Today was a good day. The children were all settling in, and we’d discovered a number of talented and hardworking individuals among our new pack.

Family members also gave info on the others that were coming with Alpha Clovis on the buses.

He’d called me directly and let us know that he was escorting our pack to us. He’d wondered if he and his Luna and two of their daughters could impose on our hospitality to stay a few days.

I’d agreed happily. He’d done us a huge favor, and I wasn’t about to tell him no. It would be good to see them again. Their pack was one of the few I highly respected and would gladly host them anytime.

Jane planned to put Clovis and Megan in the largest of the spare bedrooms in our apartment and their daughters in one of the available two-bedroom cabins we’d made ready for our new pack.

The exciting discoveries of our new pack members were bountiful. It included many teachers, nurses, doctors, and warriors. There were also chefs and those who loved to clean and organize. There were artists and musicians who had never been allowed to use their talents anywhere but privately. We also had several engineers, electricians, plumbers, and heating and air conditioning guys.

Of particular interest to our workshop staff was a pair of master craftsman woodworkers who had a talent for building beautiful furniture.

We even had two veterinarians who used to be in charge of the health of Alpha MacKenzie’s horses. That man had treated his horses better than his pack.

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There was a lot of work to do building homes and an entire town, but we had the means and the people to do it well.

Gabriel and I were in the study, working on plans and contracts with local businesses to supply the ranch with deliveries of food, building materials, and heavy construction equipment.

The phone on the desk in the study rang. In the few days we had been here, it had never rung once. Gabriel indicated that I should pick it up and continued at his drafting table.

“Hello?” I greeted the caller.

“Tristan,” my father’s voice sounded on the other end of the line.

“Good evening, Alpha Martin,” I replied and then fell silent.

“You are with Gabriel, as I suspected. Did you turn yourself rogue? Is that why you severed yourself from the pack?” He demanded answers in a gruff tone of voice. I could tell he was very angry.

I said nothing.

“Is Avery with you? If you were going to run away with the girl, I don’t know why you didn’t just mate with her here, son. You could have been Alpha!” his volume level was rising.

“I am Alpha, father. Avery is my Beta, and she is mated to her true mate. As am I,” I added.

“That’s impossible. Jane is dead,” he said flatly.

“You’re mistaken. She’s alive and well and bears my mark on her neck,” I kept my voice even and void of emotion.

“This is ridiculous, Tristan. Come home. You can’t play Alpha without a pack and a territory! If you stay rogued too long, you know what will happen!”

“I believe you will find that I do have a pack and a territory. Now, if there’s nothing else, the remaining members of my very large pack arrive in the morning, and I have a lot of work to do. Goodbye, Alpha Martin,” I finished and hung up.

The phone rang again almost immediately, and Gabriel got up and pulled the cord, disconnecting it from the telephone. Then, he simply strode back to his drafting table and went back to work.

I sat back down at the desk and resumed looking over the orders for building supplies, my encounter with my father already forgotten.