Theodore’s normally affable expression was a little more rigid when he pressed, “Is he in school?”
There was the most minute softening in Angelique’s tough exterior when she answered, “Yes. He’s doing great. Thank you for writing his recommendation letter. I don’t think they would have let him into the university otherwise.”
The air lost the last of its levity. Unspoken was the truth that, even nearly two hundred years on from their creation, weres continued to be rejected by many.
Theodore nodded. A little bit of the tension left his expression. “I’m glad to hear it worked out. You know you can contact me if he needs help with anything else.”
Angelique neatly bypassed that statement when she asked, “And how is Roger? Still rotting in your dungeon?”
There was no love lost there, apparently. Not that it surprised Viktor overly much. Angelique was the alpha of a volatile pack. That meant she had to be a strict enforcer of rules to keep order.
When Roger, a member of her pack, went rogue and accepted Delilah’s offer to bomb Margot’s Healing House in return for some cash, he directly defied his alpha’s order to treat her as one of their pack.
As far as Viktor knew, the only thing that spared him from a quick and dirty death at his alpha’s hands was Margot’s intervention.
That,and Viktor privately speculated that the only reason he was still alive was because he didn’t actually know who the elvish woman who hired him was. If word got out that Delilah Solbourne had bombed a Healing House, it would have been very,verybad.
The healer in question shared a look with her husband before she answered vaguely, “No. He’s… working for us now, actually.”
“Doing what?” Angelique asked, eyebrow arching.
Theodore smiled a small, cold smile. “Don’t worry about it.”
The were shook her head. “Probably best I don’t know. As long as he’s out of sight and out of trouble, I’m content. We don’t need a dipshit like him making our reputationworse.”
Which is why this is important,Viktor reminded himself.This matters.
Clearing his throat, he gestured to the empty seats. “Please sit. They should bring our lunch out soon, but I’d like to get business out of the way first.”
When everyone was in their respective chairs, Angelique eyed him from across the table. “So, Vik, what’s all this about?”
Viktor found Camille’s hand beneath the table and intertwined their fingers. Smiling slightly, he said, “So, you might have heard that we’re moving.”
“Yes.” Angelique looked begrudgingly interested. “I heard you got into the Alliance and received a cushy bit of territory in Minnesota for your trouble.”
“It’s in a place called Prairie,” Camille explained, as proud of their new home as an acquisitive elf could be. “Not too far from Minneapolis and with a gorgeous lake for the cubs to play in.”
“Sounds like a dream.” Anders nudged his mate’s shoulder with his own. “Our sons love to swim, but it’s hard to get them to a pool in the city regularly.”
Viktor held Angelique’s gaze when he asked, “What if you didn’t have to find a pool for your boys to play in?”
He watched her eyes narrow. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about selling your pack the Merced territory.”
There was a moment of stunned silence, followed by Angelique slowly easing herself backward. She swallowed before deadpanning, “You aren’t serious.”
“We’reveryserious.” Viktor braced his elbow on the edge of the table and leaned forward. “I’ve looked at your public investments and the estimated profits from your restaurants. I know that you can afford it, and I also know that you’ve been looking for a piece of land.”
“If you were looking, why haven’t you left the city?” Margot asked, gentle but firm in the way only a healer could manage.
Anders’s voice was hushed, his joviality subdued by shock when he answered, “The virus spreads most in the cities and it’s where new weres go to look for help. If we went too far, more weres would fall through the cracks. We don’t want that to happen. We want to be where we’re most needed.”
“That’s why I’m offering you Merced,” Viktor continued. “You wouldn’t have to leave the city, but you could finally have your own territory, your privacy. You could really build something for all those weres who need your help.”
Angelique’s voice was thready when she asked, “Why would you do that?”
Viktor sat back in his chair and pulled Camille’s hand up. Pressing their twined fingers to his heart, he looked around the table at Theodore and Margot, at Angelique and Anders, until his gaze came back to the violet eyes that held his heart and soul.
