Page 6 of Silas

With that, he exits the office. Warricks slams his body down into the chair that Nate just vacated, like his body couldn’t hold itself up any longer. “I can’t believe that he was gambling away our money. I don’t know which is more shocking, the drug running or the gambling. What are we going to do, Silas? Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

Calmly sitting down in front of my desk, I pull out my cell phone. “Don’t I know it.” I send a text message to Caelon.

Chapter 3

Silas

Shortly after shooting off a text to Caelon, there is a knock at my door. I can smell his distinct scent coming through the door. Sometimes the advantage of being a wolf is knowing who is coming before they even open their mouths or make their presence known.

Clearing my throat, “Come in.”

Caelon peeks his head around the door before he fully steps into the room. His eyes scan the space as if he is looking for someone to be here with me. He’s wearing his typical gray henley, and it’s unusually wrinkled.

“Uh,” he clears his throat. “You wanted to see me, Alpha,” he says with his head bowed.

Steepling my hands together on top of my desk, I put a warm smile on my face. “Caelon, how many times will I have to ask you to call me Silas?”

With his head still bowed, “A few times Al…I mean Silas.”

Letting out a chuckle, “Fair enough. You know why I called you here. Have you reviewed the numbers and come up with a plan?”

That seems to knock him out of his submissive state. “Yes, I have. It doesn’t look good, but it is completely possible for us to make the money back. While it isn’t a large amount of money, it is still money we will have to find a way to raise while also taking care of the pack. I think if we can work together for a massive fundraiser, we should hit our goal.”

“Good, that is great news. Do you have any ideas about what we could do as a fundraiser?”

He gently shakes his head, “No sir. That isn’t my area of expertise. I am only great with numbers, not people or events.”

“Surely you aren’t that bad with people. You are talking to me just fine. What makes you think you aren’t good with people?”

He scratches the back of his neck as his knee bounces up and down. “The thing is…nevermind.”

“Caelon, look at me.” He lifts his head, bringing his eyes to mine. “This space is safe for you to be yourself and to talk to me about issues you are having. Don’t feel like I can’t or won’t give you the time or the space.”

His eyes brighten with the news. “You mean that? I’ve never had someone to talk to or felt that I could talk to someone. I really appreciate that. Honestly, it’s not an issue when it comes to you because I can easily talk numbers. Numbers I understand. Numbers always make sense. I can plug them in a certain way and they easily give me an answer. When it comes to people, there are emotions involved. I can put into it a certain thing, but each person's reaction will be different. There are too many variables when it comes to interacting with other humans. Let alone trying to communicate with females.”

Nodding my head, I make sure I keep my expressions open and accepting. I think that might be the most emotion he has expressed. “That makes a lot of sense, actually. I can’t fault you for viewing it that way. You know, one day you are going to find a mate that will adore this part of you. Goddess be, I hope for your sake that she equally has a hobby to occupy her time. We all know how hard it is to pull you away from your computer.”

A blush creeps across his cheeks as he tucks his head. “I love numbers. What can I say?” He shrugs his shoulders.

Pushing my chair back, I stand up and walk around the desk. He lifts his head to look up at me. Resting my hand on his shoulder, "Alright, together we will break the news to the pack. They have a right to know and maybe someone will have an idea for a fundraiser. What ya say? You ready to tell everyone?”

“Uh…I am never ready for anything that involves public speaking of any sort.”

A huff of a laugh comes out of me as I shake my head. “Alright, fair enough.”

After sending out a message to our pack members to come to the pack house, we head into the main portion. I stand on the dais as each of the pack members file in, nodding my head as they pass to their seats. On each side of me stands a member of my leadership team, chatting amongst themselves while we wait. Before members started pouring into the meeting hall, I brought Warrick, Gail, and Xavior up-to-speed so nothing I say will come as a shock to them. I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but it has to be done.

Everyone is chatting amongst themselves as the final pack member enters the hall and takes their seat. I clear my throat and the room goes quiet. “Thank you, everyone, for coming for another pack meeting so soon after the last. Rest assured, once we have this issue settled, we won’t have such frequent meetings. That being said, I know that I have talked to you about how things were not being managed well. What I didn’t elaborate on was that we are in debt to the Ghost River Pack.”

Gasps ring out across the pack house as the news washes over them. I don’t blame them for being upset over the news. People know the Ghost River Pack for being ruthless and far more abusive than Orion. It's been said that they will use their women until they pass. The pack beheads anyone caught trying to escape, and posts their wolf's head on the fence surrounding the pack house. There have only been a few that could actually escape. By sheer luck or perfect timing, nobody will ever know. But, owing them money is the last thing that we need. I will not lose a single female to that pack, even if it’s the last thing that I do.

Holding my hand up to silence the room, “I know that this isn’t the news that you would have wanted to hear today but with a representative showing up last night, we are now aware what Orion’s deal with them was. They gave us until the full moon to decide whether to continue Orion’s deal, repay the debt, or fight them—a fight we’d likely lose. I don’t want you to think that I have any intentions of continuing the deal that Orion had with them. That being said, we have to figure out how to come up with the money before the next full moon.”

“How much do we owe them,” a pack member asks from the back.

“We owe them a little over three thousand dollars. I know it isn’t a ton of money, but it’s far more than we have in our savings. How can we quickly raise that much money? Any ideas?”

Chatter begins throughout the room as people brainstorm ideas. Caelon is shifting from one foot to the other in nervous anticipation. I don’t expect him to have all the answers to a situation like this and I think it would be great for the pack to work together like we should have been doing all along. “Coming up with this much money is an immense problem, Silas. A review of our finances shows zero revenue. We are really hoping for a miracle here.”

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