Chapter 29

The embers of the pyres that burned the bodies of the fallen were still smoldering on their sacred hill behind the Alpha pair’s house and the war council was already gathered in Adam’s office.

Tommy was sitting on Adam’s left side, Sutan on the right. Zane, Janice and his Beta, Chuck were occupying the opposite couch, while Eber was in an armchair, his two Betas standing on his sides in silence.

“We gathered here today to reflect on what happened in the ball room. Queen Ashley is held captive by Julien and we lost members of our wolf families. That calls for retribution. Our packs want blood. I’m right to say that, correct?” Adam looked around, his blue eyes dead serious and it was clear that it took him quite some effort to stay level-headed. No one could blame him, though. In a short amount of time he had lost more wolves from his pack than he ever thought he would. And because of a blood-traitor vampire who made a pact with their sworn enemy, the hunters.

It was still kinda hard for them all to wrap their minds around that. It was unheard of in both species’ history and it only showed how far Julien was willing to go for power.

“Yes,” Zane growled while the others nodded.

“We have to figure out our next step. The war is on and I’m afraid only the LA pack won’t be enough to deal with this. So like yesterday, I ask for your pack’s help and support. We have to have a united front and strike together. We can’t afford to lose more people.”

“And we can’t let Julien become even more powerful and influential than he already is,” Tommy continued his Mate’s line of thoughts. They had talked about this after getting in bed to try grabbing some much needed sleep. Needless to say, it was difficult to get any. They also talked about how useful the Oxnard pack was during the fight too. Well, they had no doubt about Eber’s pack, the San Diego wolves proved to be helpful in the past, but it was a good sign that Zane didn’t have second thoughts. Not to mention that now the signed contract officially bound him too to help.

“What are you suggesting?” Eber lightly frowned.

“We have to infiltrate their mansion and save her to stop Julien from forcing that wedding on her and absorb the power that would come with the Vampire King’s position.”

“That place is like a fortress, full of vampires and probably he still has the hunters around as reinforcement. We don’t know yet what’s his end game with them. Aside from thinning our numbers with their help, of course. We could walk right into a trap. It’s a suicide mission,” Eber shook his head.

“I have to object,” Tommy continued. “At the moment we have a handful of vampires in a safe place. They are loyal to Ashley. They could help. They know the place and are willing to lend us a hand. They want to save their Queen. Also, don’t forget the three hunters we managed to capture yesterday. They are in the basement. Sutan is going to continue interrogating them once we are done here.”

“And you trust those vampires?” Eber’s frown deepened.

“Yes, that’s the million dollar question,” Zane tilted his head to the side, thinking. “After all that had happened, can these vamps be trusted?”

“As Adam said, we are officially at war now. And in wars we have to take risks.”

“To save your… vampire friend while risking all of our lives?” Eber huffed. He obviously had a deeper running hatred for the bloodsuckers. One could say he had a more traditional point of view of them.

“Not just to save the Queen. It’s not just about her being my friend and stopping Julien from getting stronger. It’s about the future too. If we succeed, the whole LA vampire coven and even the Council would be in our dept. Can’t you see? It would be a solid base to keep up the peace between our species for a very long time. Vampires tend to forget even less than our kind.”

“Not to mention…” here Adam put his hand on his Mate’s knee “that together with Ashley’s vampires we could also eliminate the hunters in our territories.”

“For now,” Zane noted. “We’ll also have to come up with a more effective way to monitor their movements in the future, because they obviously managed to sneak in too easily under your watch,” he waved with his hand, ignoring Janice’s slightly worried side-glance or Eber’s growl. “Hey, easy. I’m just stating the facts.”

“He’s right, dad,” Adam nodded, looking at the older Alpha. “Our methods are obviously outdated. The hunters got cleverer about moving into our territories undetected.”

“If Zane or anyone else will have any suggestions about that problem, I’m going to be willing to work on it with them,” Sutan said. “As the LA pack’s shaman, I feel partly responsible for their high number in our city. I should have seen them coming, but apparently something clouded my third eye. Which is unusual,” the lean wolf frowned still puzzled about his ‘failure’.

“Let’s stop blaming ourselves or each other. That won’t help us solve our situation. We have to focus on the vampire problem. I’d like all present parties to vote about the rescue mission. I believe my Mate summed up his plan quite well. We have to decide if we want to go with it or not and continue accordingly with working out our strategy after some more direct interrogation of the captured hunters,” the freckled Alpha suggested. “So… those in favor of the rescue plan?” he looked around while – not surprisingly – he, Tommy and Sutan raised their right hands in the air.

Rubbing his chin Zane looked at Janice and his Beta and when the latter nodded, the Alpha raised his hand too. Now they were waiting only on Eber’s vote.

“We’ll have to take this to the packs too. It affects them as well. I don’t want to force them to risk their lives and fight for/with vampires if they don’t want to.”

“Of course. We won’t force anyone. They’ll have a choice,” Adam nodded.

“Alright. Then I’ll support the plan too.”

“Thank you, dad.”

Some of the tension bled out of Tommy’s body. After interrogating the hunters some more, now they’ll only have to persuade the pack members to help. Because despite the fact that an Alpha’s word was law, in the LA and San Diego pack the leaders liked to listen to the opinions of their wolf family before making a final decision about such important plans.

***

While Eber and Sutan continued questioning the captured hunters, Adam, Tommy and Zane gathered the three packs on the hill behind the house. Their number was so big that they wouldn’t be able to fit into the LA pack house comfortably.

Everyone already knew about the reason they gathered there in full number, because their Alphas had already briefed them about the situation and the plan to give them some time to think about it and make their decision before they officially asked for volunteers.

“You all know why we’re here so I won’t repeat the reason. But before the Alphas ask for volunteers, if anyone has anything to say or ask, now is the time to speak up. We’ll listen to your input and take it into consideration,” Adam cut to the chase, standing on top of his usual rock, Zane and Tommy by his side while the packs were standing on the clearing more or less mixed. Just like their emotions felt to their leaders.

“Is this really a good idea? Haven’t we already lost enough family members because of the vampires and hunters?” Viola, a Gamma from the LA pack asked and some murmured in agreement.

“That’s sadly true…” Adam sighed then nodded to Terrance who asked to talk.

“But you all know how this could benefit the packs on the long-run. Our Alphas told us the specific reasons why this fight should happen. It’s a step towards a lasting peace between us wolves and the vampires, not to mention that we could get our revenge by wiping out the hunters and the traitor vamps who recently managed to do unspeakable damage to our ranks. Killing most of our young and their protectors. And don’t forget the bombing,” Terrance said on a clear and strong voice, looking each wolf who were affected by these things into the eye. “You want retaliation for these things, don’t you?” he looked around once more and Adam sent him a thankful look for voicing his support.

An agreeing round of murmurs and growls ran across the clearing.

Tommy took a step forward too and all eyes darted to his smaller form standing next to the bigger Alphas. Though the power and confidence he was radiating compensated what he lacked in his physical form compared to the other males. “I’ve talked to the vampires who’re loyal to Ashley and helped us fight at the venue. They are on our side and are willing to put aside our deeply rooted differences to work towards a better future for both species. They don’t want to break the peace treaty between us. Julien would only bring mayhem and more death to us. Queen Ashley is a key figure towards that better future. That’s why we have to take this step now. Before it’s too late.”

“My Mate is right,” Adam took the lead again. “None of us will force any of you to fight. You have a choice in this matter. We’ll accept and understand however you choose. So those who want to fight with us on the vampires’ side, please step forward, and those who wish to stay, give room to the volunteers.”

For a few nerve-wrecking moments there was dead silence and nobody moved. Tommy held his breath, because it mattered how many would fight on their side. The more volunteers, the more chance they would have to win against their enemy.

Neil, Terrance, Isaac, Longineu, Oliver and some of the San Diego pack were the first to step forward. Then to the blond’s surprise most of Zane’s pack followed suit, including Janice. After that the majority of the gathered wolves followed their example one by one, leaving behind mostly just those who were too young to fight and their protectors – like Scarlet (who was also pregnant).

Tommy felt proud of the wolves and it was a feeling he shared with Adam. It was an important moment regarding deepening their alliance between the packs too.

“Thank you everyone. It’s heart-warming to see such union among our ranks. Our enemy won’t stand a chance against us,” Adam smiled bright. “Your Alphas and Betas will brief you about the details later. Now go rest, eat and enjoy each others’ company. We’ll attack in two days,” he finished, dismissing everyone.

“This went better than I expected,” he murmured to Tommy who just nodded and smiled up at his Mate.

But they still had a lot to do.

***

The tension was palpable in the air as the wolves were getting spread out to take their position before the attack. It was an hour before sundown, because most of the vampires would be asleep and a surprise attack would work better than at night when they were in their full power.

“What do you think?” Tommy asked Adam as they were sitting in a van, observing the tall stone walls with barbwire at the top, some heavily armed humans – probably hunters – patrolling with dogs on their sides.

“I think aside from their ghouls, there are hunters among the guards too,” the Alpha murmured.

“I was thinking the same. Which means silver bullets. We all have to be careful.”

“Yes. Ashley’s vampires can join us in an hour once the sun sets. Until then it’s just us. I hope it’ll be enough to get in and eliminate as many vampires as possible. Though our priority is to free Ashley.”

“We’ll focus our force on that. Isaac and Oliver’s team will sneak in through a secret tunnel to sabotage the security system. The rest we’ll see. Do you feel it?” he asked frowning.

“You mean that bad feeling?

“Yes,” Tommy nodded. He couldn’t help it. It’s been there for hours now. And it wasn’t only about the fight. Something was going to happen. His and apparently Adam’s wolf could feel it too. There was a disturbance in the pack bond, but they couldn’t pinpoint it – and frankly, they didn’t have the time to take a closer look now that time was a key element in the surprise attack. They had to move before the sun could set.

“We’ll look into it after the attack. If we survive it.”

“Of course we will!” Tommy snorted, turning in his seat to look at his Mate. “Don’t be silly.”

“You can’t know that for sure,” the blue eyes met the brown ones.

“Adam, it’s not the time to doubt our skills. We gonna win this fight and come back in one piece. We’re stronger than ever since our Mating and we have allies. Never forget that,” Tommy’s frown deepened.

Adam sighed and finally nodded. “I know. I’m just… tired of the fighting. I want this all to be over. I want peace. Lead our pack and live our life without having to deal with shit like this.”

“I know. Right here, right now we’re working towards that, love,” Tommy said on a softer tone and slid a hand onto the freckled face. “Victory will be ours. I’m sure of it,” he whispered and leaned close to kiss his Mate. “Promise me you’ll give your all and don’t you dare die on me now that I finally found you and stopped being a pain in the ass!” he smirked.

The Alpha chuckled low then lightly shook his head. “Tommy, you’re something else. But yes, I promise. I’ll do that. Then once we get home, I’ll show you just how much I appreciate that you love me,” he winked with some heat behind his words and look.

“Can’t wait, loverboy. Now let’s get going. Everyone’s in position. Time to roll!” he winked and stole another kiss before getting out of the van.

It was time for the final battle.