"Help?" Leon questioned.
"His parents," Ford said. "They kept trying to make George challenge the alpha, even to the point of smacking him around when he refused."
George glanced away when the memories of his parents' abuse flashed into his head. He never understood why he simply hadn't been enough as he was. He didn't think he needed to be an alpha in order to be accepted, contrary to what people thought.
"They roused several other members of their clan in support of George's leadership," Ford continued. "When George refused to challenge their alpha, his parents and those members were kicked out of the clan, but so was George. His alpha said George was a danger to the wellbeing of the clan."
"Have you had any contact with your parents since then?" Leon asked.
"No, like I said, I haven't spoken to them in a few years." George swallowed the lump building in his throat. "My parents expected me to go with them when they left. We were supposed to form a new clan, with me as the alpha."
"I'm assuming something happened to change that?"
Ford snorted again. "My cousin is nothing if not determined. His parents, the loving people that they were, locked him in a bathroom and set guards on the door so he couldn't get away. I have no idea what their plan was, but they certainly didn't think a man of George's size could slip out the bathroom window and get away."
Leon's eyebrows lifted. "You escaped out a bathroom window?"
George nodded. "It was a really small window, too." He'd had bruises on his hips for days after squeezing out the narrow window.
"So, you haven't heard from your parents since then?"
George shook his head. "No."
"We were kind of hoping they had forgotten about George or washed their hands of him, but with George winning the lottery, they'll pop up."
George knew just how Ford felt when his cousin shuddered. His parents were bad news. They were all about being the best, living the best, and lording it over everyone else. They'd think nothing of walking right over the top of someone to get what they wanted, even him.
"Do you have any pictures of them?" Leon asked. "It would be helpful to know what they looked like so I can keep an eye out for them."
"When I left, I literally left with the clothes on my back." He hadn't been able to take anything with him. Escaping had been much more important.
"My dad might have a picture of them I can get you," Ford said. "I'll see if he can bring one up."
"How does your father feel about all of this, Ford?"
George smiled. "I borrowed someone's cell phone once I found a place to hide and called Uncle Allan. He drove all night long to come get me. He and Aunt Helen got the shifter council and their alpha to agree to allow me to stay in his territory as long as I keep a low profile and don't make waves."
"Uh, George," Leon said. "You just won one point six billion dollars. You're about to make a lot of waves."
Oh right.
Damn.
"Oh, man, George." Ford paled right before George's eyes. "We need to go talk to the alpha. He needs to know about this before it hits the news. He'll blow a gasket if this hits the wires and he doesn't know about it first."
"Is this man going to be a problem?" Leon asked.
"That's hard to say," George replied. "He seems to be pretty even-tempered, but he's an alpha who's afraid I'll take over. There's no telling what he'll do once he finds out I have money."
"He's a good alpha," Ford insisted. "He's just…" Ford shrugged. "He's threatened by George's size."
Leon frowned as he looked George up and down. "Why?"
George's eyebrows lifted. "Most people are intimidated by me."
"So you’re tall, so what?"
George gaped at Leon.
