The Alpha - 17. TA-Epilogue

Marshal, Sarah, and her family accompanied Ethan, Aiden, and Karissa to the airport. The security teams for the alphas spread out as Cody checked the aircraft. Wade and Thaddeus arrived as the sweep was concluded.

“We’ll be back soon to officially start our work. Alpha Stockdale and the Lycan Council have loaned us some of their people to recover the money Levi’s family stole from the pack.” Aiden extended his hand to Marshal before turning towards the two betas. “As we discussed, we’d like things run in the way you originally planned when you took your jobs as enforcers. You know the people better than we do. And the instructions we’ve agreed to on the McKinney family will stand for the foreseeable future. If they try to set foot in the territory, please try to keep the bloodiness out of sight of any human authorities and away from other pack’s territories. There will be a lot of video conferences over the next several months as we work remotely.”

“Thank you for not blocking us from going after those mangy hyenas. It will take a while for the packs blood lust to subside, but this is the only way we can start to recover. Even my wolf is calling me to shift and join the hunt.” Wade rubbed his arm.” Having an alpha working remotely is going to be a different way of doing things, but we’re wolves, and we’ll adapt.” He faced his co-beta. “I think it’ll work.”

“We understand and even my wolf wants to hunt them down. I wish Dorian didn’t have to sacrifice himself to unite the pack against that family.” Ethan was determined not to let his sadness overwhelm him. “Are you sure you guys don’t want to take over as Alpha?” He winked at the men hoping a little joking around would lighten the mood.

“Not a chance, alpha. At least not yet.” Wade reached for Thad’s hand and looked to the man he’d imprinted on.

Thad nodded. “Ethan, you and Aiden have the strength the people need right now. With your help, we can repair this pack’s faith in its leadership. In time we might assume control, but only when this pack is ready.”

“Doesn’t hurt we have bragging rights to the most powerful alphas known to exist.” Dorian’s eldest brother slapped Thad and Wade on the back.

Sarah kissed the young alphas. “My son picked his real friends well.” She pulled Karissa into a hug. “I hope it isn’t too long before we see you again. Dorian may be gone, but you’ll always be family.”

With a final round of handshakes, hugs, and waves, those leaving boarded the private jet.

******

The Gulfstream G650 roared down the runway, lifting into the air. As it gained altitude, Karissa looked out the window towards Mount Shasta. “There’s a spot about half way between Burney and that mountain called Grizzly Peak were you can sit atop the ridge and enjoy an unobstructed view. I think aside from Burney Falls and the lava tubes, it was my favorite spot with him.” Tears filled her eyes. “I finally fall in love, just to lose him. My wolf imprints on a wonderful man before I can even tell him.”

Ethan grasped Aiden’s hand. The pair gave Darius a subtle nod.

The lion went to a storage closet at the rear of the plane.

“Darius went to get something we brought aboard for you. Hopefully it’ll make you feel better.” There was a twinkle in the blond’s blue eyes.

“Whatever it is, it can wait. The last thing I need right now is being given something of his. I’ll be bawling my eyes out the rest of the flight.”

“Alpha Ryan, that may be the case no matter what. And I hope you’ll forgive us all.” Darius rested his hand on her shoulder.

“Forgive you for what? You, Cody, and Casey have been wonderful to me.”

“Well, I hope you forgive them and me by the time we land.”

Karissa turned slowly since it wasn’t Darius’ voice any longer. “DORIAN!” She launched herself out of the seat and nearly tackled the man. “How? Oh my god. How are you alive?” Tears streamed down her face as she pressed her hands against him to make sure the apparition was real.

“I’m sorry, my love. We couldn’t tell anyone. You had to believe I was dead for all this to work.”

“But how?” She turned to Ethan. “You did this?”

The blond nodded.

Returning her eyes to the man she loved, the examination was thorough. “And it’s really you and not some pet cemetery version?”

“It’s really me, and I’m fine.” His laugh brought smiles to his friends. “Thanks to Ethan. If it weren’t for him, I would’ve really been cremated in that coffin.”

She took Dorian’s hand as they returned to the seats opposite Aiden and Ethan. “Okay. I need to know what happened. I thought we saw you die on the video. Levi was sure you were dead.”

“Ethan, I’ll let you explain. I still don’t fully understand what you did.” Dorian held her close.

Aiden started laying out their initial actions. “We got into town the day he confronted Levi. He and Dorian were out, so most of the security people were also gone. Ethan and I snuck in and hid in an unused office we’d worked out would be safe. Darius, Cody, Casey, and Trevor were left to their assignments.” He turned to his mate to continue.

“I brought two plants with me. Hybrids I made of flowers I’ve used as sedatives. Each one sent out a runner that went through the floor and under the building. It came back up under Dorian’s desk.” Ethan’s eyes misted over as he watched his friend holding hands with Karissa. “I didn’t know if it would work or not, but we tried to be prepared for anything. We watched as the meeting happened and as predicted, that asshole tried to kill him. Just before Dorian was injected with the poison, thorns on each vine punctured his leg.”

Karissa sat in disbelief. “So your plants saved him?”

“Yes and no.” Ethan shook his head. “They worked to sedate Dorian to the point he appeared dead, while giving me a physical connection to him, so I could push the real poison out of his system. A couple flowers were able to mask the scent of his blood. I held him just barely out of death until Levi finally left the office. I didn’t think he’d ever leave.”

“But the paramedics and everyone else?” She still couldn’t wrap her mind around it.

Darius sat on one of the chairs across the aisle. “Cody and I were the paramedics that showed up in the ambulance and attended to him. It’s not easy to fake doing CPR on someone with a bunch of sheriff’s deputies standing around. Or actually killing him by using a defibrillator on him. We confirmed he was dead and put him in the body bag. Casey and Trevor were waiting at the morgue in case they were needed.”

Trevor took over where his friend left off. “Yeah. We umm… Kind of replaced Levi’s guys there. I doubt anyone will miss them, and he thankfully didn’t notice. When Levi showed up, his orders were no autopsy, not let anyone see the body, and to seal the alpha in a casket that would be delivered. The asshole told us the death certificate was being handled and not to worry about it. He must have had someone on speed dial at a mortuary, because it arrived in under an hour. We did exactly as ordered and sealed his uncle in that thing. I’ll say this for Levi: He did get you a coffin befitting an alpha.”

“Wait a minute. Levi’s uncle was in the casket?” Karissa turned to each of the men.

Kissing her cheek, Dorian held her head so she was facing him. “Yeah. He showed up as I was being loaded into the ambulance, and Levi told him to ride with the body. I don’t ever want a lion pissed off at me.”

“After I killed him, we swapped his body for Dorian’s in the bag.” Darius sounded quite proud of himself.

“And you were alive and awake for all this?”

“I was alive and could sort of hear some things, but was drugged up big time thanks to Ethan’s plants, and whatever it was he sent through them to me.”

“We’d planned on extracting him from the territory when we left that night.” Darius frowned. “Thanks to a mix up by the rental car company, we barely had room for the five of us in the car. No way were we going to fit Dorian in there too. He knew a safe place he could hide until we returned so we left him where he could go wolf and hunker down. Then we returned the ambulance to two EMTs who were later found suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. And don’t worry, they survived with no lasting effects.”

“Ethan, I saw you crying at the funeral. Those were real tears.” Karissa was having a hard time wrapping her head around she’d heard. “The snow and clouds around you as you spoke were real. How did you fake that? I’m sorry, but you’re not that good an actor.”

“They told me he died in the ambulance. That with everything I did it wasn’t enough to save him. I thought I failed him. I just barely held myself together when I spoke and lit the fire.” Ethan’s chest felt tight at the memory as the scent of his sadness filled the jet.

Dorian reached out to his friend as Aiden kissed the side of his mate’s head. “I’m so sorry we had to do that to you. But just like with Karissa, you had to believe you failed for this to work.”

“I couldn’t even look at Levi during the funeral, or I would have likely done something to him there.” Ethan wiped the tears from his eyes. “Casey, with one of his stupid comments, defused me at the meeting just before I really did lose control. They finally told me he was alive just before we boarded the jet.”

“Is that why you punched Aiden’s arm earlier?” Karissa tried not to laugh as Ethan nodded.

“It’s just lucky in all the confusion, Levi never recognized the four of us.” Cody snuggled into Casey’s arms on the couch they sat on. “This is so much nicer than flying commercial. Can we do this every time we travel?”

Karissa faced the window for a moment and took a deep breath. “Okay, so let me see if I understand. Ethan used his plants and magic to make you appear dead and saved you from the poison. The other guys drove you off and swapped your body for an easy replacement. We had a beautiful funeral and finally that meeting where Ethan and Aiden were named alpha. If you’re alive, why are they now leading your pack? Why aren’t you hunting those bastards down?”

Dorian laughed as he rubbed his nose against hers. “We took down the McKinney family in this, but they had a lot of supporters. My life there’s over. Even with that family on the run, if anyone figures out I’m alive, there’ll be a price on my head. Once Levi sent that text, my only way out was to die. A part of me wants to fight them and take vengeance for everything they did; to be able to have the dignified death of an alpha in combat rather than slinking away and hiding.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips. “But I’m not single anymore and I’m not willing to give up my life with you before it’s truly started. Your beta, enforcer, and guards, plus Ethan’s guys are the only ones who know I’m alive. We didn’t even tell Marshal or my mom. I hope the family will be able to know someday.”

Karissa felt more tears fill her eyes as everything sank in. “So what’s the plan now?”

“We have a couple options.” Dorian paused to take a deep breath. “John Stockdale offered to hide me in his territory or…”

“Or what?”

“Or I return to your territory and be the kept mate to a powerful alpha?”

“You bet your ass you’re coming home with me. We’ll figure something out, and my pack will keep you hidden. I don’t care if we tell people I used IVF, but I’m giving you the pups we dreamed of.”

When she finally separated from Dorian, Karissa went to each of the men who saved his life and hugged them deeply. “Thank you all for giving him back to me. We owe you a debt that can never be repaid.”

“All we ask is to be named uncles to your pups.” Aiden wrapped his arm around Ethan as Darius, Casey, and Cody nodded.

“Welcome to the first day of your new life as an alpha’s mate, Dorian. Now you can put what you said at those meetings into action.” Ethan was all giggles now.

“Wherever my alpha leads, I will gladly follow.” Dorian rested his forehead against hers. “My duty now is to support you and your pack. By the way, I did imprint on you too. If you’ll have me, I formally declare myself before our friends as your faithful mate. My life is yours, my alpha.”

The End