Winterlust (COMPLETE)

Travis

Sitting at his desk, Travis James runs his hand through his black hair as he sorts through his morning emails. He’s been the Alpha of the Crimson Moon pack for just over three years, and his efforts have finally begun to pay off. His pack has grown to over 400 members under his watchful eye, and the packhouse renovations are finally complete. Choosing how to furnish it is another story, however.

The previous Alpha Eric was a tyrant. He’d kill pack members on a whim, and kept slaves working around the packhouse. He ruled with an iron fist and everyone feared him. Travis’s father Nick was Eric’s Beta for years. Nick tried to reason with Eric, but it was absolutely useless.

A knock at the door breaks his concentration. The door opens and his Beta Owen Kane glides into the room. “We’re gonna be late for training”, Owen warns as he wanders over to the huge window. Owen and Travis have been best friends since birth, basically. Their mothers are also the best of friends. “It’s snowing”, he says as he turns back around. His blue eyes are boring into Travis.

Travis closes his laptop and looks over at Owen. So it is. “Let’s go, then”, he sighs.

“Are you really going to mark Vanessa?” Owen asks suddenly, catching Travis off guard. He slumps back into his chair, rubbing his forehead. “I don’t see why not, O.” Travis replies. “It’s been three years since I challenged Alpha Eric for this pack and won. Now that the newness of it all has faded, my members see me unmated, and soon it will rattle their confidence in me. Everyone knows an Alpha’s greatest strength is drawn from the bond he has with his Luna.”

Travis has been dating Vanessa Langton for about six months, now. Neither of them has found their mate, and they take comfort in each other.

“Janie doesn’t like her.” Owen blurts, referring to his own mate, Janie Walker. “She says she’s sneaky.”

Travis and Owen have known Janie all their lives. She’s fast and strong, and quite often she attends warrior training.

“Look, Vanessa is a strong fighter and she has some family ties with Alpha bloodlines. She also wants to start a family of pups as soon as possible.” Travis retorts. “My mate is clearly not coming, and neither is hers. We can be content.”

“Yo, what the hell are you guys doing in there? Training is about to start!” Gamma Peter Mullen calls from the hallway as he runs by. “Coming!” Travis calls back. Saved.

“It’s a stupid f****ng idea, and you know it!” Owen says as he shakes his blond head and moves toward the door. “Let’s go”.

Peter runs all of the warrior business for the pack, training them and coordinating them in battle. He and his family joined the pack when Travis and Owen were in sixth grade. Alpha Eric’s son Jesse sucker punched Peter on his first day of school, and Peter beat the absolute tar out of the little brat. Nobody liked that kid.

After Peter ran them ragged in training for being late, Travis heads up to the fourth floor of the packhouse to shower and change for his meeting in the city. “Meet me downstairs at ten”, he mind links to Owen on his way up. “Roger that!”, Owen replies.

Once inside his suite, Travis finds Vanessa sitting up in his king sized bed watching TV. Her long blond hair is tied into a side braid. Good morning”, he smiles at her and leans in to give her a kiss. Vanessa turns her face to receive his kiss, but never takes her green eyes off the show she’s watching. “Watching something interesting?” He asks. “Ssssh!”, is Vanessa’s only reply. Travis turns on his heel and heads for the shower.

After showering and dressing, Travis makes his way past Vanessa still watching her program and out the door. No goodbyes needed. He flips his keys to Owen once outside, “You drive. I’ve still got emails to answer.” He says as he hops up into the passenger side of his black pickup truck.

It’s a two hour drive into the city. Travis spends most of the ride making calls and answering emails while Owen navigates them to the Lakeview Mall. The mall is Travis’s latest investment and he needs to sign all the paperwork to make it official. He and Owen can take some time too, to do a walkaround and see what upgrades need to be made after the deal closes next week.

The parking lot of the mall is pretty packed and slushy with the snow continuing to fall. They’re a little early, so they decide to do the walk around first. Inside, there’s a 26 foot Christmas tree stretching up through the centre of the atrium. It’s decorated in blue and silver metallic balls, and glowing with blue and soft white lights. There’s a Santa village at the base of the tree with a long line of mothers and children waiting their turn to sit on Santa’s knee.

Overall the mall is in good shape, Travis decides. “Too many empty stores, though”, he comments to Owen, “we need to get them rented out to maximize income. I wonder what the issue is.” They wind their way through the food court to the hallway leading to the offices. They’re met by a portly security guard who points them to the last office on the left. Inside is a middle-aged woman with horn rimmed glasses pinching the tip of her nose. “Come in”, she smiles, “Mr. Arthur will be right with you.”

Travis is a gifted negotiator, and he has an eye for making the right acquisitions. Owen jokes that he could turn a profit from a turnip. Mr. Arthur never stood a chance.