Page 22

Alpha Bitch

Sally had never felt this overwhelmed. Thankfully, Harry was with her.

The witch was not just a sweetheart, but she could do the work of half a dozen helpers with the wave of her hand.

The first thing they did was get a bedroom ready for her and Xantos to sleep in.

She felt weird taking the former pack alpha’s suite.

It had the best location, and the size was perfect for the two of them.

Next, they went through and prepared four guest suites for whoever was going to stay with them.

They might need more, but at least they had four to start with.

“What should we do next?” Sally asked.

“You need to find the alpha bitch’s office and find the maid and the cook unless they ran away with some of the others.”

“Is there anyone around that might know where the others are?”

"They are all hiding out until they see which way the wind will blow," Harry admitted.

They found the office, but it was more like a closet, and it contained only the most basic information.

It was evident that Elias had not given the acting alpha bitch much authority, and therefore, they wouldn't be much help.

She found some phone numbers that she had written down, and when she had the necessary numbers, she would begin making calls.

That was the plan, and that's what she did.

The backup accountant arrived in an hour, followed by a possible cook and then the housekeeper.

Harry cast a spell that allowed her to know if they were telling the truth or not.

Sally hired all three to start in the morning.

Now, she needed a secretary, a personal assistant, and a house manager.

It seemed like a lot of help, but she would need it with such a large pack.

Sally continued to work down the list and finally had everyone she required, provided they showed up and did a good job.

Two of them were going to be moving into the house, and one of them had a child and would need two rooms. That was when she and Harry went up to the attic, and Harry was thrilled to get up there.

“I wonder what kind of exciting things are in the attic," Harry observed.

“We'll soon see. Hopefully, it will be enough to furnish the small apartment that we want to put in there. One problem will be the plumbing, and another will be the electricity.”

“You worry too much. For all you know, there may already be an apartment up there.”

In this case, Harry happened to be right, but it wasn't much of an apartment.

It did deal with the plumbing and a tiny kitchenette.

Most of the attic was used for storage, and even part of the small apartment had become a storage dump for those who knew what to look for.

That was the task they started on the first day, and Harry was so excited that she shook as she went through the boxes.

There were many small things that some would call trinkets that excited Harry greatly.

“Get a box and start putting them in it, and as soon as we're sure that there's not anyone that owns them that wants them back, you can have them all," Sally mentioned.

“Are you sure? Some of these are so beautiful they might be worth something.”

“Your assistance is worth something, and you should get something out of it.”

“Look at this one!” Harry declared. “I think it might be magical.”

“Then who better to have it than you?”

The globe was beautiful, but if it was magical, Sally didn't want it.

She wanted someone magical like Harry to have it because she would be able to be sure that it wouldn't cause any harm.

It seemed to like Harry, and it glowed beautifully for her.

It wouldn't be nearly as beautiful for someone else.

“What do you think this place was used for?” Sally asked, unsure if she really wanted to know.

“To put someone that he didn't want anyone else to know about. The plumbing is old, and the appliances have been removed because they likely no longer work. A remodel is needed to make this a decent place for anyone to stay. But first, we must get rid of a lot of this extra stuff and see what we are left with.”

“Is there any way that you can track down who owned the stuff in the box? If you know who owned it, then you can find out if it's something that you can take away from here.”

Harry picked up an item, and it was apparent she was casting some kind of spell. She picked up a different item, which was nothing like the first one, and did the same.

“The owners of these two items are no longer alive. They are not buried here, and I am not sure where they are buried. That would require another spell that takes a lot more energy. I will flash the box away but leave it somewhere where it is available if someone turns up to claim it or any part of it.” Harry suggested, and Sally nodded.

The box was gone, but there were many other things to go through.

Since it was lunchtime and she knew Harry would need some energy, they went downstairs to the kitchen, where Harry checked the food for safety.

It was something she had always done since someone had poisoned the food at one of the alpha challenges.

Sally was glad that she did it. When people run away, sometimes, they leave nasty surprises behind.

Sally was able to throw some sandwiches together, and there were boxes of chips and cookies that they could use to eat.

She made extras because the guys would need something, and she wasn't sure where Marissa had gone.

They were in the middle of their meal when everyone congregated and began to pull out the food she had fixed.

“You checked things out, didn't you?” Damon asked.

“Of course. We never know what can happen at one of these challenges. Where is Marissa?”

“The Nanny was having trouble of the magical kind. She had to go back to help out.”

“Have all your children got magical talent?” Xantos asked.

“They all seem to, even the boys. That makes it harder to find a nanny. The one we have right now is a low-level witch, so she can handle the smaller things.”

“I can see how this might cause difficulties.”

“You may think so, but you will understand better in time," Damon observed.

“Are you telling me that I or my mate are a witch?”

“Not exactly, but you don't have to be a witch to have problems. Has Sally changed yet?”

“She has, but I wasn't there. She's not a white or red wolf.”

“No, she's not.” Damon agreed with the smile.

“Are you telling me she's gold?”

“Not at all. Maybe the two of you should go for a run if you are concerned with what color she is.”

She could see that her mate was worried, and she wondered what that meant. She was just a silvery gray, and that didn't mean anything, did it?

“I'm nothing special. You can ask Harry who was there when I changed.” Sally offered.

Xantos immediately looked at Harry, waiting for her to reassure him that his mate was just an ordinary wolf, but all Harry did was smile at him. “What color is she, and what does it mean?’

“Go for a run someplace private, and then you'll know," Damon assured.

Xantos took her by the hand and led her away, and they would find some private place to go for their run.

No one had even commented on the color of her parents and grandparents' wolves when they'd run.

Why was this suddenly so important? She was a silvery gray, prettier than the average gray but nothing special.

They went to a grove of trees, and no one seemed to be around, so they changed to wolves together.

It felt so good to be with her mate and ready to run.

She could see that he loved her color and the look of her wolf, and her wolf preened and admired his wolf.

That was the way it should be, wasn't it?

She took off on a hunt with him following.

There was a small creature, possibly a muskrat, and that was not something she had ever eaten or hunted before.

It was convenient, and her wolf needed the hunt because she was new and fresh, and everything was different.

It was amazing how quickly she caught it, and then she let it go. Her mate laughed, or as close to a laugh as a wolf could manage. They had much to do, and they needed to return to the group to decide how to proceed with these tasks.

They returned to the spot where they had started and flashed back to their wolves.

“You are a silver wolf. I believe you'll have some talents, but I'm not sure what they might be.

It will make some hunt for you even though you are mated.

Some will come after you. That is what Damon is talking about.

We'll have to determine what those talents are so we can utilize them effectively, as this is a large pack and will be challenging to manage.

Elias used to control others, and that is not something I want to do.

Initially, I believe they will think I am weak because of it.

I'm sure I'll face many challenges, but eventually, they'll see that I'm strong and can overcome any of my adversaries. You need to be concerned about that, too, so we will need to train often to keep in good shape.”

Xantos pulled her in close to him and gave her a hot kiss. She could tell he wanted more, but under the circumstances, they needed to get back to the people waiting for them. They needed all the help so that they could get this pack under control before their help left.

The first one to notice that they were back was Damon. “You see what I mean.”

“I do, but I don't know what talents might be lurking inside her. I'm not sure that anyone does.”

“There are a few that know, and given time, unfortunately, there will be many that know.” He admitted. “There is no way to hide something like this for long. Especially when you are a pack bitch of one of the largest packs in this part of the country.”