by Ellen Lane
It seemed like over half of the Belleview pack had been injured in some way. No sooner had Hunter set her up in Anne’s cabin with the supplies she asked for than shifters came to her in droves. Some needed help walking - with broken legs that had to be reset and wounds that needed disinfecting before they started to close.
Georgia was used to working in the emergency room, but rarely had she been in situations where time ran against her. Shifters healed so quickly that anything foreign in their wounds had to be removed immediately and anything broken needed resetting within a half-hour of the injury, otherwise, they risked healing incorrectly. She all but ran from one patient to the other, doing her best to ensure that their wounds remained clean and she kept them as comfortable as possible with what little space they had.
It was the one time since she’d been in the settlement that Georgia missed Anne. There was no small amount of guilt over the fact that she’d been taken while Georgia fled, but of course, her knowledge of shifter healing and anatomy would have proved essential. Hunter helped when and where he could, but ultimately, the injured begged for Georgia, who had a much gentler touch.
Wolves who had given her a wide berth or else never talked to her at all now thanked her profusely as she worked on them. Georgia, for her part, merely shushed them and did all she could to ensure that they were back on their feet as soon as possible.
For once, Anne’s cabin couldn’t hold all the wounded. There were shifters on blankets on the living room floor and spilling onto the front porch. Georgia treated Tempest for a concussion on the front steps and disinfected a nasty bite that all but shredded the muscle on her left arm.
This, for shifters, was “normal”. They stayed on their feet through injuries that would put a human in the hospital, and their grievous wounds would have killed anyone in Dockery outright. Their biology was nothing short of astounding - something she commented on to Tempest as she bandaged her shoulder.
“Astounding or not, it still hurts like a sonuvabitch,” the redhead groused, but she thanked Georgia and did her best to help out even as the human woman attempted to make her slow down.
Eventually, however, Georgia herself began to tire. The sun rose on the smoldering ruins of the burned cabin and the strangely silent settlement. Everyone who wasn’t injured remained inside their houses as a handful of men worked on preparing the gates.
The Dozier wolves, Georgia learned, had used the bodies of their dead pack-members to leap up past the spikes that fortified the wall and gain entry. Once inside, amongst the chaos, it was easy for them to sabotage the gate.
Georgia was no tactician, but she knew an attack like this was bound to happen again, and she could only imagine how much pain Solomon was already in. If she could physically take it from him, she could...but all she could do for now was apply the skills she had.
At least until her body gave out.
“I’m not tired.”
“Bullshit, Georgia. Bed.” Somehow, Tempest found an empty bed and ushered her into it close to noon. The blonde was dead on her feet, but she refused to rest when there were still people that needed her help.
“I can’t, Tempest.” She tugged weakly at the smaller woman’s arm. “There are still wounds to bandage, I need to reset Lucas’ arm-”
“I can do that. Jesus, you’re going to work yourself to death. Things will be ok long enough for you to get a few hours of sleep.” Tempest patted the neatly made cot pointedly. “Bed. Now.”
Georgia’s tired eyes fixed her with a shrewd look. “Last time I checked, you’re not Alpha.”
At that, Tempest cracked a knowing smile. “Don’t make me get Solomon in here. He’d have you in bed in seconds - and not the way you like.”
The blonde gaped, her face flaming, before she managed to regain her propriety. Christ, did everyone knows she and Solomon had been together? There was no hiding it from Shifters, she supposed. “Bed, Georgia.”
She slipped between the cool sheets before Tempest could make good on her threat. Once her head hit the pillow, however, Georgia’s body betrayed her. She sagged against the mattress and lost the fight to sleep in minutes.
By the time Georgia woke, the sun was beginning to sink beyond the horizon. Her body was so heavy that she contemplated going right back to sleep, but the distant sounds from the settlement urged her back towards wakefulness.
With a low sigh, she turned over, careful to be as quiet as possible. There were wounded wolves sleeping around her and she didn’t want to -
At that moment, Georgia realized that she was the room’s only occupant. Everyone else was gone.
Despite the headache it gave her, she bolted upright, wincing at the soreness in her muscles. Where the hell had everyone gone? It couldn’t be another attack - there was no screaming, no fires and no chaos beyond the walls of Anne’s cabin.
She could, however, hear the sound of someone speaking in raised tones - probably from the very middle of the settlement. Carefully, she slid from the cot, sucking in a breath at the combined pain of her tender ankle and the soles of her feet - bandaged courtesy of a fussy Tempest. She reached for her crutch to make her way slowly across the room. When she pushed open the shutters to let in the evening light, she was surprised to see almost every Shifter - injured or not - gathered in a semi-circle in the center of the settlement.
The speech that had woken her was clearer now - and the speaker had the entire Belleview pack riveted.
“We won’t be preyed upon any longer. This upstart Dozier calls himself an Alpha, but he’s a menace that needs to be put down for the good of his own pack and for all Shifters who would dare to be so reckless.”
For a moment, Georgia though it was Solomon addressing the crowd, but she quickly found his statuesque form at the very edge of the assembly, mouth set in a firm, disapproving line.
Georgia booked it out of Anne’s cabin as fast as she could, limping across the wide clearing between the cabins so she could find the speaker for herself.
Thankfully, Tempest spotted her when she’d made it about twenty feet from Anne’s cabin and hurried over to help her. “What’s going on?”
At her hissed question, the redhead frowned. “The Elders are making an Edict. After last night, they’re trying to force Solomon’s hand.”
Georgia’s heart dropped into her stomach. Though she still wasn’t completely sure how shifter politics worked, she thought Solomon’s biological grandfather, Thomas, was on the council of Elders. Was he really trying to back his grandson into a corner?
But Thomas wasn’t the one speaking either.
As Tempest propped her up on her way to join the crowd, the scene before her grew clear. The five elders stood in the center of the crowd, but it wasn’t Thomas who was speaking. Another wolf - he might have been Solomon’s Uncle - glared at the assembled wolves before him, his words less an edict than a raw warning. “Unless we remove Ephraim Dozier from power, he will pick us off one by one. He knows no mercy and seeks only power. If we wait for him to attack again, we stand to lose everything.”
Next to him, the two female Elders were stone-faced. Thomas and the last of their number stood off to the side, expressions unreadable.
Georgia could hardly believe what she was hearing. Solomon was doing everything in his power to protect the pack - everything short of all-out attrition.
“Our Alpha needs to lead us to victory.” At the mention of Solomon, the entire pack turned to seek him out. “Now, more than ever, we must show a strong front in the face of adversity. The sooner Solomon puts Ephraim Dozier in his place, the sooner this nightmare we face can end.”
Georgia could see the emotions warring in Solomon’s deep green gaze. He’d never wanted this - how could he? Watching his pack suffer was killing him - as surely as if he had no healing factor at all. But to stage a head-on attack against the Doziers - surely that had to mean more lives lost. The enemy had already proven how ruthless they could be. Could Solomon really sink to their level?
“Wait.”
Before Solomon could speak, a new voice entered the fray. Immediately, the pack bristled, half of them shifting on the spot as the other half stared at the newcomer approaching from the gate. Lucas and another huge Belleview wolf flanked either side of the stranger. They looked no more pleased to see him than the rest of those assembled.
“Tempest.” Georgia clung to the woman at her side, every muscle in her body tensed. “Who’s that?”
The redhead’s eyes flashed silver and when she spoke, elongated canines gleamed.
“Dozier.”
It was then that Georgia noticed that the newcomer wasn’t alone. He was accompanied by none other than Duke Dozier - such a common face around town that he seemed almost out of place so far beyond it.
“Peace, Solomon.” Duke stepped in front of his companion; his expression carefully neutral. “We haven’t come to fight.”
“Bold words when your people have been killing us off,” Tempest spat, tugging Georgia behind her with such force that the blonde woman nearly stumbled.
“You know better,” Duke replied, his blue gaze cool. “I exist on the fringes of my pack. I stand to lose more than anyone with Ephraim’s current behavior. I’ve come to help my cousin treat with you.”
“Treat with us?” By now, the Elders had made their way forward through the crowd to address Duke directly. Even Thomas’ expression was incensed, his milky white eyes gleaming with rage. Solomon’s Uncle was running off the steam of his earlier speech and addressed Duke haughtily. “Dozier’s have killed seven of our pack, one of them a pup! They’ve kidnapped and raped our women. The only way we treat with you is if you help us kill your Alpha.”
“He’s not my Alpha.” For the first time, the newcomer spoke. He was almost as tall as Solomon, with steely gray eyes and dark hair buzzed close to his scalp. His bare chest was covered in a network of scar tissue almost as intricate as the raised flesh on Hunter’s face. There was an unspeakable strength to his countenance, but also, Georgia noted, exhaustion in his features. “If your aim is to put Ephraim down, I’ll do everything in my power to help you.”
The entire pack erupted.
It took several minutes of shouting through the deluge of questions and incredulity to quiet everyone down - but when some semblance of calm was regained, it was Solomon who spoke.
“Titus.” His gaze narrowed at the Dozier male before him. “Ephraim is Raymond’s brother - all but your blood. Why would you turn against him now?”
At the question, Titus raised a hand errantly to the scar on his chest, his expression hard. “No one in their right mind would let Ephraim continue his reign of terror unchecked. He killed his own brother to take power and has no qualms turning his own pack into mindless beasts. I may be a Dozier, Solomon but I am proud of my people. I can’t bear to see our legacy sullied like this. I am begging you,” though the man had the countenance of an Alpha himself, his voice broke, and he dropped to his knees before the assembled Belleview wolves. “Help me right the wrongs Ephraim has perpetrated against you. Help me save my pack.”
Georgia held her breath.
There was every chance the Belleview wolves could savage him. They were a people wound tight from loss and fear - ready to lash out at those who made them suffer.
But Titus hadn’t come here to wage war. To Georgia, it looked as if he meant to prevent it.
Before any of the Elders could speak, Solomon stepped forward to extend his hand to Titus. “Get up.” He hauled the Dozier wolf to his feet before gracing him with a grim smile. “We have work to do.”
Chapter 14
The Elders weren’t happy.
Of course, Solomon hadn’t expected them to be. Dyson and Kendrick were hell-bent on an all-out attack. They had always leaned towards violence, and even now they still believed that scare tactics would take down someone as reckless as Ephraim Dozier.
But Solomon knew better.
He had been waiting for a Hail-Mary like this.
Of course, he wasn’t an idiot. He spent a full twenty-four hours questioning Titus on everything that had happened since Ephraim took over the Dozier pack.
While Solomon might have guessed that Ephraim was far from a magnanimous leader, some of the horrors Titus described made him physically ill. The upstart had barely been in power for two weeks and already he was turning the members of his pack into his own personal army - and killing anyone who refused to see things his way.
Solomon wasn’t overly familiar with Titus, but the fact that he had been Raymond’s second held significant weight. That, and his constant bickering with Ephraim only helped cement Solomon’s tactics. He would use Titus’ insight into his pack to take Ephraim down.
“Are you sure about this?”
He had asked Titus the question at least a dozen times over the past few hours, and his answer was always the same. Of course, at this point, the clock was ticking against him.
Solomon could already see the signs of the sickness starting.
“He came to me when they drove him off, Solomon, but I assure you, this has nothing to do with Titus’ own wellbeing.” Duke insisted, a hand on his cousin’s shoulder. For someone who rarely involved themselves in the politics of the mountain, Duke had very earnestly taken sides in this conflict. “Ephraim means to destroy you and take your territory - or die in the attempt.”
“Fucking idiot,” Hunter swore from beside his brother. He’d been quiet during most of the questioning, but Solomon could sense the rage that boiled just beneath the surface. “We’re already a dying breed. He’d wipe out his entire pack trying to prove he’s superior?”
“Ephraim has always believed in the superiority of wolves - Doziers in particular.” Titus raked a hand over his tired features. “He’s caused problems since he was young - be disciplined by the Elders more times than I can count.”
“Of course, they were the first to be killed off when he took power,” Duke added bitterly. “He’s always considered them obsolete.”
Solomon nodded curtly. The Elders were the one force that kept an Alpha from rampaging unchecked. One would hope that the nature of an Alpha alone would be enough, but Ephraim had always been a particular brand of crazy. He wouldn’t stop until he was no longer breathing.
“So, we end this.”
It was the first time since all this chaos began that he had any confidence in a solution that brought about the least amount of casualties. Certainly, they would have to put Ephraim down, but that also meant that those rabidly loyal to him would have to be taken out as well. It was his hope that once the center of power corruption was destroyed, the Doziers would see their way to a new era without the fear Ephraim forced on them.
“We can isolate him.” Titus answered, his tone decisive. “He is constantly surrounded by a guard but if we can incapacitate them, he’ll be open to attack. A quick, clean death would be best…even if he deserves to suffer.” The pain in Titus’ gaze spoke flagrantly of how much he himself had suffered under Ephraim’s rule.
“You sure we can’t string him up and let him rot for a few days?” Hunter’s snarl drew a swift warning glare from his brother. “It would make me feel better, that’s for damn sure.”
“Curb your urges, Hunter. This is about making peace. Ephraim Dozier deserves an age and a half of pain, but the sooner this is over, the sooner we can rebuild.”
“Speaking of rebuilding,” Titus seemed to be choosing his words carefully, “I noticed there have been some changes to your pack, Solomon.”
“Georgia Maxwell.” Duke fixed Solomon with an accusatory gaze. “I wondered where she’d disappeared to.”
Solomon bit back the defensive answer that rose to his tongue. Now was hardly the time to get prickly with a potential ally. He cast a brief glance at Hunter, warning him against an outburst he
might have in mind. “Unfortunately, she got turned around in the woods a few days ago. She was injured so I brought her here.”
“Why not take her back to Dockery?” Whereas Titus’ hope for Solomon’s assistance kept him from pressing, Duke had no suck qualms. He had always come and gone among their number as he pleased, and truly answered to no Alpha, though he had always respected both Raymond and Solomon.
“I didn’t want to run into Ephraim.” The answer was mostly truthful. Solomon could hardly imagine Ephraim sparing a human on their territory any more than any Belleview wolf he might stumble on. “Anymore than I wanted the humans seeing me carrying an injured human back to town. It would set tongues wagging - and not favorably.”
With a long sigh, Duke ran a hand through dark blonde locks. “And if she dies in the middle of a Shifter war? That will go over well.”
“Leave it.” Solomon snapped the words before he could stop himself. “No harm will come to her. I swear it.”
Before Duke could retort, Hunter interjected, coming to his brother’s aid. “Look, we need her, man. Ephraim snatched our healer and she’s a nurse. She’s been a big help.”
Duke’s expression turned surprised a moment before he relented. “Fine. But you know she can’t stay up here for much longer. People in town will start getting suspicious.”
The thought was enough to make Solomon’s stomach clench with foreboding. Of course, he’d always known he’d have to send Georgia back down the mountain, but now that they had a plan to end the conflict between packs, the date seemed closer than ever.
She didn’t belong to him - she never had. Certainly, they found comfort in one another, but she belonged with her own people. One day, he’d find a mate to give him pups and ensure that the Belleview line remained strong. By that time, Georgia would be happily married with children of her own.
Even if the thought made him want to kill any man who might touch her.
“We need to speak with those you’d have to accompany us, brief them on the Dozier defenses.” Titus broke the tension in the room decisively, and Duke was forced to relent. “And then we’ll need to gather supplies.”