I swept Mia over my shoulder, careful of her injured side, and smacked her butt loudly. “I’ll see you in the morning,” I told everyone. “LATE morning.” Miaughed as I ran off, and we had a very active wedding night. I heard the howl from next door, Gabriel must have imed Mackenzie, followed by her screams of pleasure. Being naturallypetitive, we started a silentpetition to see who could make our wife scream the most before going to bed.
I had to stop at four AM, the count was over thirty. We lost.Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.
The next morning, we showered and dressed and went downstairs. Ate brunch was set up in the kitchen, and I pulled Mia into myp as we shared a big te of pancakes. The tables were packed with people, many humans hung over.
“Did you sleep well,” Viper said, and everyone started tough. “I wish I was a werewolf, I could have curled up in the woods where I couldn’t hear you two.”
“It didn’t help,” Puriel said. “Wolf hearing, those screams could be heard for miles. Thanks for keeping the windows in your room open.”
“I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not. It was a hell of a night,” Gabriel said.
“I don’t know if I can ride today, you pounded the shit out of me,” Mackenzie said. “And I loved every minute.” She pulled him into a kiss.
“Well, since none of us could sleep, we got a few things figured outtest night,” Hammer said. “The rest of the Club talked over the lottery and what we discussed, and we’re all in agreement.”
“We are going with the three chapters/one club idea,” Dagger said. “There won’t be many up here at first, just Adam, Eve and most of the werewolves. We’re already working on getting construction drawings made up and talking to contractors. We want to start demolition of the old structure tomorrow, and get utilities in. If we really push it, we can have the Pack House weather-tight by the end of October. That gives us the winter to get the interior done.”
“We have to run in new power and connect to the natural gas line along the road,” Azazel said. “Pushing the contractors, we figure we can move ine spring. It’s a huge project, we’ll need a hundred contractors working it seven days a week to meet that schedule. Meanwhile, we’ll use this house as a base.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “Whatever you need, we’ll get you. I just want you to keep Eve hidden. Nobody outside the Club sees or hears her. Keep her here and safe. I’m sorry, Baby, but it’s just too dangerous.”
“I understand, Dad. Adam told me the same.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
“I’m handling the lottery,” Viper said. “Abaddon has a lot to coordinate with security. I’ll work with thewyers, bury this in so many corporations that no one will be able to figure out we are behind it.”
“And Sheri is selling her bar, she epted the offer yesterday,” Moose said. “I’m taking Hammer and Teri, along with Dumah, to scout a location for our southern headquarters.”
“I grew up around the Oc National Forest, that’s a better bet than the coasts or down south,” he said. “Werewolves don’t do good around swamps, and we need plenty ofnd to run. I think we can find something within two hours of Jacksonville, either in Florida or Georgia, that will fit ourbined needs.”
I smiled at that. “Good, because I’m looking forward to long winter vacations where I can ride every day,” I said.
“The Northwoods will always be home, but I don’t mind the beach either,” Adam said.
“And you and I will figure out what to do with our current Clubhouse and the old Knight building,” Dagger said. “Maybe something a little more rural, since we won’t need to work outside the Club anymore.”
Mackenzie looked up at Gabriel, a little panicked. “I can’t keep my business?”
He shook his head. “I’d never force you to give up what you love, but I want you safe too,” he said.
“Compromise,” I said. “Keep thepany, it’s good cover. You still provide investigation and protection services, you just have a single client. The Club. It gives us cover for the guys protecting Adam and Eve, and it isn’t fair for the guys to be giving up time and effort protecting them without being paid.”
“I like that,” Natalie said. “Family business.”
“Family.” She leaned back into Gabriel’s arms. “It will take a while to achieve, I have open contracts andmitments.”
“And we can help you with that,” he said. “I have some skills in this area.”
“Uh huh. I’ll be the judge of that. I haven’t sparred properly with you yet, and I need to evaluate your firearms and protection skills.” He justughed and hugged her.
“Form a general contractingpany, the guys up here focusing on the building should get paid too,” I said. “I don’t want someone outside the Club making decisions.”
An hourter, the major decisions made, we started to load up. We left Eve and most of the werewolves behind, my Club riding back to the cities together. It had been an amazing weekend, full of surprises. On Monday the six of us would have to apply for a marriage license, then send that paperwork in. We also had ring shopping to do.
What a difference a day makes.
**********
Meghan’s POV
One weekter
The honeymoons would have to wait, because the Club had a ton of stuff to do. It seemed like Steven and I hardly saw each other now; I was holed up in the Clinic doing research all the time, and he was coordinating security at three different sites.
The Northwoods group was moving like gangbusters; demolition had already begun. The architectural firm we had hired used ns for a resort hotel as a baseline, so we could at least get the walls started. After some discussion, we decided to forego log construction as we couldn’t get the timbers cut and delivered in a timely fashion. There was also concern about fires, and Steven wanted the ce to be secure, incredibly secure. In the end they went with the use of poured concrete inside insted forms, giving us highly insted and strong walls. We were using amercial building method for the floors, a lightweight poured and reinforced concrete, so we could haverge spans without supports. The outside we went with a faux-log concrete siding product that was fireproof, and steel roofing. We also specified steel fire shutters that could be swung and secured in front of the windows. In the end, the entire ce would be a safe room and storm shelter, able to withstand almost any attack short of artillery.
The nice thing about the construction was the speed, it was easy to raise the forms. Pouring the foundation had already begun, and the pours would continue 14 hours a day for the next week. We were hiring almost every cement truck from Duluth north. While they poured, we also finished the blueprints we would need for the walls, electrical, plumbing and other stuff. The well was already dug, and a huge septic field was under construction in the huge front yard.
With the frame, roof, windows and doors, and basic mechanicals in ce, we would be able to continue construction through the long winter. The ns that had been shared were pretty cool, and the concept was being carried over all three locations. Each member was asked to dere a “Primary” location they would be at; in this location, they would have the equivalent of arge apartment including a nice kitchen and multiple rooms. At the other two locations, you would still have a designated room, but it would be more like a hotel room with a kitchte, about a third of the size. Since the dream showed we were having werewolf babies, Steven and I had chosen the northern location as our base, as had all the other parents in our dreams.
I was worried the other couples would stay, like Snake and Mia, but they wanted all the girls protected. They both liked the area, so it wasn’t a big problem. I was worried about Mackenzie, but she decided that if her securitypany had a single client, they didn’t have to maintain a Twin Cities base. She was in talks to sell thepany to apetitor, taking only Natalie with her.
After much discussion among the group, we decided the existing properties in St. Paul just didn’t work for us, and there was no room for us to expand. We didn’t want to go too far from the cities. The werewolves wantednd to run, the humans wanted a huge garage and storage, but still close enough to visit family and work if you were still doing it. I reminded them of a ce we had used years ago, the game farm near Miesville, that was owned by Viking’s aunt and uncle. It was still operating, but barely, and in another year or so they would be bankrupt. Viper had kept in touch with them after their son’s death, and they were eager to retire. The Club made a cash offer for theirnd, throwing in an offer to have a permanent room at one of the three Clubhouse locations. Not surprisingly, after a lifetime in the harsh Minnesota winters, they picked Florida. The Clubhouse was going to be the same as the one up North, using the same ns. The huge, fully equipped garage andrge gymnasium were also going to be the same. No matter which ce you were at, it was going to be like a luxury resort, without the paid staff.
Hammer, Teri and Dumah had been checking in with the other leaders every night, updating them on the search in Florida. They had located over a thousand acres bordering the east edge of Oc National Forest, less than two hours from Jacksonville. They were in negotiations with the owners, but a purchase and building would have to take ce after we imed our lottery winnings. We had at least one more winter in the hotels before we would be operational in our Southern chapter. On the good side, they had already leased an entire condominium building south of Jacksonville, so we would at least have a good ce to stay.
Viper had engaged a team ofwyers, and they estimated it would be another month until the Club could im the prize. Having this much money with fewer than a hundred members made things more interesting, and thewyers were working on how to make it all work. In the end, we went with shares. Each existing full Club member and spouse got a full share, and children a one-third share. If they left the Club, their share would be sold back to the Club at par value for the current club asset value. If you stayed, you got full use of the facilities of the Club at no cost. This included use of one apartment, plus a small room at each of the other Chapters. The property remained with the Club, so all you could do was cash out your share. It was all set up so as Club rules for adding and removing members urred, the Club and the corporation would go on.