Myths & Rejections

Chapter 47 - Stayin Alive

Word Count: 3451

"Hey Alpha Reese, got a second?" Porter asked just as Reese, Callum, and Adam were about to walk out the door.

Reese felt a slight irritation and part of him wanted to snap at Porter, but he recognized that as laid back and funny as Porter was, he was still the future alpha of the Everglades pack, and he had addressed Reese formally, so it must be pack business.

"Sure, Porter, what's up?" Reese answered, turning around.

"I wanted to talk to you for a second about the transfer of pack members that Harper mentioned," Porter said.

Reese tensed, he was still pissed at Harper, but reminded himself this was pack business.

"Did you talk to them about coming to our pack?" Reese asked.

"Yeah, I was able to catch up with Finn and he jumped at the chance to leave. Of course, as Harper mentioned, the moment Tosha heard about it she asked to go too. She's very protective of Finn, he's like family to her, she's been taking care of him since his parents disowned him for being gay when he came out at fourteen. He and Tosh have been sharing a room at the pack house for years so they would be ok with sharing a room or apartment or however you house unmated pack members."

"I was thinking of offering them rooms in the alpha's residence, I live there with Adam and Callum, but we stay on the second floor and the whole first floor is open, so they'd have their own space and I'll be there to ensure there's no trouble. The alpha's house is right next to the pack house, so they'd be close enough to hang out and socialize, but far enough away to have privacy if they need to get away from everyone while they adjust," Reese answered. "It's up to them though, both are nice, they'll pretty much have the run of the place if they stay at the alpha residence, our offices are at the pack house, so we spend most of our time there. The main advantage of living at the alpha residence is having a large full kitchen that isn't overrun with kitchen staff. If they like to cook or have their own food then the pack house is probably not the best place, since there are about ten staff that work there pretty much constantly and they're a little territorial. I can't even make my own sandwich when I'm there."

"We have three kitchens in our pack house for that reason," Porter laughed. "One for everyone to make and keep their own food, one for kitchen staff to cook the pack meals, and one for the pack leadership A.K.A my mom. Most of us live in the pack houses here, there are some private residences on our pack lands, most are around the pack village or in neighborhoods closer to the borders where the pack warriors live so they don't have to travel so far to do their patrols."

"We're not like that, only the unmated wolves live in the pack house, everyone gets their own house once they mate so they can have privacy. We have a construction company that builds or remodals all the houses and works contract in the human towns around our pack lands." Reese said, that was something he had put together while he was in college, and he was proud of it. "I don't think I have any houses available at the moment, but I can check that when I get back, if they'd rather live completely alone. But I'd like to have them in the alpha residence for at least a few weeks right after they get there just so I can make sure they have everything they need, and they are adjusting well."

"I appreciate that, Finn has been through a lot, I don't want him to have any more trauma for a while, or forever if I can help it," Porter said, relieved.

"We became the 'go to' pack for runners after Mom and Dad spearheaded the runner laws," Reese said, his temper was dying down remembering the reason the laws had been created and why Harper was so hostile to him. "We've learned a lot about what they need and how to help them heal from rejection and abuse. Devon is the only breeder, but we have a lot of runners, so he should feel at home pretty quickly."