Moving On

Charleza’s p.o.v.

It has been a week since I left the territory, and so far, no one has reached out to me.

Ealish started as my personal assistant three days ago, and I am glad to hand off certain tasks to her. It frees up time for me to look at the future of my company, and I am staring at two listings.

One is an office building in Littlefair, and the other is in Cliffpost. Both need renovations, and both are fairly priced. The problem is that I can’t decide where I want my home base, or where I might want to expand next.

“Staring at them isn’t going to solve your problem, Charleza.” Ealish walks into my office with coffee for both of us.

“I know. I have made every decision so far with the Dark Wind territory as my home in the back of my mind. That one condition is gone, and I can move wherever I want for the first time in my life.” I answer.

Steam curls up into the air as I hold the mug up, and for a second I let the silence sit.

“If it were up to you, what would you choose?” I ask as I turn the laptop toward Ealish.

“I would choose Littlefair. First, the town is almost as big as a city and has everything you might need for necessities. Second reason: it is easier to expand from there. You have already established yourself between Littlefair and here.” She looks at me as I let her answer run through my head.

I own buildings in Ebonpost, Duskford, Cliffpost, Midhill, Bleakfield and Littlefair. Office buildings, stores, and houses in all six places, and all of them get rented out.

It started with my great-grandfather, who wanted something to do after stepping down as Beta. A store in Ebonpost caught his attention, and after discussing it several times with my great-grandmother, they made an offer that got accepted.

Five years later, the store had been renovated, and the apartment above it was upgraded. They didn’t need the rent, but it helped them buy another building, and they sold this one after they finished.

My grandfather started helping, and later expanded after he stepped down. Grandma Rozena helped order supplies, book invoices, and decorate the houses they kept to earn extra income.

They owned a store, an office building, and three houses when my grandfather died. Grandma Rozena kept the connections with the men and women they hired, and I started using their services after I became the owner.

Aler never cared about it, and I doubt he understood the value of the five properties. He believed and still believes the real value lay in the Beta's status.

“If you need additional time to make a choice, you can buy both properties, and sell or rent one when you have made a decision.” I chuckle at Ealish’s solution.

As I let the solution run through my head, I understand we will have another challenge. Where are we going to live?

I open our rent portal and see that one of the houses in Littlefair is currently vacant. Cliffpost isn’t far from Littlefair, so our commute wouldn’t be too long. I place a hold on the house before it gets rented out again, and we have nowhere to stay.

“Why is there a hold on the lily residence?” Lochlin asks as he walks into my temporary office with Aldyn.

“Because we might need somewhere to live.” I turn my laptop around, and both stare at the listings I have been juggling with.

I know the price is good, the locations are excellent, and both have potential. What I don’t know is how many employees I will have, or what to put on the battlefront.

“Okay. Let’s start with the financial part. Can we afford to buy and restore both buildings?” Lochlin asks after a few minutes of looking at the listings.

Aldyn is already crunching numbers, even though he doesn’t like the job. I might need to look at the company structure before we move into either building.

“Yeah, we can. The sale of the Midhill’s building is finalized, and we received the funds an hour ago.” Aldyn turns his calculations toward Lochlin.

Lochlin grabs his phone and dials the number for the realtor selling both properties for a client.

He offers far below the asking price on both properties, and I listen as the realtor tries to negotiate a higher price, but he isn’t budging.

“Ask your client. In the meantime, I will keep looking at other properties.” Lochlin says before he disconnects the call and leans back in his seat.

The realtor takes half an hour to call back, and he makes a counteroffer. A little higher than Lochlin offered, but far below the asking price. It leaves us with a bigger reserve for other purchases or unforeseen problems.

“Ealish, is there something holding you here?” Lochlin asks after opening the door, and I smile at her negative response.

Before the week is over, Ealish packs up the little she owns and heads to Littlefair to prepare the house for our arrival. Lochlin leaves in the morning, while Aldyn and I finish clearing out our temporary office and hand over the keys to the new renter.

I stand on the top floor while Aldyn shows the new renter and his mate around. From the window, I have a clear view of the Dark Wind pack, and I softly say goodbye to Grandma Rozena.

A company name hasn’t been found yet, but we have narrowed it down to a handful of contestants.

“Ready, Boss?” Aldyn asks as he steps next to me. “Their loss.”

He's said those words to me many times over the years, and I know he means them. I am also starting to believe them.

The Mildglow family made their choice a long time ago, and I am no longer trying to earn their love or their approval.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Like Ealish, there is nothing holding me here. Maybe someday they will discover what they threw away.” I loop my arm through Aldyn’s as we walk to the elevator.

It opens when we reach it, and I take a last look toward my birth pack until the doors close.

Aldyn follows me out of the parking lot, and we turn right onto the main road out of Ebonpost. The farther we drive from downtown, the fewer houses and buildings we pass, and then we leave it behind.

The road leads us past Bleakfield, Duskford, Midhill, and Cliffpost until we reach Littlefair. We have also passed the territories of eight packs along the way, and we have done business with two of them.

“Welcome home, Boss. Watch out for the neighborhood gossip, though.” Lochlin says the latter is a whisper as he looks over my left shoulder.

I turn to see a blonde leaning on the porch railing, looking Aldyn up and down before turning her attention to me. Her smile falters for a second, but she quickly turns her attention back to Aldyn.

“I am waiting for my connection,” Aldyn calls out as he turns his back on her and pulls a box out of the trunk.

Both SUVs are empty within an hour, and I lean against the door after it closes.

“She seemed nice until Lochlin showed up and set her eyes on him. I am close to punching her lights out, especially after she shoved me out of the way the other day.” Ealish hands me a coffee as we walk into the living room.

“Lochlin, did we ever get complaints about her from tenants?” I ask, and he chuckles while shaking his head.

I would have hated it if we lost tenants because of a woman like that. I will make sure to see if we can do something about her, though.

My first morning in Littlefair starts with pounding on the door at six in the morning, and I am about to commit murder when I open the door.