Part 1
1515 Words
Xander tugged at his hair in frustration. He would rather be lounging on his couch and having a whiskey than sitting on the painful bar stool with cheap liquor. Why did he agree to this again?
The voice in the pub increased even though he was in the VIP lounge. The area was crowded today because of its DJ night and he wanted to choke the person behind the idea. He gripped his glass tightly as the pounding in his head increased.
The Alpha felt the unknown scent crowd his space and he immediately turned his head only to notice a beta winking at him. She strutted towards him with a coy seductive smile on her face. The woman looked fine he wasn't going to lie with her slender straight body.
"Hi Alpha" She cooed while trailing her palms across his expensive Burberry suit. She sat across him, slightly hitching her legs up to give him a view.
He gave her a weak grin and brushed her hand away, "Not today sweetheart."
"But why?" She whined and it made him shiver because the beta was trying so hard. The Alpha felt tempted but he cleared his throat and inched away.
"Business call" He raised his file to which she huffed and stood up.
"Your loss" The beta rolled her eyes and walked away from the table. He did not even bother to look at her or comment to that because he dealt with a fair share of them.
"Xander! My guy!" The loud voice made him cringe. He looked in the direction of the noise only to notice his best friend turned business partner, Arthur Williams. He was an Alpha as well.
"How are you?" Arthur hugged him and patted his back making the Alpha wrinkle his nose at the stench of cheap drugs and perfume.
"Angry. Why did you call me to this s**t hole?" Xander grumbled while brushing off the invisible lint from his suit. He settled back on the barstool, wincing at the way it dug.
"s**t hole? This is the main attraction of Seattle. This is my baby" Arthur proudly said looking around.
"Yeah, whatever. Are we talking business or not?" Xander asked in an impatient voice.
"Always to the point this one this one" Arthur laughed looking at the bartender. She politely nodded her head and turned back to the counter which Xander was thankful for.
"All work and no play makes Xander a dull boy" Arthur chuckled while pulling a chair, the scraping sound-making Xander's ears ring. He was feeling too sensitive to the sounds and smells.
"I have enough fun thank you" Xander weakly defended himself while swirling the drink in his glass.
"Doing drills and making the pack run for life on weekends isn't fun Xander. Live a little"
"I don't have change for this s**t I'll pay you the next time we meet, eh?"
"You're an ass hole" Arthur shook his head pulling the file from under Xander's hands.
"Tell me something I don't know"
"Wow didn't page you for Selena fan" Arthur laughed looking up from the file.
"I'm not but I know certain someone who is her fan" Xander met his eyes to which Arthur shrugged his shoulders and looked up.
"Hey everyone's got their thing man unlike you." Arthur teased, his eyebrow lifting up when he noticed a blonde pass by.
Just before he could reply his cell phone rang loudly. The Alpha cursed under his breath and apologised. It was so unprofessional of him to have not turned it off. As soon as he noticed an international number his eyes narrowed.
"Who is it? A secret lover?" Arthur teased.
"Haha, why would your girlfriend call me now." Xander frowned.
"Hey watch it!" The Alpha said.
"Sorry. Just give me a second" Xander stood up and walked towards the smoking zone as it was empty.
He slid the green icon and held the phone against his ear, "Hello Xander Donati"
"Hello. This is Chuck Levison, Mr Elvis Jenkins Attorney speaking. Is it a good time to talk Mr Donati?" The voice sounded gruff from the other end. His eyebrows knitted at that and he nodded his head but then realised he was on the phone.
The Alpha cleared his throat, "Yes. What is it?"
"Oh I am sorry to inform you this but the Jenkins family passed away in a car accident. I am sure-"
Xander didn't bother to hear the rest of the words, his back slumping harshly against the glass wall behind. He felt numb at the news, unable to process it. But Elvis talked to him two, uh... three months ago about how he was excited to visit Seattle and meet his pack. How could that happen to such a good family? He could feel his stomach twist and felt like throwing up. Swallowing harshly he hummed as he heard the attorneys repetitive voice calling him.
"Yes I am here" He cleared his throat.
"I am very sorry for your loss Mr Donati. I am sure it's difficult to process it."
"Thanks"
"But fortunately Aria Jenkins, the youngest wasn't in an accident. And-"
The Alpha tuned out again, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He was friends with her when she was just a six-year-old kid who looked hyper excited about everything. Xander clenched his eyes when he remembered the way she yelled at him for leaving her. She thought they were best friends and he would live with them forever. How naive!
"Mr Donati are you with me?" The attorney sharply asked.
"Yeah...I'm sorry. You were saying?"
"As Aria Jenkins is a minor her father Mr Elvis has named you as her legal guardian. We hope you can be present here for the paperwork. Aria will be staying with you for two years till she turns eighteen and finds her mate..."
Xander widened his eyes at that. Did he hear that right? Legal guardian? He knew that Elvis truly believed in him and treated him like a son but he never thought that he would make Xander her legal guardian.
"Legal guardian?" He whispered quietly but the attorney must have heard it because he mumbled a quiet yes.
"If you choose to not accept the responsibility you have to fill the paperwork for that and Aria will be no longer your responsibility. She will be transferred to the omega centre she is currently staying."
It made his mouth twitch in anger and he raised his eyebrow, "What do you mean currently staying? What happened to her house? Her pack house?"
"Mr Donati you are familiar with the rules. We cannot let a minor stay all by herself in a packhouse filled with Alphas. So we felt it was wise if we transferred her there"
His calm and cool voice irked Xander and he could imagine it must be some rich old snob who didn't care about Aria but getting rid of the work. The Alpha took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"When did the accident happen? How long has she been staying there?" He spat.
The council decided everything. They made laws for everyone and each pack had their representatives on the panel. Sort of like democracy system only stricter. Omegas were treated with the highest honour so that meant even more rules.
But the Omegas Care Centre was the most brutal society. They treated the omegas like they were students of boarding school, some of them even committed suicide because of how strict it was. He couldn't even imagine Aria staying there because she was a bit of brat.
"For a week"
"A week?" He screeched, enraged at that.
"And you didn't bother to inform me all this time duck?"
"It's Chuck, Mr Donati"
"Do I look like I give a f**k?" He yelled and noticed the passerby gave him a look. He didn't even care about it.
"I sense you are angry about it" The attorney politely said which made Xander's jaw tick even more.
"No s**t Shmuck. What gave you away?"
"Mr Donati-"
"Don't Mr Donati me. Why wasn't I informed about the accident earlier?"
"Sir we tried calling your office number but no one answered. The letter was sent to your office address as well but we did not get any reply. So I pulled some strings and got hold of your personal number and called you."
Xander sighed at that. He was going to fire that incompetent personal assistant. All he did was chew gum and make excuses about his tardiness.
"Okay," He sighed.
"So when are you going to come here, Mr Donati? I will message you my address and timing" The attorney said patiently.
Xander looked back towards the barstool when he noticed Arthur shaking his arms around. The Alpha showers an index finger to his friend and asked him to wait when he heard the lawyer call for him again.
"Mr Donati? So are you willing to take the responsibility?"
"Wasn't that clear. I'm will be there tomorrow and I want Aria out of that s**t hole."
***
- Writer
