ALLIE: Me three. We have way too much to catch up on. Heaven, where are you? The briefing is beginning, and Matherson doesn’t look impressed.
ALLIE: And what happened with Holden?
HEAVEN: On my way. I’ll tell you two later. Speak to you then, bye Si. Xx
I put my phone away and whisper a spell, opening a portal. I focus on the door to the room I need to be in and step through, knocking into someone.
“Easy there.” Theo’s voice comes, and I feel a strong arm wrap around my waist. My heart skips a beat, his scent hits my nose, and I hate how my stomach reacts. He smirks when he sees it’s me. “Really, Blondie, it seems to me you’re always looking for a way back into my arms.”
I stare into his blue eyes for a second before I blink, roll my eyes and push away from him.
Stop getting in my way,I write haughtily with a flick of my hair before reaching for the door.
“You’re the one getting in my space, Blondie,” he answers as he beats me to it and pushes it open. I frown at him beforestepping inside.
“Take a seat,” Alpha Matherson says, motioning to two empty seats.
Allie cocks a brow questioningly. “Where did you go?” she asks Theo, who simply raises his eyebrows at her.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he answers condescendingly.
“Right, let’s get down to business,” Alpha Matherson says as he hands us all a file, which is pretty thick. Jayce is the first to flip it open.
“There’s some disturbing content in there, but it’s vital you all know. Head Commander Maria has already made it clear that going forward, all years will be filled in regarding what is happening out there. As those who are actively training to be on that battlefield, it’s best for you know exactly what you will face.”
There’s silence, save the sound of shuffling paper as we all open to the first page.
“This first mission was led by the Queen Luna. Reports of an attack on the Elixir Pack by the Indomitable were reported, and three squadrons of 10 men each were sent. However, upon arrival, they were faced by something we weren’t expecting.” Matherson is speaking as if he’s repeated this report several times, but my eyes are on the photos that he has included in the file.
“They arrived at the pack to find it teeming with wraiths. It’s been confirmed that the wraiths are working alongside the Indomitable and have killed many humans, taking on their identities. The witches are working on increasing supplies ofephedra, nightshade, and harpagophytum so we can kill them. The Elixir Pack was almost wiped out, and from the three squadrons, seven men were killed while trying to get the survivors to safety. The Queen Luna herself suffered severe injuries.”
Azura…
“We’re on the defence. We need to move to the offence,” Jayce says, now looking at Alpha Matherson. “We need to find them and take out their numbers. We barely know anything about them, and yet they are weeding us out pack by pack.”
“There are many who are trying to do just that, but so far, we have found nothing, despite all the efforts made,” Alpha Matherson says gravely.
The room is silent, but everyone is lost in thought. I look down at the file. Infiltration might be the best way, but it’s a risk… The one we send in would have to do things they won’t be able to live with. And they may not even make it; they could be discovered. It would take years to build trust, years that we don’t have.
“Moving on, there’s been activity in the force shield in the Siberian Wastelands. Something finally came out of that shield.”
“What was it?” Carter asks sharply.
“At the moment, we do not know. Crown Prince Mikhail Petrov of the vampires managed to kill it, but it killed at least twenty-seven men before he succeeded in destroying it. Turn to the next page.” Alpha Matherson’s face has darkened.
We all do as he says. The atmosphere in the room is grim and heavy. I turn the page over, and it’s a scripted message thatwas most likely transcribed from a voice message.
They’re moved in. The Indomitable want to take control of the Siberian Wastelands. After seven skirmishes and 64 dead, we can confirm that we are officially at war here. I repeat, we are at war. Enemies’ numbers are estimated in the thousands…
I look up.So much has happened,I write.Alpha Matherson nods gravely, not fazed by me writing what I want to say. I guess he’s been informed.
“I think it’s time to share the majority of the tomes we got from Egypt. We are at war; there’s no point in gatekeeping knowledge. Even if the enemy gets some of this information, it’s fine if it means we save a few lives by sharing it,” Jayce says.
“I don’t know how Leo will feel about that,” Renji says, with a concerned expression on his face.
“The tomes are mine, and I get to choose what I decide to do with them,” Jayce counters, his eyes cold.
“This says that…” Allie looks up, pointing at the next page. “Alpha… Alejandro is going to go to Russia?” Her voice is level, but I don’t miss the glimmer of red in her eyes as her lycan surfaces.
