyout agreement from Thorne Labs that was sent over.
"Honestly, it's a good price, but it's up to you to take it. I really want you to sit on this for a bit, Vy. Go out, do some pack shit. Get reacquainted with the land. This is going to get messy, and when the Thornes find out who you really are, we might have to go to war with them."
"I'm not worried about them. I know we can take them even in the mess we're in. Did you review the case I want to open up?"
"Yes, and Zander sent over a contract." he places a file in front of me and tries his best not to laugh.
"What?" I ask, pulling it towards me.
"He wants to pay you off so they can sweep it under the rug."
"How much is he offering?" I ask and open the contract. As I read through it, my stomach clenches tightly.
"I'd be fucking pissed too," he says quietly.
"I'm taking this one. I'll take your advice. I have a lot to work on with the pack right now. I'm headed south."
"Can I ask why?"
"A new Rogue King is coming up. I want to ensure he plays nicely with us. I'm going to run some shit for him. Jonas Prince is going to be sending my new employment contract and I have to review the construction shit for the new LT tower." I slide my new work tablet to him. "I'll pay you extra."
"Actually, I have a request," he clears his throat and places a card on the table between us. "Caleb got into some trouble with the bike gang here, and he owes them."
I take the card to see the logo I've spotted on Alpha Barnes's cut.
"How much?" I ask. He flips the card to show me. "Ninety-five thousand? What the fuck did he need that much money for?"
"I don't know, but he's scared, and when he showed up at my place, he looked just as bad as the body you put on our packhouse lawn."
"Fuck. Okay. Tell Caleb I will take care of the problem. I want you to bring him here. Roman is going to have a word with him when he gets back."
"Yes, ma'am," he agrees. "If that's all, I'll be on my way."
"Take care, Mark. Get me back on what you put together for me. I need Helsay on this."
"I was going to have her work on the new Lycan Tech paperwork."
"No, that's too tame for her. Put Brandon and Kimmy on that. I'm going to need Helsay on this. If it goes to court I want to make them look like assholes because I am a woman. I would also like you to add our personal inquiries. This way, it looks like he wanted to push me out when I found my mate."
"Oh, you're going for the throat," he grins.
"You know me."
I put everything in my bag and head down to my car. It's noon, and if I head over to Thorne Labs, I'm going to hit someone. So, I head back home to pick up Baby's bike. I don't want my car to be seen heading down the good alpha's garage.
The backpack I ordered has been calling my name, and I've been looking forward to wearing comfy clothes before I start working for Perry. I head up to change out of my slacks and into some jeans.
I almost jump out of my skin when I come downstairs to find Vince sitting on my couch.
"What the fuck are you doing in my house?" I demand.
He looks rough. I know he hasn't been sleeping well. None of the pups have been sleeping at the house and they're all pissed at him. Dad is shit knows where and he's been holding down the fort on his own this past week.
"You blocked me," he says quietly.
"You gave me a black eye, asshole and you made my sister cry. What did you think was going to happen?"
"I'm sorry," he stands, tucking his hands into his front pockets. "I don't know what came over me, and you know I'm right. She terminated her pregnancy and tried to hide it."
"It's none of your business, Vince. You don't know what happened or how it happened. You just took one look at those papers and slapped a guilty label on her. On top of that, you did it in front of everyone in the packhouse. What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"You're what's fucking wrong with me. Since we connected, I can't fucking keep my wolf in check. Your alpha call is massive. How the fuck is it all of this?" he growls angrily.
"I killed some people." I shrug. "A few alphas. Some Lunas. Lycans. We're a lot stronger. Here," I go over to the kitchen. "You need to up your routine. Eat more, work out, fuck. Whatever it takes for you to get your shit together. You can't be snapping at any of us like you did."
"Vy, what the fuck?" he drops onto the couch rubbing his face. "This is exactly why we stick to the traditions. All this power is not something one person should have."
"Stop being a baby," I sit beside him, giving him my wolf conditioning routine. "Look, I was on my own and I did a lot of shit that would make you want to slap me up again.
"When I got to Nova, I picked up on some shit quickly. It got me noticed by the former Rogue King, and he saw I was struggling to cope without a pack. He taught me some shit and I ran with it. It saved my life on more than one occasion.
"Being in the hunter's inner circle isn't easy either. Survival was not an easy task. I had to evolve, and the anger is a part of it. You need to get control of yourself. Dad is not going to get any better. From here on, he has to stay out of the way."
"He's not going to take that well."
"You give his opinion of you too much importance. He's old news, Vince. You're not a kid anymore. Stop letting him push you around. You're the alpha now. Act like it. What are we really going to miss when he's gone? Our dad died the night he put his hands on you the first time. He's exceeded his worth."
"He's our father," he says, looking up at me. His eyes are the brightest red I've ever seen them. "I can't just treat him like an accessory."
"How much money did he take this time?" I ask him. "And how long is he going to be gone?"
"He took two of the housepack bonds," he says quietly. "I'm going to have to track them down."
"I'll get them back. Have you sorted the recruits?"
"Yeah, I have. We're having a welcoming ceremony this weekend. It would be great if the Luna of the pack were there."
"I'll be there. Track the old man. Let me know what you find?"
"Is she okay?" he asks quietly.
"No, Vincent. She is not okay, but she will be all right. You better have a hell of a fucking apology for her. You're not going to ask questions. You're not going to put any more pressure on her. And you're going to wait until she's ready to talk to you and come home. Do you understand?"
"Is that an order?" he scoffs.
"That's a request on behalf of our sister. She needs some quiet time, Vince. She needs to heal before she can go out on the field again, if she wants to go out there at all. Give her time. She'll bounce back."