Their Simple Kind of Love

The Deal with Hank

  James's POV

A heavy sigh escaped my chest as I sat in the office looking at financials. My mind was on everything else but the papers I was supposed to be looking over. Poe was upset that Katie had avoided us all weekend. I think she is mad that I tried to tell her what to wear to the party and my possessive side came out. I never wanted to be the kind of male that controls their mate. But seeing her dressed in tight revealing clothes to go to Ben Hudson's party brought out the wolf.

"If you keep sighing like that, I am going to sew your lips shut," My father mumbled from his desk.

I looked over at him, and he had a slight smirk on his face. "Sorry, Dad."

"What's on your mind, son?" He had been intently working on something on his computer.

I shook my head. "It's nothing." I tried looking at the paperwork in front of me again.

"Doesn't sound like nothing. You have been out of it for a couple of days. Does it have anything to do with Katie?" He asked.

I looked at him with my mouth open. 'Of course, it does,' I mumbled in my head. "She avoided me all weekend."

"What did you do? It's not like Katie to avoid you."

My mind flashed to her and my sister leaving the room every time I entered. She even declined to watch TV with Tony and me. "I don't know, Dad."

"Is it because you tried to tell her and Michelle what to wear to the party?" He smirked as I rolled my eyes at him. "Michelle talked to your mother and told her about you getting a little possessive with Katie."

I cursed my sister for saying something to our mother. "Dad, they were dressed like, like-" I couldn't bring myself to say it. "Well, they weren't dressed appropriately."

He laughed. "Yeah, your mother had a long talk with your sister about that. That last thing I want is my daughter running around with her chest hanging out, especially at Ben Hudson's party."

"See? You agree. I said something to Katie, and she told me to eff off." I explained.

"It's not easy seeing your mate dressed with everything on display for all the males to ogle at," He mused. "And with Katie's history with Ben Hudson, you would think she wouldn't want to provoke him."

"Exactly. But I don't want to be one of those males that controls their mate," I retorted.

He leaned back in his chair with his fingers tented. "I know what you mean, son. I'd lose my balls if I tried controlling your mother. But it's not unreasonable to have expectations of your mate, especially when that mate is the future Luna of this pack."

There was a knock on the door, and my father sighed. "We'll continue this conversation later. Come in." He said, and the door opened.

Jon and Tim walked into the office. The two of them had been out checking the pack borders and checking on the patrols. They both sat on the chairs in front of my Dad's desk.

"How are things at the border Jon?" My father asked. Things between him and his Beta had improved a bit since Marilyn was kicked to the curb.

Jon seemed happier and less on edge. He had cried for a day and then was ready to get back to work as this pack's Beta. Marilyn's daughter Wendy had left her here, and Jon was happy to let her stay in her room. Unfortunately, things between him and Tim were still tense. Though since Tim found his mate at Ben's party, they seemed to be more cordial to each other. "Looking good, Nate. Timmy here found a little kink in the border alarms."

My father looked at Tim, "What did you find, Tim?"

Tim glanced at his father and then at mine. "Oh, just a little gap in the sensors that the wrong parties could have exploited."

"Really?" My father looked at his Beta. "How did we not see that, Jon?"

"It was a small gap, Nate. But big enough someone could have gotten through undetected." He explained.

We had motion sensors on the entire border. It was designed to alert us if anyone tried breaching the border. All authorized visitors went through the gate. Even with the sensors, we still had border patrol at all times. Rogue attacks were few and far between. Some nomadic rogues stumbled in every so often. We usually just let them pass through. We weren't one of those packs that instantly killed rogues. We gave them the benefit of the doubt.

"We fixed it," Jon told my father. "All good. Mike is out checking the eastern border," He said of the gamma.

"Good," My father nodded. He looked at Tim. "I think we should give Alpha Hank a call now."

Tim brightened up with a smile. He had asked my father to call Alpha Hank about giving his newly found mate permission to come to our pack. He was nervous all weekend, worried that Alpha Hank would not let Samantha come here. I shot my best friend an encouraging smile as my father turned on the big screen we used for conference calls. "Thank you, Uncle Nate," Tim yelled out to my Dad.

His father leaned over and put a hand on Tim's. "It will be alright, son."

Tim gave his father a nervous smile.

The screen came to life as my father dialed up Alpha Hank's number. It beeped a couple of times until the alpha's face came on screen. "Hello, Alpha Nathan and friends," Alpha Hank snorted. "What can I do for you?" He looked over all of us. His Beta, Frank, was sitting beside him.

My father cleared his throat. "My beta's son Timothy attended your son's party on Saturday."

"Oh yes, the party where he got pushy with my Beta's son. Yes." Alpha Hank smirked at Frank.

My father looked at Tim. "You got pushy, how?"

Tim opened his mouth to say something. He sighed. "I thought Ben had done something to Katie, but she just wanted to leave, and Ben was creepy. I may have gone into protective brother mode and wanted to hit him, but Nelson stepped in, and we pushed each other. That was it," Tim explained.

A sigh escaped my father's lips as Jon leaned forward. "Frank, I am sorry if my son got pushy with your son. He is just real protective of his sister."

Frank shrugged. "It's nothing, Jon. Let's chalk it up to our boys being idiots and drop it."

"I can concede to that," Jon glanced back at Tim. "It won't happen again, will it, Timothy?"

Tim folded his arms and gave his father a hard look. "Yes, father." He spat out.

My father sighed heavily. "I didn't call to talk about the boys being idiots. I called to talk about the fact that Tim found his mate at the party. She is a member of your pack."

"Samantha Keys," Tim blurted out. "I love her."

A laugh escaped my father's lips. "So, I was just wondering if you would give her permission to come to my pack. From what Tim has told my Beta and me, she sounds like she would be a great addition to my pack. I am more than happy to have her as the future beta female."

Alpha Hank listened quietly with an unreadable expression. "So, you want a favor from me?" He finally said. "I would have been more inclined had you accepted my proposal the other day."

A growl rolled out of my father's chest. "Yiu wanted me to force my beta's daughter to mate with your son."

"I think it would help strengthen the bond between our packs, Nathan," Hank shrugged. "My son would be good to Katie."

A growl fell out of me involuntarily, and I stood up. "She has a mate!" I yelled and had to be pulled back by Beta Jon.

"James, sit down!" My father barked, and I sat back in my seat with my eyes narrowed.

Alpha Hank silently watched with an amused expression on his face. He looked offscreen for a second. I thought I heard a door open. He nodded at whoever had entered his office. He then looked at the camera again. "Well, Nathan, I am feeling generous. I have another term to propose to you."

My father sighed. "Go on."

"I am willing to allow Miss Keys to go to your pack to be with her mate in exchange for my daughter." He explained, and my father narrowed his eyes.

"Your daughter? We don't have your daughter." My father snorted.

Marilyn suddenly popped onto the screen and sat on Alpha Hank's lap. We all tensed. "Hello Jonathan, miss me yet?" She purred. She was dressed in her usual skank attire.

"My daughter Wendy Clancy," Hank told us. "I would like to have her come home. It's been such a long time since I have seen her. I miss her."

"One second, Hank," My father looked at Jon. I watched at their eyes clouded while they had a mind link conversation. I watched Tim looking visibly nervous. He seemed to be praying to the Goddess while our fathers talked. My father finally looked at the screen again. "It's a deal, Hank. I will exchange Wendy for Samantha."

"I didn't know Hank was Wendy's father," Jon said to Marilyn, who sneered at him.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Jonathan," Marilyn kissed Hank on the lips.

"Does your mate know you are kissing another female?" My father asked Hank.

"My Luna and I have an understanding, Nathan," Hank smirked as he kissed Marilyn again. "You let a remarkable woman go, Jonathan."

I snorted out in disgust and glanced at Tim, who rolled his eyes. 'Remarkable my ass,' I mind linked Tim, who snorted. We got glares from our fathers and pressed our lips together.

"Wendy is in school, so we'll do the exchange later. How about we meet at the Point at four?" My father proposed to Hank.

"Sounds like a plan, Nathan. I'll inform Ms. Keys that she is allowed to go to your pack to be with her mate." Hank smiled.

"Oh, thank you, Alpha Hank," Tim blubbered. "I am sorry I got pushy with Nelson."

Hank laughed. "It's alright, young Beta. Nelson can be a bit of a hothead, and I understand you were protecting your sister from whatever perceived slight you think Ben committed."

Tim looked like he was about to say something, but our fathers shot him a look. "Thank you again, Alpha," He said through gritted teeth.

"Well, if there is nothing else, I have work to do, Nathan," Hank said.

My father shook his head. "No, that was it. Thank you, Hank. See you later today." He pressed a button, and Hank's face disappeared. "Wendy, is really Hank's daughter?" My father looked at Jon.

"Marilyn told me Wendy's father was dead." Jon sighed. "Remember she said another pack decimated her pack. She told me that Wendy's father was a warrior."

"I know, Jon. We tried warning you about how treacherous that woman was when she was weaving her spell on you," My father told his Beta.

"And I was a fool. I know Nate." Jon conceded. "She nearly cost me, my children." He looked at Tim.

"Are we really just handing Wendy over to Alpha Hank?" I asked my father.

He sighed. "Yes," He replied.

"But I thought we didn't force our pack members into anything." I glared at my father.

"Son, this is one of those times I had to make a difficult decision as Alpha. Hank Hudson is her father. I have no legal recourse to keep her from him," My father explained.

"How do we know? You know how much of a witch Marilyn is. She is probably manipulating Alpha Hank-"

My father cut me off. "James, she looks like Hank. Except for her blonde hair, there is no questioning that Hank Hudson is her father."

"Her hair is brown." Tim blurted out. "Marilyn had Wendy's hair dyed. She hates it. Or so I have heard her tell Katie."

"Sounds like Marilyn." My father snorted. "Anyways, let's get back to work until the exchange."

Jon and Tim stood up and walked out of the office. I wasn't sure what else they had to do, but I looked at my paperwork. I let out a long sigh as I stared at it.

"James, why don't you talk to Katie when she gets home from school. Maybe take her somewhere for dinner." My father suggested. "Find her a nice rock."

Hours later, it was time for the exchange. Jon had told Wendy to pack her things, and there were a lot of tears. I followed my father out of the packhouse. Wendy was crying next to Katie, Michelle, and my mother. Jon was standing a few feet away, looking upset.

"Well, let's get the show on the road," My father said to Wendy.

Jon squeezed her shoulder. "Come on, Wendy."

Wendy hugged Katie and my sister. "I'll miss you guys."

"We'll still see each other at school," Michelle sniffled.

My mother patted Wendy's shoulder. "We will always think of you as a member of this pack. That means if in the future, if you ever need us, we'll be here for you."

Wendy hugged my mom. "Thank you, Luna Kristen." She pulled away and climbed into my father's Range Rover. I watched the SUV pull away and sighed. Katie brushed past me with my sister to go back into the packhouse.

Poe whined in my head, and I stood there in a trance for a second before her scent hit me. She was suddenly standing in front of me. I couldn't help but smile.

"Can we talk?" She asked me with a serious tone. Katie looked back at my sister, who was standing just in front of the front door. They exchanged a look. Katie then trained her blue eyes on me.

"Sure, we can talk." I placed my hand on her arm and pulled her towards a bench.

I could hear her taking a few deep breathes like she was psyching herself up to say something. She wrinkled her hands a couple of times.

I gently placed my hand on hers. "Just say it, Katie," I told her.

Those blue eyes looked at me with a slight smile. "This might sound stupid. But I have to know," She paused and looked into my eyes. "Are you my mate?"