JULIUS

 

“Congratulations.”

Donovan poured a glass of red wine and pushed it forward to me. I examined it for a second and let out a deep sigh.

“I’m not much for drinking,” I said.

“If there’s any reason to drink, I think now would be appropriate. It’s not often that a man is elected mayor of a city.”

He raised an eyebrow with a knowing smirk on his lips. I chuckled softly and gave him a nod.

“I suppose you have a point.”

I sighed as I took the glass and sipped. He took a seat in front of me with a glass of his own.

“The first ever mayor of Dirge. How does it feel?”

It was a lot to think about. With all of the thoughts swirling around in my mind, all I could do was shake my head in disbelief.

“I didn’t ever think we would get to this point,” I said. “Dirge has made so much progress.”

“And there’s still so much more to be made. I’m assuming that’s why you’re here.”

“It is.”

He leaned back in his chair and nonchalantly sipped on his glass.

Donovan was as magnanimous as they came. It wasn’t just that he was a handsome blond with striking blue eyes. It wasn’t the fancy suit. It wasn’t the muscled physique underneath it. It wasn’t even the fortune he had that nobody else in the city could rival. There was something else about the Alpha that made him different from everybody else I met. As awe-inspiring as he might have seemed to some, there was a humility about him that made him easy to talk to.

“There’s no better person to talk to than the richest man in the city,” I said.

“Just because I have resources doesn’t make me any different.”

“There’s no need to be modest. You’re in a unique position. You have everything you can want.”

“Then what are you asking of me now, Julius?”

“Now that I’m mayor, I want to know what I can do most to help this city. Where do I start?”

He raised a curious eyebrow at me.

“That’s not something I want to hear from a man who was just elected mayor,” he said. “You were chosen because you were the right man for the job but now you’re saying you don’t know where to start?”

“I was chosen because people believe that a man with a lion beating in his heart is a born leader.”

“Are they wrong?”

“I’d like to think they made the right choice,” I said with a smile. “They have lofty expectations of me and I intend to live up to them. But I know it will be difficult. You can fault me for my honesty but it’s the truth.”

Donovan nodded as he listened.

“I’m not asking you what to do,” I said. “I have advisers. There are people around me who keep tabs on things. But I don’t think it would hurt to hear what you have to say. So… where would you start?”

He put his glass down and stroked his chin softly. His eyes stared off into the distance. His mind was somewhere else. I sat there patiently while he filtered whatever it was he had on the tip of his tongue.

But before he could say anything, I already knew what the answer was.

“Pandora,” I said.

Donovan smirked as soon as I said it.

Pandora. The slums of Dirge. Whatever you called them, they were the last place in the city that anybody would want to visit. While most people lived ordinary lives in the rest of the city, the people of Pandora didn’t have it so easy.

“I know that there are people in Pandora who need help,” I said. “I know there are homeless. I know there are Omegas struggling to survive. I know the police are afraid of dealing with the Alphas who run rampant.”

Donovan shook his head. My eyes widened in curiosity.

“You disagree?” I said.

“No. I just think Pandora is not as hopeless as it may sound. It can use some work. But things are changing. The slums are not as bleak as you might have guessed before. There are numerous shelters that house the Omegas so they don’t have to live on the streets. They’re protected from the Alphas who are so intent on letting their instincts take control.”

“That’s good—”

“But… There are things that need to be done. The streets need to be repaved. The abandoned buildings need to be put to use. And, as I mentioned before, the Alphas need to be dealt with. I’ve done my part. Progress is being made…”

“…But there is still more work to be done.”

I sighed a deep breath and nodded. The tough task ahead of me was clear. Taking care of the slums and the people who lived there was my first priority. Now it was just a matter of going out there and doing it.

I took another sip of wine as I thought about it. Lost in my thoughts, I noticed Donovan observing me over the rim of his wine glass.

“It’s nothing you’re not capable of,” he said. “You were chosen to be mayor of Dirge for a reason. There’s no reason you can’t do this. You have my support and many others.”

“I know. And I’m grateful for your help, Donovan. You can believe me.”

“But?”

“…But I don’t see the solution. Fixing the buildings. Supporting the shelters. Repaving the roads. Providing more police. There’s more to fixing the slums than just throwing a fortune at it. Otherwise, you would have done so already.”

“It helped,” Donovan said with a smile. “You’re right though. Pandora has deeper issues. If they’re ever going to cease being the slums, something must be done.”

“There’s only one way to find the answers I’m looking for. I have to go to Pandora myself. I have to talk to the residents and see what’s going on.”

“Not a bad idea. I did that once.”

“How was it?”

“It was the best decision I ever made. I was able to help some of the shelters. I was able to renovate one of the businesses. Sawyer’s Bar. You should stop by if you’re in the area.”

“That’s an idea…”

“And… I met the love of my life.”

“Your husband… Lucas.”

Just the mention of his name was enough to make Donovan smile softly. The proud Alpha didn’t look as magnanimous as he did. I guess that’s what happened to all Alphas when they found the ones they were fated to.

“Maybe Lucas would give me some ideas,” I said.

“That’s a great idea.”

We got up from the table and walked through the halls of his mansion. Donovan’s place was bigger than any other home I’d seen in Dirge. Fitting for the man who was the richest person in the city.

We walked down a long hallway before getting to a balcony down at the end of the hall. I stood on the large balcony and looked out into the ocean it hung over. The water was as blue as the sky above it. The saltwater filled my nostrils and the wind blew against my face. Being in a place like Azure where we were now was like being nowhere else in the world.

“Lucas,” Donovan said.

The Omega Lucas turned his head up from the two children he was tending to. One was a young girl who looked to be about 10 years old. The little blond was strikingly pretty.

The other was a small child that was barely able to crawl around on her hands and knees. Her body was bare and her hair was dark.

Lucas walked up to me and extended his hand for me to shake.

“Hello,” he said. “Congratulations, Julius.”

“Thank you,” I said with a nod.

Lucas didn’t look anything at all like Donovan. His hair was dark and messy. His goatee was thick and unkempt. He was a few years younger, too. But underneath it all, he was still handsome. Donovan was fortunate to be fated to a man like him.

“I was just discussing with Julius about what he could do to help Dirge out most,” Donovan said.

“Pandora,” Lucas said without hesitating. “The people in the slums need the most help of all.”

“He has first-hand experience of what it’s like.”

“Is that right?” I said.

Lucas gave me a nod.

“I lived there for longer than I wanted to,” Lucas said. “It wasn’t pleasant. I don’t like to think about what would have happened if Donovan and I hadn’t met.”

“But you did,” I said.

“It’s not just me.”

Lucas pointed at the blond girl.

“Megan,” he said. “Her father Sawyer runs a bar in Pandora. Even though he makes ends meet with Donovan’s assistance, she deserves a better life than the one she would have had. She deserves to go to school. She deserves to learn and grow the same as anybody else. There are others like her living in Pandora.”

“All right,” I said as I put my hands up. “It’s clear that the most work needs to be done in the slums.”

“Head to one of the shelters,” Lucas said. “I’m sure they’ll be able to tell you directly what needs to be done. Donovan and I would head their ourselves but those who run the shelters seem to have everything under control…”

I looked at Donovan and Lucas. The couple seemed better off than any I’d ever seen. I couldn’t help but smile at the two of them.

“Your daughter,” I said to Lucas.

He smiled right back at me. He moved over to the small child and picked her up from the ground. Bouncing his daughter in his arms softly, Lucas spoke with the kind of sincerity that only a father could have.

“Hope means everything to me,” he said. “Hope and Megan give me more purpose in my life than anything else.”

“Perhaps that’s what you need,” Donovan said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You’re a strong, virile Alpha. To think that you haven’t found the one you’re fated to—”

I put my hands up and chuckled softly. I wasn’t about to have a discussion about my personal life.

“I’m happy for you two,” I said. “I really am. And I’d be lying if there wasn’t a part of me that wasn’t envious—”

“A-ha!” Donovan shouted.

“But… You know my priority is being the mayor this city needs. My personal relationships will come when they come.”

“Suit yourself,” Lucas said. “But I think if you did find an Omega, you would understand the needs of the people of Dirge more than anything else.”

Megan looked up and smiled at me. Even the young girl who’d been quiet this whole time was teasing me.

I sighed a deep breath and shook my head.

“I think I should be going now,” I said. “Pandora is waiting for me.”

I shook Donovan’s hand and bowed my head to Lucas. I took a knee and smiled at Megan.

“Perhaps I’ll say hello to your father,” I said.

“He’s grumpy sometimes,” she said. “Don’t take it personally. That’s just how he is.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“There are a lot of grumpy people in Dirge. I’m trying to change that.”

She smiled back at me then turned to Lucas.

“Can I play with Hope?” she asked.

“Of course,” Lucas replied.

The three of them walked to the other side of the balcony while Donovan stood right next to me.

We looked out into the ocean together. I lost myself in the view of the waves crashing down below.

“You want my advice?” Donovan said. “You have a tough task ahead of you. But it’s not one you’re incapable of. Be the Alpha you are. That’s all you can do. If you do that, then you’ll be the mayor that everyone needs you to be.”

Donovan’s words lingered in my head. I knew what I had to do. It all started with Pandora.