Blood Legacy (Wolf Moon Academy Book 2) Page 13

  "Shut the hell up." Evan rolled his eyes. "And stop trying to piss everyone off."

  "If you gave me back my cell phone, I'd be good and distracted." He arched an eyebrow.

  "No, we don't trust you." Liam glanced at him as he sat on the couch. "No way in hell you're getting it back until after the trip."

  "For all you know, my father could be worried sick about me." Simon's voice dropped a little lower, but it was almost unnoticeable.

  "Yeah, right." Micah laughed. "He hasn't texted you once. We've been keeping an eye on it."

  Simon's face fell, and he leaned back in his seat.

  That hurt his feelings. To be honest, that was something a little unexpected.

  He's always tried to keep his dad's attention, but it's fleeting. That's one reason why he acts out at times or goes to such drastic measures to get noticed by his dad. Liam frowned and shrugged. It's always been that way, but he seems to be handling it better now.

  I didn't think he was, but this wasn't the time to analyze it. "Where are we headed now?" I had no clue what all the stops were other than the main regions. New York City was cool, but one day I hoped to go back under better circumstances. There was a lot of sightseeing I’d wanted to do. Maybe Bree and I could have a girls’ trip.

  "Atlanta." Micah's golden eyes seemed to shine a little brighter. "Where I grew up half the time. The regional alpha and city alpha will be there just like in New York."

  "Apparently, Dad informed me alphas will be at each stop. It's part of the tour to get to know the regional and the city leaders." Liam wrapped an arm around my shoulders against the back of the couch. "Then, we'll do another tour where we visit another large city, and we'll meet the district alpha and that city's alpha as well. Most big-city alphas technically report to a district alpha but usually bypass them the majority of the time. Mainly because of the size and the magnitude of what's going on in their areas. So the regional alpha spends more time with them, and the district alphas spend more time with the smaller cities."

  I didn’t realize you’d talked to your dad. Mr. Hale must have figured out I was traveling with them.

  He called to ask me if it was true you were with us. Liam ran his fingers along my shoulders. I told him yes. He’s pissed but is waiting to lecture me at home.

  We’d have to worry about that later. We had more important things to address. "What I'm hearing you say is that we're only going to hear and see what they want us to? Just like New York." I hated to be so negative, but if New York had taught us anything, it was that there was more going on than we realized. This sort of proved in my mind what my dad had been trying to stand against. Had he known this was coming and tried to protect all the packs from it? Maybe that was why they’d turned against him. He’d wanted to be the leader the packs deserved and not allow it to turn into a position based purely on self-interest.

  "I'm sure it was only New York. Our dads couldn't have known." Micah's words seemed unsure at the end. "Right?"

  "You're letting that bitch get in your head." Simon stood and glared at me with so much hate. "Of course, they don't know."

  "Please sit down, Sir." The flight attendant entered the room. "We're taking off now, and everyone needs to be seated."

  "Hey, you don't get to tell me what to do." Simon's eyes glowed as his wolf surged forward.

  Evan jumped to his feet and stared down the western heir. "Stop being an overbearing, selfish asshole. Now, shut up before I make you. You know I can do it."

  "She's just doing her job, and you're going to make us late," Micah turned to look over his shoulder at Simon. "Stop acting like a girl." Micah winced and glanced at me. "No offense."

  "None taken." I probably should have taken offense, but there were a lot of girls who did, in fact, act like that.

  Simon refused to budge as he stared back at Evan. That was until Evan took a step in his direction.

  "Fine." Simon plopped in the seat and scowled at the television.

  It seemed as though he got more aggravated and hostile the longer we were all together.

  As we departed the private jet at the Atlanta airport, I was surprised at the size of the building. It was as large as some of the smaller cities' airports combined. We were now in the southern territory, which stretched all the way through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland downward. So now, it was Micah’s turn to shine.

  As we entered the building, I was surprised to find that it was filled to the brim with people buzzing around. However, there were two large, towering men off to the side with obvious scents of shifters. Once Micah's gaze landed on them, he nodded and headed in their direction.

  One of the men had darker olive skin similar to Micah's, but his face was rigid. His eyes were a pale green, making his presence a little scary. He tugged at the bottom of his gray suit jacket and cleared his throat.

  The other man standing next to him had a medium olive skin tone and was only about an inch shorter than the first one. His dark black eyes scanned our group as he placed his hands in the pockets of his charcoal suit.

  "Mr. Buckley." Micah shook hands with the taller man and then turned to the other one. "Mr. Haggard. It's nice to see you both again." Then, Micah turned to face our direction. "I'm sure you know the heirs."

  "Of course, we do." Mr. Buckley nodded his head before his eyes landed on me. "However, who is she? We had thought only the four of you were visiting."

  "She's my mate." Liam stepped forward and took my hand in his. "It's my fault. We're newly mated, and I couldn't fathom leaving her behind."

  "I remember those days." Mr. Haggard chuckled. "But I'll be honest, it doesn't get much easier. It's like a piece of you is missing if you're separated for too long."

  "I'm Mia." I was not okay with being called Liam's mate the entire time. I had a name too. "And sorry if my unexpected presence has caused a problem."

  “We were hoping for your full attention.” Mr. Buckley scoffed as his eyes narrowed on me. “Maybe she can go hang out at the hotel room or go shopping while we discuss alpha things.”

  “Are you insinuating that I can’t focus on my duties with her beside me?” Liam straightened his shoulders as he stared the regional leader down. “I find it not only insulting to me but to my mate as well.”

  “And I’m also concerned about the city and its well-being.” I hated how they disregarded me because I was considered only a mate and a woman. It was like they didn’t believe women could be alphas despite our history.

  "Not a big deal at all." Mr. Haggard lifted a hand. "One call and we can fix it. I thought it might be good to take you to one of the baseball games here. We have, of course, a luxury box."

  Naturally. They weren’t going to take us anywhere to meet more people.

  "Great." Micah shook his head. "It's been a long time since I've been to one of those."

  "Then let's go." Mr. Buckley turned and led us out front. Needless to say, there was a limo there, waiting for us.

  I had a feeling the next four hours were going to creep by.

  The box seats were a lot nicer than I expected. Ours was spacious enough for twenty-five people to sit comfortably, but there were only seven of us there. The inside was air-conditioned, and several buffet stations lined the wall behind us, containing standard ballpark foods like hot dogs, nachos, and the like with different kinds of water, Coke, and beer.

  A balcony sat directly outside the doorway to watch the game, and there were two adjoined rooms within the box—one where the food was located, which had a table next to it, and then another section with two large couches and chairs surrounding a television. Both were connected to the balcony.

  We were all sitting on the balcony, watching the ballgame going on below.

  "Did your fathers tell you about the new manufacturing plant we purchased on the outskirts of town?" Mr. Buckley turned his attention to the heirs.

  "No, they didn't." Micah shook his head. "They must have gotten sidetracke
d."

  Yeah, right. They didn't tell them for a reason. I could only imagine the real motive behind it.

  "What kind of plant is it?" Liam's hand stiffened in mine.

  He had to be wondering the same thing I was.

  "It's a chicken processing plant in Gainesville, Georgia." Mr. Haggard grinned and patted Micah's shoulder. "It's generating over five hundred million in revenue this year."

  The more I watched Mr. Haggard, the more concerned I got. He was nice and charismatic on the surface. The perfect type of person who could hide something horrible.

  "Oh, can we go visit it?" If they were that proud of it, then that would be a reasonable request.

  Mr. Haggard laughed as if I’d told a good joke and leaned over Micah so he could see me three seats down. "Oh, dear, no. It's where they kill and process dead chickens. I'm sure you and the heirs don't want to go to a place like that. We only wanted to share the good news. And the best part is we were able to hire all wolf shifters to work there. So not only are we making money for all of us, but we're helping the local packs out."

  If they're that proud of it, wouldn't they want us to see it? I hated to be so critical. Yet, after what we saw in New York, I was scared.

  I'm thinking the same thing. Liam squeezed my hand.

  "I really don't mind going." Liam's eyes landed on Micah, who sat right next to him. "Do you?"

  "It might be a good thing for the workers to see the heirs supporting them." Micah shrugged. "So, I'm not opposed."

  "Dude, it's a chicken processing factory. Do we really want to go and see dead chickens everywhere?" Simon shook his head as he stepped onto the balcony with us. "I'd rather go run in some woods and do some killing of my own than walk into a place like that."

  "Of course, you would," Evan mumbled as he moved over to sit next to me. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and nodded.

  He had the same concerns as Liam and me.

  "Maybe next time you visit; we'll take you to see the plant." Mr. Buckley nodded. "But not this time."

  His voice held alpha will within it as if he thought he could slip it by us. I noticed Micah tense, but Simon was behind me eating. He then propped his feet on the back of my chair, making his shoes dig into my back.

  The asshole was focused more on being an ass to me than what was actually going on around him.

  I turned around, grabbed his leg, and stared into his eyes, letting my wolf come forward. "Do it one more time, and Evan won't have to beat your ass. I will."

  Something shifted in Simon as his eyes met mine. He huffed out a breath but put his feet back on the ground.

  Between the chicken processing factory and Simon, my night was going to be full. I was really getting tired of everyone pushing me around.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Once again, we were dropped off at another fancy hotel in downtown Atlanta. The Four Seasons felt very similar to the one we had stayed at in New York. Once again, Liam and I got our own room while the boys shared a suite down the hall.

  The bedspread was white, and the table that sat in the corner was a modern black. Directly across from the bed was light gray cabinetry that had drawers we could use, and a flat-screen television hung so that we could easily watch from the bed or the table.

  "Do you ever feel guilty for staying in places like these?" I wasn't trying to shame him, but it was hard being surrounded by luxury after what I had seen in New York.

  "Not really." Liam walked out of the marble bathroom with dark tile flooring and pulled me into his arms. "You have to remember; it's part of our job."

  "Living in luxury is our job?" I needed to know how he was going to rationalize his thinking.

  "Well, yes and no." He nodded his head toward the window. "It's the same way humans work. The ones who get the most important and hardest jobs get paid the most."

  "But we were born into it." We hadn't worked our way up the ladder, so to speak.

  "Just like a lot of people who inherit money." Liam kissed the top of my forehead. "You do realize how our life will change once we ascend the council. We'll be working all the time and rarely have downtime. It's one of the most demanding jobs in the world. If done right, we will be able to help our people become stronger and wealthier, and we can't do it without our financial backing. So even if we're staying in a nice hotel room, that doesn't change who we are and what our future accomplishes. We have to have private planes to travel and attend to the packs’ needs easily. We stay in more luxurious hotel rooms, mainly for the extra security. It's a privilege for all the sacrifices we have to make in the name of protecting our packs."

  It kind of made sense, but it still didn't sit well with me. Maybe it was because I grew up without all the extra fluff. "So... what are our plans tonight?"

  "We're going to go visit a chicken processing factory." He arched an eyebrow as his blue eyes stared right at me. "Is that what you're getting at?"

  "Maybe." He knew me all too well. They should've been eager to show us even if it was only a drive-by. It was like they expected us to be impressed by the profits and move on.

  "Well, let's get going. I looked it up, and Gainesville is about an hour away." Liam took out his phone, but before he could type out a message, there was a knock on our door.

  I pulled out of his arms and headed to the door. When I opened it, I wasn't surprised to see the three heirs. Granted, Simon was in the back, leaning against the wall, frowning.

  Liam put his phone back in his pocket. "I was about to text you. Mia and I made some plans and I was letting you guys know..."

  "That you're going to the chicken processing factory." Evan cut Liam off, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. "That's what I figured. We're in."

  "Technically, I'm being forced." Simon frowned and shook his head. "Why the hell do you idiots want to go to a chicken processing factory? It sounds disgusting. Even worse than that apartment building in New York."

  "You don't have to go." In fact, I'd rather he stayed behind. He seemed to be getting more and more ornery the longer we were all together.

  "That's exactly why I'm going." Simon narrowed his eyes at me. "You're messing with their heads. If it weren't for you, we'd be going out to dinner and relaxing."

  "Stop being an ass." Liam stood beside me and took my hand in his. "If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be seeing some of the struggles our people are going through."

  "All this is going to do is cause problems." Simon lifted both hands in the air. "Don't you see it? It's going to cause the regional and city alphas to get pissed off."

  "So what?" He was acting like he wanted to stay in denial. "They aren't performing their jobs."

  "Like you know shit about what their jobs are." Simon sneered and wrinkled his nose as if he was disgusted. "You need to go back to your stupid-ass pack and leave us the hell alone."

  "Dude, you've gone too far." Micah sighed the words as Liam pushed through the group and reared back, punching Simon in the face.

  "Dammit." Simon grabbed his nose as blood poured out of it. Anger flickered in his eyes as he glared at me. "I hate you. This is what you've done to us."

  "No, it's you." Evan flanked me on one side. "You're the problem."

  Liam stood on my other side so that I was in the center, protected.

  The thing was I didn't need their protection. Something was going to explode between Simon and me, and the more they got involved, the worse it was going to be.

  "I have to agree with them." Micah's shoulders sagged as if it pained him to admit the truth. "If people aren’t being treated right, we need to know."

  "Why?" Simon pinched the bridge of his nose as blood poured down his shirt. "They're weak, so why should it matter? Only the strong need to survive."

  There it was. The truth about how he felt. He didn't give a shit if his people were struggling, and I had a feeling that was how the current council felt too. "Because it should matter. That was the whole reason the council was created, to begin with."
>
  "Look, just stay here." Micah patted his friend on the shoulder. "But I need to see what's going on with my people with my own eyes."

  "I'm not going to get left behind." Simon headed back down to the next room. "We're supposed to be doing this together. Let me change my shirt." He went into the room and shut the door.

  "I wish he'd just stay here." Liam frowned as he took my hand in his. "He's a wild card."

  "He is, but we've grown up together and will lead together." Micah glanced at me. "Bringing in Mia changed the dynamics of the group. You know he hates change."

  And we're questioning your parents. I squeezed Liam's hand. So that's even more change. He's having a hard time.

  "He still doesn't need to be an ass though," Evan said as he ran a hand down his face. "He's got to grow up at some point."

  The door opened again, and Simon came out with a new polo shirt on. It was blood-red with the wolf and moon in silver—the standard logo for Wolf Moon.

  "At least, if I need to punch you in the nose again, the blood will blend in with your shirt." Liam's voice was filled with anger.

  "Let's just go." Simon pushed through the group and headed to the elevator. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll get back. I don't have the energy or the time for this shit."

  Well, okay then. The four of us followed behind him.

  Luckily, we were able to determine which chicken processing plant was the one the alphas had been referring to. The owner of the plant was Mr. Haggard himself, so it was easy to find.

  Micah had a Navigator rented and waiting for us outside the hotel, so we were able to leave without anyone noticing.

  Simon sat in the very back while Liam and I sat in the middle row. Micah drove the car, and Evan sat up front, grunting when Micah was about to take a bad turn. Apparently, Micah wasn't very good at following directions.

  We parked in the back of the factory since there were no gates, which I found odd. The building wasn't anything amazing. It was a cement building that was meant to stand the test of time. There were two doors in the back that backed up to a section of huge garbage cans. The cans were in a gated area and locked so no one could come and dump trash there.