Higher Education - 6. Higher 6

The black Chevy Tahoe drove through the unincorporated town of Burney, California, in eastern Shasta County. Turning off Main Street and making its way around the back of a nondescript office building, the driver pulled into a fenced-off parking lot. “Here we are, Beta Carlson.”

“Dude, it’s been a friendly chat for the last hour. You know my name. Use the title one more time, and we’re having it out in the challenge ring.” Trevor snickered.

“Hey, it’s a big deal for me to drive a dignitary around, so let me enjoy it.” The lopsided grin was infectious. “Would be cool to see if your skills match the reputation. And I’m always happy to scrap it up, so let me know when, Trevor.”

Both men cracked up as the SUV pulled to a stop.

“Trevor, great to have you back, man.” Wade Richards wiped his hands clean on a shop towel as he stepped away from the truck he was working on. The Pit River Pack enforcer under the previous alpha, Dorian Jackman, and now a pack beta, greeted his counterpart from the east coast with a handshake.

Decades before, Wade was one of two wolves who stood beside Dorian after the assassination of their alpha; strong and willing to lead, he wanted to serve the greater good. Instead of claiming the top-dog title, they fought with Dorian against a group seeking the power for themselves. When the dust had settled and the challengers were dead, Wade and Thad pledged their loyalty to the pack and agreed to work for Dorian, the new alpha.

“Good to see you too.” Trevor accepted the handshake and pulled the older lycan into a bro-hug.

“Let’s head inside.” Wade closed the hood on the truck and turned towards the building. “You can leave the SUV there, Glenn. Come inside with us.”

They found Thaddeus Roslin leaning against a counter, chatting with his administrative assistant. Another of Dorian’s enforcers turned beta, he served as acting alpha whenever the current leaders were not in the territory. “Welcome back, Trevor. How was your flight and drive from Redding?”

It had been about two years since the Pit River Pack had its last leadership change. Alpha Jackman had been assassinated by who he thought was his best friend, the previous beta, Levi McKinney. Foreseeing the likely outcome of a confrontation with his beta, Dorian recorded a goodbye message to the pack. In it, he asked his friends, the Elementals Ethan Tucker and Aiden Jacobs, to assume the role of alpha and heal his wounded pack.

Missives were also sent to Thad and Wade, not only to inform them of their friend’s death, but asking their forgiveness for being pushed out the pack. At the end, Dorian regretted not listening to his enforcers or preventing their membership being taken from them. Following the funeral, the new alphas asked the pair to rejoin the pack and assume the role of betas to run things in their name. Knowing how well respected the men were by members of Pit River made them the logical choice

“Guys, I’m happy to be here. Trip was good. A hell of a lot better than trying to get around Southern California freeways. Bonus when you send someone so I don’t even have to get behind the wheel. An hour of good tunes, no traffic, fun conversation, and beautiful scenery’s kinda relaxing. Glenn’s a nice guy. Thanks for picking him to get me.” He nodded towards his driver.

“Glenn, you may as well clock out. If you’re under your hours, I’ll adjust it for a full day. Trevor will be using the SUV you drove so make sure he has the keys.” Thad turned back to his assistant to sign what she handed him. “Actually, before you leave, there’s a couple boxes for him by the parking lot door. Go ahead and load them in the truck.” Thad returned his attention to Trevor. “The stuff you shipped arrived this morning.”

“I can load it myself.” Trevor rested a hand on Glenn’s shoulder. “No need to have him do it.”

“Sure thing, Beta Thad.” The blond fist-bumped his boss. “And stuff like this is part of my job, Trevor. So no big deal.”

Thad shook his head. “How many times do I have to tell you it’s okay to drop using beta in the office?”

“Whatever you say, Beta Thad.” The guy chuckled as he turned to attend to his duties. “See ya around, Trev.”

Trevor heard greetings from all directions as they walked through the building. “Driving in, it looked like there were more Welcome to Jefferson signs in a couple areas.”

Wade rolled his eyes, stopped mid-stride and turned around. “Doesn’t help we have a militia-wannabe-nutcase running for county supervisor. And he’s expected to win, but Thad won’t let me send a couple lunis to have a talk with him on a full moon night. They need to get it through their heads we’re not breaking away from California.” An unknown percentage of the population had dreams of combining all twelve of the states northernmost counties with seven from Southern Oregon to create a new, ultra right-wing state called Jefferson. A similar group wanted to take even more territory and create Greater Idaho—the reddest state in the country. If they succeeded, countless rights might be taken away in the name of true freedom.

“Okay, enough politics. I get plenty of it on the job.” Thad gave his husband a swat on the butt and guided them into their private office. “The crazies unfortunately aren’t going anywhere. But they’ll get a bit of a surprise that some of us liberals around here are quite adept at defending what’s ours. They always seem to preach about good guys with guns. As far as I’m concerned, claws and teeth count too.” He waved his hand towards a seat for Trevor to take, while joining Wade on the couch. “We’ve got a couple options for housing you. Dorian’s old house is empty. Or the guest room at our place is available. Though we’ll have to start wearing clothes at home if you stay with us.”

Wade slapped his mate’s arm. “Just because the man’s surrounded by good-looking gay couples doesn’t mean he wants to hear we hang out naked some of the time.”

Trevor had watched the men and thought their behavior was similar to his friends back east. It was evident they had imprinted and the little touches and stolen glances made him smile. “I’ve stripped in front of just about every member of Parker Valley and a good portion of the people here when I’ve gone for a run. Not to mention in every locker-room I’ve ever been in. I have no issue with guys seeing what I’ve got, and I’ve gotten used to seeing plenty in return. I’m supposed to be here for three months. That’s kinda long for a house guest, which I always heard was like fish; fine for two or three days then needs to be tossed out. Besides, I thought I’d just grab a room at the pack house.”

“We aren’t Parker Valley.” Wade shook his head. “There’s a slight problem with that idea. Housing’s limited in Burney, and with the financial issues facing us, we couldn’t leave apartments sitting around empty in case a wolf wanted to move into one. All of the units are currently rented by a mix of humans and lycan.”

“The alpha house wouldn’t be bad.” Trevor shrugged. “Way more space than I need though.”

Thad glanced at his mate. “You called in the cleaner for that place, right Wade?”

“Oops. Last time anyone stayed at Dorian’s was Ethan and Aiden during their visit after Australia. It’s pretty much reserved for their use, or anyone they offer it to. If it wasn’t for the housing shortage, we might have sold it and made a couple hundred-thousand. But the alphas do need a place to sleep when in town.” Wade moved to grab a drink from the bar fridge and received nods from the other two when he offered. “We meant to have the cleaners go through it, but I thought he arranged it since he works in the office. I guess he thought I did. Occasionally, things slip through the cracks. It might be a little dusty.”

“Now, if you want to be your own maid and clean the alpha’s house, that’s fine.” Thad smirked. “But if you’re going to do that, you may as well stay with us and save us from having to clean ours.”

“You’ve been around Ethan way too much. I am not a naked maid service.” Trevor chuckled. “Are you sure I won’t be cramping your style?”

“You won’t. It’ll be nice having you at the house. And if you want to eventually move to Dorian’s, it will give us time to get it cleaned, aired out, and ready.”

Trevor thought staying with the guys for at least a short time might be good. “We talk often on Zoom, and I’ve been here a few times, but I guess it would give us some time to bond as friends. We’re all betas who work for the same alphas. If you’re really sure, then yeah, I’ll stay with you guys.”

“Now that that’s settled, we’ll introduce you to the team you’ll be working with. They’re the forensic accountants and have done quite well at tracking money stolen by the McKinney family. Recovering it tends to be the trickier part, and that’s a separate group, but they’re getting better at it all the time.” Thad stood. “They’re in the large conference room. Come on.”

******

The McKinney family had risen to be the most prominent clan of the Pit River Pack multiple times before always falling from grace. With each failure, they learned how to maximize their chances of success. When Dorian Jackman ascended to lead the pack, he picked his best friend, Levi McKinney for the role of beta. Over the twenty plus years Levi held the office; he rebuilt his family’s position within the pack. He placed relatives and allies in every possible key spot while removing anyone loyal to Dorian or the pack. His actions gave them near unlimited control of Pit River and its assets.

Levi had controlled Dorian through an ever increasing dose of poisonous silver nitrate. It was conveniently administered via cookies, and Dorian having a major sweet-tooth made it easier. The family’s careful plans began to unravel after a chance encounter between Dorian and Ethan Tucker at the annual Congress of Alphas. The young Elemental detected and removed the poison from the alpha’s system which cleared his mind enough to see what was happening to his pack.

When Dorian finally confronted his beta, he knew his life would end. Though the family was powerful, they would never fight fair in a challenge. The shadows were their preferred domain. But Dorian had given himself plenty of time and made sure plans were in motion to bring down the McKinney family once and for all. When they were exposed to the members, they fled, taking as much of the pack’s finances with them as possible, nearly decimating it and those who relied on the jobs it provided.

******

While expecting to see people surrounding one large table, Trevor found the room no longer fit its original designation. Desks with large curved screens were clustered into groups of four. Two projection monitors were mounted to the ceiling, aimed at the wall at the front of the room. The data shown would shift from bank deposits to stock transactions as the workers focused on what they were doing. A woman who appeared to be in her late forties to early fifties watched the projections and called out instructions.

“Sidney, your new victim’s here.” Wade’s comment made Trevor grin.

The woman held up a finger, “Hold that image right there, Tanner. New guy, what do you see?”

Trevor felt like all eyes in the room had just turned towards him. Moving beside her, he studied the projections and pointed to a box in the upper right of the first window. “A wire transfer starting at a U.S. bank before passing through a brokerage firm and entering a Nasdaq company for what is likely the first cycle in attempting to launder it. Stock sale from the same company ten minutes later, up by only five cents.” Trevor softly whistled. “Damn. That’s some quick trading. The money makes a visit to the U.K. exchange for a similar buy and sell, passing through Zurich after that.” He looked closely at the information. “All that just to send it to the Cayman’s? Looks like the trail dies there with what’s likely a shell company supposedly taking out cash. Kind of doubt someone walked off with suitcases of money.” He pulled a laptop out of his backpack. “Is there someplace I can plug in for internet?”

“Wi-Fi not good enough for you?” Thad laughed. “Right here.” He held up a free cable.

“Okay, name of the shell company, done.” Trevor glanced back at the projections. “Account number, done. Transaction amount confirmed.” He typed in a few commands and clicked rapidly with his mouse. “Hmm, one of the directors pulled it out with a cashier’s check, deposited it in another account, before using the money fifteen days later to buy a condo in a Miami tower.”

Sidney stood beside Trevor and inspected his monitor. “How did you come to your conclusion?” She looked impressed.

He pointed at his laptop. “This company has six more shells under it. From the data I’ve got, they don’t make, buy, or sell anything. The one that made the transaction and the subsidiaries all have at least two directors that overlap. Both have the surname McKinney. This one received a deposit by cashier’s check and then issued another one used to purchase a condo for nearly the exact amount you were tracing.” He clicked a few more spots on the screen. “Hmm, that’s interesting.” He tried to hold back the smirk as he noticed one of her eyebrows rise expectantly. “The other directors for this group of companies all have blood ties to the McKinney family. I cross-referenced them with genealogy websites and the lycan DNA database.”

“Impressive and correct. That’s the same answer my team gave me.” Sidney stared at Trevor with an appraising eye. “That’s not software I’m familiar with. And we haven’t had that easy a time determining familial connections. How did you do that so quickly?”

“A friend of mine who’s at MIT worked with me to write the program. It was a joint project for classes we were each taking. We both figured the wealth of information from family history sites was too good to pass up for tracing people. This sort of bypasses their security to prevent doing a search like this.”

Pursing her lips, she nodded while glancing at Thad and Wade. “He’ll do, Betas.”

“Just so you know, he’s a beta for Aiden and Ethan too. Based out of Pennsylvania when he isn’t at Harvard.” There was a smirk plastered across Thad’s face.

“I might be a beta, but in this pack you both outrank me.”

“Sidney, I could use him on my team.”

She appeared to scrutinize Trevor. “Are you sure, Tanner? I planned to start him in a base position.”

“I’ll get him up to speed on how we do things. If it gets me a crack at that software, yeah, I’m sure.”

“Trevor, get settled and please report back here tomorrow morning at eight o’clock. If you have any courses in financial crimes, by the time your summer has finished, you might be able to teach your professors a thing or two.” Sidney was soon back to monitoring the others working under her.

******

“Guestroom’s down the hall on the left. Bathroom’s at the end of the hall. When you get around to needing it, the washer and dryer are in the room off the kitchen.” Wade carried one of the boxes that had been put in the SUV as he led the way to where Trevor would be living.

Thad had one of the other boxes. “Okay, what’s in these? They showed up at the office with no warning and your name on them.”

“I figured it was easier and cheaper to ship my clothes instead of dealing with checking extra bags on the flights. I thought I emailed you guys about it.”

“Actually, that’s a pretty smart move. I didn’t see any message.” Thad set the one he was carrying on the floor. “It’s close enough to dinner time. Once you get your things put away, I’ll grill up some steaks.”

“Just tell me what I can do to help.”

“Only thing you need to do is relax. Thad and I will take care of it. You’re a guest for today. Tomorrow, you become a roommate. We usually switch off cooking responsibilities. If you know your way around a kitchen, maybe we’ll work you into the rotation.”

“I may still be a college guy, but eating out all the time’s too expensive. My roommates and I take turns, if we’re all home at once.” Trevor dropped his backpack, carry-on bag, and third box in the bedroom. It was fairly generic, yet masculine and warm. A wood stove stood in one corner to provide heat in the winter months. The space was more welcoming than most of his dorm rooms had been. Once satisfied with his partial unpacking, he made his way back out to the kitchen. “You’ve got a nice place.”

“Thanks. We were lucky to find this when we moved back.” Thad had a thick piece of meat in his hand and rubbed seasoning onto it before starting on the other two. “It’s bigger than either of our old houses. The backyard’s become our sanctuary to get away from the craziness that goes along with operating the pack.”

“What he really means is the hot tub we put in is his place to shut out the world.”

“Hey, I don’t see you avoiding using it any chance you get.”

“You guys were never a comedy act like this when we were all out as a group. Staying here could turn out to be fun.” A smirk crossed Trevor’s face. “Pennsylvania gets colder than here, but looks like you’ve got those wood stoves in every room.”

“We’ve got modern conveniences like central heat. But when the power goes out like it always does during winter, or when we have a public safety power outage, we still have a way to stay warm. Most houses only have one, but for some reason, a previous owner put in several.” Wade pulled a couple beers from the refrigerator. “Want one, Trevor?”

“Sure. Thank you.” He took a long pull wondering what it would be like to actually feel the effects of his drink. “Guess it’s the same as back home. Only there everyone gathers in the room with the fireplace to try and stay warm. It’s that or go furry.”

“The one out here and in your room uses wood pellets and has an auto feed system.” Thad pointed to one in the living room. “If we have to, we can also add fuel manually. With how expensive the gas bill can be in the winter, these are cheaper to use. The one in our bedroom still uses logs. The window on the front’s big enough, we can see it burning like a fireplace. Nice place to cuddle up with your husband. Or girlfriend too in your case, or me in the old days before I got together with Wade.”

It did not take too long for dinner to cook or for the three men to finish once they dug in. “Nothing like a big, juicy piece of meat and a baked potato to go with it.”

“Trevor, I gotta say it. You’re sounding more and more like Casey.” Wade’s chuckle resonated through the room. “But you’re right. Thad did a good job, just like he always does.”

“Wait… Damn, I don’t even think about those comments anymore. Been around the others so long they just slip out.” He joined in the laughter.

“Yeah, sure you don’t. Freudian slip or latent impulses?”

Trevor flipped off the pair as he sipped his beer slowly. “If you don’t mind me asking a personal question…”

“Go right ahead. No promise we’ll answer. Especially if it’s bedroom related. You’ll have to learn that part on your own or watch an instructional video online.” Both men chuckled.

“How did you two end up getting together? You mentioned having girlfriends before.”

“You wanna take this one, Wade?”

“Wimp. Living in a place like this doesn’t give one a lot of options for female companionship what with the many available men. We have a population of around 3,000 people. Most everyone in your age group is someone who grew up around here, with the exception of the few who move to Burney. Basically everyone knows everyone. There’s the women holding out for a ring and the ones who jump from bed to bed. I’m not being negative towards either group since it’s a personal choice. Then you have the guys doing the bed jumping while trying to keep it on the down low so no one gets mad. I was one of those guys. Thad was too, other than when we managed to date anyone for any length of time. It takes care of a need and leaves at least one person happy if not both.”

“Okay, I can see that. Around Parker Valley and at school I’ve got a bit of a reputation as a ladies man with a different girl on my arm for almost every date.”

“Yeah, Aiden and Casey affectionately call you a man-slut. Or was that man-whore?” Wade’s smirk matched the ones used by the Pennsylvania crew whenever they made the reference. “Anyways, being with a guy wasn’t some new thing to either of us. I’m an independent truck driver who hauls for different logging companies. You’d be amazed how many guys make offers in the back country or someone flirts when I drop my load at the mill.” He laughed as his mate rolled his eyes. “We got close working as Dorian’s enforcers and may have played a little whenever we had a dry spell with women. Shit. I still miss Dorian.” The smile vanished from Wade’s face. “He was a great alpha until the last couple years of his life. When we quit working for Dorian and moved away, we got a place together to save money. A one bedroom apartment. We were gonna switch off who got the bed versus the couch but figured a king size could handle both of us.”

“How come you quit? From what I’ve heard, it’s unusual for an enforcer to leave.” Trevor leaved forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Though Aiden’s dad did resign as prime beta when he got married and moved to his father-in-law’s pack.”

“Dorian was getting more brutal as the years went on. The council had lost faith in him and he turned his back no them. We were being asked to punish people for the slightest insult to any member of the McKinney family. Both of us hit the point we wouldn’t do it anymore and took a stand.” Wade let out a heavy sigh. “Dorian sided with Levi and accepted our resignation. When we found someplace to move to, Levi sent one of his minions to drop off paperwork informing us our membership in the pack had been revoked.”

“To make Wade’s long story shorter, since we were considered nomads living in a new territory, liaisons with the locals were frowned upon. Even if they started it. That meant we spent a lot of our time in each other’s company. Our wolves decided the living situation worked out well and that neither of us minded flipping for the other. I mean, it was better than using a hand every day.” Thad used the obligatory jerk off motion. “It took some time and we didn’t expect it, but we imprinted. Even though I thought I’d eventually get married to a woman, I’m happy I’ve got him.” He leaned over and kissed his mate on the cheek. “There’s been a couple times we’ve tag-teamed a local woman for old time sake. We just make sure never to do that with anyone who’s pack.” Thad focused his attention on Trevor. “Okay, now it’s my turn for a personal question. Is being around all the same-sex couples you spend time with causing you to question your own ideas of a relationship?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m questioning. More like it seems others have been. I’m pretty sure it’s due to all the gay guys I’m around. I’m comfortable in who I am and being affectionate with guy friends’ the same as with women.” Trevor grasped his beer bottle, running his finger up and down the neck. “My wolf’s never shown that much interest in any of the women I’ve dated. They were too clingy, not strong enough, or some other reason he became disinterested in them after we finished the deed.

“I thought one of them did finally wake the beast, so-to-speak, but realized she didn’t when he wasn’t broken up about her not wanting to date exclusively. Unfortunately, as great as she was, she turned out to be a major disaster when I ran into her with her girlfriend in San Diego. The guy I was visiting joked she was enough reason to switch teams.” Trevor finished his beer to give him time to gather his thoughts. “Other than the rare stop at a campus glory-hole where someone got me off, or the trans woman I hooked up with in Australia, I’ve never given any thought to being with a guy.” He intently studied the label on the beer bottle. “No, that’s not entirely true. There’s a trans guy I met while out with friends. He looks as masculine as us, and we’ve had fun hanging out, but I know the plumbing’s different. Part of me’s curious, but I still see him as one of the guys.

“Almost all my friends are now in a same-sex relationship or have come out as gay or bi. I do have plenty of guys making their interest in me known, which is flattering. It was strange when the realization hit, out of all the people I’m close to, not one is in an opposite-sex coupling.”

“Best either of us can say is don’t overthink it. Listen to your wolf, and go with what feels right.”

“Thad’s right. You’re a handsome guy and will attract attention from men as much as women. Only you’ll know if you’ll ever want to take it beyond a gloryhole.” A smirk spread across Wade’s lips. “Wonder if there’s still one in the trucker’s john at the mill.” He glanced at his mate. “And before you say something, you already know I never made use of it after we got together. So don’t be a pig.”

“Have you guys run into any problems? This is a small town and in the times I’ve been here I could see the, shall we say, unaccepting views among some humans of anything not conforming.”

“To be honest, because of our size, most people leave us alone.” Both men were taller than average and stacked. “A lot of locals knew me from the highway department before we got together. Let me tell you something, I miss that compared to the paperwork I have to do in the office now.” Thad hiked his thumb at Wade. “He at least gets out in his truck. And the people around town know I’m running the company that employs many of them, so they don’t want to piss us off. We’ll hear someone call us a fag once in a while. Last time it happened was the wife of a guy I’d been with years ago. Funny thing is I’d been with her too.”

“Thanks, guys. Maybe I’ve been overthinking it. I’m mostly happy with the women I’ve been with. Pretty sure the way things went down with the girl from school has me wondering if a guy would just be less hassle.” Trevor’s laugh was relaxed.

“Trust me, you’ll only exchange one type of headache for another. Change into some shorts, unless you’re comfortable enough to go bare, and we can continue this discussion in the hot tub.” Wade’s grin matched the one Ethan often used. “We’ll make an exception to the no clothes rule this one time.”

Trevor threw up his arms in mock frustration. “Man, twenty-two hundred miles, and I’ve still got a guy trying to act innocent about getting me naked.”