The Clan

9

Mr. Brown started to explain how they had prepared for the next operation. As far as I understood, a cargo from South America was to arrive in Boston and some people were picking up the drugs there before shipping them in all the sellspoints. They paid the police to leave them alone while doing so and things were going smoothly so far.

He handed us the papers of the transactions and the prospects we should expect with that shipment as well as other orders we could make in South America. My eyes focused on the numbers and something felt off...

Dante saw it too and I felt through our bond the mood change. s**t was about to hit the fan. He laid back on the sofa and his demeanor looked for all to see like someone who was amused but this smile was fierce and called for violence. If he had been in wolf form, he would have shown fangs.

"I'm disappointed Mr. Brown." He said calmly while rolling up his sleeves.

The man in front of us gulped and sweat started to prickle his forehead as he looked at Dante. He could be scared because you never want to piss an Alpha or you better be good if you did.

"I don't understand... What is it Mr. Mancini?" The human asked.

Dante chuckled and oh boy was that sound creepy. Ezio mimicked his brother and Lara laid back on the couch eyeing me to do the same. I pressed myself against the leather and looked at my mate as he sat forward shielding me a bit in the process. Taking a step back meant that I recognised him as more dominant and his wolf needed that right now to stay calm. Was he going to lose it?

"How long have we been working together Mr. Brown?" Dante asked. "How long have we brother?"

Ezio hummed and looked at his brother. He was standing slightly behind his brother but that would be ok with Dante's wolf. He would not see that as a challenge while he looked at the human.

"Mr. Brown started with father, brother. So it's been at least thirty years." Ezio answered.

"Thirty years. That's a long time to screw over your family Mr. Brown." Dante replied with a soft voice. Oh boy.

"I don't understand..." Mr Brown said nervously.

Dante laid the documents neatly on the table and stood up. Ezio did the same and they neared the human while Lara and I remained on the couch. Mr. Brown's eyes were wide and showed a lot of white like a horse about to bolt. I felt for him. Dante could be scary.

"Where is the missing money Brown?" Dante asked nicely. "It should be more profit than that."

"If I were you, I would say the truth." Ezio said placidly. "We're family so we can try to sort it out if you explain."

"You're too nice Ezio." Dante chided in. "You know what we do to traitors."

Ezio sighed dramatically and Mr. Brown looked uncomfortable between the two men. He tried to look at Lara and me but no help would come from us. I met his gaze with a neutral expression.

"I can explain..." He said.

"We're all ears." Dante said with the creepy smile still on.

"We ran into some troubles in South America. The producers of cocaine wanted more money and refused to do the job unless we paid them more." He said.

"Why didn't you tell me that?" Dante asked coolly.

"I thought you didn't want to be bothered by such triffles Mr. Mancini so I agreed and they sent the goods as planned." He said uncertain.

Dante reached for Brown's neck and pulled their faces closer. Not good. I tensed on the couch and I could see a similar expression on Lara's face. I hoped that Ezio was good or the human would be dead.

"Next time, tell me about something like this or you won't like what will happen to you." Dante said his voice low. "Ezio. Send some people to visit. We'll make a clean place and find some new producers."

"All right brother."

Ezio took out a cellphone and started making some calls while Dante sat back down on the couch next to me. Did he just order a mass murder? All right. This was the real deal. I prepared myself for this so I just breathed out. I was actually happy that he did not rip Mr. Brown to shreds. His control was really good.

Dante took the papers back in his hands and stood up signaling us all to stand up. Mr. Brown was the last to stand because he was still shaking. I would too if Dante just threatened me like this.

"I'll be hearing from you then Mr. Brown." Dante said as if everything was peachy. "I want to know how things go down at the harbour and the results of our operations. On another note, I saw that the market for real estates will lose some points soon so invest the money in something else."

"Of course Mr. Mancini. We've been looking at several other markets. James will show you the papers." Brown said.

Dante nodded and put his hand on the small of my back to lead me out of the office. The gesture felt warm and it was such a contrast to what just happened. It felt like the man had two different personalities. One that showed me kindness and support, my mate or at least how I always hoped he would be and the other one was a complete opposite. It was the cold-blooded killer who always threatened me or my family and everyone around him, the mafia boss.

"What is it baby? You look deep in thoughts." He said as we walked to the elevator behind James. "Did it scare you?"

I shook my head and I noticed that it was the truth. It did not scare me that he wanted mass murder for his bruised ego. No. Was I getting used to things? Probably not. I understood that you needed to punish people for the good of the pack. That was what Alphas and Lunas did to keep the wolves in check when they did something wrong. Hierarchy was important to us and sometimes you had to punish the people around you.

"No it didn't. I'm just... sad I guess." I said.

He arched an eyebrow but did not question me further as we were back inside the elevator. It would be too risky to talk about those things in front of a human. Their hearings was not as good as ours but in this closed space, he would hear us just fine.

I meant it though. I was sad that he had to squash the good in him to do this. It was business and human lives usually meant little to us. We were werewolves. The pack comes first but I knew that it had a toll.

I remembered vividly the time I killed my first rogue. I felt terrible for weeks and his eyes still haunted me. I would do it all over again though if it meant that my pack was safe.

Dante felt my mood through our bond and he pulled me closer to his warm body. I leaned into it. I did not mind the comfort he brought me right now.

James took us to the second floor and the offices looked exactly the same as on the top floor. I sensed a theme here. He walked us to the first on the right and opened the door without knocking.

The young man behind his desk jolted and scowled at James as he looked at us. The young man was ashen blond with emerald eyes and looked pretty good if I was honest. He was wearing a navy blue suit and stood up immediately to shake hands.

"Mr. Mancini." James said. "This is Theo Buck. He's in charge of investing the money in a new business."

"Please take a seat everyone." Theo said while motioning to a table with chairs.

He looked at me and I offered him a reassuring smile. He blushed slightly and I must admit that it was a first for me. Dante brought back my attention to him by squeezing my hip and I smirked. Yeah. The tables have turned big man.

We all sat around the table as Theo explained what would be the best investment. This was a bit too much for me to follow. I knew market laws just as much as someone who was raised following the course of iron but some things he mentionned were still foreign to me.

Dante seemed to just thrive in it. I suppose you had to keep up with those things if you did not want the police breathing down your neck. There was still so much for me to learn.

I looked at the papers Theo provided and some of the names were familiar because those were markets on primary materials. I smiled as I remembered how many times my father explained me how all of this worked. I missed him. I missed all of them.

Once again, Dante noticed my mood swing and he laid a hand on my thigh for comfort. His hand was almost envelopping my whole thigh and a sudden image spread through my head. What could his fingers feel like?

I shook my head and focused back on the numbers in front of me. I could not let myself get aroused around the wolves and humans. The humans would not notice but the others definitely would and they would start to look at us. No way. That would be too embarassing. I would die before I let that happen.