Chapter Twenty-Four

"I'm Heath Everson. I've made an appointment with?—"

"Yes, the noon appointment. Please take a seat. Mr. Moore will be with you in a moment," the receptionist said, barely looking up from her work.

Used to these sorts of moments, Heath took his seat, not making a scene in front of anyone else in the high-end office. He put his briefcase down haphazardly, discouraging anyone from sitting next to him unless they wanted to move it.

Well, I had been hoping for a more positive welcome, but at least I got the appointment.

Heath had been declined appointments before. As a werewolf, he was used to it, especially in cities he didn't come from. No one in Dallas denied him appointments by the time he was stepping down, even those who preferred not to work with werewolves or any known supernatural. The attitude from the receptionist could have been her attitude toward anyone, or maybe it was because he was a werewolf. He watched as others came in and left, realizing quickly that she wasn't always short, but she wasn't the warmest, either. He had certainly gotten the most curtness from her, and others working in the office gave him odd glances as they came out to talk to people visiting the office.

Thirty minutes past his appointment time, he knew for certain that he was given this appointment, but they didn't want to see him. He let it roll off him, not taking offense. He was only here to help this family, and the safest way to do that was through the lawyer that the victims had held on retainer to manage their estate in case something happened.

Finally, Frank Moore walked out. Heath stood up, maintaining the expression of benign professionalism he needed for this, grabbing his briefcase as he moved.

"Mister Everson," Frank said with a smile. "Or is it Alpha Everson?"

"You only need to use Alpha if you work with werewolves regularly. Mr. Everson or just Heath will be fine today," he answered, shaking an extended hand. The human tried to have a strong grip, squeezing tightly. Heath, offering a silent but important warning, squeezed back, very careful about the amount of pressure he applied to make sure Frank Moore, attorney, knew who would win this battle, but not enough to hurt him. Heath released after that to keep the handshake from entering the awkwardly long territory.

"Let's head to my office. This way, Mr. Everson," Frank said, the smile now covering the tinge of fear that Heath smelled in his scent. Heath didn't like causing fear in random humans, but he was one of the better wolves to incite it, a necessary evil that Frank would never appreciate. If Frank tried that with the wrong werewolf, he would disappear, and his last moments would be painful.

"Of course." Heath followed, not looking around, ignoring the stares and wave of whispers left behind him.

He took a seat in Frank's office and heard the door close behind him after some whispers. Once Frank sat down, Heath relaxed a little more. The whispers had been innocently paranoid, which Heath was no longer offended by in these situations.

"What can I do for you today, Mister Everson?"

"You're the lawyer handling the estate of Gordon and Marilyn Stainton." Heath said it as a fact because it was. "I want to make a sizable donation to their estate to cover the costs of your work and their funerals."

"Excuse me, but…" Frank paled.

Heath knew he had thrown off the man, but he was here to get this business done, not play games and pretend to be a potential new client any longer than he had to.

"First off, why do you know that or what happened to them? Second, why do you care?"

"I have my ways on the first question. Second, the reason why…" Heath sighed. "I heard of their unfortunate incident because I've been tangentially involved with catching the bear and relocating it from the area, so another incident doesn't happen. Good friends of mine are currently working on it. Werewolves all over the country often help local, state, and federal agencies with these things because we're able to track potentially dangerous animals faster and can safely handle them without much risk of injury. In addition to that, some of us with the means like to help the victims and their families. I want to help your late clients and their families by taking this unforeseen burden off them so they can grieve in peace."

"Community service, huh?" Frank snorted in derision. "You werewolves will do anything for the press, won't you?"

Heath smelled the underlying fear was tinged with hate. Frank had tried to make him feel weaker, and Heath had put him in his place. Some people didn't appreciate learning they were not, in fact, the top of the food chain.

"I was hoping this donation could remain anonymous. I've come to you because it's often easier to rely on the silence of a lawyer than anyone else, but if I need to do this another way, then I will. I would prefer not to disturb the families as they bury their loved ones, though, but I might have to. I would also probably have to tell them about why I had to disturb them when I tried talking to their lawyer first, and he couldn't agree to simple terms of confidentiality or maintain a basic standard of professionalism."

Heath could have slapped the man based on his expression. With a small smile, Heath sat very still, waiting to see if Frank would try to throw any other nonsense his way. The lawyer collected himself, not blowing up or losing his temper, which left Heath with a little hope they could get this done today.

"I agree that disturbing the family as a stranger would be… a less than optimal situation. I wouldn't want that at all. We can handle this now, and I will let them know that certain things have been taken care of for them. I might have to use the donation to reimburse them for things they've already paid for. Is that acceptable?"

"Of course." The family was probably already paying for certain things in advance even though the funeral, whatever it would be, wouldn't be for a little while. The BSA held on to the bodies for some time to make sure all evidence of the supernatural was taken care of. In all cases, these situations were also forced to be closed casket funerals or cremation if that was wished by the deceased or their family. He didn't want to get bogged down in those details. If this family could know they lost the couple by supernatural means, he would be more involved, but that wasn't the case this time. He had to do this carefully.

"I can draw up some preliminary figures?—"

"Will one hundred thousand cover it all for both, or should I do one hundred thousand for each of the victims?" Heath asked, not wanting Frank to need to see him more than this once. He reached for his briefcase and started opening it. "I'll do one hundred thousand for each victim. That will certainly cover everything."

"And if there's excess?" Frank asked, looking a touch shaken by the numbers Heath was throwing around so casually. "Or if it's somehow not enough?"

"Excess will be placed in a trust with specific terms on what it is to be used for," he answered, pulling out the documents he had brought. Teagan had done them all for him, having made these particular papers many times before. He placed them in the open spot on the desk in front of him, well within reach of Frank, who was realizing Heath had done this before. Every time he had to deal with a lawyer, they had one of these moments. Heath was always prepared when he was coming to a lawyer he didn't know and couldn't trust. He closed his briefcase quickly, not wanting anyone to see anything they shouldn't. "If it's not enough, well, that's the risk of anonymous donations, but it should certainly lessen the burden significantly. One of my lawyers wrote these up. You can review them as much as you please."

"Thank you…" Frank slid them closer and began reading and reviewing with a slow carefulness Heath could appreciate. Frank was going to miss his lunch break, though, if he continued to read that slowly.

Not my problem. I made sure to eat before coming here.

"They're not signed by you," Frank pointed out after some time.

"No, they aren't. They're signed by one of the several law firms that work with me on occasion." It was Teagan's firm, the side that worked with human clients. It would be a pain for a human to trace it back to a werewolf unless they had government assistance or deep pockets for a lawsuit of some sort. "They'll be your contact from this point to handle the transferring of the money to the appropriate places. My job is done here. If you want to accept this donation on behalf of your clients and set this up for them, you can get in contact with that firm. The terms stated in those documents aren't up for any negotiation. I'll be staying in the area until it's finalized or turned down." Heath stood up. "That's all I have. I'll get out of your way."

"Um… Let me?—"

"I know the way out," Heath said, giving his most charming smile. "Please review those and, if you want, talk to your clients. Just keep my name and species out of that conversation."

"And if I don't?" Frank asked softly.

"Do you want to find out?" Heath asked, feeling the slight change in the air. His eyes weren't human anymore, going from his grey-blue to the ice-blue that he had as a wolf. Which must have been terrifying since Heath hadn't once stopped smiling. "Does it seem necessary to test me like that and potentially harm a well-meaning gesture to your clients for your own ego?"

There was a long silence. Heath was very clear. He didn't bluff. He didn't tolerate nonsense or bullshit. Since the start, he had made it clear he would push back on whatever Frank tried, and he did it intentionally. This lawyer could ruin himself for the sake of his own ego, and Heath would smile as he burned.

"Have a nice day, Mister Everson," Frank said softly. "I'll make sure this is a priority and gets finished so you can be on your way."

"Thank you. I hope you have a nice day as well, Mister Moore," Heath said, knowing he had won. He stepped out and closed Frank's door behind him, then started the long walk back to the lobby alone, not looking at anyone once again, his eyes locked on his destination. He waved at the receptionist but said nothing and got nothing in return except a hard stare.

He left the office, then the building entirely, taking a deep breath once he was outside. The first thing he did was pull out his cell phone to check to see if Jabari or anyone had an update on Jacky, Davor, and Niko. When it appeared there were none, he called Landon. His son wouldn't have an update he didn't, but he knew Landon would want to hear from him.

"How was your meeting, Pa?" Landon asked quickly after answering.

"A hello would be nice," Heath muttered, but his smile became more genuine at the sound of his son's voice.

"Hey. How was the meeting?"

"The paperwork has exchanged hands. One of Teagan's associates will hear about it soon enough. Hopefully today, but more likely tomorrow." Heath started walking, heading for the hotel he booked only a few blocks away. He wanted to be close, so he didn't have to drive around unnecessarily. He didn't know Portland very well, and it was safer for everyone if someone tried to attack him while he wasn't driving.

He wasn't always worried about being attacked in foreign cities, foreign meaning any city but his own. There was always a small risk when he was in good standing with the other werewolves in the United States, but now he was decidedly not in good standing. Portland didn't have a particularly large pack to stand among the most powerful like Dallas when he was in charge or an Alpha strong enough to try for a place on the NAWC, but Heath wouldn't put it past anyone to go after him if they thought Callahan and Corissa would appreciate it.

"What's next? Any plans other than keep your head down?" Landon was worried. He didn't sound worried. He didn't act worried. Heath just knew.

"No. I was going to order room service for dinner. Hopefully, I'll be quiet and quick enough getting this done so the Portland pack doesn't feel like investigating my presence here." Heath really didn't feel like a confrontation. He didn't need added drama to the hard situation they were already in. He definitely didn't want to feel forced to take over the Portland pack if they pushed him hard enough. He'd have to deal with it like Dallas, dismantling the pack and sending all of them on their way. That was something he couldn't get away with a second time.

"Well, it might be good for you to remember that you're there to assist the werecat ruling family, and that should shut them down quickly if they are stupid," Landon said.

"One would hope, but I'm not going to assume they'll care. We've seen supernaturals trust their own power a little too much and how that plays out. I'm not allowed to tell them that to ease whatever fears they might have before something happens because I'm not to be associated with them. The only thing I can hope for is that they reached out to the NAWC and got an order to stand down."

"Yeah. I shouldn't have let you go alone…"

"If I brought you or anyone else from our pack, even Teagan, then they would have seen that as an act of aggression," Heath countered. "Plus, I need someone with Carey, and don't say Dirk. I love him like a son, and I know you do, too, but he's not exactly a well-oiled machine of an older brother the way you are. He'd let her get away with murder."

"So would I…" Landon said, getting Heath to chuckle at the admission he should have expected. Heath had a retort ready quickly, though.

"You would just commit the murder for her," he teased. "If she did it before you found out her plans, you would cover up for her."

"What else are older brothers for?"

"I haven't been one in a very long time, so you would know better than me. However, I think you might be taking it a little far."

They continued going back and forth on the matter until Heath reached his room. There was no clear resolution, but Heath was always glad to hear about how much Landon loved and protected his sister, so he wasn't trying hard to win.

"Okay, Landon. I'm in my room, and it's clear. I'll talk to you later," he said. "Love you, and tell Carey the same when you see her."

"Will do, and you too, Pa. Stay safe out there."

Heath hung up and checked his messages, seeing once again that he had nothing from Jabari. He would have heard the notification, but he had been hoping that Landon had just distracted him. He texted the old werecat, asking if he was accidentally out of the loop on any updates and received a quick response. He wasn't. Jabari hadn't heard anything from the group yet. There wasn't a schedule for when one of them needed to check in, but Heath had enjoyed the frequency of them so far.

He ran a hand through his hair and stared out the window.

He was playing the waiting game, and he hated every second of it.