Page 9 of His Treasured Mate

He chuckled. “She still makes me feel as happy as the day I'd found her.”

I snorted. “I was there for that, remember? Happy isn't exactly the word I'd use for it.”

He shrugged easily. “I guess things always look better in the rearview mirror.”

“Touché my friend. Now, what's on the schedule? I fear Lily's going to press me to leave for Westin Pack early.”

“Anything concerning I should be aware of?”

“Not really.” I waited until we were in my office with the door shut and the dampener on before filling him in. “Apparently, her sister Elise is pregnant. She hasn't said anything yet, but I know my mate. She's going to want to get there as soon as possible to check on her. This also wasn't her first pregnancy, so they are rightfully nervous.”

“I'm sorry to hear that, but Lily knows that pain better than anyone. I'm sure she can help her through this time.”

“Exactly. And knowing my mate, she's going to demand it.”

He chuckled again and nodded.

“So boss, what's the plan then?”

Luke had been a great Alpha or at least had the potential to be. If his Pack hadn't taken a hard hit losing nearly everything to a fire, I liked to think we would have been strong allies despite the history between our Packs.

Larken wolves had originally been Collier wolves. A falling out and cry for a new Alpha instead of my father had caused a division in the Pack. I had never really understood all the details of what had happened, but Jedidiah Larken had defected, taking about a dozen wolves with him, and formed Larken Pack in a rundown trailer park on the edge of Collier territory. The two had been at war with each other right up until his death when Luke took over as Alpha. He'd just wanted a better life for his wolves, and when it came down to it, that meant stepping down and working with me to merge the packs back together.

I respected the hell out of him for it.

At the time I'd insisted on a traditional fight to the death for Alpha as was expected in situations like ours. But he'd refused. I'd had Lily and by then he’d had Syd. Neither of us really wanted to do that to our mates. He'd submitted to me for the safety and protection of his wolves. They still looked to him first when situations arose and I tried not to let it bother me, mainly because Luke was always adamant about keeping the Pack order in check and reminding those still loyal to him who was actually in charge.

We both knew that my wolf would never have submitted to his. In a fight, I would have won, but I would have taken no pleasure in killing a friend or devastating Syd like that.

I shuddered just thinking about it and was so grateful that we'd managed to work things out without it ever coming to that.

“Thomas?”

“Yeah, sorry. My mind is going in in a million different directions this morning.”

“Well, let's get this list started and get you out of here then.”

“Thanks, man.”

We went over the reports for the farm, the dairy, and the cattle. It was something we did at least twice a week as it was the biggest commodity of my Pack and supported us all.

Since assuming my role as Alpha, I'd expanded our production tremendously and it was doing well. With some finance restructuring and advice from Lily's twin brother Liam, who runs the prestigious Westin Foundation, Collier Pack was stronger than ever and financially secure with a sizable nest egg should a devastating natural occurrence ever happen again.

Once upon a time we were a farming community raising just enough produce to sustain ourselves while making a decent profit exporting our excess. That had come to a crashing halt after one bad season. It was a terrifying thought.

My father had rallied back by investing in cattle. It had served us well. My sister Ruby had pushed for expansion into dairy as well, not just beef. Now we were a sizable ranching community. There were those that wanted me to allocate land back to farming, but I still wasn't sure we had the resources in place to make that happen.

I stared down at yet another proposal for just that. This time from Kenneth Smith. My sister Peyton was mated to his brother Oliver.

“You've got to hand it to the kid, he's persistent,” Luke said as I passed it to him to read.

“He is that. Do you really think he could pull it off?”

“A combination of land and greenhouses for year-round sustainability? Maybe. I mean he's already doing it on a small scale for Kate's and it's going great. I know he's young, but if anyone can pull it off, it's him.”

“Okay,” I said. “I want you to hear him out while I'm away and we'll discuss when I get back.”

“Sounds good. I know he'll be thrilled just to be taken seriously.”