Freja squeezed her fingers tightly together.Sorry? They’re sorry. Well, that makes everything all better,Freja scoffed internally.
We can rip out their throats and apologize afterward.Ember growled in annoyance. Freja smirked internally. She and her wolf were on the same page.
“I know sorry doesn’t make up for everything. It’s a start though, right?” Erica added, offering an apologetic smile.
Freja inhaled quietly. This person didn’t cause her any direct harm and was also Sam’s aunt. She swallowed some of the bitterness inside her. These people were also helping them out now. In the future, it would be best to all be on good terms with one another. In the end, all Freja could muster was a small nod. She would try, but any words right now would be a lie. Sheunderstood. She would withhold her feelings of forgiveness until after Meryl was killed. They would have to prove to her that they were different, and allowing Meryl to be killed was the first step.
Hunter tugged Freja closer into him, rubbing his hand gently over her side. He could feel her slight tension and could sense her hesitancy. He knew she was holding back and trying to be the leader she needed to be now, and he loved her for it.
He looked up at everyone. “How long before you’ll be ready? We’re ready to attack tonight.”
“We can be ready by then,” Erica said as she looked at the other coven leaders. “Honestly, we need to move quickly. I’m sure she suspects, and we don’t need for her to come up with a plan. We can send a couple of experienced witches to fight alongside you guys. You might need more than Freja’s magic alone. While it is powerful, there are several powerful witches there.”
“If we attack them fast enough, we won’t need magic,” Ander said simply. “Just don’t give the witches enough time to protect themselves.”
“Ideally that works. But just in case, I can have witches on standby.” Erica looked up at Hunter, who nodded.
“That’s probably a good idea. I think I like having the extra precautions. I don’t want to lose anyone on our side.” From the corner of his eye, Hunter looked at Freja. He was going to have his mate with him, and he wanted to make sure she was safe.
“So, where are we headed?” Sam asked, turning his gaze toward his aunt and uncle.
“It’s a couple of hours away from here. We’ll meet up in the trees behind the manor. This way we’ll go unnoticed. If we drive right into their village, our cover will be blown immediately.” Erica looked over at Reed, who then stood up.
“Let’s prepare and meet in four hours. I’ll send you a text with the rendezvous coordinates,” Reed said as the other coven leaders stood to take their leave.
“Thank you. We’ll use this time to go over our plans.” Hunter nodded in appreciation.
“Sam, come with us for a moment. I have a map of the manor that may help you with coordinating your attacks.” Reed watched as Sam trotted over to him, and the group left to go back to their vehicles.
Freja looked over the group in front of her. “Which of you are the fastest?” she asked as she scanned the room. She tilted her chin up at Hunter. “We need the fastest to lead the way. Obviously, this means us first. But who else is considered pretty fast?”
Before Hunter could answer, Tony spoke up. “Alphas will be faster than the other wolves. Ander and I are most likely the next in line when it comes to speed and strength.”
Chasen growled. “Not strength. Speed … probably. But when it comes to strength …” He looked at the two alphas. “I’m stronger than the both of you put together.” He wasn’t being smug about it. It was just a fact. Werebears were stronger than wolves, and he was a guardian. He was supposed to be strong enough to take out a small group of wolves on his own. The purpose of a guardian was to protect the fairies and their kingdom. Though he was different in that aspect. His line was the start of a division from the fairies. He was Hunter's guardian, someone who would never rule Elysia. It was fitting for him to be the guardian of the Werewolf King, though. It actually made sense. While fairy blood flowed in Hunter and he was the Fairy Prince, he wasn’t the standing fairy prince. That title would go to Reiya’s mate. Chasen would be the first guardian who wouldn’t live out his life in Elysia. And he was fine with that.
Sam returned and handed Hunter the blueprints to the manor. Hunter and Freja’s eyes widened when they saw it. The place was huge and had several entrances. There were four of them, to be exact. Hunter rubbed his forehead and sighed loudly. He didn’t like the looks of the size of this place.
“You do realize we’re going to need to split up, right?” Freja said quietly provoking a low growl from Hunter.
“No, Freja. I want you by my side.” Hunter shook his head adamantly.
“Hunter, this is a battle, not a dance. We need to be efficient. We divide up into four groups. Each group will take a different entrance.” Freja pointed at the map as everyone gathered around it. “Tony, Ander, Hunter, and I will each take an entrance. Now, we just need to divide the groups up among us.”
Hunter shook his head as he looked at the blueprints. The place was a maze. The different entrances were on opposite ends and well spread out.
“Hunter … I arguably have more combat experience than you. You’ve sparred and practiced all your life. You’ve recently had a few battles with demon wolves. I’ve been doing this for years. Trust me. We need the fastest at each point.” Freja looked into his stormy eyes as she calmly spoke to him. She wanted to be with Hunter, too. It just wasn’t the practical thing to do. Their job would be to lead others. They needed to believe in one another and have faith in their abilities.
“What happens when we find someone? Do we kill on sight? What if there’s a child in there?” Sam asked, wanting everything to be clear.
Hunter nodded. “I’ve been thinking about this as well. I think everyone should judge the situation for themselves. We’re being told that the adults there are those that can be eliminated. However, I’ll allow you all to make the call between killing andsubduing. I will say this. It was a young girl who injected me with the blood potion, so be on your guard.” He’d let his guard down once. He would not make that mistake again. However, he also wasn’t going to order them all to kill on sight. At the least, they could just subdue the person.
“Chasen, we should also split up,” Jin said as she looked at the map. She saw his wide eyes and she smiled at him. “We need to be rational about this. We’re both powerful and should be dividing our strength. I think one of us should accompany Ander and the other Tony. We need to even out the forces instead of stacking them in one concentrated spot.” Instead of them going with Hunter and Freja, who were both incredibly strong, it would be more beneficial to go with Ander and Tony, who were far weaker in comparison.
Hunter looked up for a moment, then shook his head in frustration. “Okay, this is what we’ll do. “Sam, you’ll go with Jin. Adam, you’ll be with Freja, and Winston, you’ll be with Chasen. Then I’ll divide up the other wolves accordingly.”
“I’ll be with you, Hunter,” a familiar voice said from behind.
Hunter turned his head, his eyes wide. “You don’t need to come along. Your job is to stay here.”
