by Ellen Lane
In the end, not even his brother was able to bring him to heel.
Ephraim had always been the weak link in their pack - turning brother against brother and fomenting chaos when it was least needed - but his beliefs appealed to some of the younger, brasher males. It was the only way he’d been able to take over so completely, so quickly.
They were a people of tradition and honor, but Titus liked to think that most wolves weren’t backward enough to want a return to the dark times. At least, he liked to before Ephraim had taken over. Now, he was certain that most wolves in the Dozier pack would do whatever their new Alpha demanded to avoid Ephraim’s wrath.
“You have two choices.” His attention was drawn back to the center of the circle by Ephraim’s smug, low growl. “Join this pack and swear fealty to me - or die like your fellows.”
Their surprise attack on the Belleview pack had been more successful than Titus might have imagined. Thankfully, Ephraim knew his loyalties lie more with Raymond, and so he hadn’t demanded Titus join the ranks of bloodthirsty males. But that didn’t make this ordeal any easier to watch.
They’d dragged back five bodies - one of them just a pup. Two Belleview females were taken alive, and it was they who gazed up at Ephraim from the ground, their expressions horrified and furious.
One with dark hair glared daggers at the Dozier Alpha, her dark eyes defiant. “You killed Jeremiah. He was a babe!”
Every Dozier female could commiserate with this. Fewer and fewer pups were born each year - wolf children were precious. Yet not a single one could look at the mourning mother before them. Instead, Dozier females clutched their own pups to them in fear. Ephraim wouldn’t be kinder to them than he’d been to the Belleview child. If any female put a toe out of line, Titus hadn’t a single doubt that their children would be used against them.
When Ephraim struck the Belleview female across the face, claws extended, Titus swallowed the raw fury that rose in his throat. “You are young,” The Dozier Alpha spat at the female before him. “There will be time for more pups.” Lines of blood rose from three long gashes across her cheek. They wept for a few seconds before beginning to knit together slowly.
Slowly, she shook her head. “I would rather die than have a Dozier touch me.”
Several of the younger males bristled at this, growling and snapping dangerously. Their behavior only seemed to fuel Ephraim’s bloodlust. “Your choice.”
He barked an order and four males set upon her at once. Titus could only watch, sickened at the sight of them tearing her apart. She couldn’t heal faster than they killed her, and within minutes, her lifeless corpse lay in a pool of blood.
Next to her, tears streaked down her companion’s face. The other Belleview had less fire in her eyes, but she was younger. She hadn’t yet had pups.
She would be easier to break.
“What about you, dear one?” Ephraim’s voice was almost gentle as he approached her to lay a bloodstained hand on her head. “Would you rather die as well?”
If Titus had more support, he could stop this. If he could rally more Dozier wolves - if they weren’t terrified of the slow death banishment would bring, or the violence of cold blood murder, they could take Ephraim together. But alone?
The new Alpha had more support. Though Titus was a strong fighter, he doubted he could prevail against six wolves at once. And if he lost, he very much doubted Ephraim would grant him the mercy of a quick death. No, he would exile him.
He couldn’t do his pack any good if he were exiled.
So, he watched as Ephraim took the former Belleview female into their fold. As he immediately gave her to a young male who still had the blood of her companion on his claws.
“My friends, my family. My pack.” Ephraim addressed them all as the newly “mated” male dragged his bounty away. “I know that you, like I, believe that the balance of power in these mountains has long been in the wrong hands. Why should we have less land when we are stronger and more numerous?” He looked to each of them in turn, his eyes gleaming in anticipation. When he locked eyes with Titus, the older male’s hands fisted, his claws drawing bloody furrows against his palms. “The Belleviews have lorded over us for far too long, and their Alpha is weak. We will batter them - beat against them, whittle down their defenses and strike at their very heart. What defiant wolves are left we will scatter to the winds, and we will take their lands for our own. Are you with me?”
Insanity. Sheer insanity.
The divisions between territories had been decided long ago - fought and bled over by the ancestors, who had drawn the divisions in hopes that peace would arise. Though the mountain wasn’t divided exactly in half, the surplus of Belleview land was scant. And they might have been amenable to changing that, if given the opportunity.
What Ephraim was suggesting was the extinction of their pack.
Even if any of the Belleviews survived multiple attacks, being driven from their lands meant certain death. Shifters could survive for a few weeks away from their pack lands, but much more than that and they slowly lost their minds, consumed by homesickness and grief.
They had never been a solitary species.
Titus had always hated Ephraim, but now, for the first time in his life, he plotted the murder of one of his own.
**
Her head was pounding.
Georgia was pretty certain someone had taken a sledgehammer to her temple, and her mouth was filled with cotton balls. Where she would have found cotton in the middle of the forest was beyond her, but here she was, barely conscious and…
Shit.
Though it was an immense struggle, she managed to open her eyes the barest amount. Georgia was surprised to find the lights dim - almost as if it were dusk.
The notion was enough to send her bolting upright in shock.
The accompanying pain in her head and neck forced a low whimper from her throat. What the hell happened? She remembered going for her jog, starting past the fields and onto the forest path…
And fleeing.
She remembered running for her fucking life from three crazed men who had chased her to exhaustion, seeing her life flash before her eyes and then…
Him.
Georgia did her best to regulate her breathing as her eyes adjusted to the low light. She wasn’t among the trees any longer. Instead, she appeared to be in someone’s house. The walls were rough, unfinished logs - at least where they weren’t covered by a series of drawers and shelves. The air smelled heavily of mint, thyme and lavender, and a table nearby was covered with bandages, water bottles and rubber gloves.
Georgia had no idea where she might be - or how she’d arrived there. The last thing she remembered was fleeing the gigantic, naked man who had ripped one of her pursuers apart in his wolf form…
“Shit.” Georgia raised a hand to the nape of her neck, wincing when she felt the bandaged lump there. What time was it? She had to have missed work. People would be worried about her - Everly had been by herself all day.
“Someone’s awake.”
She jumped, almost falling off the table where she lay in surprise. Though Georgia hadn’t heard anyone approach, there was a man in the doorway - a man almost as massive as the one she’d seen in the forest earlier.
He, however, was wearing a pair of jeans slung low on his hips. Georgia’s face flushed as she drew her gaze upwards, over the second pair of mouthwatering abdominal muscles she’d seen that day, skimming over a heavily scarred chest and burly arms - and she gasped.
When the man’s lips quirked upward in a wry smile, it stretched the hideous scar that obscured the right half of his face - and the crag where his eye had been. The discrepancy between the two halves of his face was alarming - one handsome and dark-eyed (eyes that seemed somehow familiar to her) - the other so roughly injured that she couldn’t begin to imagine how much pain it must have caused him.
“Surely I can’t be that scary.” Rather than offended at her reaction, he seemed slightly a
mused. Leaning against the door jamb, he ran a hand through short mahogany locks. “I know the eye is a little disconcerting, but I promise I’m a big softie.”
“I…” Georgia swallowed thickly, unsure of where to start. “Where am I? Who are you?”
“Both valid questions.” Straightening, he crossed the room towards her. When Georgia scooted backward slightly in uncertainty, he stopped, holding up both hands before his chest. “Easy there. Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Georgia’s fingers grazed her head wound carefully. “The bump on the back of my head says differently.”
“Hey, you did that one yourself.” He shrugged. “Ran off a cliff from what I heard. Smacked your head on a tree...and fractured your ankle. That’s going to take forever to heal. Sucks to be you.”
Georgia scowled. “Says the guy with half his face missing.” As soon as the words left her, she felt guilty. She wasn’t normally nearly so callous. “That is...I mean I didn’t-”
“Calm down.” Instead of being angry, her visitor, traipsed over to the empty table across from her, heaving himself onto it in a smooth motion. Once he was situated, he fixed her with his dark gaze again. “I’ve got to live with this for the rest of my life. I’d have pretty thin skin if I let a little thing like you offend me.”
Georgia merely stared at him, unsure of how to reply. At her expression, her visitor grinned - and she had to admit that, despite his facial scarring, he was still a handsome man. “Besides,” He went on, his tone amused, “this took what...three days to heal? I still got a better deal than you.”
Georgia’s eyes widened. Three days? The scarring on his face and body had to be years old. There was no way…
The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. “I’m...I’m still in the mountains, aren’t I?”
“No shit. Last time I checked, our kind didn’t just traipse around in broad daylight in Dockery...unless we’re talking about Duke.” He made a face. “That guy’s a weirdo.”
Shifters.
She was in a goddamned shifter settlement.
Within seconds, Georgia was scrabbling to get down from the table, panic searing through her bloodstream. “I have to get out of here.”
Her mind was suddenly full of violence - the way the shifter she’d encountered had all but ripped one of her assailant’s heads off...the blood that still dripped from his chin even after he’d shifted to human form. Every story that Vincent had told her about the unspeakable things shifters did to their prey assaulted her all at once, and she was certain that she was experiencing her last moments on earth.
As if in opposition to her inner turmoil, her ankle buckled the moment she put weight on it, sharp pain searing up her leg. “Shit, be careful!” Before she spilled onto the floor, Georgia was hauled back upright by strong arms. The ease with which the man plucked from the floor took her breath away. Barely a moment had passed before she was situated on the table once more, the throbbing in her leg almost forgotten. “Jesus, where are you in such a rush to get to? Didn’t you hear me tell you got a bum leg?”
Georgia merely forced herself to take a few deep breaths as she stared at him. It was insane - if she didn’t know he was a shifter, she’d never been able to tell.
“You’re...you’re one of them.”
“No kidding,” he returned dryly. “Me, and the guy who saved you from being eaten by vultures. But I’m guessing that makes no nevermind to you? We’re still monsters? Scum of the earth? Unholy abominations?” The bitterness in her voice told her just how used to all these titles he was.
Guilt squirmed in her gut. “I didn’t mean anything by it,” she managed, wondering how the hell she’d gotten herself into this mess. “I just...I haven’t spent much time with your kind. I’ve only talked to Duke a handful of times and the only time I’ve seen one of you change…” She trailed off, unsure how to explain how seeing someone’s blood spilled so violently had affected her.
He stared at her for a long beat - so long, in fact, that it took everything Georgia had not to squirm under his scrutiny. Finally, he sighed, extending a hand to her. “I’m Hunter.”
It took her a moment to realize that he was introducing himself. Slowly, Georgia extended her own hand to curl around his. “Georgia. I... I’m sorry for freaking out. I promise I’m not...like that.”
That much was true. Georgia liked to believe she wasn’t bigoted against shifters - even after Vincent had tried his damndest to convert her to his ways.
“For your sake, I hope not.” She was nervous until he released her hand, a hint of his smile returning. “You’re awfully little and fragile to go around casting aspersions here.”
The blonde’s mouth turned downwards into a pout. “I’ll have you know I’m tall for a woman! And I’m no skinny-mini either.”
Hunter’s smile widened. “Honey, I’m small for a shifter. I’m sure you can see the difference here.”
Georgia’s eyes widened in shock at his profession. Sure, she knew Duke was pretty damned tall, and the shifter she’d seen in the woods was absolutely huge, but Hunter was no scrawny kid. He had to be at least six-two, six-three, and heavily muscled. “So…” She finally managed, her throat dry, “Who’s the biggest?”
Hunter chuckled lowly. “That would be the Alpha - the Big Bad. I believe you’re already acquainted with him.”
Her mouth dropped open at the implication. “In the woods...with those guys...that was your Alpha?”
“You’re lucky he was passing by,” Hunter returned, scratching at the stubble on his neck. “Usually we wouldn’t interfere with matters on the edge of our territory but, hey...he’s a sucker for a pretty girl.”
Georgia’s face burned. She couldn’t imagine she looked anything near pretty right now. She felt like she’d been through hell, she could feel the grime on her skin. Quickly, she changed the subject. “I need to get home. I have to shower and get cleaned up-”
“Sorry, Sunshine, but you’re not going anywhere for a while. Not on that leg.”
Georgia glanced down at her ankle, wincing at how swollen it was beneath the swathe of bandages that ran up her leg. Broken, but not badly - that’s exactly how it felt. She reached down to touch her calf gingerly. “I need to go to the hospital.”
“Anne’s a healer. “Her head jerked up in surprise to meet Hunter’s gaze. “The woman who treated you. She doesn’t have an MD, but she’s been trained for years. You can’t possibly imagine how many serious injuries we see out here.”
Georgia’s brows furrowed in confusion. “But you have accelerated healing.”
“Doesn’t mean everything ends up peachy just because. A broken leg healing the wrong way can be a bitch. And an infection in a closing wound?” Hunter made a face. “Don’t worry, you’re in good hands.”
Georgia straightened, taking a calming breath. Though Hunter didn’t seem to want to harm her, she still wasn’t keen on staying in a Shifter settlement. Not when no one knew where she was. “Not that I’m not grateful for what you guys have done, but I can’t stay here. I have a job - people will be looking for me-”
“No one leaves.”
Georgia felt the growling baritone statement all the way to her toes. Turning on the table, she looked to see who had interrupted them.
And her heart stopped.
It was the Shifter who had rescued her.
Georgia could immediately see what Hunter meant when he mentioned being small for a shifter. The newcomer had about five inches on him and had to duck his head to get into the doorway. If Georgia thought he was massive when she’d seen him outside, that was nothing compared to the way the man filled a room.
Thank God he was clothed this time - though the old jeans and t-shirt he wore left little to the imagination, hugging slender hips and muscular thighs. Georgia had to tear her gaze from the bulge of his bicep and the veins that meandered down a powerful forearm.
But it was those eyes that got her. Bright, piercing green beneath thick, inky brows.
He appeared to have just showered, his raven hair hanging around the sharp angles of his face in damp waves.
Georgia didn’t think she’d ever seen a man that drew the attention of every atom of her body - but this one did.
Even knowing what he was.
“I…” She finally managed breathlessly, her gaze darting from Hunter to the newcomer. “I... need to get home. I have a sister who-”
“The settlement is on lockdown.” Jesus, that really was his voice. So deep and gravelly that she could practically feel it in her goddamned ovaries. “No one comes in our out.”
“But...why?”
Her answer was a growl that was more animal than human and low sound of surprise escaped her as she scrabbled backward over the table. Sure, this man was gorgeous, but he was also fucking terrifying.
“Christ, Solomon, have a little tact.” Hunter turned to him with a disapproving frown. “You’re going to scare her to death.”
The growl tapered off after a minute before the huge man raked a hand through his damp hair. His eyes hadn’t left Georgia since he entered the room and she felt as if he could see right through her - every secret and insecurity she’d ever wanted to hide. It was both thrilling and frightening. “Stop that.” She jumped at his sudden demand.
“Stop what?”
He growled again and Georgia wasn’t sure if she wanted to flee, screaming, or melt into an amorphous puddle on the floor. “Smelling like that. You can’t smell like that.” He turned to Hunter with a brusque command. “We need to talk.”
With that, he stalked back out the way he’d come, ducking and squeezing through the door. Georgia stared after him, totally nonplussed. She only snapped out of her daze when Hunter groaned, shaking his head. “Sorry about him. He can be kind of...blunt. I’ll be right back.”
He followed after the larger man with what looked like reluctance, pulling the door shut behind him. As soon as Georgia thought he was far enough away that he wouldn’t hear her, she rushed to the door in an awkward limp, determined to escape -
