"Ian," Rich said.  "I would appreciate some privacy while I worked.  I don't want anyone in here until Reinard gets back."  Once the second-eldest lycan had left, he got to work.<br/><br/>The surgery went well, better than Rich had expected.  Five minutes into it, half the dead flesh had been removed.  As he had wiped his brow with the back of his sleeve, the Alpha had noticed that the dark lines of necrofied veins and arteries had already begun to soften and fade.  The argentophiles had done their job: the silver had been rendered harmless, and now Alice's body was quickly repairing the damage.<br/><br/>Thirty minutes later, the graze was ready to be bandaged.  The dead, blackened tissue was gone, replaced instead with the dark pink of fat and muscle.  Bleeding had been an issue but as long as she didn't try to move around or sit up for a day or two - injury regardless - Alice would make up for the lost blood without any lasting effects.  The macabre spiderweb of blackened veins was nearly gone, only a few wisps visible beneath her too-pale skin.<br/><br/>Rich looked upon her face as he unwound a long strip of gauze.  Alice was just as beautiful as she had been when he had first found her.  A pretty face set beneath long, orange-red hair.  Dazzling by lycan standards, she would've easily outclassed any<em>human</em>female.<br/><br/>And she was a lycan!  That was<em>most </em>important.  Rich was no fool; he knew what his packmembers thought of the population crisis.  But the Alpha was a purist.  The idea of bedding humans, even for procreative purposes, had never crossed his mind.  When he had first heard the suggestion, his reaction had been rage.  Contaminate the superior lycan gene pool with inferior<em>human</em>bitches!?  Werewolves would be better off extinct than turned into halfbreeds, dependent on humans for survival.<br/><br/>His packmembers were not so focused on preserving their heritage.  Rich had feared that they may even try to challenge his position as Alpha, solely over their disagreement on the population crisis.  And if Alice had died, they surely would've.<br/><br/>He grinned, folding the gauze onto itself and forming a thick bandage.   But Alice had survived.  How could they even consider breeding with humans when they had a lycan female<em>right here</em>in their pack?  If she turned out to be sterile, they could focus on curing her infertility.<br/><br/>Despite their willingness to reproduce with humans, his packmembers would still want to be with Alice.  She<em>was</em>a lycan, after all, and beautiful even by their superhuman standards.  Should he pass her around, a whore solely for the pack's enjoyment?  It would surely raise moral and solidify their trust in their leader.  But...<br/><br/>Could he subject her to that?<br/><br/>His hand reached out and lightly brushed along Alice's forehead.  He could see her eyes moving back and forth under her eyelids; dreaming, maybe.<br/><br/>No, he couldn't do that to her.<br/><br/>Rich nodded, his mouth set in a thin line as he made his decision.  Once she had recovered, Alice would be his mate, and his alone.  The pack would not touch her.  They may not like it, but he was the Alpha.  He would make them obey.<br/><br/><div align="center">*   *   *</div><br/>After he had bandaged up the bullet wound and set up the IV drip from the surgical kit, Rich had cautiously picked up Alice.  Careful not to agitate the wound, he moved her to one of the three couches scattered around the gathering hall.  Rich set her down on a plush red one, propping her head up with a pillow.  The wound was cleaned and covered, and he had hurriedly sewn the side of her dress back together.  It wouldn't be wearable after she woke up, but it would do until Reinard returned with clothing.<br/><br/>Rich paused as he stood over her, split in his decision to have her as his mate.  It had been a hasty decision, of that there was no doubt.  On one hand, he desired her immensely, but it was a purely physical attraction.  He knew next to nothing about who she was, or what she was like.<br/><br/>How could he justify mating with her?  The population crisis?  Would she understand why she needed to be used?  Would she even be willing?<br/><br/>Was it worth it?<br/><br/>Rich balled his hands into fists, frustrated by all the unknowns.  He'd find out soon enough, though.  For now, he'd bide his time.  Better to not even bring up mating and the population crisis, at least not until he understood Alice.<br/><br/>Somewhat reassured, he pulled himself away from the female lycan, pausing one last time to make sure she'd be comfortable when she woke up.<br/><br/>"Well, back to work," Rich acquitted, focusing on what to do with her while she recovered.  She would need some place to sleep after all.  He quickly decided on the "Pool Closet", a medium sized room off the gathering hall furnished with large, tasteful photographs from around the Olympic Peninsula.  A large pool table rested in the middle, the only furniture.  Rich broke it down, hauled it out into the gathering hall, and reassembled it near the wet bar.<br/><br/>Next, he broke down his own bed in the master suite located behind the thick wall at the south end of the building.  He left the mattress and sheets, knowing Reinard - always the reliable one - would return with the proper bedding for Alice.<br/><br/>By the time Rich had finished setting up his, now Alice's, bed frame in her temporary room, he heard the door open.  Must be Reinard.<br/><br/><em>"So where do I put her things?"</em><br/><br/>Rich stepped out of Alice's room.  "Right into the Pool Closet, Reinard.  I'll grab the mattress."<br/><br/>When he returned, he dropped the mattress right onto the bed frame.  Then, looking over the clothing and bedding, "Good job, Reinard."  He looked up at his lycan, grinning.  "I thought you would've been lost shopping for her clothing."<br/><br/>Chuckling, Rich realized it had been a full two and a half hours since he had injected Alice with the anesthetic.  Knowing she should be coming out of the induced sleep by now, if she hadn't already, he walked back into the Hall to check on her.