The Billionaire Alpha’s Dilemma

Chapter Two

Isla watched the expression on the stranger’s face go from blank to distraught and back to blank in a second at her answer to his question about her father, she waited for him to continue, wondering why her father’s death seemed to have such an impact on a stranger.

“I am sorry for your loss” Remi said ruefully, “I am Remi Ruis and I’ve been informed that Brady Strand is or rather was an Authority on ancient manuscripts and mythical creatures, I was hoping he could help with a problem I’m facing currently, I have come from France, I hope that can tell the seriousness of my situation, Would you happen to know any other experts in this field? They will of course be richly compensated for their time”

Isla eyed Remi speculatively, she had never met any of Papa Strand’s special clients, he had taken care to teach her and involve her in compiling notes so she was extremely knowledgeable on his affairs but he never brought anyone he had worked with around her, he told her that that phase of his life was over, she wondered what supernatural disaster had befallen this man that stood with determined purpose in front of her and seeing an opportunity she seized it, she could not believe this luck that had just landed in her laps.

“I never met any of father’s friends from his work, I’m not even sure he had any friends in the same field so I can’t direct you to any other experts but he spent a lot of time teaching me extensively and he left his books to me, I might be able to help.”

As she said all these she hoped this man would accept her offer, he seemed desperate, why would he come all the way from France if he had better options? moreover, her scholarly nature was piqued, this was one of the things she missed Papa Strand for, he would make her solve theoretical problems faced by vampires or werewolves or some supernatural creatures.

Remi weighed her words and contemplated his choices, at this point he had none, the first signs of the curse had started showing a couple of weeks ago, it had taken the sorcerers living at the Lune Pack almost a week to figure out who had placed the curse, a few more days were lost unsuccessfully trying to find information on Pierre and whoever had helped him, they had tried to find a solution to no avail.

Now It was just 6 days to the sighting of the new moon and According to the Seers the curse that had turned Lucien and the others that had been infected would grow stronger and affect and wipe out the entire pack, the entire countryside was in danger from his pack if he didn’t find a solution quick before that night. After finding pamphlets at the Lune Pack’s library on Brady Strand addressing his prowess in finding solutions to problems faced by some European werewolf packs and Witch covens and even vampires Remi had not hesitated to go in search of the man, it had been a little hard finding his last known address but after numerous wrong leads it seemed he was at the right place, what did he have to lose?

If there were no positive developments by Tomorrow morning he would have to go off in search of other possible leads, the Bulgarian Soothsayer that specialized in curses seemed like the next viable option.

“Before I consider your offer, I need to ask, did you believe any of the things your father taught you?”

Isla smiled wryly and thought of all those evenings spent in Brady Strand’s study poring over dogearred and yellowed manuscripts and scrolls, listening to the soft timbre of his voice as he told her to always keep her mind open because she was full of wonder in a world that was full of magic

“the unexplainable can be explained if you look below the surface” he had always said. “Everyone thought that Papa Strand was crazy” Isla said, “not me. he showed me a world of possibilities and he never lied, as far fetched as some of the things in the books seemed he always believed so I believed” she thought of how she had begged her father to take her on adventures when she had grown older but he had always insisted her time would come but then he died she had buried herself in the failing bookstore he had left to her believing that without her benefactor and adopted father there would be no magical adventures to be embarked on.

“Is there somewhere more private like an office we can go to so we can discuss, I wouldn’t want someone to steal up on us like I did you” Remi said curtly causing Isla to blush furiously.

“This way please” she said as she walked past him down the aisle to a sturdy looking door which she swung open and walked into.

As she led the way her heart quickened as he followed her, she felt frumpy and unfashionable, she had never cared about making an impression with her clothes and usually chose her outfits based on functionality and the weather but now suddenly she wanted to look sophisticated and worldly to this Frenchman and in her dowdy little suit she felt none of it.

As Remi followed Isla’s lead he pondered on her little speech on belief and wondered how she would react when he told her what he really was, as he watched her legs sway in a suit that besides being an unflattering color did nothing for what he suspected were supple curves underneath, he again stifled the urge to touch her blonde locks, he wished he could untwist the severe knot at the base of her neck and free the fair tresses that looked like they would sparkle in moonlight. what was it about this woman that made him want to reach out and explore? in his experience women like these were sheltered and would faint dead away when they experienced things out of their reality, he wondered how he would deal with her if she panicked from the details he was about to disclose.

Merde! It was unfortunate for him that He didn’t have Rekia’s power to cast an erasure spell so the human would not have any memories of this encounter. But why was Brady Strand dead? There was already too much to deal with without adding an attraction to the bookkeeper and the potential hysterics human women were prone to, he needed to be done with this so he could move onto the next phase of breaking the curse.

As he stepped in through the open door he was hit with the musty smell of old books and paper, he shut the door behind him, leaned against it and studied the room, every wall covered in maps or a board with pieces of notes pinned and glued onto, there were steel lockers filled to overflowing with books and like the state of the rest of the building this room was in need of some serious overhaul, the place looked like it was crumbling. he watched Isla walk to an aging desk and try to hide a little pile of letters then sit behind it in a chair that dwarfed her, she then gestured towards the seat opposite and raised her questioning eyebrows at him.

“So this is where the magic happens” he tried to joke as he walked towards the seat he had been offered.

Remi took his surroundings in and wondered at the wisdom of being in close quarters with this bewitching human, his plan to have her trapped in case she tried to make a scene seemed to have turned on him, as she watched him walk purposefully in her direction she fumbled awkwardly with her glasses to hide the nervousness that was threatening to overwhelm her. “This was my father’s private office” she gestured around the room, “all these are from years of research and trips he had taken around the world, I used to beg him to take me with him but he said I wasn’t ready to go.” she said wistfully, the glint in her eyes looking suspiciously like tears. Taking a deep breath she looked directly at Remi, “is this private enough Mr Ruis, will you now tell me why you sought my father?”

Remi leaned back in his seat, steepled his fingers together and hoped everything he was about to say would not frighten her. despite all her claims he couldn’t help feeling some worry about her potential reaction, regardless he spoke;

“I belong to the Lune werewolf pack in Normandy, it’s a gathering of the wealthiest werewolves and we live on a commune in France with Sorcerers, we are dedicated to growth and towards attaining knowledge and mostly keep to ourselves, a year ago when my father the Alpha passed, the title of Alpha was to come down to me as his heir but the title was challenged by one of my pack brothers, and as is customary there was a duel to decide the Alpha and I emerged winner, I spared his life and banished him from the Commune, that was the last I heard of him until very recently when we found out he joined forces with someone with magical powers and is not intent on taking out every member of the pack that had been opposed to his leadership as revenge." he glanced at her.

"he has gotten to a number of the members of the pack, the Sorcerers that live in the commune have tried but the enchantment is too strong for them to break, we managed to reinforce chains with magic so we can keep the affected werewolves locked up and away from causing havoc but it will be a full moon in six days and according to the seers, the enchantment’s circle will be complete and the entire pack will turn into mindless raving beasts, our efforts in searching for a way to put a stop to that brought me to your doorstep, I could not help but notice the slew of eviction notices and the state of your store, I can help you fix that as payment for the duration of the time you will work for me and successfully help me break the curse.” his face unreadable as he watched her and then added almost as an afterthought “you will of course come back with me to Normandy if you find the way to break the curse.” Then he settled down and waited for the outburst he was sure was on its way.

Isla listened ardently as Remi recounted his story and she struggled hard not to let her jaw drop, a real life werewolf? She was giddy, this was what she had been waiting for so long to happen, evidence of all the stories she had listened to Papa Strand tell. if this supposed werewolf told the truth that would explain how he had walked through the bookshop, past the aisle with the noisy boards and up to her without making a sound, werewolves were renowned for their stealth, he must also have very keen eyesight because they had been in the room less than a minute before she had swiped the mail from the top of the table, he could have done without mentioning her dilapidated building, the thought of accompanying him to France made her a little anxious, she had never traveled out of Nantucket and now with a man that she was having these strange feelings for, there was also the matter of Ruth, who would take care of her if she left? She was excited about earning enough money to set her plans in motion, she however was not comfortable with his asking her to come along with him.

She however schooled her voice to hide any excitement and spoke,

“don’t you think that I would need some kind of proof to believe your story?” Pushing the letter opener on the table towards him she raised her eyebrows at him, “let’s see how well you heal.”

Remi was taken aback, the bookkeeper was made of sterner stuff than he had previously thought, he breathed a sigh of relief and wordlessly reached for the letter opener, spread his palm and cut a line through then raised the bleeding palm and showed Isla.

As she watched his blood bead and drop from the wound it began to heal and close up immediately and in a minute there was nothing, not a scar not even a line, as if in a daze she reached forward to trace where the letter opener had previously sliced and gasped in delighted surprise at the smooth unmarked skin of his palm. “impressive!” she whispered as she reached for a wipe and cleaned all traces of blood off the table top then she pulled out a notebook and began to scribble as she asked him to go over the details of the curse again.