Chapter 3
By the time they were up the following morning Isaacs dad had already left, he had left a hand written note on the kitchen counter informing them of his flight itinerary and another apology.
To Isaac the day was nothing less than domestic bliss. They ate breakfast together, he cooked pancakes this time, Cass put together a delicious Thai salad for lunch and they fill the rest of the day with a run, video games and several bouts of gentle lovemaking.
They had decided to join Cass' parents for Sunday dinner and come evening they had a plan of attack to share their happy news with her folks.
This time the reaction was much more like they expected, with Mrs Sherman shrieking and launching herself at her daughter for a tearful hug in true over-reacting fashion while her father Stuart just reached across the table to shake Isaacs hand with a gravelly "It's about time".
Of course the Shermans insisted on sharing a bottle of wine to celebrate, and they chatted amicably around the kitchen table after dinner.
Cass joked that she was basically ready to move in with him already and indeed packed a slightly larger overnight bag with necessities before they headed back to spend the night at Isaacs.
Their whispered conversation while cuddled up in bed that night revolved around plans for job hunting, house hunting for a place together, and what their shared future might look like.
Monday morning started early for Isaac, he woke to find Cass' fingers stroking his raging hard on, and after a passionate session of lovemaking he decided to go for a run while Cass opted to have a lay in.
She eyed him appreciatively as he threw some clothes on and trotted out the door.
A solid hour of running in wolf form later he rinsed off in the outdoor shower and headed into the kitchen to find Cass had put together a mixed breakfast, bacon and scrambled eggs, avocado on thickly sliced toast and sliced fruit, along with coffee and apple juice. As she plated up a heaping serving for him she gently pecked his lips and slid his phone onto the bench letting him know he had a missed call and a text message.
*Mr Isaac Greymane, Parker and Associates have been contracted as your legal counsel effective immediately relating to Whitepaw Pack business.
Your presence is required at our legal offices at your earliest convenience. Please do not worry, you are not in any legal trouble. Please call or message to confirm your availability as any further discussion must be in person.
Regards, Valerie Parker*
Cass nervously picked at her breakfast spread as Isaac stared at his phone. She had only seen the first line or so of the message when it popped up on his lock screen but that was enough to show it related to Parker and Associates which was obviously a law firm.
"Are you okay Zack? Is this what your dad meant to keep our Monday morning open for?"
"Yeah, it's from a law firm, short on details but something to do with my old pack. I'm not in any trouble apparently but they want to see me ASAP for some reason."
Isaac hadn't thought about his pack for years, in fact he had actively avoided thinking on that extremely painful and emotionally complex topic outside of therapy sessions that he hadn't needed in quite some time.
When he was five years old his entire pack had been wiped out by a group of traditionalist extremists who disagreed with his packs support of a plan to publicly disclose the demihuman society's existence. Their compound had been razed, his family and everyone he had ever known murdered in one fell swoop, with young Isaac left for dead amongst the rubble of his home.
He had been trapped in a basement nook for two days before being rescued by human emergency services workers.
Ironically enough it was the attacks against his family and others scattered around the world by those who didn't want to go public that blew the top off the demihuman secret. Those atrocities were the result of a shadow war waged by those traditionalists against the pro-public demihuman supporters who quickly attracted widespread human support thanks to men like his adoptive father publicly calling for the demihuman community to be supported and protected from extremist violence.
Isaac had been hospitalised after the attack, Ivan Steinbeck had been brought in to work with psychologists and doctors in his rehabilitation and subsequently took steps to bring him into his family and home when it became clear none of his pack was left and no other shifter packs came forward to claim him.
The Whitepaw pack had ceased to exist, so why was he being summoned to talk to a lawyer about Whitepaw business, some 17 years later?
After a brief discussion Cass and Isaac agreed to visit the lawyer immediately so he sent a quick message confirming his receipt of the text and estimated time of their arrival.
After finishing their breakfast they quickly dressed, Zack dropped a message to his father to update him on their movements, and they headed out in his car.
The lawyers offices were in a smart three story concrete and glass building near the town centre, with a large parking lot situated behind it.
When they presented to the receptionist Cass was asked to wait in the lobby while Isaac was immediately ushered into a meeting room. After a brief 10 minute wait a brunette woman entered the room, sharply dressed in a charcoal pant suit.
"Hello, I'm Valerie Parker, Isaac is it?"
"Yes Mrs Parker, I'm Isaac Greymane"
Valerie placed a folder of papers on the table and took a seat directly across from Isaac, "Okay, let's get started. You've been called in today as you are the sole surviving male member of the Whitepaw pack. You may not be aware, but you are not in fact the only pack member to have survived the tragic events that befell the whitepaw pack.
Three other members survived, a mother and her two daughters. The mother, Estella Wintergreen, in fact passed away recently due to natural causes and as part of her will included a large number of documents related to the legal holdings of the pack. In short the purpose of our meeting today is something like a reading of a will, but significantly more complicated as it includes a legal transferral of pack properties and some additional items that we will discuss separately on pack incorporation. This is all a bit of a legal quagmire, as I'm sure you can imagine, given this is not an everyday occurrence. Are you with me so far?"
Isaac was more than a little stunned. He had lived near two decades believing that he was the sole survivor of his pack, that the Whitepaws were no more. He was vaguely aware of the way that shifter packs became a pseudo incorporated business in the wake of the demihuman integration but the implication was that he was somehow inheriting the pack holdings, or at least part of it. That was entirely unexpected.
"I believe I understand what you're saying. The pack had some holdings that I may inherit a part of as the last male pack member, and there are two other pack members I've never met?"
"Yes, but to be clear you will not inherit a part of those holdings, you will inherit them in their entirety."
Valerie began laying out papers in front of him and explaining the details, their discussion took quite some time but ultimately boiled down to this: Isaac as the sole male pack member became the executor of the packs' entire holdings.
Those holdings included the land their pack compound had existed on that spanned several thousand acres of woodlands, several investment properties currently under lease, three small businesses and their associated properties, and a large sum of money.
Technically it all belonged to the Whitepaw pack, but legally he was now considered the pack Alpha and had full legal rights to all of it.
While that reality settled in, Isaacs mind turned to the remaining pack members, "What about Mrs Wintergreens' daughters? How does that work, do they get anything out of this?"
Valerie smiled softly at the question and nodded, "A good question and segue into the next topic. Of the pack holdings, in short, no. They do not receive anything. All of this belongs to the pack and by extension as the inheriting executor, to you. The girls have inherited some things from their mother directly but that is not relevant to this discussion. That said, part of Mrs Wintergreens' will does relate to you directly, though not in terms of any tangible inheritance. I have a letter here for you, written by Mrs Wintergreen before her passing and included in her last will and testament."
Valerie slid a typed letter across the table, Isaac picked it up and read slowly, hanging on every word.
"Dear Isaac,
Though you may not remember me given your age at the time of her passing, your mother and I were close friends for many years.
I have many fond memories of running alongside your parents with my mate beneath the full moon, I was with your mother at your birth, and she was with me as my daughter was born. We were not blood related, as I mated into the whitepaw pack from the Ironclaw Mountain pack, but she was and is a sister in my heart.
When the compound was razed I was abroad visiting my family at Ironclaw Mountain with my daughter, I learned of the destruction of the Whitepaw and believed you lost along with my mate and my sister. It was some years later that I learned you were alive and had been adopted by Doctor Steinbeck, a well known and respected guardian of the demihuman community.
You may question why I have not contacted you over these long years, despite learning of your survival.
Please forgive an old woman for failing in her duties to a child of her pack, a child of her hearts' sister. Knowing that you had found a home, and were well cared for, I simply could not face you after having my heart broken by the loss of my mate and sister.
I met and spoke with Doctor Steinbeck several times, please do not be angry with him for keeping this from you. I swore him to secrecy and shared my plans for the future of the Whitepaw, and he reluctantly agreed with my goals and fought alongside me to secure an allowance from the shifter council for me to act as executor of the pack in good faith. While it would be legally questionable to do so now, the laws relating to pack holdings were not yet written at the time and neither of us believed that placing the packs' prosperity and very continuance on the shoulders of a child was acceptable.
Let me be clear Isaac; as of now you are the Alpha of the Whitepaw pack. The choice you have to make is whether you wish to take up the mantle and rebuild the pack, or allow the packs' legacy to fade. I have done all I could to ensure that you had time to grow and find your own life before being presented with this choice, and will say nothing to influence your decision. Know that your parents would be proud of you and support whatever you choose moving forward.
Finally to the topic of my daughters. Bella and Jasmine have grown up in the Ironclaw Pack, steeped in the traditions and expectations of our people, but always they have been held at arms length as they could not truly be pack until your decision is made.
I ask that you meet with them, spend time with them, and consider their wants before you choose a way forward. This I selfishly ask of you as a doting mother, knowing this adds to the weight of your decision.
May Luna guide and bless you.
With Love,
