Sold To The Billionaire Alpha
Chapter 35

Orion

I was worried about my mate. She had gone through so much in such a short period of time. I could scarcely wipe the smile off my face since the moment she had let me mark and mate her but underneath, I was worried about the paternity investigation. I had all my best trackers trying to locate her biological father. We had already located her human father who had raised her. He was safe and sound and hungover.

I could not help but feel as though I were missing the obvious. Talus was a weird name but it sounded familiar to me. I was sitting in my office. I reached for the pack directory. All Alphas had a pack directory. It was just a book, updated yearly, with a list of every pack and their contact information, namely the number and address of their pack house as well as the numbers of their pack leaders. I flipped through it mindlessly, not even sure what I was looking for. Most packs had an Alpha, Beta and Gamma. Some had a Delta or fourth in command. All of this was listed. I was looking under B. Berryndale. Alpha Thaddeus Hawthorne. Thaddeus not Talus. I knew Thaddeus. I supposed the weird T name had reminded me of another weird T name.

“Brother, what are you doing?” Asked Perseus, walking into my office unannounced.

Perseus was more social than I was.

“What was the former Alpha of Berryndale called?” I asked.

“No hello?” laughed Perseus.

I sighed. Perseus realised I was stressed out.

“Alpha Timbre,” replied Perseus, sitting in front of my desk. “What’s this about?”

“And what are Thaddeus’ brothers called again?” I asked.

“Timothy and Titus,” said Perseus. “Are we playing boy, girl, animal, place, thing? Are we on letter T?” Chuckled Perseus.

No one was named Talus. This would make the next Alpha Summit extremely awkward but I was going to call Thaddeus about this. I picked up the office phone.

“Who are you calling?” Asked Perseus.

“Alpha Thaddeus,” I said.

Rose came in.

“Who is he calling?” She asked Perseus.

“Alpha Thaddeus,” replied Perseus.

“Ooooh, I hear he’s so hot!” Said Rose.

“Excuse me,” snapped Perseus.

Rose giggled. Perseus pretended Rose had shot him with an arrow in the heart. Perseus fell off his chair and slid onto the floor. Rose was in hysterics. She clapped for Perseus’ performance. I rolled my eyes. It was ringing.

“Good day, Berryndale Pack House,” said a grumpy voice.

Thaddeus was always laughing and his voice sounded like a mountain talking, deep and rumbly. A bit like my voice but he was much more talkative than I was.

“Alpha Thaddeus?” I asked.

“No,” said the grumpy voice.

I heard someone in the background say, “Fang, give me the phone. I’ll take the call for Thaddeus.”

“Hello,” drawled a silky refined voice.

Maze. This had to be Maze. I remembered now. Marigold and Berryndale were practically the same pack these days ever since Luna Friday managed to snag herself two Alphas. I had no idea how that had happened but it had been the talk of the town. Even I had heard about it and I was not into pack gossip.

“Maze? Alpha Maze of Marigold?” I said.

“Yes, this is Alpha Maze of Marigold. And this is?” Said Maze, sounding a little annoyed.

“Alpha Orion from the North, of Cold Moon,” I said.

“Oh! Hello!” Said Maze cheerfully.

I had heard he was a huge snob.

“How can I be of service?” Asked Maze pointedly.

“Oh, uh, I wanted to speak to Thaddeus,” I said.

“Thaddeus is out right now. We’re quite close. I’ll take the message,” said Maze.

They must be quite close. He was sitting in the pack house office of Berryndale, answering the Berryndale Alpha line.

“Well, it’s a bit personal,” I stalled, not wanting to ask him.

I felt more comfortable with Thaddeus.

“Thaddeus and I are personally quite close,” he joked. “You can tell me, Orion. It’s fine.”

“Um, does Thaddeus have a relative by the name of Talus by chance?” I asked, feeling idiotic.

It was a long shot.

“Oh,” said Maze. “One moment.”

“THEO DOES THADDEUS HAVE A RELATIVE NAMED TALUS?” I heard him yell.

Rose and Perseus snickered. Everyone had heard that. I had not been expecting that from classy Maze.

“I’M NOT SURE! I’LL GET THE TWINS,” Was the reply. I recognised Beta Theo’s voice.

I heard a voice quite similar to Thaddeus say, “You wanted to see us?”

“Oh, Timothy, Titus, hi, do you have a relative named Talus?” Asked Maze.

As an Alpha, my hearing was exceptional. I could hear them whether they were yelling or not. I could even hear Maze tapping his expensive pen against the desk and the whoosh of a woman with long hair brushing it. I could hear the glide of the bristles of the brush. Her hair was probably wavy based on the movements. Perhaps, that was Luna Friday.

“Uncle Talus, he’s an alcoholic. Why? What do you want with him?” Said one of the twins.

My heart sped up.

“Hey, sorry about that,” chuckled Maze, picking up the phone and talking to me again. “Yes, Talus is Thaddeus’ Uncle. Why? Is he in trouble on your pack lands or something?” Asked Maze, concern in his voice.

My heart was racing.

“I really need to talk to Thaddeus,” I said, not wanting to impart Orchid’s family fiasco to the Alpha of Marigold. Marigold wolves were known for being a bit judgemental. Their pack lands held wolves and nothing else. No humans. No vampires of course. No wizards and witches. I wondered if they were different now because of Maze’s connection to Friday and Thaddeus. Thaddeus was a bit of a hippie when it came to those things though he was built like a warrior. Luna Friday had reportedly been wolf-less for two years after coming of age.

“How about I mind-link Thaddeus and have him call you back?” Suggested Maze.

“Yes, that would be great!” I said. “Thank you so much, Maze!”

He was being nice. Maybe I could talk to him.

“If this is about bail money, I’ll pay it,” said Maze out of the blue.

“What?” I asked.

“Is Talus on your pack lands, arrested for a DUI or something?” Asked Maze.

I could hear snatches of the twins whispering worriedly to Maze. Perhaps, they thought their uncle was in trouble.

“Speak to him,” encouraged Maze, trying to put one of the twins on the phone.

“No, I’m shy,” hissed one of twins.

Maze sighed exasperatedly. “You’re not shy. What bull,” said Maze.

I snorted with stifled laughter.

“Orion? Is Talus in trouble?” Asked Maze.

“Talus isn’t on our pack lands. We wanted to get a hold of him actually,” I admitted.

“Oh, I see,” said Maze. “Is he in trouble though?”

“Well, no, not exactly,” I said. “Do the twins have his contact information? Perhaps, I could speak to Talus directly?”

I heard some whispered arguing that was hard to decipher.

“Thaddeus would have the number,” I caught one of the twins saying.

“Is Former Alpha Timbre there by chance?” I asked.

“They just got back,” said the first grumpy voice. Fang. Beta of Marigold.

“Oh, yes,” said Maze to me. “One moment.”

Maze put the phone down.

“No,” hissed one of the twins in the background. “Don’t tell our Dad. Dad will sell out Uncle Talus.”

“Dad said he’s had it up to here with Uncle Talus,” hissed the other twin.

“I think I met Talus at our wedding,” came a soft, soothing, feminine voice.

“Baby, do you have his number?” Asked Maze, the tone of his voice softening.

He was probably addressing his mate.

“I do actually,” said Luna Friday, I assumed. “He tried to hit on me at our wedding and gave it to me.”

Good grief. Orchid probably had brothers and sisters all over the place if Talus was a drunken womaniser.

“He meant nothing by it,” said one of the twins defensively.

The twins clearly liked their Uncle a lot.

“My Luna has the number for Talus. Do you still want to speak to Timbre or Thaddeus? They’re both back,” said Maze.

I heard two sets of booming laughter in the background.

“No, no, Talus isn’t in trouble. I just want to ask him some questions about…an old friend of his. It’s nothing important,” I lied.

“Oh, ok,” said Maze.

Maze called out the number. I memorised it.

“Thank you, Maze!” I said earnestly.

“No problem,” said Maze. “Take care.”

“You too,” I said.

I hung up. I took a deep breath. Rose and Perseus were making out in my office chair with Rose sitting on my brother’s lap. I stared at them until they parted.

“I need privacy,” I said.

Rose pouted. Perseus swung her over his shoulder and took her out of the room. I could hear her shrill shrieks and giggles in the hallway intermingled with his laughter. If this Talus was Orchid’s Dad, that would mean she was a part of Berryndale’s Alpha Lineage. She would be the first cousin of Thaddeus and the twins. That meant I would have to take her to Berryndale at some point to meet everyone. Ugh. Berryndale wolves were so loud. Maze could barely talk on the phone without interruption. I was not surprised Talus had a drinking problem. He was from Berryndale. Berryndale wolves could drink most under the table.

I was getting ahead of myself. First, I had to replace out if this was the right Talus. My wolf told me it was. He was usually right. I dialled the number. It rang twice. Someone answered on the third ring.

“Hello,” slurred a deep voice.