Keira silently waited as the last few stragglers from the quarterly pack meeting finally shuffled out of the pack house. This was the first time she had attended a pack meeting. During her time in the Task Force, the only meetings she had attended were with the department heads. They were then responsible for informing the department of all the information that was discussed.
She really hoped Donovan would have told her what to expect. Or gave her a briefing... Or something! She had no idea what to expect, and she felt like an idiot for just standing next to him the whole time!
'Donovan needs to work on his communication,' Sabelina commented.
There were a few things she needed to speak to Donovan about. Things that have not been discussed in a long time.
'I need to speak to him as soon as possible,' Keira said.
Donovan took a seat at one of the tables and began writing. He looked stressed. Or looked like someone had a lot on their mind.
"Are you alright?" Keira asked, taking a seat next to him.
"I plan to step down from the General's position," Donovan replied, not looking at her. "King Richard gave me 3 months to get things situated here before taking up the duties at the Castle."
"What?" Keira asked, clearly surprised. "When did you decide this? Donovan, what's going on? Shouldn't we talk about this?"
"At the meeting when you first arrived," was the reply. "We were discussing my new responsibilities, but the disbandment of the Task Force... A lot of things have changed. I need to keep my focus on the pack."
"I know King Richard has spies within the pack," Donovan continued. "Once the King and Queen hear that the pack members have not been paid for over two years, it's only a matter of time before I'm removed from the position."
"Donovan, I don't understand. What will happen to the pack?" Keira asked. "Wasn't this land given to you because of your title? If you step away, would we need to move again?"
Donovan shook his head. "No, that was only rumors. King Richard had already promised this land to me 6 years ago. If I step down, the pack won't be moving. This is our permanent home."
Keira smiled and leaned against Donovan's shoulder. She placed her head against his shoulder. "That's good. I would hate to have to move again after all the work we're putting into developing the land and stabilizing the pack. Donovan, don't act too hastily. We don't know for sure if you'll be removed from your position."
Donovan nodded but otherwise didn't comment.
"Donovan," Keira began. "I don't want to step on your toes, but there are many things that Antoine, Montego, and I can help you with. You don't have to deal with everything. You can lean on me for things, you know. I wouldn't mind being included in how you run the pack. I can learn what is expected and help you out."
Donovan hesitated. "It's not that I don't want to, but you made it clear you wanted to leave regardless of what happened. Don't tell me you don't want to leave the pack and find your cousin? Or deal with that rogue?"
"I need someone that I can depend on," he continued. "Someone who will stay no matter what. Can you assure me that if the opportunity arises, you won't leave to hunt the rogue? Or abandon the pack to get revenge on your cousin?"
Keira leaned back, surprised at his questions. He truly believed they were still planning to abandon the pack? After everything?
'What's going on with him?' Keira thought.
'Does he really think we won't stay?' Sabelina questioned. 'We bonded... Wasn't that enough to confirm that we would stay? Of course, we want to find out what happened with Nico, and we want to get rid of that parasite! But that doesn't mean we will abandon the pack or Donovan.'
"Donov—" Keira began, ready to explain, to reassure him that their priorities had shifted, that he was their priority now. But before she could get another word out, the heavy oak door from the pack house creaked open.
Marcus poked his head in. "Alpha, apologies for the interruption, but the meeting with the contractors is about to begin. Everyone is waiting at the office."
Donovan's shoulders straightened immediately. He stood scooping up a handful of notes from the table. Donovan paused, leaning forward. His lips brushed her forehead in a tender kiss.
"If you need help with the mapping of the territory," he murmured, his voice low, despite Marcus's presence in the doorway, "let me know. And I'll be late for dinner. Don't wait up for me."
Then he was gone, leaving Keira sitting alone at the table. He trusted her with the mapping but not anything else? And he still thought she might leave?
'Sabelina, what has gotten into him?' Keira asked, confused. 'Is he insecure about something? Has Nolan spoken to you about anything?'
'I don't know,' Sabelina replied. 'But the first full moon after our mating is approaching... Maybe there is something special about it?'
'Even if there is, he is acting irrationally,' Keira stated. 'It feels as though he just decided this during the meeting, no explanation. Nothing.'
Shaking her head, Keira stood and was about to head out when a calm and steady voice belonging to Lorraine spoke out. "Luna."
Keira turned, offering a friendly smile.
"Lorraine, what's going on?" Keira gestured to the nearest table to sit.
"I didn't mean to overhear," she began in an apologetic voice. "I just wanted to let you know that I've completed compiling the list for the departments and have written all the overdue payments into a spreadsheet for you."
Keira nodded. "Thanks, Lorraine, send it over to Donovan as soon as possible. He will need to review it. Was any payment made to the debt?"
Lorraine shook her head. "Not quite. Things like the monthly care stipends for our elders, the support funds for new parents, even the occasional emergency travel allowance for our scouts. They were logged but never fully reconciled and paid out from the general fund. Then that woman began to log all monthly charges."
Lorraine continued. "The total outstanding amount is… significant. And some of our members are owed quite a substantial sum. There's a complete list of who's owed what, by department, and the total for each individual."
"Thank you, Lorraine, we will take care of it," Keira replied.
'Before anything is reviewed, I really need to speak to Donovan and clear things up!' Keira thought.
Lorraine stood to leave. "L-Luna, are you planning on leaving the pack?"
"I'm not leaving," Keira assured her. "Alpha Donovan and I just had a misunderstanding at the beginning that wasn't cleared up at the time. Don't worry about it."
Lorraine smiled and headed out. Keira stayed seated; her mind felt busy.