Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Chapter 71

Kael hadn’t slept

He couldn’t, no matter how hard he tried. How could he? Every time he shut his eyes to sleep, the summit would come to mind again—the damned box, that Alpha taking out his own mate’s undergarment.

Kael couldn’t sleep.

Now he stood behind his desk, staring down at the stack of reports in front of him. The reports from overnight sat in an unruly stack across his desk. Three more merchant contracts cancelled, two Alphas formally withdrawing their trade agreements, and a letter from the Trading Guild’s remaining investors requesting an "urgent clarification" of Silver Creek’s financial standing before the week’s end.

He ran his hands through his hair, nearly pulling at the strands. He was sinking faster than the Titanic.

The more he stared at the reports laid out on the desk, the more the lines began to blur. He shut his eyes, an impending headache threatening to split his head in two.

He finally cleared his throat and opened his eyes. "How bad?" he asked, acknowledging the Gamma who had been before him, watching every one of his expressions.

"Speak, Aldric. How much has it fallen?"

Aldric’s silence answered before his words did. "The pack’s stock value has fallen another eleven percent since yesterday, Alpha. Combined with the summit—"

"I know what happened at the summit." Kael’s voice was flat, exhausted. "I don’t need it repeated to me."

Aldric nodded. "Our stocks have fallen below the Moonshine pack, Alpha." He hesitated for a second. "Three more of our reliable merchants have cancelled their contracts this morning. Two others have requested to renegotiate their terms."

"Renegotiate?"

Aldric nodded. "They’re worried about Silver Creek’s stability. Some believe the recent scandal will make other packs reluctant to continue doing business with us."

It was bad news upon bad news. Until when would he have a break? He dragged his hand over his face.

Silver Creek was already struggling. They had lost access to several lucrative trade routes, their sovereign privileges had been stripped away, and now their remaining investors were losing faith in them.

Everything was collapsing.

"How long before this becomes a serious problem for the pack?"

Aldric hesitated. "I’m afraid it already is a problem for the pack, Alpha. We must find a solution fast."

Kael’s eyes closed. He knew that. He simply hadn’t wanted to hear it said aloud.

"Leave," he ordered.

Aldric bowed and turned toward the door. He had barely reached it when Kael spoke again.

"Aldric."

The Gamma stopped. "Yes, Alpha?"

"Find out exactly which investors are withdrawing. I want their names, their reasons, and whatever information you can gather about who they’re moving their money to."

"Yes, Alpha."

"And don’t let anyone outside this room know how bad things are."

Kael’s eyes closed shut, leaning back against the couch as the headache grew worse. Aldric barely stepped out of the room when the door was intercepted by the Beta.

He stepped away, allowing Callum to walk in.

Kael heard the footsteps first, his brows furrowing. "Didn’t I just ask you to leave?"

He opened his eyes, but Aldric wasn’t there. Instead, in his place was his Beta, eyes scanning the documents on the table.

"How bad is it, Alpha?" Callum asked.

Kael shook his head. Saying it out loud felt like eternal damnation. "Look for yourself."

Callum grabbed the papers, going through each and every one, eyes widening the more he read. "Alpha..."

"Silver Creek has fallen below the Moonshine Pack. We’re officially encroaching on the negative."

"The negative," Callum corrected quietly.

Kael shot him a look. "I know what it means."

Callum lowered the papers, studying him carefully. "Then you know we can’t continue like this."

"Then tell me something I don’t already know." Kael pushed himself upright, dragging a hand down his face. "Every solution I’ve thought of requires money we don’t have, allies we don’t have, or a reputation I have most certainly lost at that summit."

"Perhaps not every solution." Callum set the papers down and reached inside his coat, drawing out a slim folder he laid carefully on the desk. "I’ve been working on something since last night."

Kael frowned. "Working on what?"

"Investment." Callum said it plainly.

Kael scoffed. No one in their right mind would invest in Silver Creek at a time like this. The pack was a sinking ship—why would they want to sink their money alongside it?

"I drew a coalition of Alphas willing to buy into Silver Creek’s trading concern at a critical moment. Minor houses, mostly. Men who see opportunity in a pack that’s undervalued rather than failing." Callum continued.

Kael stared at him, then at the folder, and for a moment he didn’t move at all. "You’re serious."

"The terms are inside. Valuations, timelines, the structure of each buy-in. It would stabilize the guild almost immediately and calm the merchants who’ve been threatening to pull out." Callum’s tone stayed even. "I told you last night I would take care of things if you trusted me. I meant it."

Kael couldn’t believe his eyes or ears. He flipped the folder open with the hunger of a man who’d been holding his breath for days. Names he didn’t recognize, attached to figures he very much did. There was enough capital to steady the guild, calm the remaining investors, and buy him the month he desperately needed.

"Who are these men?" he asked, even as his eyes moved down the totals.

"Old associates of mine. I told you last night there are men who owe me favors they’d rather not discuss openly." The corner of Callum’s mouth lifted slightly. "I’ve spent years building relationships outside Silver Creek. This seemed the proper moment to spend them."

Kael read on. Some small, buried part of him—the part that had once at least pretended to read every contract—noted that four separate investors, all unknown to him, had somehow arrived with matching terms and matching timelines on the exact morning he needed them most.

But the rope was right there, and he was so tired.

"This would save us," he said finally.

"It would stabilize you, Alpha. What you build on top of it is up to you."

Kael looked at the folder again, and for the first time since waking up, he felt something other than dread.

Hope.

Small, fragile hope, but enough to keep him from feeling as though Silver Creek was already dead.

"How quickly can the money be transferred?" he asked.

"Some of it can be available within forty-eight hours. The rest will follow once the agreements are finalized."

Kael nodded slowly. "And what do they want in return?"

Callum didn’t answer immediately. "They’ll want a share in the trading concern. Nothing unusual. They aren’t simply handing you money out of charity."

"How quickly can it be signed?" he asked.

"Today, if you approve."

"Then bring me whatever needs my seal."

Callum inclined his head and turned toward the door. Kael’s voice stopped him at the threshold, quieter than before.

"Callum." He called, and the Beta paused, turning toward him.

"Last night, you said you’d take care of everything. I didn’t believe you." Kael’s eyes stayed on the folder. "I think I’ve misjudged you."

"Alpha?"

"Tristan never once brought me a solution like this. He was absolutely useless to me and only ever had complaints. Warnings." Something almost like gratitude crossed Kael’s face—an ugly, unearned thing that sat strangely on him. "I threw him away for it."

Callum’s expression remained perfectly composed. "Then Tristan clearly didn’t understand what you needed. I’ll bring you the documents and save Silver Creek."

---

"He’s signed it."

Damon stared at the message for seconds, then burst out laughing. He’d thought it would be more difficult than that. Perhaps after the Lord Ravenscott drama, Kael would be more perceptive and do an actual survey on those investing in his guild—but alas.

"You’ve been smiling at that message for a full minute," Xavier said, moving a knight without looking up. "Either you’ve finally decided to be happy, or something terrible has happened to someone you dislike."

"Both." Damon replied, tucking the message into his pocket, unable to keep the smile off his face.

"Callum?" Ren asked, standing a respectful distance off with his arms folded as he watched Damon and his cousin play chess. He’d stopped asking Damon to explain himself around the third year of service.

"Silver Creek’s coffers are about to be filled by four minor Alphas who’ve never existed," Damon said. "Funded by Bloodmoon, laundered through names Kael will never check. He’ll be signing away a piece of his trading concern to the man he hates most in this realm, and he’ll thank Callum for the privilege."

Xavier’s brows rose. "That’s either brilliant or spectacularly reckless."

"It’s both. That’s the fun of it."

"And when he finds out?" Xavier asked.

"He’ll have nowhere left to run." Damon reached across the board and moved his bishop, taking Xavier’s queen without ceremony. "Checkmate, I believe."

Xavier stared at the board for a long, aggrieved moment. "You weren’t even playing."

"I was always playing. You simply weren’t paying attention."

A servant appeared at the terrace door before Xavier could formulate a retort. She bowed low. "Alpha. Lady Evelyn Valemont has arrived. She’s waiting in the east hall."

Damon blinked, taken aback. Evelyn was here? He wasn’t expecting her—not when she was still busy playing tour guide with the man from the Celestial Realm.

"Show her to my study," Damon said. "I’ll join her shortly."

Xavier had already risen from his chair, brushing invisible dust from his sleeves with the air of a man abruptly interested in the rest of his afternoon. "Evelyn Valemont. The Evelyn Valemont?"

"Sit down, Xavier."

"I’ve heard a great deal about her. It seems rude not to greet her personally."

"It would be considerably ruder to embarrass yourself in front of my business partner." Damon’s voice stayed level. "Sit."

Xavier raised a brow. "You’re being remarkably protective for a man who claims to see her purely as a business asset."

Damon said nothing.

Xavier’s grin spread, slow and entirely delighted. "Oh, this is going to be wonderful."

He was already halfway to the door before Damon could stop him.

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