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Theo
“This is messed up.” Tristan wanders the room, flipping through the photos on the wall, the papers on the desk. “And that door? He locked that thing when we are shifters? That thing wouldn’t have kept a thirteen-year-old away from his favorite gaming system.”
“Yea. He would have known we would search the place. So why make it so easy? I almost sliced my leg off kicking the door in. Thought it was solid and my leg went straight through.” I shake my head. “I just don’t get it.”
Tristan stands surveying the room. “It’s almost as if he mapped this out for us, as if...”
“What are you thinking?” I try to see what he is seeing.
“Could he have known he was on the wrong side, that he had crossed a line? That leaving this was his penance, a way for us to make it right?”
“How? We can’t make head or tails out of this, outside of matching the animals with their human counterpart. At least we can answer questions for some families on what happened to their loved ones.” I take a deep breath, slowing myself down. “No, this isn’t penance. It feels more like shoving it in our faces. ‘Look what I did right under your noses!’ He will get no sympathy from the shifters.”
“Theo,” Tristan puts his hand on my arm. “I wasn’t saying that we should let him off, that he doesn’t need to pay for what he did. I am just saying that maybe we don’t have the full picture. We don’t know what is going through his head, if he is even sane.”
“That dickhead used silver on James.” My voice rises. “How could you even think this is something other than rubbing our noses in it?” Why am I getting so angry about this? James is fine...Rebby. More than what Arlin did to James, I am upset at what he did to Rebby and how that will affect us. Will we be doomed to a relationship only three days a month? Without the ability to even communicate the rest of the time?
Fuck! It’s too soon to even think of a relationship with her. Spend one hour in her company and I am as randy as a teenager and as possessive as if we are mated.
“Hey! Theo, Tristan? Bane wants everyone at the pit. It’s time.” A voice yells up the stairs.
“Let’s go!” I growl, my wolf pushing to be released. “Don’t tell anyone what you saw up here. We can figure it out later. I don’t want anyone distracted or giving Arlin the benefit of the doubt. If he gets away...”
“I wasn’t born yesterday, Theo.” Tristan follows me out. “I might not have gotten involved in pack politics before, but I wasn’t completely out of things.” I can hear hesitation in his voice. I spin around.
“Look. If we are going to not go back to the pack, to have our own, you are going to be involved to the tip of your ears. You will have to learn to stand up to others and that will mean me. Any hesitation that they hear or sense will result in you losing their respect. Don’t show them your doubts or fears.”
Tristan nods his head, “I understand.”
“You’d better. I still don’t know about this thing with Rebby. If she will even want one or both of us. But if it happens, it will set people off. You need to be prepared, and I can’t guarantee how our wolves will react, if or when it happens.”
“Yeah I get that. But that isn’t for tonight or even tomorrow. We first have to save the damsel and all that jazz.” Tristan grins, “You ready to go play knights and dragons?”
“Let’s slay some dragon butt!” I grin at the mention of our old game.
“It's time to show how to be a superhero, just like a showdown, keep the pedal to the metal,” Tristan sings in his off-key voice. We both crack up laughing at the memory of our childhood games. Tonight, might be the real thing, with lives in the balance, but for a minute we could be the boys we used to be.
The firepit is crowded with shifters and the Elite. I nod at a few of the shifters as we make our way to where James is standing with Bane and Jennika.
“I believe everyone is here.” James casts his voice so that we can all hear easily. The conversations stop as attention is turned toward where we stand. “As some of you saw at the Lodge yesterday, Theo found a lab-created shifter. We have since learned that there is a compound full of these shifters. Some were forced into it, others volunteered. I have called the Elite to come help us as we free them.”
James looks around to see if the men and women are following what he is saying. “Bane is the leader of the Elite and will be leading us in this mission. He is to be followed as if I was giving the commands, understood?” Nods and “yes sirs” echo through the forest. “Bane.”
Bane steps forward and the projector screen that had been set up behind us comes to life. “This is the aerial view of the compound that we believe houses the shifters. As you can see there is a wall around the buildings.” Bane uses a handheld laser pointer to highlight as he speaks. “There is one main gate to access the compound. The only other access that we could find was a set of metal doors built into the basement level of the wall on the south side.
“The van will be leaving at 21:45 to drive the four hours to the compound. They will park three miles out in a look-out on the main road. Dax and his team will monitor the compound, as well as take out their electronics via drones at 01:50. Team 1 and Team 2 will breach the basement and main gates, securing the immediate area around them, while Team 3 will have an aerial attack and work their way down the main building to secure it.”
“Teams 4 and 5 will follow Teams 1 and 2 in. They will secure these buildings. Theo and Tristan, you will be with Team 5.” Bane points to the first. “Team 4, your building we believe is the living space for their soldiers. Team 5, your building we believe is called the zoo. This is where the pack shifters will come in. You will follow the team in, securing any hostiles and comforting those who are captive. Questions?”
For the next twenty minutes the last details and questions were hashed out, then Bane ends things with, “Those not in the van, you leave at 21:45. Get some rest, as it will be a long night.”