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Tristan
James and Theo step out of the house and onto the porch, the door slamming shut behind them. Their very stance radiates anger and I wonder what they found in the locked room.
“Bane!” Dax yells. “We’re there.”
I reach Dax first and look over his shoulder at the compound. The image is shades of gray and black, with white images for people. “How are there so many?” I whisper in horror. Some of the white images are so piled on top of each other it is hard to count them.
Theo and James come up behind me. I can hear them each inhale in surprise. “I didn’t expect that many,” Theo whispers.
Bane stomps over, looks at the screen and shrugs. “We can deal with it. Some of them will be trained, many won’t. As long as they can’t access their animal, we are still good.” He steps around us to stand next to the laptop, pointing at the house with the most shapes. “This is probably what your girl called the zoo. See how the images barely move and they are all piled almost on top of each other in two rows?”
We all nod as he continues. “This building will be the last one we clear.” He points to another building. “This is more than likely the barracks. One side is for sleeping, the other is more than likely kitchen and dining/relaxing. See how these six images are in a rectangle? They are more than likely eating. Another two are in what I am guessing is the sleeping area. That is eight we need to worry about.”
He points to the final building. “This is the main house, were the Master lives. This will more than likely have a few patrolmen in it. If you watch, you can see their movements.”
The way he takes these images and breaks them down into movements, seeing and predicting what is going on, is amazing. I watch as one figure in the main house walks a few paces then turns and walks back. He keeps repeating this action and I realize that he must be one of the guards.
“Now, here is where we will have trouble.” Bane points to a series of men that walk around the outside of the buildings. “These men will be trained and deadly. It looks like we have twenty-five men who are armed, plus however many are in the zoo. We won’t know until we get there if they are shifters or not, but we will have to assume that they are and that they have silver immunity.”
James look at Bane. “What is the plan on going in? Shouldn’t we have all the men here for this?”
Bane glares at him and James shifts a little. It surprises me as James is the strongest Alpha, yet he almost defers to Bane as if he is an Alpha. I wonder how they met and what the story is between them. Bane is definitely an Alpha, thankfully not mine or I would be cowering right now. Come to think of it, none of these guys seem to cower; it is as if they all have some of that Alpha gene.
“I will brief my team later. They know how to do this, have trained for this. You have not. You will not go in until my team has secured the compound, otherwise you are a liability.” Bane glowers at us.
“No.” James replies firmly. “Theo goes in with you. He has to deal with Arlin and the Master. They cannot be left to get away.”
“And I am coming too!” I jump in. I am not being left behind like some child. I need- no my wolf needs to see that Rebby is ok and hold her. “I have to make sure Rebby is safe.”
“No! You have no training. We will secure the place, then you come in.” Bane crosses his arms, his legs spread slightly. It is a pose designed to look threatening. But instead of being threatened, I feel irritated and my wolf pushes through to growl at him. A look of shock flits over his face before he schools his features into that hard mask again. I’m surprised as well that my wolf is becoming stronger, and not backing down the way he has in the past.
“Bane, it’s nonnegotiable!” James holds the other man's gaze until Bane drops his eyes.
“Fine! I will assign two of my men to accompany them. They come in behind the main attack and follow the directions of my men.” Bane holds James’ gaze, silently challenging him to argue with him. It is as close as I have seen someone challenge an Alpha without a physical fight breaking out. James doesn’t reply, just holds Bane’s gaze until the leader of the Elite looks down at the ground for a minute.
“They will follow after then.” James looks at his fingernails for a minute. “The rest of my shifters will be here soon. Only my strongest were allowed to come, but they will help as well.”
Bane looks at James incredulously, then turns and marches to his van. “This is not what was agreed upon, James.”
A cold smile comes over James’ face, “It might not be what you agreed to, but I hold the purse strings, remember?”
Do I even know this man who has been my Alpha for the past ten years? What has he pulled the packs into? I can’t let myself go down that road. James has always had the packs’ interests at heart. If he feels there is a need for the Elite, then there must be.
“One day I want to hear how you and Bane met, how the Elite came about,” Theo says. And even quieter, “What caused the need for the Elite to be created.”
I would like to know as well. After tonight I don’t think the packs will be the same. The world as we know it will change and it may be all we can do to keep the humans from learning about us. Sometimes I wonder if it would be easier if shifters all moved to their own large island; maybe we could take Australia or Iceland. I hear Iceland is beautiful with the perfect climate for us.
“Earth to Tristan!” Theo waves his hand in front of me, shaking me out of my daydream. “What were you thinking about?”
“Shifter Island.”
“Whatever that is. Come on! I want to show you that locked room before the Arachnerds get to it.”