The Phoenix Wolf and his Luna

Dark Thoughts

Ian’s POV

“DJ, get your things together! We’re leaving in ten minutes with or without your Switch!” I called out to the six-year-old boy.

I looked back down at my phone, going through emails. It wasn’t often I brought DJ to meetings. I usually left him at home, but my little sister had decided to move with my little brother back east, and my baby brother was coming with us. My Gamma, Beta, and three of my Delta’s were all having pups soon, and I didn’t want DJ to be in the way if their mates went into labor while I was gone.

“So, Mercury pack. What’s so special that we’re buying the business and land?” My little brother, Broadway, asked again.

You would think that after the 7 years of him going to college and law school he would understand that things like this happen all the time. Mercury’s businesses weren’t terrible plans, just not well executed. Not that I expected anything less from James.

He wasn’t born an Alpha, and his mate was so messed up in the head from some trauma when she was a kid that she didn’t run her pack very well either. James called me about a month ago asking if I could help him out. He wanted to focus on his family and help his wife with their pups. I never turned down an opportunity to help a fellow Alpha, but I really did like the business plans.

After the s**t my father pulled, everyone thinks I’m after land and want to be the King. What many didn’t know is, after I buy a business, the pack comes with it. Not that I want it. Usually, I leave the pack to their Alpha. Legally, the land is mine, but the pack is the Alpha's. I was simply a businessman. I was never raised to be an Alpha. I was barely raised like a wolf. That was my older brother’s job.

I shook my head. I couldn’t get into that right now.

Broadway looked at me. He knew where my thoughts went to. The same dark place they often did. If it weren’t for DJ, I’m not sure how I would have survived.

Like always, in the nick of time, my son came barreling down the stairs, his switch in his hand and a cord wrapped around his neck. I chuckled as I helped him pull it from choking him again.

My son was a perfect mix of his mother and me. Chocolate brown hair that was just beginning to curl, heterochromia with one brown eye and one green eye, and tanned skin, both from his mother and all the time he had spent training and playing outside. He wore blue slacks and a black button-up shirt with a bright purple bow tie. Oh, how I missed my sister.

“DJ, why are you wearing a purple tie?” I asked.

He shrugged, “I just felt like wearing purple today. Look at my socks, dad!” He lifted his pants to show me the matching socks.

At least this time he wore a matching pair of socks! Sadly, his shoes, on the other hand. One was brown and the other slightly darker. I sighed.

“Broadway, can you get him in the car? I’m going to go find his shoes.”

Broadway laughed as he looked at his nephew’s shoes but ushered him to the SUV we would be taking. I made sure the blue carseat was installed properly earlier. DJ was smaller than most Alpha pups, barely making it to the weight and height of an average four--year-old human.

I made my way back up to DJ’s room. There were toys scattered around the room, and his jacket was thrown haphazardly thrown on the small chair in the corner. I ran my hands over my face. It was difficult having a son to raise, a pack to run and 15 businesses. The only one who had been able to reign DJ in was my little sister, but she was only 15 and it wasn’t fair of me to put my responsibilities on her. I quickly picked up his toys and hung his clothes up, finding his matching shoes. As I left, I grabbed his jacket and put it over my arm.

It was days like these when I wished I had a woman in my life. I needed someone to help me balance out my work life and time with my son. I had hired nannies for DJ, but when he would throw fits, I gave in every time and had started taking him to work with me. He got bored fairly quickly and so I bought him his own computer and desk that he could play on while I worked, and then a switch. He had what was supposed to be a secretary’s office that had toys, a 75’ TV, PS5, an Xbox series one, every streaming service he could ask for, a small bed, and a mini fridge for his juice boxes. We only went home to sleep.

I got to the SUV, Broadway was on the phone, and DJ had his headphones on playing away at his game. I sighed. I had no real idea how to be a father. I wasn’t raised by mine, so my role model wasn’t anything special. By the time I should have been looking up to my father, my mother took me and my younger siblings to England and we would only stay in one town for maybe a week or so. Maybe a month if Father lost our trail, which very rarely happened. I still had an accent. For many years, Mum would take us across the world, until he brought us back. He made our older brother “teach” us a lesson. Sadly, my older brother was just as maniacal as my father for being raised by him.

I sighed again and leaned my head against the headrest. I missed my mother. She wouldn’t have stood to see DJ not having a childhood and would be disappointed in me working so much. I decided, instead of dwelling on things that could never change, I took a nap.

*****

When we arrived at the Mercury pack, DJ was bouncing in his seat. He very rarely got to visit packs. We never had a reason. I always left the packs alone. I didn’t want them. The only reason I took over the Titan pack was, there was no one else. My younger brother was barely 16, and Broadway was 12. The Beta and Gamma had been killed during the fight between the Steelridge pack. It was just me.

“Dad, look at that hotel! It’s so small compared to the one on Titan!” DJ giggled.

His innocence was all I wanted for him. I never wanted him to see the horrors I had lived through for many years, and the horrors I had inflicted.

“That’s their packhouse, buddy. It’s smaller because this pack is smaller than Titan.” I explained.

He nodded but kept looking around him.

I looked at the front of the steps, Alpha James and Luna Serenity were standing on the top steps, a child running in circles around them, and an infant strapped to her chest. Alpha James looked exhausted, and you could see the strain of yet another day etched on Serenity’s face.

I got out of the car, unstrapping DJ, and helped put his jacket on. I straightened his tie and fixed his straggly curls. We walked hand in hand to the steps.

“Alpha Cillian! It’s been much too long!” James stretched his hands out for a handshake.

I took it, giving a firm shake. I looked down at DJ who had his ‘Alpha’ face on, as he called it. He reached his hand out for a handshake, giving the best he had. He smiled up at me. Pride filled my heart. I hadn’t taught him that.

“James, there’s no need for titles. Also, you know better than to call me Cillian,” I said. I hated my name. It was just another reminder of my father.

He nodded, “Yes, sorry. These are my wife and Luna, Serenity, our son Emerson, and our little princess, Harmony.”

“This is my attorney, Henry.” I pointed behind me to my brother who had been on the phone for the last two hours, “And this is DJ, my son.”

Confusion flashed across James’ face. I simply shook my head. I had purposely kept DJ a secret. In my line of work, and my family history, DJ would have a large target on his back. I had already lost too much of my family, I couldn’t stand to lose more.

“As thrilled as I am that you are here, do you mind if I ask, why are you here?”

I furrowed my brows, “The meeting? Is that not today?”

James looked back at his Luna. Her eyes glazed over in a mind link, before swearing out loud. Tears filled her eyes, and she looked back at me apologetically.

“Alpha, I am so sorry, that was my oversight! I thought I had sent the email.” Tears began to fall from her eyes.

I shifted awkwardly, I hated it when women cried. She looked as though she had a lot on her plate, and something so simple as forgetting to send an email shouldn’t cause this.

“Uhm, it’s okay. We can stay until tomorrow and have the meeting then if it’s alright with you.”

She nodded and went into the house holding her sobs in. That’s weird.

“Excuse my wife. She’s been… the pregnancy with Harmony was very difficult for her.” James’ eyes trailed after his wife.

He led us inside the house. It was about lunch time. We made our way to the dining hall. There were large buffet tables, and the staff were all dressed in black. The pack members that were there were all dressed in black and looked down at their tables. There was a thick silence that hung around the room and my wolf shifted uncomfortably.

“We lost two valuable pack members yesterday, we are doing the burning ceremony today,” James explained.

I nodded in understanding. It was hard to lose pack members, especially on the Alpha and Luna. I hadn’t lost pack members in almost 5 years, but I could still remember the heaviness it had on my wolf. If the whole pack felt the loss, then they must have been very valuable.

James led us to his table, looking where his Luna should have been sitting, and shook his head. His son climbed into a chair next to DJ and the two began talking about games at once. Lunch was mostly silent apart from the pups talking, who didn’t understand the heaviness of the silence.

After we finished, James showed us the packhouse. It’s designed like a hotel. We would be staying on the Alpha floor. My suite had four bedrooms with two bathrooms, and a small sitting area and kitchenette. DJ had spent quite a bit of energy and laid on the couch before soft snores came from him. I placed him in the room closest to mine, making sure the door was cracked. James invited us to the burning ceremony later that night, and it would be much too late for DJ if he didn’t have a nap now.

I pulled my laptop from my bag, looking through emails. A Fallon Singh had sent me information on Mercury’s territory. She was very thorough. My wolf grumbled in acceptance. I loved it when I didn’t have to double check the work. I wondered if I could have her meet with Broadway, and they could hash out the contract. It was his job, and he knew exactly what I would want. I also had three other sales I needed to attend to.

How busy are you? I mind linked him.

Not terribly. What do you need?

While we are here, I need you to meet with the Mercury attorney. She has sent me the contract already. It’s worth a few thousand more than I expected, see if you can negotiate.

On it. He cut the link.

My little brother might have been a pain in my ass, but he was a fantastic attorney. Maybe the three hundred thousand dollars I had spent on his education was worth it.

I worked for a few hours until I couldn’t shake the feeling that I should go with him. There was a rumbling in the pit of my stomach and my wolf didn’t like it. It made us feel uneasy. He was usually very tame. We weren’t weak, but after having to kill our own father and older brother, we had seen enough violence. James hadn’t told me of any rogue attacks, and I didn’t want DJ anywhere near one. I told my Delta, Javier, to keep an eye on DJ and link me when he woke up. I followed the urge my wolf had.

Finding myself outside in the semi-dense forest, I heard a rumbling growl and a truck. I hid behind a tree just in case I needed to attack the wolf first. He didn’t smell of a rogue, but he had pinned a woman to the side of the truck. I shifted, jumping onto the back of the brown wolf, gripping him by the neck. I did not approve of violence against women. Ever. Not after the things I had seen. Throwing the wolf to the nearest tree, I released an earth-shaking growl. The truck sped off behind me, not that I minded.

I shifted back. “Shift! Now!” I commanded.

The brown wolf struggled against the command, but eventually shifted back. He had a broken leg and a long scratch on his side from the bark of the tree.

“What the f**k do you think you are doing? You dare pin a woman?! She wasn’t even shifted! She had no way to defend herself against you!” I was pissed. If she had shifted first, I would have waited to see how it played out, but the asshole had given her no room.

The wolf whimpered an apology and tried to explain, but my wolf wouldn’t hear it. My hand grew into my wolf’s paw, the claws extending as we gripped the wolf by the throat. I was tall even for a second born Alpha, at 6’7. The male was inches shorter than me. His broken leg dangled under him as I shoved his back into the tree.

“If I ever see you even blink at another woman in a way I don’t like, I will not hesitate to end your membership of this or any pack! Do you understand me?” I growled.

He couldn’t do anything but mutter his response. I threw him to the ground, ordering him to go to the hospital. He limped off. I shifted back and linked my brother to meet me at the back door with a pair of shorts.

Broadway had a small smile on his face when I met him at the steps. He had a suit ready for me and I rolled my eyes. I didn’t wear shorts very often unless I was training, which I hadn’t been able to do much of. With me buying so many businesses in such a short time, I had focused on making them profitable before selling them off either to other shifters, or even humans. Whoever gave the better price. It also meant I wore a lot of suits. Most of my wardrobe was suits. I spent more time in one office or the other, never really training with my pack like I had intentionally wanted. What little free time I did have was spent with DJ or going to see my siblings.

“So, I have someone I would like you to meet.” Broadway said, as I finished my tie. At that point, I didn’t need a mirror.

“Lead the way, little brother.”

I looked behind me, noticing the truck that the woman was pinned to. There was a hint of a scent, but it was muted.

Interesting.