Skaydal - Unsettled Beta

6

Mato

“So, I haven’t heard anything from Grayson,” Carmen said as she approached the picnic table. We were seated at one of the many tables that had been set up in the town square. When Skaydal decided to do something festive, they went all out.

“Do you think that means he isn’t interested in helping us?” Jett asked and I sighed softly. If Grayson wasn’t interested, that would mean we would have to apply for other jobs around town.

“I don’t know,” Carmen admitted as she sat down. Our parents were around here somewhere, but it was just the three of us for now. We sat around in silence as we shared the large box of fries, and I considered telling them about Zack. I still couldn’t quite come to terms with the fact that he had called on me for comfort. I had no idea what had gone down with Benjamin and Samantha, but clearly, Zack was taking it hard.

“Where did you go last night?” Triston suddenly questioned and all eyes were on me.

“Ah…” I wasn’t sure I even wanted to tell them.

“Wherever you went, we know you didn’t come back until this morning,” he then added, and I felt myself blush.

“You were with him, weren’t you?” Carmen teased with a smile. I remained silent. “You were!” she then exclaimed, and I turned away to avoid their gaze. I spotted Grayson and I jumped up.

“Alpha!” I called out as I waved my hand over my head. Grayson paused and then slowly looked around. “Alpha!” I said again and this time his eyes met mine and he nodded as he started to make his way toward us.

“Do not think this gets you out of telling us what happened,” Carmen whispered harshly.

“Hey guys, having fun?” Grayson asked as he stopped by our table.

“Yes,” Triston and Jett said. Carmen simply nodded while I did my best to hide my awkwardness.

“Um…yeah, so, we were just wondering if you had a chance to go through our business proposal?” Grayson’s smile vanished and then he frowned.

“Business proposal?”

“Yes, I sent it to you a couple of weeks ago,” Carmen said, and I flinched at the tone of her voice. Grayson didn’t seem to pick up on it or he chose to ignore it as he shook his head.

“I must have missed it,” he said. “But I’ll make sure to check it out as soon as possible,” Carmen’s expression softened. We didn’t have any right to be mad at him. Not after everything he has had to go through.

“Thank you, Alpha,” I said softly, and he nodded thoughtfully.

“I’m sorry I missed it, it’s been a rough couple of weeks and with the wedding plans…it’s no excuse and I’ll get to it soon,”

“No, of course,” Carmen hurried to say, and while the tension had eased, Grayson clearly felt bad.

“We just thought you may have rejected the idea,” I explained. “And I was basically just fishing for information,” Grayson chuckled as his eyes scanned the crowded town square. He was probably looking for his mate.

“Fish all you want, anytime, Mato,” he then said as his eyes met mine. I felt like he was giving me some sort of private message, but I didn’t understand it. He held my gaze for a second longer and then he excused himself. Carmen breathed easily but then she turned to me and pointed her finger.

“Now, talk up, brother. Were you with him last night?” I shrugged in response. I didn’t want to share it with them. What Zack and I had shared was amazing and I was hopeful that maybe it would be a fresh start for us. Even though I had been rude in that note, I wanted him to fight for us. When my siblings realized I wasn’t going to talk, they changed the subject and started talking about possible spaces we could buy or rent. I didn’t pay much attention as my mind drifted to Zack. It was while I was looking around that I noticed something, and I grabbed onto Jett’s arm.

“What?” he asked loudly.

“Sshh,” I hissed out. “Take a look around and tell me what you see,” as casually as we could, we all took a long look around.

“That table over on our right with the man and woman and the two kids,” Triston said, and I nodded.

“The group of teens over by the hotdog stand,” Jett added.

“The two older ladies sitting on that bench by that pinkish tree,” Carmen said. “What is going on?” she then asked, and I abruptly stood up.

“Let’s go,” I said as I tidied up the table. The second we were away from the crowd, we talked about what we had seen and what it meant.

“Why were they looking at us like that?” Jett questioned.

“I don’t think they like us,” Triston answered, and I was blown away by that.

“But why…?” I asked curiously. “We barely know these people,” I pointed out as we walked down the road toward our house.

“Who knows, maybe they were just curious,” Carmen tried to reason, but I had a feeling it wasn’t that. No, they didn’t like us. They don’t like us. The question is why.

“Let’s just keep our guard up,” Triston said firmly, and once we were safely inside our house, I finally relaxed again. Things were looking up. Grayson would check out our proposal and hopefully, he would approve it. Once he did, then we would be busy with the business and, hopefully, whatever those people have against us will either become known or disappear. I was hopeful for the latter.

Two days later, Grayson sent Carmen an email approving the proposal. He had set up a meeting and that meant our dreams were about to come true. I wasn’t worried about the meeting, but as we headed to the pack house, my nerves were shot. We were prepared. Carmen had gone through every possible question and what our answer would be. I wasn’t worried about anything and yet, I was worried about everything.

“Ah, welcome,” Grayson said as he opened the door. It was beyond awkward and all I could hope for was that Zack wasn’t around. “Come in,” he led us to the sunroom, and, although the pack house was currently empty, I was surprised to see that we would be having our meeting in such an informal setting. I was relieved but also curious. “My apologies for taking so long with your proposal. But I think it is an amazing idea,”

“Thank you,” Carmen said.

“Now…my banker should be here shortly to go over the numbers, but…I have to say, I am impressed,”

“Really?” I blurted out and Triston shot me a warning look. Me and my big mouth. Grayson, however, was laughing.

“Yes, really,” he said. “Look with the merger, I know that a lot of you are feeling out of sorts and still busy finding your footing,” he wasn’t wrong there and I wondered if I should bring up the dirty, distrusting looks. Nothing had changed and now all I noticed was how people would look at me. At us. “I think that with this café, we can unite the two packs into one. Just because it’s been done on paper, doesn’t mean that everyone feels like that,”

“Good point,” Carmen said. “I suppose we are all wary of each other,” she then added, and I knew she was doing what I had thought about. She was letting Grayson know that not everything was peachy.

“Granted, you all have a right to be wary of each other. It’s like a new neighbor. You are curious and careful until you get to know them and build up a friendship,” he said, and it was a good analogy.

“The only problem is no one is getting to know anyone,” I said, and this time Jett smacked me on my arm.

“No, no,” Grayson said to him in a warning. “That is a problem, but everyone is feeling everyone out and that can take time. Keep in mind that…your pack had a lot of trust issues,”

“Are you saying it’s our fault?” I questioned.

“I think we are getting off track here,” Carmen quickly said.

“Yes, we are and no, I am not saying it is your fault. What I’m saying is, you’ve all gone through this and now things have changed and it’s time to adjust. It’s time for all of us to adjust,” I didn’t quite believe him, and I simply nodded. Carmen was right, we were getting off track and that was my fault. “All right, so when Joseph gets here, we’ll talk about numbers and then Jo-Ann will stop by and we can talk about your options for office space,”

“And a p*****t plan?” Carmen questioned and I had to hand it to her. She was on a roll. If it hadn’t been for her and Triston working so hard on this, we might not be here right now. Grayson looked confused for a moment and then he smiled.

“There is no p*****t plan,” he said. “At the end of the day, I want the business to prosper. I will fund the start-up and keep the business running for six months. Thereafter, it is up to you and the business,”

“I’m confused,” I remarked as I glanced between Grayson and Carmen. “What does that mean, Car?”

“It means our Alpha is going to give the money to start up the business. He is going to rent the office space; he is going to purchase all the products and decorate the café. He is going to pay salaries and so on for six months. After that, it is up to us,” she explained, and my eyes went wide. Jett looked just as surprised as me, but Carmen and Triston seemed wary but happy.

“And how much must we pay back?” Jett asked him and Grayson shook his head. “Nothing?”

“Nothing. This business is to further Skaydal, and I believe that it can offer so much to our community,”

“But…what if the business fails?” I questioned. “I mean, you are talking about just giving away a ton of money,”

“I’m not giving anything away, I am investing in a business I have faith in,” I shook my head at his words. I may not understand it, and I didn’t quite like it, but what other choice did we have? I made a note to talk to Carmen about it. Maybe we could come up with something. Something to give Grayson to repay his debt. When the banker and realtor showed up, things got real very quickly. A lot of it went over my head, but Carmen and Triston were on board, and I knew they would explain things better once we were at home. When the banker and the realtor left, a lawyer came by with a contract. I didn’t want to sign anything I didn’t understand, so while Jett and I headed to the kitchen, Carmen and Triston went through the documents with the lawyer.

“Is this really happening?” Jett asked me as he poured himself a glass of water.

“I guess so,”

“Are you ever going to tell me what happened between you and Zack?” he abruptly asked and slapped his arm.

“Sshh,”

“Tell me and I’ll keep it down,”

“Fine, but I’ll tell you tonight, not now and not here,” I said as I glanced around to make sure no one was close by.

“I’m holding you to that promise, bro,” he said, and I sighed. I wasn’t sure what I was more afraid of: telling them or listening to their opinions.