Heart's Ease

Charles Ducharme sat in his large corner office at the flagship ski resort in the Laurentian Mountains. He spread his hands on his heavy wooden desk and looked down.

Ostie! The land deal’s tanking.

He stood up and strode to his office door.

“Ken, where’s my brother?”

“Henri?” his assistant asked.

“Thomas.”

Charles returned to his desk and drummed his fingers until the phone rang a minute later. “Thomas, what happened to the deal?”

“Another bid. The team’s prepping the counter-offer now.”

“Who’s this Frères Gris Consortium?”

“They’re buying up property in the area. Name’s from a missionary group from New France. They owned a city block in Montreal a century ago, then dropped out of sight.”

“Supernaturals?”

“We found scattered rumours about them. Settlers called them cannibals and devils. Stories of eating children and women alive.”

“Those are just tales. Humans think loups-garous are stories too.”

“It could be humans using the Frères Gris name. Nobody’s seen them.”

Charles raked a hand through his wavy hair. “What do I tell our indigenous partners? This project is about reconciliation with our neighbours.”

“We’ll work through the night if we have to. I don’t like losing.”

“I’m going to stay. We need this parcel of land to start the geothermal pipelines.” Charles stood up and grabbed the files Ken had left on his desk.

“You need some time off, Charles. Yesterday you flew off the handle in front of the kitchen staff.”

“It’s bad timing—”

“You missed Grand-maman’s one-fiftieth last week. Go. Have a visit with her.” Thomas had his best interests at heart.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“If Henri were here, he’d tell you to get laid.”

“Of course our baby brother would. You know I don’t like hook-ups.”

“Have you been with anyone since Alice left?” Thomas asked.

Charles didn’t answer.

“That’s twelve months. You can’t blow off all that steam in the gym. Something’s got to give.”

“It’s just—my wolf’s restless. Nothing helps.” Charles put the files in a drawer and closed his laptop.

“You’ve got a lot on your plate. We’ve been on high alert since you became Alpha. And with the Trois-Rivières pack nipping at the border of our territories—”

“Another family arrived yesterday fleeing from Roland and his pack. And with the land project stalling, everything’s spiralling out of control. I can’t keep it together.”

“Let your pack help. Don’t shoulder it by yourself.”

Charles shrugged. “How? I’m stuck in a corner. I can’t get out.”

“Spend a few days with Grand-maman. Then we’ll talk about making changes around here.”