Tidal Power - 1. Ancient Creatures

“Hey, Mahi, great to hear from you, buddy. You’ll be here Friday for the Consortium’s quarterly meeting, correct? Staying the weekend with me, you big, bad, horny wolf?”

“I sure hope he is. The man drives me nuts in and out of bed. Perfect male specimen, just a smidgen shorter than me, no fat to be seen on his body, and the perfect amount of body hair. Too bad he’s not available on a permanent basis. He’s the one man I could see myself mated to for life.”

“Must every other sentence out of your mouth have sexual overtones, Vasilikós Delfíni Allásso̱n? You know I’m a married man with children, Vasili. Yet you keep trying to tarnish my image in front of my tribe. You’re such a dick! But to answer your questions: yes, I’ll be there for lunch and the afternoon meeting on Friday. I’m not planning on returning home until sometime Sunday.”

“You damn wolves are all the same, act all prim and proper in public, while in truth you’re just like the rest of us―sex maniacs. I’m looking forward to seeing you, my friend.”

“And I’m looking forward to pounding your hot hairy ass as often as I can get it up over those three days. Waking up holding your furry body will also be a treat; always enjoy all that body hair rubbing against my smooth chest.”

“So am I, brother. The wife insisted I stay the weekend. Claims I’m in a much better mood after a weekend hanging out with you. She sends her love and wants you to come visit. You haven’t seen the pups in a while.”

“He’s in such a good mood after he spends a weekend with me because I have a cock and his wife doesn’t. Chief Mahigan Keme Wisakachek may be the Alpha of the Kessagesit First Nation, but in bed Mahi’s happy to let me be in charge. And those ice blue eyes of his show me how he feels about me every time I put his legs on my shoulders. They are hypnotic.”

“Isn’t the oldest one close to puberty, Mahi? Planning anything special for his first shift?”

“Yeah, it should happen soon. My guess is it’ll be in about six months. We’ll have a family celebration the night after his first full moon; the larger, more formal party will follow a couple of weeks later. You’ll get an invite.”

“If the boy ends up looking as good as the father he’ll be a knockout. I’ll have to bring my boys to the party so they can all get reacquainted. It would rock if our sons ended up having as close a relationship as we do.”

“Great, you know I’ll be there.”

“Good, and about this weekend―make sure there’s real food on the menu. Seafood’s fine as an appetizer, but I need a big piece of raw meat to keep me happy. See ya Friday.”

“I have to remind Vasili his kids will both be expected at my pup’s shifting party. Our kids have not spent as much time together as we did while growing up. I think the demands we place on our young today leave them very little time to just be kids. One day, two of our boys will inherit our leadership positions, and I hope they are as close as my childhood friend and I are.

“As Chief of the Kessagesit First Nation I must have a wife and produce pups, it works just fine as I love my mate. I’m not sure I could enter into a permanent relationship with a male, but if I was to, Vasili would be it; he is the most considerate, caring and loving individual I’ve ever met.

“The bond between our people has been maintained for over five centuries and it’s now up to us to perpetuate the relationship. The current project between their company and our Moonlight Development Corporation is the twenty-first century version of our ancestors hunting and fishing together.”

“You have a minute, Alpha?”

“Come in Próta, take a load off. What’s with the monkey suit?” Vasili’s blonde Chief Operating Officer was impeccably dressed in a custom tailored suit that made him look like a movie star. “You look good, man. Betcha a bunch of our female employees and some of our male ones got moist when they saw you walk by.”

“I swear, you gay guys define anything and everything in sexual terms. But thank you for the compliment and as long as the wife’s moist when I get home tonight, I’ll be happy. Had to dress up for a meeting with the Minister of Energy about the Bay of Fundy project. I’ll fill you in later. Did you confirm the wolves’ attendance at the meeting?”

“I did, Mahi and Sesi will be here, and they’ll both sleep at my place Friday night. Our inner circles will get together for breakfast on Saturday. We’ll be able to spend time together socializing without the humans.”

“Depending on how Friday goes, we may need to do more than socialize. I confirmed with the other four members of the consortium, and they’ll all be here. I had a very interesting conversation with the owner of our smallest partner company, Acoustic Solutions, Ltd.”

“Was it related to our project?”

“I’m not sure, but it may be. He received a letter from a solicitor in Montreal, representing a group of financiers who are interested in making an investment in his company. Or making an outright purchase. He’s agreed to further communications with them. His financial position is the weakest in the group. If he can find additional capital, he may go for it.”

“Did you get a copy of the letter?”

“Yes, he emailed me a scan of it.”

“Give it to Néo; tell him to let the IT people loose on it. Have him coordinate a complete background search on the solicitor. And find a lead to those investors. But tell him to keep it quiet. The interest may be just that. But considering the size of the project, and the number of companies who expressed an interest in it and submitted proposals…”

“Got it. We need to know who’s trying to get in bed with us.”

“Now who’s defining a situation in sexual terms, straight boy?”

“Fuck off! See ya at lunch on Friday.”

“Is Néo your new Gamma, Alpha Vasili?”

“Yes he is, Sesi. He just became the Chief Information Officer of Trident Enterprises at the beginning of the year. One smart cookie and a big fucker. Played football at MIT and graduated Summa Cum Laude.”

“Sounds like someone I’d not want to meet in a dark alley.”

“Brilliant comment coming from the big, black dude in the room who has the ability to tear a throat out with his fangs. How do you put up with him as your Beta, Mahi?”

“He does all the hard thinking for the pack so I don’t have to break a sweat?”

“Smart ass! Próta, would you get the door?”

“Hey, rookie, ‘bout time you joined us!”

“Hi, Beta, sorry I’m late. Had a long night and then lost track of time during my morning swim.”

“Alpha Vasilikos, Alpha Mahigan, my apologies for my tardiness.”

“Don’t sweat it, buddy, have a mimosa, it’s still a bit too early for the hard stuff.”

“Thank you, Alpha. It’s good to see you again, Alpha Mahi.”

“Same here, Néo, I’d like to introduce you to my Beta, Sesakuse Boktusum. Sesi, this is Néos Delfíni Trópos.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Beta.”

“Likewise, may I suggest we drop the titles? Two Alphas, two Betas, and a Gamma is too much of an alphabet soup. How about keeping it casual when it’s just the inner circles from now on?”

“Wow, Mahi, I now see why you keep him around. The man’s a genius.”

“Stuff it, Alpha!”

“What’s this world coming to when an alpha can’t get any respect? Okay, rookie, let’s get this going―you’re up.”

“Cool. After your meeting yesterday with the reps of our partners in the consortium, some of my crew spent the remainder of the day and half the night trying to dig up all the information we could find on the solicitors who sent the letters of inquiries all our partners received. Four different lawyers, all sole practitioners with different addresses, but coincidence was not even a consideration in our view.

“Here’s a quick summary of what we are certain of: all four are working under the direction of a small legal firm headquartered in Québec City. We were able to trace transfers of money from the firm to the individual solicitors. A few days before making those transfers, the Québec law firm itself received a large amount of money from Vermillion Industries, a known corporate raider headquartered in Marseilles, France.

“We discovered no evidence of previous activity by the French company in North America, but the IT gang is still looking. Some of their prior acquisitions in Europe we looked at have not been friendly. There are some rumors of questionable activities in their practices―we’re still investigating. The ownership of Vermillion is right now a mystery. There’s a convoluted trail of corporations, trusts, and individuals. It’ll take us time to untangle it.

“I’m sorry I don’t have more information at this time, but we spent twelve hours poking around while trying to be careful our inquiries could not be detected. Or if they were, they couldn’t be traced to us. We’ll continue working, and try to have additional details by Monday.”

“Please, automatically include Mahi in all updates you provide me, okay?”

“Yes, Alpha Vasili. Sorry, sir, not used to calling my bosses by their first names”

“Get used to it, kid, you’re part of the Inner Circle now.”

“Any idea why our four business partners were approached and our companies were not? Could it have anything to do with us being Lunatics?”

“I don’t think so, Sesi. We found two other instances of them approaching a consortium. In both, the smaller participants were the ones initially targeted. The larger partners were approached after Vermillion had become part of the group through the acquisition of the lesser companies.”

“Thoughts, Próta?”

“We sit tight and wait, Mahi. We make our partners aware the letters are part of a concerted effort by one entity and request all four partners initiate further discussions without making any firm commitments. When we get responses, we’ll take any new clues and dig some more. I’d suggest both our IT departments work together and try to intercept all communications between Marseilles and Québec City.”

“Sounds good, I’ll have our guy contact you, Néo. But I’d also like you to meet in person. We’ve got a full moon a week from Wednesday, why don’t the three of you come out to Riverside-Albert the weekend after with your families. Our kids can all spend some time playing. We can chill, and enjoy the time away from work. And, Néo? I know you’re single, come alone, I’m sure you’ll be popular with plenty of my guys or gals. Not sure which side you play for.”

“Both, Mahi, both!”

“Who wants breakfast? We have more mimosas, olive bread, feta omelets, loukaniko, honey-sesame bars. and Greek coffee.”

“Shit, fish food again. Haven’t you heard of steak and eggs?”

“Be a good wolf and eat your breakfast, Mahi. You can even have extra helpings of sausage. I know how much you love Greek sausage.”

“You’re such a dick, Vasili!”

“Damn! Your ass is insatiable. How does it feel?”

“Sore, loose, and sloppy…”

“It should, Mahi, it should. That’s the fifth time I’ve pounded your hole, and filled you up in the last day and a half. You’re fucking voracious. Maybe we should have invited Néo to come back with us from the bar tonight. He would have dumped the pretty tranny he took home for a chance at fucking you!”

“Forget it, Vasili. We’ve been through this before. You’re the only man who’s ever fucked me. And you’re the only man who will ever fuck me. I’m my pack’s Alpha and I can’t submit to anyone. A sign of weakness could bring a challenge that would be disrupt tribe. Maybe when we both step down things could change. But until then, I must be content with spending whatever time I am able to with you.”

“I just wish―”

“I know, I’m neither blind nor stupid. And I love you just as much. I’ve been in love with you for the last twenty years I think. But things are what they are. We both have responsibilities to our people. Neither one of us is about to skirt those. So, for the foreseeable future this is all we can have. You know you’re free to―”

“Yes I am, and I’ve never hidden the fact I’ve enjoyed sex with other men. But that’s all it’s been, sex. You’re the only one I’ve ever made love to.”

“More venison sausage, Néo? You seem to like them. Hell, you barely ate any biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak, or ham and cheese omelets. Although I did notice you had extra helpings of fry bread.”

“That boy eats enough for two. Considering his size, I guess it’s normal. And based on what I heard about last night, the rest of him’s just as big. Seems both the husband and wife are sore this morning after taking him back to their place when our gathering broke up.”

“Thank you, Mahi, I’ve had enough. I’ll have to swim an extra mile tomorrow morning to burn off the calories. Although I’d love to know where you buy the sausages.”

“My mate makes them from whatever kill we bring back after any of our runs. I’ll have her set some aside for you next time she makes some, buddy.”

“He’s a heck of a nice guy, I’ll make sure he knows he’s welcome to come visit anytime he wants. It’ll help keep some of my pack members very happy in the process.”

“Sorry to rush the business but, Sesi and I need to make some calls together before I head back to Halifax. Three of our partners received additional information on a possible relationship with the mysterious investors, while Acoustic Solutions received an outright purchase proposal. We asked the three without an actual offer to request extra time to consider the proposals. Or to ask about specific items. The owner of Acoustic Solutions agreed to reject the offer.”

“Our Betas seem to work well together; a blessing considering how different our kinds are, and how previous ones have come to blows in the middle of a joint operation. Vasili and I definitely lucked out.”

“Próta counseled Acoustic to reject a second offer. The solicitor sent a third one yesterday. The latest one includes a request to reconsider their decision, and makes veiled threats about the safety of the company’s executives and their family. The existence of wild wolves in the area where their children play was mentioned. It’s something we are concerned about. We took the liberty of informing our Deltas about the new development. The fucking frogs may know about us being shifters.”

“Good work, Betas. Vasili and I are happy the two of you are working together well in our first large joint operation since we took over as Alphas.”

“The enforcers on both sides need to raise the risk level for our organizations, and become more vigilant. Keeping both groups safe has to be top priority.”

“If you’ll excuse us, gentlemen, Sesi and I have work to do.”

“Thanks, guys, keep both Vasili and I in the loop.”

“This four hour drive between Mahi’s lands in New Brunswick and our headquarters in Halifax sucks. We need to build helipads and get us a chopper. Both our groups have enough retired wingnuts to fly them. Our joint venture’s going to require lots of travel back and forth, and we can definitely afford it. The long travel time will end up being a fifteen or twenty minute flight.

“Wish I could have ridden with the kids back to Sambro. They seemed to enjoy themselves. The wolves went out of their way to make us all feel welcome. We need to encourage more interaction. When Mahi’s dad and mine threw us together so many times while growing up, many thought it was a mistake. How could such different beings become close?

“And yet here we are, about to start the largest joint project in the history of our people. And unbeknownst to almost everyone, the relationship between us alphas is stronger than a close friendship. All of us benefit from our closeness, and our people will be better off if our youngsters follow in our footsteps. Our differences need not keep us apart. They can actually help our bonds grow stronger.”

“Yes, your highness, we followed your instructions faithfully. The four solicitors we hired are not connected in any way. None are aware of who their ultimate employer is. The initial letters of inquiry were sent to the four smaller partners. We’ve had no indication they have communicated with each other about the possible investments. Your prediction they would not want to reveal their potential interest in selling out has proven accurate.

“We received requests for further information from all four. In response, the smaller entity was made an offer. The other three were provided with additional details on our potential involvement. We hinted at deep pockets on the part of the interested party.

“Our first overture to Acoustic Solutions―the company working on noise and EMF cancellation systems―was rejected. I understand that’s our initial target since the elimination of such systems, although required for environmental protection reasons, will increase the eventual rate of return on your investment.

“A subsequent proposition, somewhat more generous than the previous one, was also turned down. Our last communication presented a third offer. Substantially more generous, but still within the parameters you established. It also hinted at the dangers surrounding the project for those involved and their families. We reminded them there are wild wolves roaming the wilderness surrounding the Bay of Fundy. We will monitor the wolf owned company’s activities to determine if they become aware of our intentions.

“The two individuals in Martinique you directed us to contact are expected in Canada shortly. I wired the total amount due under their contract yesterday. They’ll be transported to Halifax, Nova Scotia where three of the five consortium partners are headquartered. We have established a safe house to accommodate them, and provide protection during the times they are vulnerable. They will be instructed to begin with fear inducing activities, and not to inflict any physical harm unless so instructed. By the time your yacht anchors in the Bay of Fundy, we should be in the process of pursuing a second joint venture partner. The four small companies could be in our hands by the end of the year. That would leave the large human controlled one to deal with, before we tackle the construction one owned by the wolves.

“I understand your need to remain aboard the vessel, and will present myself before you whenever you summon me. You will be safe from the wolves by remaining on the water Prince Tepes.”

“Vasili Allásso̱n…”

“This is Chief Wisakachek.”

“Alphas, this is Néo. {lease activate your scramblers Alert Level One.”

“Vasili here, Néo, scrambler activated.”

“Same here, Néo, this is Mahi. What’s going on?”

“Alphas, we intercepted a satellite call between a vessel in the Gulf of Maine and our solicitor friend in Québec City. They are aware of the wolves’ involvement but believe Trident is controlled by humans. We also have a name behind Vermillion, Prince Vlad Stoker Tepes.”

“Shit!”

“Fuck!”

“You mean …”