“I can’t imagine he’d kill an entire pack on just a hunch,” Tristan said.
“Nor can I,” Jackson replied softly, shaking his head as dark memories welled up within him.
“What do you plan to do if there is gold?” asked Heath.
“The answer to that question ties in with the restitution that the High Council is demanding from your pack,” Jackson said.
Puzzled, Tristan glanced at Heath, but realizing his mate was just as confused as he was, he turned his attention back to Jackson. “I don’t follow…the gold belongs to you, not my pack, so…”
“I’ll explain in a second, but first, did Cody tell you about his home for young gay shifters?”
“No…but then we didn’t have much time to talk when Steel introduced us since Cody was watching a group of kids,” Tristan explained.
Chuckling, Jackson said, “More like trying to keep his daughter from attacking Eamon, who she has a big crush on. Anyway, after Cody and Dylon rescued Kieran, Theo, and Norm, he realized there were other young gay shifters out there whose families had kicked them out, so he came up with the idea of providing a home where they could be their authentic selves. When he approached me, I wholeheartedly supported it and gave him the entire bottom floor of one of the wings to use. My brother Logan designed the floor plan, and Steel has overseen the renovations…which are almost complete.”
“Wow! That’s a fantastic idea…how can we help?” asked Tristan.
“Glad you asked,” Jackson replied, smiling. “My brother plans to use his inheritance to operate the home, but after thinking it over, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
“Why?” asked Heath.
“For one, the responsibility to care for young shifters who have been rejected for who they are belongs to all of us. These young people are the future of our world, so it’s important to make sure they have an opportunity to grow and flourish in an environment filled with love instead of hate, especially since there’s an abundance of that in our world already.”
“I agree,” Tristan murmured. “Even though my father rejected me, I grew up in a world filled with love and acceptance.” He paused for a second before he added, “Remind me to tell you about the time my mother gave me a book on gay sex. Shit, I couldn’t look her in the eye for days afterward.”
“I would’ve loved to have seen that,” Heath chuckled.
Laughing, Jackson said, “Luckily, Logan and I found the web to be a great source of information through another gay boy in school. To get back to the gold and my plan…”
“You want to use the gold to fund Cody’s Home,” Tristan interjected.
Grinning, Jackson said, “Yup…Josiah’s greed for it caused the massacre, but if someone used it for good, my siblings would not have died in vain. And I can’t think of a better idea to bring meaning to their deaths than to use the cause of it to save other young shifters by giving them a home and a future.”
“What a great idea!” exclaimed Heath.
“Where do we fit in?” asked Tristan. “And what does this have to do with the restitution I owe you?”
“I want you as a partner,” Jackson said. Then, raising his hand to stop Tristan from refusing, he continued, “Hear me out. Whatever money or assets Reeve can find rightly belongs to your pack—and they desperately need it—but the High Council won’t see it that way.”
“No,” murmured Heath, “they’ll believe the reason you won’t take the payment is that you are planning to extract your revenge another way.”
Rolling his eyes, Jackson said, “Like I would put any of my pack members at risk for something as juvenile as that.”
“I’m not saying you would,” Heath replied, “but other Alphas have done it…an eye for an eye type of crap. The High Council’s solution prevents that from happening anymore.”
“Fine, but even if I could, I believe it would only put my pack at further risk of harm.”
Raising an eyebrow, Tristan asked, “Why? My pack is too weak to mount an attack against your pack.”
“I know you won’t, but I also know no one can predict what someone in your pack might do if he thinks his back is against the wall,” replied Jackson. “The only way to make sure that doesn’t happen is to make sure your pack gets back on firm financial footing as soon as possible.”
“I can see that, but how does becoming your partner satisfy the High Council’s demand for restitution?” asked Tristan.
“Simple…you and your pack are responsible for the mining of the gold, and then we’ll split the profits 50-50, with a percentageof your profits going to Cody’s Home until the agreed-upon amount of restitution has been met. The costs incurred by you and your pack to recover the gold will come off the top before any profits are divided.”
Stunned, Tristan’s jaw dropped in disbelief. Never in his wildest imagination could he ever have imagined Jackson’s proposed solution about the money his pack owed. He’d spent many days going over the pack’s finances, each time reaching the same conclusion—he was fucked. The damage Josiah did was too great for him to save the Silver Point Pack, and he hadn’t the heart to tell Heath or his members. No wonder Reeve was only too happy to hand over the Alpha position to him. But now, when he had just about given up, Jackson had thrown him a lifeline that gave him a way to save his pack. And he knew he had to grab it. Snapping his mouth shut, he leaned over and kissed Heath before turning back to Jackson. With a broad smile on his face, he said, “Hi, partner!”
Chapter 26