The Alpha - 11. Full Circle

“What do you mean they’re encroaching on our territory?” Dorian’s eyes flashed as he slammed his fist on the report.

“They were caught hunting on our side of the border again. They killed a deer and were attempting to drag it back to their side when the hunters caught them.” Levi was practically giddy at his friend’s reaction. “We’re holding them at the regional office. Their ages are eighteen, seventeen, and fifteen.”

“Emma, get me Graeagle’s alpha. NOW.”

“You know they’re his grandkids. We can use this to our advantage.” The smirk on Levi’s face went unnoticed. “You won’t even have to challenge him, not that he could put up much of a fight.”

Moments later Dorian’s assistant buzzed his phone. “Their alpha’s on line two.”

Dorian pressed the speaker button as his voice growled. “Paul, your people were caught killing deer on our side of the border. This isn’t the first time they’ve violated our territory.”

“I’m sorry, Dorian. Our younger wolves need to learn to hunt—”

The man was abruptly cut off. “Teach your mutts to hunt on your own lands. I won’t warn you again.”

“We had a treaty for a twenty mile buffer around our territory with the surrounding packs where we could all hunt. You eliminated that on three sides when you absorbed our neighbors. Tahoe Pack is trying to build a defense zone against you and moved up against our southern border. Between the two of you, we’re boxed in on all sides. Both of you keep any possible prey from entering our lands.”

“That’s not my problem. We notified you of the border change when I killed each of those alphas. My pack’s growing, and we need space. Do I need to kill you to make my point?”

“I’ve led my people for the last forty years and kept them safe. I won’t watch them lose who they are.” Paul feared what was coming but still tried to work with Dorian. “Your main population’s ninety miles from us. The nearest members you have are almost thirty miles away. Isn’t there some agreement we can come to that would allow hunting over the border? Between you and Tahoe, we’ve been pushed into just fifteen square miles for twenty wolves. I’d like to see my grandchildren grow up proud of who and what they are.”

“I won’t tolerate any violations of our territory. But…” Dorian let the pause hang in the air, enjoying the situation. “Perhaps we can work something out.”

“I’m listening, Dorian.”

“Your pups are obviously not being taught proper respect for other packs. Being the benevolent leader I am, and how weak you are, maybe it’s time I add your territory and wolves to my own. Would that be acceptable to you, Paul?”

“Dorian, for the last couple years you’ve made life untenable for anyone even remotely close to your border. When you replaced Randy you were a good man. He’d be ashamed of what you’ve turned into.”

“Does that mean you’ll be meeting me in the challenge ring? It’s unfortunate the trespassers are your grandkids. I’d be well within my right to kill the one who’s eighteen and hold the other two.” He let that sink in with his counterpart before continuing. “I see three options for you: You surrender and pledge your loyalty to me, try to join Tahoe, or die in the challenge ring and I still take your pack.” Dorian gave the other alpha a moment to consider. “You should be grateful for my offer, Paul. So little land and so few people. It’s hardly worth the effort for me on something that would benefit your people more than mine. But your grandson will survive and be able to hunt again.”

“The Roman Empire was only able to expand so much before they couldn’t defend themselves. You’re making enough enemies in all lycan communities that someone’s likely to slit your throat in the night, Dorian. I dare say our world might be better for it if they do.” There was an audible growl at what he had to do. “I’ll speak to my pack and you’ll have your answer in a couple hours.”

“Make sure I do, Paul. Otherwise you have no chance of seeing your grandchildren grow up.” He hung up seeing no point in continuing the conversation.

Levi leaned back in his chair, a broad smile on his face as he laughed. “I love it each time you do that. We won’t get anything of value by taking them, but it’s one less weak pack on our border.” He poured himself a drink and savored the flavor. “It would have been nice to see you in the ring again. A surrender just isn’t as enjoyable as watching their alpha die by your teeth and claws. This would have made what? Eight kills?”

“He is a good man trying to protect his family. The border issue pisses me off, but I kind of hope he opts to join instead of die. The other four alphas have lived quietly since the mergers.” Dorian stood and stretched. “This is as far south as I want to go. He did have a point. Our territory’s getting too big to manage and it’s expensive too. Paying hunters to patrol isn’t cheap.”

“That’s why we broke the land into sections for people to manage. We’ve worked it so each area is responsible for their own patrols and costs.”

“I’m lucky your family’s as loyal as it is. Your cousins have done a good job at overseeing the regions. Hell, I don’t know what I’d do without you as my beta.”

“The McKinney clan will always be here to help you, Dorian.”

“I know they will, my brother. I owe you for our continued prosperity and…” He felt a sharp pain shoot through his back and down his left arm. “Damn it. I’m tired of this. I’ve tried everything to find out why I hurt like this.”

Levi looked on with concern.

The growl as his fist hit the desk even brought Emma into the office. “Is everything okay, Alpha?”

“It will be. I need to hunt. That’s one of the few things that make me feel better.” Rubbing his arm to work through the pain, his eyes softened towards the older woman. “There should be a message from the Graeagle alpha soon, hopefully with an offer to merge the packs. Have someone come find me if I’m still out.”

The woman briefly frowned at the thought of another neighbor falling to him. “Yes, Alpha.” She dipped her head and returned to her office.

“You’d think with all the tests your aunt’s run over the years she’d have been able to identify what causes my headaches and this damn pain. She’s the best doctor we have.”

“You know she said it was most likely from the silver dagger you were stabbed with.”

“I know what she said, but I went years without any pain, then it started out of the blue. If it was from being stabbed I should have had it since then.”

Pulling the lid off a container on Dorian’s desk, Levi leaned in and inhaled. “Why don’t you have one of these? Mom’s cookies always make you feel better.”

“They satisfy me and my sweet tooth. If the pain went away from eating them, I’d down the entire box.” He still grabbed one and lifted it to his mouth. “You show a lot of restraint being around those and never touching them.”

“Mom always tells me those are something special for her alpha. She’d skin me alive if I ate them. I get my own supply so I leave yours alone. She made an extra batch for you to take with you to the Congress of Alphas.”

“God I love your mother.”

******

Dorian watched people mingling after the swearing in of Chief Alpha Drake. It had been a strange congress. He was being friendly with people and participated in the debates. He’d even made a few reasonable suggestions in committee meetings and to the general assembly. Something felt different to him, but he wasn’t sure what.

A group of bears shook hands with the new council leader, and he couldn’t help think of the non-wolf friends he’d lost over the years as alpha. Bears, avians, and felines had long ago become a subjugated class of lycan within his borders by his own order. He’d killed the avian leader who once called him a friend, the man his former alpha saved so long ago. Dorian demanded loyalty from the flyers in exchange for them remaining on what had been their land and held their former leader’s mate as a bargaining chip. Her survival in exchange for their obedience. His treatment of the other lycan hadn’t been much different. Mountain lions, lynx, and bears he used to have over to his house or hang out in bars with were now second class citizens he couldn’t be bothered with.

Lycan he had dealt with from the Forest Service transferred away only to be replaced by humans. Word got out to many other species that Pit River Pack was not a good place unless you were a wolf. Of the other species, those who could leave did, and the rest that couldn’t were subjected to strict rules on where they could go and what they could do.

As Dorian observed the bears, he realized he missed his old friends. He couldn’t remember how things changed. The memory was clear on signing the order taking away their rights. Knowing his peers at the congress thought of him as an asshole was nothing new. It’s how he treated people no matter what their species. Many in his territory thought the same but were too fearful of his wrath to say so. Realization set in he had not been a leader for years, but had become a tyrant instead.

A twinge of discomfort ran up his spine, and he realized what was different. Over the last two weeks he hadn’t been in pain. It had been near constant for years, so he didn’t pay attention to it anymore. The headaches were gone too.

He became aware of Karissa Ryan approaching and felt a strange sensation in his face. Could it be a smile?

“You should join the party, Dorian. A lot of this wouldn’t have been possible without your support.” She wrapped an arm around the big man as they watched the crowd.

“I’m glad I could contribute for once.”

“A lot of us were surprised by your attitude this year. In a good way. I hope to see more of it.” She leaned her head against his arm and inhaled deeply. “If this is the you we’re going to have from now on, I want to get to know you better. I… I find your scent pleasing.”

He glanced down in shock, but there was no hiding the arousal they both felt.

“Come on, handsome. Time for you to congratulate the chief alpha. Maybe even offer your help.” She took his hand as they joined the crowd. “And I’ll be offended if you don’t ask me to dance.”

Dorian followed happily, unable to wipe the silly grin from his face. His security detail looked on in shock as the enforcer pulled out his phone.

******

The evening had been incredible, and Dorian actually enjoyed himself. Karissa had to attend to her duties with Chief Alpha Richard Drake, but she spent a considerable amount of time with Dorian, introducing him to people he barely knew. He could still pick up her scent from leaning into him. For the first time, he understood what the convention was truly about. Ethan Tucker and Aiden Jacobs brought him out of his thoughts.

“Alpha Jackman, do you have a minute?”

Dorian almost laughed at Ethan’s sheepish grin until he noticed the scowl on Aiden’s face.

“What’s on your mind, Ethan?” He extended his hand to the young men standing before him. “Oh, and after handing my ass to me on a plate, I think you can call me Dorian. You may not hold the position yet, but you and your mate are both full alphas in every way that matters.”

“I probably shouldn’t have done it without saying something, but when we fought I could feel something was wrong with you. When we shook hands I did a quick healing.” Ethan spoke so fast it all came out in a jumble.

“Whoa… Whoa… One more time a little slower. Did I understand you right? You… healed me? I was wondering why I’ve felt better than I have in years. What exactly did you do to me?”

Ethan took a deep breath and started again. “I could feel something in your blood that shouldn’t be there. I’m not sure what it was, or if it was something you took on purpose. I’m sorry for what I did without asking.” The young man glanced at his mate again who finally seemed less annoyed. “When we shook hands, I held on long enough to push it through your system so you’d end up pissing most of it out. Your scent returned to a normal, healthy wolf after I did it, but I can smell it changing back to what it was.”

“What do you mean my scent wasn’t healthy?”

“No one ever mentioned you had kind of a sour scent when you approached them? I hope that doesn’t sound rude.”

“Most would have never said anything out of fear I’d kill them for it. You say the unhealthy scent is returning?”

Aiden coughed. “I couldn’t smell anything. Still can’t. But he said it was bad.”

Ethan nodded. “Yes, it is.”

“Can you tell what’s causing it?”

“May I put my hands on you and take a look around?”

Dorian nodded and watched as the small hands reached for the center of his chest. The glowing eyes fascinated him.

“There’s something in your blood again that shouldn’t be there. It isn’t the same level it was when we fought, but it’s definitely there. Whatever it is, I can feel my wolf growling at it. You don’t take anything to boost aggression or fighting ability?”

“No, I don’t. I wonder if that’s the cause of the pain I’ve felt for years. Can you remove it?”

“Slice open a spot on your arm.”

Dorian did as requested and those blue eyes intensified. Blood dripped from the self-inflicted wound and oddly it didn’t immediately heal like any other scratch would. He could pick up a scent emanating from the fluid. After several minutes, the cut sealed over and healed.

“That should be all of it, and I repaired any damage I felt. You have a scar on your side. Do you want that fixed or keep it?”

The big man’s hearty laugh brought a smile to the other two. “I’ll keep the scar, Ethan. It’s a reminder of my youth.”

When Ethan stepped back into Aiden’s arms, he looked at the older alpha, puzzled. “I’m still not sure what it was. All I know is it didn’t belong in you and was hurting you.”

“I recognize the scent. It’s silver nitrate. Long-term exposure causes excessive aggression and pain that’s difficult to trace.” Dorian rubbed his arm where he’d cut it. “If the dose is low enough, it’s near impossible to detect with blood tests. What I just smelled should have been found.”

“Your scent’s back to normal and healthy again. My wolf tells me when you fight you’ll have better control and won’t get aggravated as easy.”

“I suppose I owe you my thanks as well as another apology for my actions when we met. But if I hadn’t been an ass, I wouldn’t know someone was poisoning me. I already feel better.” Dorian thought about who could be behind the poisoning and how it was administered. He shook his head at what came to mind. The corner of his lip curled up in a smile. “Meat bag, dumpster rat, and the mutt, make sure you take good care protecting my friend.” He did the unthinkable for an alpha and bowed in respect to the human, coyote, and wolf enforcers. “If anything happens to him, I’m coming for you.”

Darius returned the bow. “We’ll see to his safety until our last breath, Alpha Jackman.” He dropped the masking of his scent to show he was lycan.

“Seriously? Cool trick. I know you’re feline, but not sure of the type.”

“I’m a solaris lion, Alpha. And my claws will be quite lethal to anyone who tries to harm him.”

“Well, I’ll be damned.” He bowed deep. “I hope to consider you guys my friends.”

Darius, Casey and Cody nodded and dipped their head to the man.

“Aiden, you’re a lucky man, and I hope one day I can call you a friend too.”

“You already can, Dorian.”

“Thank you for coming to me about this, Alpha Jacobs-Tucker.” He tipped his head respectfully at Ethan and then Aiden before returning to the party.