Fated for Two

“In my old house,” Brenton said, as he sat down at the table and looked uncomfortable as he gazed at Everard. “I haven’t been back since the day after they died. I went back one time and grabbed all my clothes, leaving everything else. I came close to burning it to the ground, but Owen stopped me, told me I’d regret doing it one day. He said it might not be as soon as I did it, or in a few months, or even in a few years, but one day I would need the memories it held, and I would regret it. That’s when I decided to make him my beta.”

“So, we need to go there and see if we can find those papers,” Farrah said as she began to pull food from the refrigerator for them to eat. “I wonder if anyone else thought about your parents’ house? If they did, it may be a huge mess in there.”

Brenton sighed and tapped his finger on the tabletop nervously, staring down at it and saying, “I honestly don’t know if I can go back. I know if those papers exist, we can’t leave any rock unturned because we need to find them, I do. However, the thought of walking through that door, knowing my parents won’t be there, it kills me.”

Farrah and Everard both moved forward, kneeling and wrapping their arms around him the best they could with him seated. They held him tightly as his body shook from the pain of his grief, though he didn’t cry. Finally, he calmed and wrapped his arms around the two of them, pulling their heads into his chest, as he said, “Maybe with the two of you beside me I can do it. I’m willing to try because this is important.”

“Tomorrow, after the meeting is over,” Everard said as he pulled back slightly. “I think that would be… no, maybe not.”

“Why not?” Brenton inquired.

“Because I fear we’re about to stir up a hornet’s nest by standing united, and whoever the mole is will be watching us like an angry hawk. Brenton, your family was killed because someone wants this land,” Everard said. “My family may have even been killed for it; we don’t know. When I was told Dad and Mom had been killed, along with Warren, in an attack, I never questioned that it was because of the war. Thinking back on it now, with a different viewpoint, I must wonder. Was it just a pack war that killed them, or was it because of someone’s intent to gain this pack for themselves? Could they possibly have been killed at that point so that everyone would just assume it was the war that killed them, and it wasn’t? I don’t know, and until we find out exactly what that contract between our fathers was, we won’t ever know, and we will be fighting this unknown fight until it kills us. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy peace too much to live like that.”

Brenton took a deep breath and let it out slow as he mused, “This just gets worse and worse the more we uncover, even without the speculation. I have one question though that has crossed my mind more than once today. What really started this whole thing? Is it just because your uncle wanted the pack or is it more than that? Why would he even still want it since he has a pack of his own? Did your dad and mine have something else between them besides combining our packs? If they did, what was it? Not only that, but it isn’t as if this pack is exactly… um…”

“It isn’t exactly prosperous anymore,” Everard answered when Brenton stuttered to a halt.

“Well, yeah,” Brenton agreed. “I mean, there has to be a reason, a really big reason that they want it so badly. You’d think you were sitting on a diamond mine or something the way they keep killing people for it.”

Farrah gasped, causing the two men to look at her. Her eyes were wide, and she was pale. She whispered, “What if it is something like that? What if there is something on this land that people would kill for? It wouldn’t be the first time. Not only that but if it is Everard’s uncle, he would know about it, whatever “it” is.”

Everard frowned as he answered, “As far as I know the land is just that, land. No diamonds or anything else of value here. I will say though that if there is, it will most likely be in those papers that everyone is looking for. In fact, that may be exactly what they are looking for instead of a contract between our fathers. Now, my dad never had any kind of safe or bank vault, but he and Alpha Phillips were thick as thieves, almost as thick as Brenton and I were. So, I’m thinking if there was anything important to be had, Alpha Phillips would have had it to keep it safe.”

“Wouldn’t they have told us though?” Brenton asked his eyebrows coming together in confusion.

Everard shook his head and sadly reminded his friend, “I know my dad loved me, he did, but he never saw the need to tell me anything. I wasn’t Warren, slated to be alpha, so there was no need to keep me in the know when it came to our pack’s business. Besides, he probably figured your dad would tell you and as the beta of your pack…”

“I would tell you,” Brenton stated, his confusion clearing. “I suppose that would be his logic, knowing your dad.”

Everard nodded in agreement.

“Okay, so after the meeting tomorrow, you two need to go about business as usual until things cool off,” Farrah spoke up to add. “Then, in a few days, we’ll go visit Brenton’s old house. We make sure we have a story about why we’re there though in case we’re followed. Brenton, you might make noises about how you’ve been thinking about your parents a lot. How patching your friendship with Everard has stirred up memories of them or something like that. If we find those papers there, we have to be careful that we don’t get caught with them since someone is willing to kill for whatever they contain.”

“I might talk to Owen, as my beta, he’ll need to know I’m thinking about the house, about going back. He’ll understand even if nobody else does. I don’t think he’d think anything of me going there because we’ve talked about it. I’ve never told anyone else anything though, they just believe I didn’t want to live in that big house alone,” Brenton said. “Most will just figure now that I have a mate, having a house is a priority.

“What will you tell Owen then?” Farrah asked.

“I’ll just say that after all this time I believe it’s finally time to face my past. I’ll also mention that my mother had some things that were to be passed down to my mate and I want to see if those things are still there,” Brenton said, a thoughtful look on his face. “Or, I could say that I can’t run from my past forever, and it's past time to decide what to do with the house. At one time it was mentioned that it would be a good place to start a daycare. I could tell the nosy ones that their new Lady alpha is interested in those kinds of things in the pack and wanted to see if the house was worth fixing for that idea. So, see, I have options for cover stories.”

Farrah nodded and said, “A daycare, that’s a really is a good idea, if the house is in good standing.”

“As I said, Owen knows why I left there, so he keeps an eye on it,” Brenton admitted. “He tells me if there is any storm damage done and I tend to have someone go fix it quickly. Owen also knows I can’t bring myself to go there, but I think he realizes I’m not ready to let it go either.”

“Then if nobody else believes your story, Owen will,” Farrah said.

“I believe so, yes,” Brenton agreed.

“Did you and Owen have a good talk? You never did say,” Farrah asked later in the evening as she stood up once more to work on something for them to eat. She placed some grapes on the table for them to snack on while she cooked, knowing that the men would be starved as late as it was.

“We did, and yes, he was worried about what would happen with Everard back in my life,” Brenton informed them as he grabbed a few of the grapes. “Owen and I aren’t exactly friends, but he’s loyal and does what I ask. He’s a couple of years younger than us and growing up he saw firsthand how close Everard and I always were. I think he figured I’d replace him in a heartbeat if Everard wanted the beta position.”

“Wait, so Owen got the idea that because our friendship has been renewed that I would want to be your beta?” Everard asked. “He does realize I still have a pack to run, right? So how did he come to that conclusion?

Brenton paused in his snacking and stared at Everard. He didn’t have the answer to that question. How did Owen get that idea? I don’t remember saying anything. I told him Everard and I wanted both packs to come together tomorrow. Did I say anything about combining our packs?

Farrah turned to look at them when they became silent. She then stated, “He may have just assumed it because I’m sure they probably know how much this pack is struggling.”

Everard nodded and murmured, “Yeah, that could be. Some of them work in the city and possibly know I’ve tried multiple times to secure a loan. It would make sense that word got around.”

Brenton cleared his throat and continued, “I didn’t get the vibe that he had anything to do with the destruction of our offices because he seemed genuinely distraught over it. He even showed me his favorite mug his daughter made him, it was broken beyond repair and I thought he was going to cry over it. I believe we had a good talk and I relieved any concerns he may have about losing his position.”

“Wonderful, one less thing to have to worry about anyway,” Farrah said as she placed the meat in the oven to cook. She then joined the men at the table.

“I honestly think that even though this pack is small, between it and my pack, Everard and I will be plenty busy being co-alphas,” Brenton continued.

Everard began to shake his head, a panicked look on his face as he exclaimed, “No, no, no, Brenton! I don’t want to be…”

“Everard, please listen to me,” Brenton said calmly, turning in his seat so he could take hold of Everard’s shoulder. “I am an angry alpha. If I had my way I would rule through anger and punishment. You have always been able to calm me down and make me see that anger isn’t always the way to go. We balance each other out Everard, and together we will make a good alpha. I need you to be alpha with me to keep me in line.”

“That is what your mate is for, to calm your anger when you become overbearing,” Everard reminded him, not looking the least bit convinced.

“Yes, usually that is true, but she is a mate to both of us,” Brenton said. He smirked and added, “Let me explain it another way. You and I are one person, I’m the angry alpha half, you’re the happy alpha half. Farrah is the glue that keeps both halves together. So, problem solved, together we are one alpha.”

Everard stared at him; his eyes slowly widening in his disbelief.

Brenton winked.

Everard burst out laughing as he leaned his forehead against Brenton’s chest.

“Brenton, my crazy brother wolf, we are not one person in any way shape, or form,” Everard said as he continued to chuckle. “I suppose though, if that is the way you want to play it, I will let you, for now.”

Brenton wrapped his arm around the shoulders of his wolf brother, pulling him closer as he gave a happy sigh, saying, “Thank you, my wolf brother. Now that we have that squared away, Farrah, what’s for dinner?”