Max & Adam – 7

*There are a lot of things I’m going to have to fix in this story later so please be patient as we go along*

The only positive thing about meeting with his father was there were still several days until the full moon. Tension between Max and his father was high enough without the added pull of the glowing orb in the sky.

Max pulled up in front of the large house. It was much smaller than his grandfather’s house but Max’s home pack was spread among a series of smaller houses until they owned the entire neighborhood surrounding a several acre forest.

He got out of the car his stomach flipping somersaults. No matter his best intentions every visit always ended with a fight.

“Hey Max!” Emil exclaimed giving him a quick hug.

“Hey Emil. You look good.” His cousin had grown a few inches since Max had seen him last. The teenager had a long rangy body and at sixteen already towered over Max.

“Thanks, Alpha thinks I might be a sub-Alpha when I get older.”

“Congrats.” Max clapped Emil on the back forcing a smile on his lips. His father never forgave Max for being submissive. As the only son of an alpha, Max had been slotted as the alpha to take over the pack when his father retired. That hope crashed when Max hit puberty and his status as an omega wolf became apparent.

“Did you come to visit your father?”

“Yes, he’s expecting me.” It was never a good idea to drop in and expect some of his father’s time. He might be Stratton’s only son but his father’s job as an alpha took up most of his time and energy. Max had called ahead to make sure there was space on his schedule.

Max waved goodbye to Emil then headed toward the Alpha’s office. He nodded to his father’s beta but didn’t stop. A deep breath to brace himself then Max knocked on the door.

“Enter.”

Max turned the knob and went inside. He didn’t speak until he’d closed the door and was standing in front of his father’s desk. A quick glance to meet his father’s gaze to acknowledge their relationship, then Max tilted his head and slid his focus to the left.

“Welcome home, son.” The emotion lacing through his voice told Max his father regretted their last encounter.

“Thank you, alpha.” He said formally.

He heard his father sigh. “Please sit.”

Max sat in the leather chair with a straight back and his feet planted flat on the floor. He kept his gaze lowered as he addressed his father. “I found some information I thought was too sensitive to speak on the phone.”

“Look at me, Max.”

He reluctantly met his father’s regard and told him everything he found out. When he finished his father offered him a glass of scotch to ease his dry throat.

“I’ll deal with your uncle.”

“What do you want me to do?” He couldn’t expose the pack but he also couldn’t hide evidence.

“Go ahead and do your job. Don’t try to cover up your uncle’s crime. I’ll put him into hiding so when they go look for him they won’t find anything. You should even tell them of your connection. He isn’t smart enough to be the leader in this whole thing so they will ignore him and go after the leader instead.”

“I don’t know the leader yet.” Max clenched his glass as he thought over the repercussions.

“When you find out let me know before you tell your cop friends. I want to be able to keep ahead of this thing.”

“I can only say Crandel is involved. I don’t know if Uncle Barnie is helping him out or not.”

“Crandel doesn’t do anything without his father’s okay. Either he’s grown some balls or your uncle is being stupid. I don’t know which one I hope is true.”

Max silently agreed. “I’ll keep you updated.”

“Good. You should visit more often. Your mother worries. She wants to know if you’ve met a nice boy.”

Max’s couldn’t stop the grin from spreading at his father’s obvious distaste. His submissiveness isn’t the only issue his father had with him. “No, you can tell her I haven’t met a nice guy.”

Adam definitely wasn’t nice.