Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Chapter 15

Musu tries to hide her disappointment at Bronx's reaction, even though we were both expecting it.

"You did a good job, Musu. We knew he would not say yes that easily," I place my hand on her forearm to comfort her, "It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

She smiles weakly at my compliment, "Thank you, Lenora. I suppose you're right. At least he didn't break anything."

"Listen, we have half an hour before the Bronx's message goes live. How about we take a break from work? I'll ask Mrs. Miller to bring a snack and we will watch the broadcast together. We can get back to research after."

Her smile widens to genuine gratitude as we make our way to the love seat on the other side of the room. I mind link the kitchen staff and ask for some snacks and drinks so Musu and I can relax for a bit. Ever studious, Musu keeps doing research while we wait for our food and the announcement to be released, but came up with nothing. It isn't long before one of the omegas brings us food and drinks so we can sit back and relax. I turn on the TV.

The talking head announces a rare statement directly from the CEO of MasonCo, Bronx Mason, in regard to his wife, Kas Mason. A head shot that the PR team took of Kas shortly before she and Bronx got married flashes on the screen. An involuntary smile crosses my face just by seeing her.

"Our Luna is so beautiful," Musu muses with a smile of her own.

"Yeah, Bronx is a lucky guy, huh?" I giggle. Musu follows suit, with a little elbow in my side.

The video of Bronx slides onto the screen. He is wearing a gray suit like Ashley recommended, but he is wearing a black shirt and black tie. His eye patch is light green to match his eye. I recognize it immediately. Kas gave it to him for Winter Solstice.

I watch as my brother lets go of all pretence and speaks the way he did when he was in the military. A glint in his eye and tone in his voice that I have not seen or heard since before he met kas. The deliberate, succinct, calm cadence in contrast to the unrelenting intensity of his glare and caustic severity of his words makes my jaw go slack. I look over at Musu, who is wide eyed with a tortilla chip sticking out of her mouth, mid-bite. She has never known this side of him.

"Is this the Bronx Mason who Elder Henri warned me about?" she asks in a quiet voice, never taking her eyes off the screen. Elder Henri served in the military with Bronx. He knows exactly how dangerous my brother can be.

"Yeah...that's him. He's been gone for a while, but looks like he's back," I clear my throat, "This explains his reaction to the video we showed him."

My cell phone dings with a text message.

Dad: Lenora. What the Hell is going on?

Lenora: Everything is okay now, Dad. I didn't know that was what he recorded though

Dad: Tell your brother to call as soon as he can. Mom is ready to strangle him. Love you, sweetie

Lenora: Okay, Dad. Love you too.

Mom and Dad have been in Norway for the last five weeks. We had called them when Kas went missing. They offered to come home, but there was nothing we could think of that they could actually do to help, so we told them not to come. They were relieved when I let them know Kas was back. Just like everyone else, they love Kas with all of their hearts.

Bronx's little media message apparently has gone viral in a matter of ten minutes.

"You know what, let's get back to work," Musu says as she collects herself and finishes her chip.

"Good idea. Back to work."

Bronx's POV

We decide to have a driver take us in one of the dark tinted SUVs instead of driving ourselves to MasonCo headquarters. It's easier that way. We don't have to be seen until we are ready to see people.

I let myself get lost in my thoughts while Reggie has the PR team on speaker phone as he and Milo discuss what they should and shouldn't say to reporters. It's the regular shit. Be formal with traditional media reporters, be friendly with paparazzi.

I really just wanted to stay home with Kas and spend time with her. Make sure she is alright. I know she said she can't remember the last four days, but yesterday was definitely stressful for her. 1

I pull out my phone and call Carly.

"Good morning, Alpha. Can I help you?" she answers, ready to get to work.

"Carly, have flowers sent to the Luna. Roses. Purple and white," I instruct, "A lot of them."

"Yes, Alpha. Is that all?"

"For now, yes. We should be there in fifteen minutes. How's the atmosphere?"

"Well, a little tense, but calm with all things considered."

"Alright, good. What's on my agenda for the day?"

"Two messages so far this morning. The Council needs to speak with you about Silver Moon. They didn't give more detail than that. Also, the CEO of Santoro Enterprises wants to speak with you. Something about a data center in Montana. Her assistant insisted that the meeting be with you. They are based out of Greece, but they are willing to come here for the meeting." "Santoro Enterprises?" My interest is piqued. We just finished watching the video of Cordell Santoro being murdered last year. I didn't know the Santoros were wolves until the video, but now that I know, I'm happy to meet with them. The timing seems a little too convenient, though.

"Yeah, Katherine Santoro," Carly confirms.

"Okay. We can look at schedules when I get into the office and figure something out for both things. Thank you, Carly," I hang up without waiting for a reply.

I look at my phone to check emails when I realize the car is absolutely silent. I look up at Milo and Reggie. They are both staring at me like I just stole the crown jewels.

"What?" I ask, confused by their reaction.

"Santoro Enterprises?" Milo says.

"Yeah. Reggie, you are on recon to figure out who Katherine Santoro really is before the meeting. Loop in Lenora and Musu if necessary. Something is clearly fishy here," I say, crossing my arms in front of me. "You got it, boss. Want me to send a team to Greece?" he asks.

"Do what you need to do," I confirm.

"What am I doing?" Milo asks.

"You're still on reporter and paparazzi duty."

"Ah man, Reggie, how come you get to do all the fun stuff?" Milo whines.

"Just lucky, I guess," Reggie smiles and elbows Milo.

When we finally get to the office, reporters swarm the car, but the security guards hold them back until we get into the underground garage.

"Yeah, you guys stick me with the sucky jobs," Milo complains, looking at the people trying to catch a picture of me.

"When was the last time it was like this?" Reggie wonders out loud.

"When we got back from the honeymoon and everyone found out they took Kas hostage in the jewelry store robbery," I remember it like it was yesterday, not a year and a half ago.

We climb out of the SUV and I look at Milo one last time before I feed him to a completely different type of pack of wolves than he is used to.

"Where's your tie?" I ask.

"I only had a Winter Solstice tie. It is in the shape of a Solstice tree. As fun as that would be, I didn't feel like having you strangle me today. Maybe you will have better luck tomorrow," he gives me a goofy grin. I'm not in the mood for Milo's shenanigans right now. I take my tie off and hand it to him. He rolls his eyes and takes it from me and puts it around his neck. He pulls the end over his head like it's a noose, crosses his eyes, and sticks out his tongue. Reggie snickers. I walk away before I actually strangle my brother-in-law.

Carly meets me in the atrium of my office with some stacks of papers. She follows me to my desk so I can review them. While I'm signing my name to paper after paper, she updates me on other matters. "I'm working with Katherine Santoro's assistant to nail down a date and time for the meeting, Alpha," she informs me, "I also have our analysts already looking into the financials for the company to make sure it is even worth it."

"Thank you, Carly. Who was it that called from the Elder Council? I will call them back now?"

"Elder Randall," she says quietly, avoiding my eye.

I groan. That guy is such a jerk. A lot of packs believe I will be elected to the Elder Council when I retire. I hope Randall retires before that happens.

"Alright, I'll take care of him. Keep me posted on Santoro Industries. Offer them accommodations at the pack house."

"Yes, Alpha," she bows and backs out of the room, closing the door behind her.

I call Elder Randall before I get interrupted again.

"Ah, Alpha Regent Bronx Mason," he answers jovially, using my full title and name.

"Hello Randall. You called about Silver Moon?" I ask.

Silver Moon is the pack Kas grew up in. When the Council found out about her abuse, they stripped the Alpha of his title and forced him to be a rogue. They gave the rest of the pack the option to either stay, request refuge in other packs, or peacefully become rogues themselves. About half of them left on their own accord. The Council took over to lead the pack until a new suitable Alpha could be found, trained, and acclimated to the pack.

"Bronx, listen. I hate to call you in these circumstances, but we need your help with Silver Moon. It's been two years and we still haven't been able to find an Alpha to lead them.

"Okay, so what are you asking me to do?"

"We need you to absorb them into Blood River."

"Excuse me? You want me to just absorb three hundred wolves into my pack?" I ask in disbelief.

"Well, we would give you financial support obviously. We wouldn't expect you to do it on your own."

"Randall, I understand Silver Moon is under my region and I am responsible for them, but have you seen the news? Right now isn't the best time for me to make such a big change to my pack." "Yes, I know. In my defense, the announcement wasn't out until after my initial call. I am sorry to hear that Luna Regent Kas has been through an ordeal. That being said, I know this sounds like a request, but it isn't. The Council is making this a requirement."

I lean back and rub my hands on my face. I can feel the flush of anger heating me up from my neck up. Aside from the fact that I don't have time or patience to take on another three hundred people into our pack, I'm extremely hesitant to take on people from Kas's past onto our territory.

The Goddess is testing me. There is no other way to look at it.

"Alright, Randall. How long do I have for this transition? Can I get six months?" I do my best not to let my voice growl.

"Let's say start within four months, complete transition in six months. We can go to Silver Moon next month and make the announcement."

I lean forward, holding my head up with my hands," We need to give them the option to not come to Blood River, Randall. Each and every one of them needs to know, if they come to my pack, it is on a probationary period based on the history with my Luna. I will not tolerate abusive pack members on my territory. And I will take matters in my own hands if I find anyone has stepped even a toenail out of line. That includes execution by my hands if I deem it justified. If the Council wants me to be responsible for these wolves, they don't get to interfere in my pack matters. Do you understand? Do I make myself clear?" 1

There is a long silence on the line.

"Randall?"

"Yes. I am sure we can make some sort of concession. I will call next week when things aren't so tense, Bronx."

"That's Alpha Regent Bronx to you." I hang up the phone before he can respond.

I sit in the silence, focusing on what my therapist would say. She would say, choose where to focus your energy. Right now, my energy needs to be focused on my mate. I look at the stack of papers on my desk and the unread emails on my computer screen. I need to power through all this so I can get home to her.

A small knock on the door pulls me from my work. I look up at the clock, one-thirty.

"Come in," I call out.

Carly comes in, looking a little pale, "Um, Alpha?"

I put my pen down and look at her with concern," What's wrong Carly?"

"I just got a call from Tyree. The Luna just tried to kill James."