Wolf

"I don't know Boss, this doesn't look too good for us."

My second, Alaric, is seated across me at the board room table. Pushing forward, he points at the chart on the PowerPoint before us. The graph projecting our potential income for the next financial year is looking bleak and with our ten-bed maternity ward booked to capacity for the next three months, this isn't good news for my growing pack.

I sigh and rub my temples.

"What can we do to change this, Kev?"

The pack's financial analyst, and only inhouse human, is somber when he speaks.

"I would recommend diversifying our investment portfolio. Our current assets are holding up, but their returns are not growing as quick as we need them to. How open are you to moving to the human stock exchange?"

Alaric and I exchange a glance. For the ten years that I have been the Alpha, and the thirty that my father had been before me, we maintained a strictly shifter only investment portfolio. Even though shifters had become public several decades ago, maintaining our particular investment portfolio saved our pack from the Global Financial Crisis in 08, and much of the economic woes the global pandemic brought with it.

It paid to trade in a market where the population was immune to human disease.

Kevin shifts in his seat and passes me a manilla folder. "We can start small. Focus on a promising local franchise. See how susceptible it is to the market, then grow from there. Our returns are currently still strong, we have breathing space to take this risk. But this isn't a privilege we'll have for much longer." The man looks up at me expectantly. I have to remind myself not to be affronted. Other shifts, werewolves or otherwise, had innate senses that triggered their awareness of a group hierarchy. Only shifters of equivalent rank could look the other in the eye.

Humans had lost this instinct, along with many others that better assured their survival, eons ago.

Alaric growls a warning. "Watch it Kev. You overestimate your value."

The human male realizes himself and averts his gaze. "My apologies, Alpha."

I pull the folder from him and open it on the table. The first page is a poster of a shop front. Flowers line windowsill and a mismatched collection of chairs and small tables decorate the patio before it. I flick through and scan the document quickly, then pause at a familiar name at the bottom right corner.

Kevin clears his throat. "I'm going to declare my interest here. My daughter is a small business owner. That is her shop. She's just opened but her business has fared a lot better than others this past quarter. I only recommended her because I invested a large sum of my own funds into her business. I have other options there of course, I’ve just organized the folder in alphabetical order.”

I sniff the air and catch nervousness wafting off his pheromones. Alaric does too. Then, I shut the folder and shrug.

“Offer a buy in at market value and negotiate a seat on the board for Alaric. I’d like to see how your people operate.”

The Beta bows his head in agreement.

Are you sure about this Ethan?

Alaric is the only person alive, shifter or otherwise, who calls me by my given name.

Yes, learn what you can from this ‘promising business’ and see if we can replicate those learnings elsewhere.

Kevin’s noisy paper shuffling on the table reminds us both that he is still there.

“You wont regret this, I promise you that.”

I grunted and stared right into Kevin’s face when he looked up at me.

“Don’t screw this up.”