This chapter was inspired by the prompt: Have a character shriek like a banshee.
Chapter Twenty-three
“What are we going to do? Just surround the
territory and attack? Use whatever means necessary on the bastard to get
information on where the rest of the scientists are? It had to be that guy who
followed us and Trein, or they would’ve been at that hunter’s camp.” Taking out
the bastard what I’d wanted to do after Trein’s man attacked me to kidnap
Ritch, but my personal desires had to be pushed aside. Now that we had evidence
the man was complicit, and a murderer, I had free rein to kill the fucker.
Deke rolled his eyes. “No, Park, we are not
just going to surround the territory and attack. The eagles are scouting for
us. Ritch gave us the layout of Trein’s compound, but if he’s involved in these
experiments, they can’t be happening openly where his clan gathers. No matter
how much he has them under his thumb, the risk would be too great. But he has a
lot of access to thick woods and mountains beyond his property—state land that
is only too remote to patrol by humans.”
“Perfect for hiding an army.”
The bear’s beta asked, “But there are only
so many human werekin, and what about the souls? They’d have to kill so many of
us to get that many. Even we would have heard about it in our solitary dens.
How can they have an army?” The rest of the betas and alphas were waiting in
clumps, talking quietly while we waited for Landon’s clan to report.
“My mate brought up an idea that I
hesitated to consider, but it has validity. There hasn’t been a wholesale
slaughter of the clans to steal souls, but when the doctor was experimenting on
him, he was attempting to isolate the different souls in Kraig’s body.” Deke
flashed his fangs. “He succeeded in being able to suppress and enhance one or
the other, sending Kraig into a feral state. His souls, a bonded pair, cause
him to act as if they’ve been ripped apart by the death of the other.” He took
a deep breath. “What if they found a way to rip a single soul apart, into an
untold number of pieces, and mingle it with a human’s spirit? In that way, they
could create a feral army, humans who’d gone wild and uncontrollable in a feral
state.”
Silence fell over the group.
“But… but that’s impossible.”
“So is joining two souls that used to
belong to two bonded werekin in a human werekin’s body. They’ve already done
the impossible.” My stomach cramped with fear at what we might face. I’d
thought about scientists, guards to protect them, a few complicit human werekin
and clans… but I’d secretly been as skeptical of an army as the faceless guard
who’d spoke up.
I only hoped I could stay alive to keep my
promises to Ritch.
A call from the perimeter of the meet up
sent everyone on alert, but it was just Landon with his men. The wolves had
joined them, and now our group was complete again. “What did you find out?”
Deke asked.
“The car on the video parked outside of
Trein’s house.” Landon pulled out a tablet. “We used silent glider drones to
take these videos.”
I marked the placement of all the guards on
the main map. “There are a lot of patrols.”
Landon nodded. “We’ll have to use stealth
to take most of them out if we want to get in close enough to attack the
houses. The doors and windows are all fortified on Trein’s house, but his clans
are far more vulnerable.”
“We’re not going to kill them all, are we?”
As non-predators, the antelope clan was less inclined toward violence, but they
were fast and nimble, a boon on this mission. “Women and children?” The herds
protected the vulnerable.
“Whenever possible, mercy is to be given to
the non-combatants. I say we allow the herd clans to take them to this building.”
It was a small school. “Round up anyone who isn’t a threat and put them in the
rooms and keep them quiet.”
Victor spit. “What if some of those cowards
surrender? I don’t relish killing someone who isn’t fighting back.”
“Commit a small contingent of guards to
hold them on the opposite side of the territory. Restrain them”—we all had
restraints rated for bonded werekin—“and dump them. The goal is to take out
Trein and his beta as well as his guards, but not kill them.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but Deke held
up a hand. “Yet. We need to know exactly where the scientists are. Why was that
human was so important they risked coming onto my territory and killing guards
to take him? How many other clans are in on it?”
He had far too many points for me to argue.
A sick sense of pleasure shot through me. Maybe I’d get to be the one who
tortured the answers out of Trein. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to avenge
Ritch’s abuse at his hands and the capture and experimenting of my brother.
“Are
we going to keep talking about how we’re going to do this, or are we going to
do it? The night is fading.”
“Let’s go.” The grim finality in Deke’s
voice and the hardness in his eyes aged him. I didn’t know if my face had
undergone the same transformation, but I met his gaze and held it. He was my
alpha, my best friend, my brother’s mate.
“Be careful.” I’d already assigned two
guards to flank him at all times and protect his back.
“You too.”
We moved to the borders of Trein’s
territory, then stalked his guards one by one. We were nearly to his inner
compound when one guard shrieked like a banshee as he died. Our element of
surprise was gone.
I bolted for the houses I could see through
the thinning trees.
TBC
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