His eyes lit as he nodded, already seeming to have been thinking along the same lines. "Obviously, the pack will pay people for their work on municipal projects, but I was going to suggest working together and bartering skills to get the residential repairs accomplished. But trading back and forth to beautify their homes and handle the upkeep we aren't responsible for providing would benefit everyone."
Christina squealed softly with delight. "I was already excited about moving here. Now I'm ecstatic. One more question, and then I'm going to let you get back to work. Are all the homes the same size, or do you have any big enough to enable my parents to live with us? With them getting up there in years, I worry about them living alone. Dad has mobility issues, and Mom's memory isn't what it used to be."
I picked up my clipboard and pointed to a property suiting her needs. "Not only do we have different-sized homes to offer depending on family size, there are several with in-law suites. I think you'd like this one here best. It has four bedrooms, so all three of your pups would have their own room, and there's an apartment with a separate entrance, so your parents could live there without things feeling crowded for either of you. And even better, it's across the street from the community park we're planning to reopen soon."
My clipboard smashed against my chest when Christina spontaneously hugged me. As she squealed in my ear, I tried not to wince. "Thank you, Eli. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This home sounds perfect and way better than anything I could've hoped for. Quick, put my name down before anyone else finds out about it."
After another hug, she left to tell Tony the exciting news, while I assigned the first house of the day, sight unseen. The rest of the afternoon was a blur of showing houses to the people we thought they would suit and making the official assignments. At each home, Jared gave them their key and a small plant I'd provided as a welcome gift. If everybody assumed the plants had come from an order I'd made through a local nursery, the idea was fine with me. Putting my gift to use just felt good.
Matt and I ended the day in our suite, sitting on our small loveseat while a program played on the TV. I was lying back against the opposite arm with my feet in Matt's lap after he insisted on massaging them.
Sniffing in satisfaction, Matt smiled at the fragrance of the peppermint lotion he was rubbing in. I giggled and kicked involuntarily when he hit a ticklish spot. Fortunately, his reflexes kept him from taking it in the chin. I shrank my head down into my shoulders. "Sorry. This could've ended badly."
Matt turned his patient smile in my direction. "It's a risk I'm willing to take, little wolf. I'm proud to have such a strong, supportive mate. And this is the least I can do since you worked so hard after a horrible morning. Although he deserved what he got, I know witnessing your father’s death wasn’t easy.”
He wasn't wrong. Despite everything my dad had done or allowed to be done to me, I'd struggled with what I'd known would happen at the end of the challenge. My father would've been first to call me weak for feeling mercy, even for my own parent. But I wouldn’t be me if I didn't, and I was okay with that. Smiling back at Matt, I responded truthfully.
"No, it was no laughing matter. But given the other option? There was no contest. I will choose you every time."
"Damn straight, and it goes double for me. Not because I'm a better person than you, but I'm twice your size, so everything's automatically doubled, right?" He winked and went back to massaging my foot. "By the way, nice trick with the plants you distributed. Am I correct in assuming the existing pack members also got plants when they returned home?"
Joy burst in my chest and spread like wildfire through my veins. Realizing he already knew me so well felt good. "Obviously. Each plant was given with either a ‘welcome home’ or ‘welcome to your new home’ message, depending on the recipient. Paula oversaw distributing the ‘welcome home’ plants before lunch for me."
"Well, it was a thoughtful touch and a perfect use of your gift. Like I said, I'm proud to have such a strong, supportive mate. Now how about I carry you to bed? I wouldn't want you to fall down with all this slippery lotion on your precious tootsies. Once we get there, maybe we can snuggle in for a whole different kind of massage."
My dick twitched, and I shivered at the lust I both scented and felt through the bond. "If your whole different kind of massage involves the happy little trick you taught me the other day where we rub our dicks together, then sign me up and carry me away, good sir."
As his tongue slowly slid across his upper lip, Matt's eyebrow rose suggestively. "We could go over yesterday’s lesson. Or I could teach you a whole new one where my tongue massages your pretty little hole. And then my fingers will join the fun while I carefully prepare you for my favorite game. You know, the one where you sit facing away and ride my cock while I buck like a bronco? After our successful day, I'm looking forward to hearing you shout ‘yeehaw.’"
"Why are we still over here? I say you do less telling and more showing because this cowboy is ready to saddle up."
And since I had the best alpha in the world, that's exactly what we did.
Eleven
Matt
Jared and I spent the better portion of our morning going over my new financial situation. In his rush to collect pack members, Monty hadn't transferred Horace's assets over.
And as for the money tucked away in human banks, Elisha would be able to claim it as next of kin. Not everyone in our world complied with the human culture of legal marriage, but Horace made a quick trip to Vegas after taking Elisha.
Probably so he'd have a legal claim, but Jared found more than one secret bank account and a key to a safe-deposit box at a bank in Barstow—and all in Elisha's name. Tapping the key to my chin, I leaned back in the leather desk chair, here since my father was Alpha. The old springs creaked in defiance, but the chair was as solid as ever.
"Why would he risk giving Elisha a claim to his assets? I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around the idea."
Running a hand through his hair as he sighed, Jared looked weary of the whole situation. "To be honest, I think because he knew he could control Elisha and keep it hidden from the pack. At least we have the answer to the extra taxes and why no money was being spent on the town, I think. As you'll recall, Horace took all the normal overseeing duties away from the Gamma Council and left them in charge of security. The single pack member he trusted to some extent was me, and ferreting out this information he'd hidden took the better part of a week. I probably wouldn't have found everything if he didn't insist on using the same password and his bad habit of never clearing his browser history."
Growling softly, I slapped the key onto the desk. "So basically, this is all money stolen from the pack. I'll have to talk to Elisha, but I'm sure he'll agree it needs to be repaid directly to the pack's account."
Jared nodded glumly. "I'm sorry your uncle was such a bad guy. Remember, we all know you're not cut from the same cloth. This account, though, it's only in his name and hasn't been touched in a decade. He left it to accrue interest and basically forgot about it. It’s the money he got from your father's accounts, so it’s yours free and clear, with nothing for you to feel guilty over since you would've inherited it anyway."