Althena Book 2

56. Donations

I wake up with Conner in the morning. We're the only people in the house. It's a little confusing. Then we go to Mystical Moon. The boys are training with the warriors. That makes sense except Monte's not here. I sit at the picnic table and watch the warriors until he shows up.

"You having fun?"

"Not really. But it's nice to see the trees here. I was thinking about going to see what granny is doing."

"Come with me. We will look at this paperwork while you're here."

"Why aren't you training the warriors?"

"Tony can do it. My dad and grandpa want to earn money for the pack. So, I've been focused on that. They don't mind since we're actually making money."

"What does the pack need money for?" I hop up and follow him.

"What does any packland or town need money for? Weapons, uniforms, roads, food, everything."

"Do you need money now?"

"No. It's been slowly dropping for years. We need to take a few years and build it back up. That's all."

"I can pay you more."

"Actually, you could talk Drogon into giving us a grant. That would be nice."

"What's a grant."

"Basically, free money from the throne. We can submit a request for it. But we're not broke, we make money, and we don't desperately need anything, so it gets shut down."

"Put a donation link online and Edwardo can donate. Say you need new housing or something."

"If his name comes up too much, people will start asking questions. We can't have that. We can't draw attention to him." He opens a door for me.

"Make the donations anonymous."

"I will look into that."

I spin in a circle. "This is the pack house?"

He chuckles. "No. This is my place. I had to get out of there after the holidays. It's too much chaos. This is a lot better. Follow me."

"What?"

"I need to show you where the papers are hidden. If I die or something, you'll need to be able to get them yourself."

I run and hug him. "Don't say that."

He kisses my head and relaxes. Then he gives me a kiss. "If I'm on vacation, and you need a few million, you'll know where to find it."

"Ok."

He moves his nightstand table and pulls a board off the wall. Then he reaches in and pulls out a little box. "This is everything. All Edwardo's papers. Everything that makes him a real person. ID. Bank cards. Papers to travel. Everything. He has everything one of us would have."

I take the box and sit on the bed. "Was the business stuff there?"

"Yes. I didn't have time to go through everything. It looks like he was washing money at that casino for over 10 years. A lot of money."

I flip through the papers. "I'm well aware of that. I can't believe he has a house and everything. It's like a double life."

"It was a double life. In one life he was married with a child. Highly successful. King of Darkburn. Alpha of Dark Moon. Lots of property. Helped everyone he could. Fought against drugs. The other life was a drug smuggler. Highly successful. Businessman. Enjoyed occasional drugs with random women."

"I don't think he was bad."

"Me either." He kisses my head. "Losing his mate broke him. I know he tried to be the best family man and king he could. But there was a hole he couldn't fill. He missed her. He tried to find her with the drugs. I think the drug smuggling possibly paid for everything in both lives. He was always a smart businessman."

I hug the box. "He was a good man and he tried his best. He made money for his family. He wasn't bad." Then I pull out the credit card. "He took care of everyone. He still does."

"How many tickets for the drawing should Edwardo buy?"

"5,000."

"That's half a million dollars."

"We need to move it to me somehow."

He nods and opens a laptop. I watch him buy 5,000 tickets. "I know people will get bored with the car drawing every month, but some will still buy tickets, and it's an easy way to get Edwardo's money. As long as someone else always wins."

"That is true." He kisses my head. "We'll do that. We can move half a million a month with that."

"Set up a donation thing for your pack, and he can donate 50 million or so."

He coughs. "That'll be more than we've ever had. That's too much."

"We have billions to move, Monte. Tell your dad and grandpa you're amazing or something."

He cracks up laughing. "Donation page it is."

"I want to set up a toys and coats for the kids' program."

"Why toys?"

"I never had many. If parents are below a certain percentage of income, they could pick up toys for birthdays and holidays. Then a brand-new coat for winter."

"We don't really have winter, hun."

"Light jackets and swimsuits with a matching towel. Little things so they fit in better."

"I think you should go with toys. You can always add swimsuits. But say if people qualify for food or housing assistance, they automatically qualify for the toys. Bring in the birth certificate for a child under 18. Pick out 3 things for their birthday. Like 5 for the holidays. That could work. You could take donations for new toys or money. Let's get the casino off the ground, then we'll come back to it."

"Ok. Are any of the boys asking for donations to anything?"

"Always. But it's different. Drogon will usually match donations to certain causes."

"How do you mean?"

He goes to the Dark Moons website. "They will match donations to these fundraisers. So, Zenity is asking for donations to put up an apartment building in the West Gate District. They need 2 million. Drogon has said, if donations reach 1 million, the throne will donate the last million."

"How much do they have?"

"320k so far."

"Donate 680k. I liked them."

"Alright, I'll do it anonymously." He clicks a few buttons. "This is for a drug rehab center. They are looking to expand. The throne is matching donations up to 250k. I'll donate 250k to that."

I nod. "But the boys don't have charity organizations they run?"

"No. They try to help other organizations out. They share the fundraisers and match the ones that are truly worthy. I think it takes a lot of time to run an organization. I doubt if they'll try that."

"Yea, they're busy already."

"Another thing we can do is donate to their causes. They each have causes they like to support. But by donating to those accounts, they can choose where the money goes. Donate it as they see fit."

"They all have those?"

"No. Drogon, Mike, and Cyrus do. Royalty always does. I don't think Conner does. Sometimes alphas do. But it's mainly for their pack."

"I guess donate 5 million to each of them."

He does it anonymously. Then gets on the Mystical Moon site. "I'll set up a donation link quickly."

"Tell them it's for defense. You defend the entire north side of Darkburn. It would be a reason for everyone to donate." I shrug my shoulders. "Help the city."

He chuckles. "I'll say it's for 1 million, but I'm not putting a counter on it."

"Now, donate 500 million." I giggle and do it myself.

"We're going to be able to coat the trees in gold, woman." He puts his arm around me and tickles me.

"Do I have the causes account?"

"No. You would have to set it up through advisors. I think that would be a little suspicious right this second. Clayton might." He checks. "Nope. It might only be available to adults."

I shrug my shoulders. "We tried."

"Yea, we should get back out there before they figure out I have a house." He puts the box in the wall. "Don't forget where it is."

"I won't. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Don't worry. It'll take a little bit, but we'll get it moved. We'll sell the casino. Figure out how to get the house to you. Then it'll be over."

I nod and snuggle him. I can't tell him it'll never be over and that I'm Edwardo.

I follow him into the woods, and we shoot at the trees for a while. He sets up half a dozen targets for us.

"How's she doing?" Mike sits at the picnic table.

I smile at him. "I haven't shot any boats out here."

Monte smiles and shakes his head. "She's doing a lot better. She'll be able to carry it soon."

Mike rubs his face. "Conner's going to get shot."

I crack up laughing. "I'll shoot him then heal him."

Monte nods. "We're all in danger of that."

"Well, quit making her a good shot." Mike smirks and pulls his gun. He hits every target on the first try.

Then I try and do it too.

"Damn. You are getting good at this, babygirl."

"If shooting the bad guy doesn't work. I'll wolf their asses."

"Yea, let's go practice that for a bit." Monte stands up. "The play park dummies haven't been eaten in a while."

I sit the gun on the ground. -Poof- I'm a wolf.

Mike stares at me. "At least she sat the gun down first."

Monte nods. "Yea, that's good progress. Go on."

I run for it.