“Yeah.Any insight?”
Trevor sat back in his chair.“Well, late in his life, Father once told me a story I believe explains why Ray Dorland hatesmeso much,” Trevor said.“Not sure why he’s such a cunt to everyone else, though.”
“Well, share it with the class,” Peyton snarked.
“Ray Dorland’s grandfather, Paul, was an Alpha.Not a Prime, though.He wasn’t in the Staffordshire Pack, but he wanted to mate with my Aunt Margarite, Father’s younger sister.Fortunately, at the time when their paths crossed, she was with several others, and they ran the man off.”
“Your father was Reginald?”Peyton asked.
“Yes.”
“I take it she didn’t feel the same way about Paul?”
“Hardly.Paul wasn’t taking no for an answer, either.Trying to negotiate with their Pack Alpha would’ve been impossible because he was out of the country at the time.
“Father’s father, Lance Clarke—who led the Staffordshire Pack—ordered Father to take care of the problem by any means required.He wanted it done quietly, without anyone in either pack knowing, because he didn’t want to start a war.Lance Clarke hated Paul Dorland’s father for some reason that’s been lost to time, so there were already rocky shoals to navigate.Father didn’t want to take a life if he didn’t have to.He even tried reasoning with the man, but Paul Dorland would have none of it.”
“Did he feel a mate bond for her?”Peyton asked.
“He claimed he did, yet he didn’t take her immediately when he crossed paths with her, despite her being with others.They literally told him to fuck off, and off he fucked.I can’t imagine just walking away had he really felt a true bond.Back then, that was what usually happened in those cases—people were claimed.But my aunt wanted nothing to do with him.Therein lay the problem.Paul Dorland warned my father he’d take her whenever he wanted, and that he’d kill anyone who tried to stop him.So Father resorted to a less-than-ethical but extremely effective means to eliminate the problem.”
“Don’t leave me hanging.What happened?”
“In the middle of the night, Father moved ten pigs into one of Paul Dorland’s pens.In the morning, Grandfather’s men alerted him to the missing pigs.One of their overnight guests happened to be a clueless human constable, and when they followed the tracks…” Trevor shrugged.
“They led to Paul Dorland’s pens,” Peyton said.
“Exactly.And their ears were distinctly notched, so it was easy to tell whose pigs they were.It wasn’t an offense worthy of the death penalty, but Father convinced Grandfather to ask that Paul be shipped to a penal colony in Australia rather than imprisoned.Father rationalized that, as a shifter, the man could easily escape and seek revenge.But shipped to Australia?Well, in 1801, that wasn’t exactly a weekend jaunt, even for a shifter.
“Father said Grandfather was very cross Father didn’t kill the man outright, but he agreed to the punishment.Paul Dorland had been known to steal livestock in the past and had previously been jailed, so it wasn’t out-of-character behavior for the man.”
“I guess that would put a chip on someone’s shoulder,” Peyton said.“Being framed for a crime he didn’t commit despite his past track record.But I thought you told me you had an amicable working relationship with Ray Dorland’s father.”
“I did.Samuel Dorland.Pleasant man.His wife, Hazel Finnian, was a lovely woman.She was a distant cousin of mine, as a matter of fact.Paul Dorland didn’t give up control of his pack willingly.As far as we know, he was the first non-native shifter there.When other shifters arrived, he let them know he was in charge.He was only 20 when he was shipped out, and nearly 100 when he finally claimed a female shifter mate, the daughter of one of the other shifter men who’d ended up there.Four years later, they had Ray’s father, Samuel, who was a Prime Alpha.”
“So your dad PG-rated Sweeney Todded Paul Dorland?”Peyton asked.“I mean, okay, I get why that would upset the man, but Ray is the third generation out.Why doeshehave a perennial bug up his ass?I would understand it if his father were the one who was pissed off.But Ray’s an asshole to everyone.”
“Paul Dorland didn’t relinquish his position as Pack Alpha willingly.When Samuel turned eighteen, he challenged his father to be Pack Alpha.Publicly.Asked him to gracefully step aside as the elder statesman and let the new generation take over.Or get his throat ripped out.That was a PR disaster for Paul, because very few people liked him.Knowing all of that, he took a knee to save his hide.Due to his age and his son being a Prime Alpha, Samuel could have easily kicked his arse.So life went on.
“Ray was born first, but he wasn’t a Prime.From what I’ve been told, Paul Dorland clung to young Ray from when he was born and groomed him as if he were the anointed one to take over the pack from Samuel.”
“The power behind the throne?”Peyton asked.
“I suppose you could call it that.But then Ray’s brother Harvey was born five years later.A Prime Alpha.Samuel made it widely known he was grooming Harvey to become the next Pack Alpha.”
“Uh-oh,” Peyton said.“I see where this is going.”
“When Harvey was eighteen, he died under mysterious circumstances,” Trevor continued.“But both Ray and Paul had solid alibis, and it was declared an accident.”
“Why didn’t people suspect Ray?”
“Supposedly, he claimed he was fine with Harvey taking over as Pack Alpha.Claimed he didn’t want it, anyway.And everyone believed him.”
“And then oops, Ray’s parents were killed, and suddenly Ray’s stepping up as Pack Alpha,” Peyton said.
“Exactly,” Trevor said.“Five years after Harvey died.”
“Throw in a red wedding, and you have a cable channel mini-series,” Ken snarked.
