Page 178 of His Fated Luna

"You're not coming alone,” Alistair warned. "Either I or my beta will be accompanying you."

"Tony's the beta, he should be out of hospital in a few more days,” Dylan cut in.

"My beta. Beta of the Silver Creek Pack,” Alistair clarified. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "How soon can we officially change the pack name? It's all one pack now."

"If you did that, you wouldn't be able to access the pack funds. We'd have to put in a request to change the name of our company, or you'd have to merge your company, if you have one,with ours." I spoke carefully, trying to gauge Alistair's reactions. He was awfully interested in funds and company formalities. For a man who claimed he wanted sons from me and more pack land, he was showing more of an interest in completely different aspects related to the pack.

I cocked my head to the side, what exactly was going on with him?

I was surprised when Alistair brought me back to the alpha residence of the Bloodfire Phoenix Pack.

"This is your home,” Alistair said brusquely, following me into the mansion. "You can continue to live here."

I watched Alistair walk towards Aiden's study, opening the door like he belonged there. Painful memories of me and Aiden lounging around in his study slashed through me, opening the wound his absence had created. But now was not the time to be weak. I followed Alistair in to see him opening drawers on Aiden's study table.

"What are you looking for in Aiden's study?" I asked cautiously.

Alistair looked up at me intently with a raised graying eyebrow.

"This used to be Alpha Austin's study,” he said grimly, shuffling through some papers in a drawer before slamming it shut. He looked up at me briefly again before striding over to the shelf on the far side of the wall. "Then it was Aiden’s. Now it's mine." His lips were set in a grim line.

"Maybe I could help with what you're looking for,” I ventured.

I didn't feel any sort of connection to this man despite a light tugging which my entire being rebelled against. This awful man who had killed Alpha Austin and had almost killed the love of my life. But I could fake it. "You are the alpha now,” I spoke a little hesitantly.

I didn't know if he'd believe me. Hell I didn't even know if I sounded convinced of what I was saying.

Alistair looked back at me, as if what I said wasn't all that surprising.

"Have you heard of Evercore Inc.?"

I blinked back my surprise. Alistair shook his head, disappointment evident in his eyes as he took in my complete confusion.

"Of course you haven’t,” he muttered to himself. "You were only a baby when they..." Alistair rolled back his shoulders, cracking his neck as he moved it from side to side. My gaze was fixed on him and I was trying to read his intentions. Alister looked at me again. "I need you to converse with your elders and ask Alpha Austin where the EIA report is for the creek."

"The...the creek?" I looked at him utterly flabbergasted.

What the hell was an EIA report?

"An EIA is an Environmental Impact Assessment. This is all going over your head, I know." Alistair's voice was dry and then he continued speaking, his voice held a tone of warning. "You will ask him, little wolf, or you will not like what I do with you as punishment for disobeying me."

I took a step back, but my black heel caught on the threads of the carpet. I stumbled slightly, just barely managing to get my footing.

"Good to see you're scared enough to cooperate.” Alistair’s voice was smug.

I decided to let him thinkI'd lost my footing from fear, not from a misstep.

"I can ask,” I offered in a small voice.

"Now." Alistair enunciated the word.

"We…we need to go to the temple."

So a quarter of an hour later, I found myself sitting cross-legged in the dark blue blazer and matching slacks I'd worn tothe board meeting earlier today. Alistair hadn't even given me time to change. There was something frantic in the way he was going about this. What was the rush? He seemed to be in a hurry to get the pack funds and find out about this Environmental Impact Assessment he kept going on about. I had never felt more out of the loop than Idid right now.

But as I tried to enact the ritual, there was only a brief flare of heat from my fingertips and no yellow glow to the room.

"What's going on?" Alistair asked anxiously, as I tried again for the tenth time. "Have they appeared yet?"