Another Half

June 2010

As soon as the door closed behind Gamma Lance, Rex’s father motioned Rex to sit on one of the tall stools in front of the bar. He got up from his massive desk and went behind the bar, where he poured ice into a classic cut-crystal tumbler.

“What do you want, son?”

Rex cleared his throat, confused. On the rare occasions that his father yelled at him, it was always from behind the desk not from behind the bar. While it was usual for him to share a drink with his father, it was always under different circumstances: Either they were celebrating something or they were discussing something related to their businesses or their pack that was so important, they needed to be slightly buzzed to deal with it. Today was a day for neither.

Rex shrugged. “The usual. Rojo. Neat.”

“Bourbon. Of course,” Alpha Brian said with a chuckle, as he took out a Glencairn glass. “What is it you always like to say?”

Despite how awful and confused he felt, Rex grinned. “Why settle for vodka when bourbon has more of everything?”

Alpha Brian snickered. “Dream on, boy.” He poured two fingers of Rojo Bourbon into Rex’s glass. “Azul Vodka will always be king even if your bourbon continues to win—how many awards has it won so far?”

Rex looked up at him, perplexed. His father already knew this; the plaques were on his office wall, where he had proudly nailed them right before a huge, pack-wide celebration in Rex’s honor.

“Only the San Francisco Spirits Competition and the World Whiskies Award.”

“Only? You mean only the awards that matter,” Rex’s father said, “Not to mention that you’re one of the very few people that can make an award-winning bourbon outside of Kentucky.” He slid Rex his drink across the gleaming bar before turning to pour vodka into the tumbler with ice.

Rex felt worse. For all his accomplishments, he suddenly felt unworthy.

“What’s your next big goal for the distillery?”

Rex gently swished the golden brown liquid in the tulip-shaped glass he held. He never grew tired of the simplicity of this one act right before enjoying the smokey vanilla flavors only a neat bourbon offered.

Rex was in no position to lie to or hide anything from his father.

“I’ve been looking into brandies. We have plenty of the right fruit year-round. I’ve only just started, though. I think it’s going to take a lot longer than with the bourbon," he said, still swishing his drink. "Years and years, probably. By then the older barrels of Rojo Bourbon will be ready, and we can release them as a special label–”

He looked up, only to find Alpha Brian staring at him with wonder, and it made him nervous. He stopped swishing his drink. Maybe Rex shouldn’t have been so candid with his new project. And then he saw his father grin widely, his eyes beaming at him.

“Brandy now, is it, son? I have no doubt you’ll wreak havoc on that industry, too.”

The pride in his father’s voice made Rex want to cry, and he lowered his eyes and swallowed hard to get the lump in his throat through as they both raised their glasses, silently toasted to one another, and drank. It was like swallowing a lump of burning lead, and his eyes began to water.

His dad must have sensed this. “No. There’s no need for that.” He cleared his throat. “There are a couple of things you must know before I tell you what’s really bugging me.” Alpha Brian went around the bar and sat on the stool next to him. Rex suddenly realized that his father had vodka on the rocks, and this alarmed him.

Rex knew his father. Alpha Brian was a vodka martini man when he was happy, and a vodka on the rocks man when he was worried or afraid. There was no in-between. He taught Rex that cocktails were reserved for social events. With any other emotion, Rex’s father simply didn’t drink, often taking care of his frustrations while sparring with Rex or, if he was really angry, with his Beta or Gamma.

They sat in silence sipping their drinks, but Rex finally couldn’t take the pressure any longer.

“Dad, I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry,” Rex said. He stopped when his voice cracked, suddenly feeling very stupid. “I know that nothing I say or do can—-can fix this–”

Alpha Brian raised his hand, and Rex stopped talking.

“I know, son. I know,” Alpha Brian’s voice was heavy. “About that. You’ll have time to sort through it sooner or later. I figure, someday you’ll find an unmated she-wolf you’ll want as your Chosen Mate and the pack’s Luna. Be wise when you’re ready to look for one. You’ll soon find out how many she-wolves would love to be Luna.”

Rex tossed back the rest of his drink to conceal his shock. He wondered if he had just heard his father correctly. While his father didn’t seem to blame Rex, he also didn’t seem to absolve him. So what was he afraid of?

“You’re telling me not to worry about it? But that’s not what Enrique and Lance just said!”

Alpha Brian shrugged. “Oh, it is very serious that you didn’t get your Fated Mate when you had the chance, and I’m sure you’ll deal with the consequences as they come—-starting today, actually. I’m not going to lie: a Chosen Mate is not as—it’s not in any way ideal for an Alpha, but I don’t see any other solution to your, ah, problem. But right now we have more serious matters to worry about.” He took another sip of his drink.

Rex refused to make his life harder by thinking about where he was going to find a Chosen Mate. His heart ached with the mere thought of choosing someone the Moon Goddess had not chosen for him.

“What do you mean ‘starting today?’ What’s so special about today?”

His father didn’t look at him and focused instead on refilling the glass of melting ice in front of him. He filled it about half an inch from the top causing Rex to frown. He never drank this much.

“Because today you find out that, while you were still in the air on your way home last night, Maverick Marked your Fated Mate as his Luna right after he became Blue Ponderosa’s new Alpha.”

Rex felt as if all the wind had been sucked out of his lungs in one powerful pull and he swayed in his seat. While he leaned on his forearms to keep from falling, his father got up and supported him with a massive hug. Tears poured from Rex’s eyes and, to his relief, they were quickly absorbed into his dad’s shirt. But there was nothing he could do to hide the sobs that tore from his chest.

It was done. His secret hope was gone. There was no possibility of Caroline changing her mind and coming to him. He would have taken her, of course. He would have forgiven her everything. Nakon howled long and sorrowfully in the recess of Rex’s mind.

“They didn’t wait, did they?” Rex finally said after several long moments. He straightened himself up and discreetly wiped his eyes while his father retreated onto his own stool before refilling Rex’s glass with bourbon. He filled it halfway.

“Son, I’m sorry. This is a hard blow for all of us–for me, too, as your father,” Alpha Brian said with a hoarse voice. “But it gets worse, and that’s the part that truly worries me right now.” Alpha Brian took a deep breath. “Word of mouth says that Alpha Maverick announced plans to take over our pack in the coming months and, given what you told us, I have to assume he will follow through.”

“What?! But, Rick said two days ago that they don’t have the strength to fight!”

Alpha Brian nodded. “I know and Blue Ponderosa knows it. But my sources said that at least one other alpha in the Azul Valley has pledged his support. We can take on Blue Ponderosa alone, no problem, but with one or more allies on their side? Son, we don’t have much of a chance.”

“Who is it? Who’s the ally or allies?”

“That’s the thing. We don’t know. At first, I hoped it was nothing more than a boastful new Alpha’s drunk ramblings. But between what you told us and my intel, well, I can’t afford to take any chances that we’ll be at war in the next few months.”

Alpha Brian rubbed his face with one hand and for the first time since Rex’s mother died, he looked haggard and afraid. Rex seldom saw his father hesitate when making important pack decisions. Alpha Brian was decisive to a fault.

“What’s really the matter, Dad?”

“All the packs in this valley have been at peace for over half a century,” Alpha Brian muttered shaking his head. “I know all the alphas in our valley. I grew up knowing them. We may have had our differences through the years, but we were all united in keeping the peace in the Azul Valley. No rogues or other invading packs could even enter our valley because we’ve all been watching each other’s backs. Our peace treaties were supposed to last into your children’s children’s generation. Why throw it all away now for–for what? More pack members to take care of? More jobs to scrounge for or create? More mouths to feed? And I don’t understand why Nelson, of all people, thinks it’s a good idea to let his son attack mine!” He slammed his fist on the bar. “That’s fucking treason, in my book—-that fucking asshole. Both of them with his worthless son.”

Rex took a long sip of his bourbon. He had thought about this on the long flight home, but he hadn’t thought of it as treason. So, he knew his dad wouldn’t like what he was about to say. It was going to hurt.

“I don’t think it’s personal, Dad. They simply saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and your friendship with Alpha Nelson is a casualty,” he said. “Think about it.” Rex fought the bile that threatened to rise up his throat. Disloyalty left a bitter taste in his mouth. “Our distillery runs this valley. Our people are pretty well-off compared to other packs that scramble to make a living every year. Taking my mate has weakened me and our pack. Maverick’s family might have a stupid hardware store, but you know that’s nothing–”

“They also have a bar,” his father said with a small smile.

Rex stared at him. “Are you shitting me?” He knew the alcohol must have started to have an effect on him because it’s the only reason he would use an expletive with his dad.

Alpha Brian’s laugh boomed throughout the office. Rex relaxed and started to laugh with him, understanding that he wanted to change the subject.

“You mean to tell me that I got dumped for a guy with a damn bar?”

Alpha Brian sobered and took a gulp from his drink. “I’d hate to be Caroline when she finds out what she missed out on.” He took another drink. “And I don’t mean just the money–although there is that. Oh, she thinks she’s happy now, but one does not rebuff the Moon Goddess’s gift of a Fated Mate and not pay dearly for it. I can only hope that we have not offended the Moon Goddess ourselves; we’re going to need Her help very soon.”

Rex frowned. His dad was right. War was on the horizon, their defenses were weak, and their offensive lines were almost nonexistent. This was all fine as long as the other five packs were under the same conditions. Peace had done its damage. While Rex’s mate issues were serious, they were not as serious as what awaited their pack if they were attacked.

“What do we do now, Dad?”

Alpha Brian went back behind the bar and poured them another drink. Then he took out four additional glasses.

“Call the others. We need to get our heads out of our asses.”