Beta Raymond's body was cold and unmoving, and his clothes were torn in a few places to reveal wounds that resembled ghastly flowers from horror movies. The flesh opened outwardly like it exploded from the inside.
Arya reached to put her finger on Beta Raymond's neck. "I can feel a pulse!"
Talia moved quickly in an attempt to heal him.
'Stop,' Liseli said before Talia's palms lit up. 'He has silver and wolfsbane in his system. You can close the wounds, but silver is preventing healing, and wolfsbane is killing him. His wolf is gone already. To be honest, I have no idea how he is still alive.'
Talia was not willing to accept this outcome. What if they remove silver and wolfsbane? There are blood transfusions and surgeries and… "Doctor! We need to call a doctor."
"We don't have a doctor here," James said. "There is nothing we can do."
"We need to do something!" Talia shouted. "Amelia! Transport him to the Dark Howlers pack. Doctor Travis will help him!"
As if he could hear her, Beta Raymond's eyes opened slightly.
"Who…?" He breathed.
They were all surprised to hear him talk.
James moved closer to Beta Raymond's face. "It's me, James. Who did this to you?"
"Edward? I told you… not to…" Beta Raymond froze like someone pushed a pause button.
James frowned when he realized that Beta Raymond had breathed his last. He reached to close the man's eyes while trying to decipher Beta Raymond's last words.
Talia's eyes swelled with tears. Why did she feel sorry for this man?
"He thought that Alpha Edward was here, which means that he didn't know Alpha was dead," James said.
"Or he was rambling because he was delusional," Arya said.
James looked at Talia, whose chin was trembling, and he saw Amelia at the door with her hand over her mouth to muffle her sobs.
Keith, Arya, and James saw a lot of gruesome stuff, but Talia and Amelia didn't, and they took it badly. It was one thing to see a body and a different one to see a person dying.
James waved at Keith. "Take Talia and Amelia away from here. We should clean this up so we can see what these documents are."
Keith took Talia by the shoulders and pulled her up to stand. "Can you walk, or should I carry you?"
"Let me carry her," Arya volunteered.
Keith refused. "I will do it."
"I can walk," Talia said weakly. "I don't want to leave. I'm fine. I will be fine. I just need a minute. Arya, you can go with Amelia upstairs. We won't be opening another door now." Or maybe they should, to see if there were more half-dead people inside.
Arya was not willing to leave Talia's side, but she couldn't refuse. "I will be back as soon as I escort Amelia to Liam."
Liseli could feel Talia's emotions, and she knew that Talia had many questions and no answers. Unfortunately, there was not much they could do.
"Did any of you see Beta Raymond at the event?" James asked.
"He was on the video footage, going into the forest," Keith reminded James. "How did he get here?"
James shook his head. "We saw a guy who looks like Beta Raymond walk into the forest."
"Are you saying that was not him?" Keith asked.
"Clothes don't match," James said. "The guy on the video was wearing a black suit, and this…" James gestured at the body. The gray polo shirt and jeans were in bad shape and colored with dried blood. "This is what Beta Raymond was wearing earlier that afternoon when we met with Ana in Alpha Edward's office."
Talia's brows furrowed as she thought of something. "No one saw Beta Raymond at the party, yet we saw someone looking like Beta Raymond walk into the forest after the birthday cake was cut. We don't know what disguise he had on, but it was good enough to move through the packhouse and walk away without being stopped. It was not just the appearance, but his scent as well."
Keith was alerted. "Do you think it was a Guardian?"
Talia confirmed. "That would explain why Beta Raymond didn't show up at the party. He was here. The impostor didn't enter the event hall because he was not confident he would fool people close to Beta Raymond, or maybe because Sandy was there."
"I thought you said that only one Guardian has the ability to disguise himself, the one we found in the Midnight Guardians pack," Keith reminded Talia. "And only he knew what Sandy could do."
"True," Talia confirmed. "His mind was compromised, but maybe he remembered." Or maybe someone forcibly picked his memories, just as Talia and Liseli did to Vincent.
Keith pursed his lips. "That still doesn't explain how he was disguised to the point of no one seeing or smelling the difference."
Talia thought for a moment before responding, "If I can take away abilities, what's to say that some Guardians can't grant them?" It was a long shot, but it was a possibility.
Talia and Keith turned to look at James, silently asking him for his opinion.
"It sounds crazy, but that could explain why no attack happened at the event," James said after some time. "Assuming their target was Alpha Natalia, they knew that caution was the priority. They want her alive. Sandy was an unexpected variable, so they backed off. For now."
"How does Beta Raymond fit into that picture?" Keith asked.
James shrugged. "Maybe he worked with the Guardians to let them in. Or maybe Alpha Edward was working with the Guardians, and Raymond was snooping until he found out more than he should." It was such a mess.
Declyn entered a room to find Gregory staring at the map of North America. It had outlined new borders of packs that were set after they divided the territory of the Red Moon pack. It was glaringly obvious that the Dark Howlers pack gained more influence.
"Is everything ready?" Gregory asked Declyn.
Instead of answering, Declyn asked his own question. "Are you sure we should go with it? Why don't we wait to see how these changes are impacting the balance between the packs."
Gregory shook his head. "Just like any other power shift between the packs, this one will be temporary and not worth mentioning. Alpha Talia is an Alpha with the Guardian bloodline. You tried talking to her, I tried talking to her, and we invited her here politely, but it didn't work. If you have other suggestions that don't include waiting, I'm all ears."
Declyn's eyes moved to the map. "She is strong and surrounded by allies. This can backfire in so many ways."
Gregory waved his hand, indicating that it was not important. "Treat them as flies. If they stay away, we will let them be. The only one that can impact our plans is Alpha Damon, and we will deal with him. As for Talia, no matter how powerful she is, she is just one female and can't be in too many places at once." Gregory narrowed his eyes at Declyn. "Are you going to turn your back on me now? Are you going to turn back on our people? On what's left of our people?"
"I would be an asshole if I said yes."
"And you are not an asshole, Declyn. Get our people moving. It's time."
