Chapter 235 Chapter 235


    The bombs were heard all over the territory. The fires were visible for miles and the fallen ash settled


    on the ground even in the most far fetched corners.


    The soldiers flocked to the army centre and now I was stood amongst a crowd of thousands of


    whispering men awaiting an exnation.


    I held my hand up, ordering a silence which instantly swept over the entire army.


    "I''m sure all of you heard the explosions. And before rumours spread and the truth is distorted, I better


    inform you of the truth," I began, speaking loudly so all could hear, "Tonight at quarter past midnight,


    bombs nted by Andrea Martinez were detonated in the homes of Commanders Eduardo Siciliano,


    Paulo Salvatore, Mario Rossi, Emiliano Fruili and Rafaello Carli. They and their families were all


    killed."


    I had every single set of eyes on me as a deadly silence took hold. Only the crackling of the distant


    fires and cries of wild animals trapped in the mes could be heard.


    "And whilst this is a huge tragedy for the Ste pack and those men will not be forgotten, we have no


    time to grieve. We have already lost too many lives at the hands of Andrea Martinez and for now the


    mourning and funerals will have to wait. We will honour the deaths in another way: by taking him down


    once. By protecting our civilians, our children, our mates, our elderly and our sick.


    There was a cheer of support throughout the army.


    "Martinez has shown us tonight that he wants to y dirty," I continued, "So fine. We will do this his


    way. That means we will show no mercy, we will take no prisoners, there will be no rules and no tactics


    will be considered too brutal. This will be like no war we have ever fought before but we will carry the


    same Ste strength, bravery, resistance and resilience that has taken us to victory time and time and


    time again. We have never been defeated before and if Martinez thinks his bombs and machine guns


    can, he is gravely mistaken. That fucker is a dead man. He has been since he first set eyes on my


    Luna all those months ago and his inevitable fate is long overdue."


    There was another cheer. This time louder and more passionate.


    "We may have lost our headmanders," I added, "Five strong, skilled, intelligent, cunning warriors.


    But it''s going to take far more than that to bring the Ste pack down and I''m sure their deputies will do


    them proud in stepping up to fill their roles and lead our squadrons to victory. So arm up, soldiers and


    prepare for battle. Your seniors will deliver your first orders shortly."


    With that, they all disbanded, withry shouts and apuse.


    But I couldn''t bring myself to smile and cheer like they did. My speech had been a sess. I needed to


    keep up the morale if we are to stand a chance but with the sky still aglow with the ze of the


    explosions, the victory I talked of wasn''t in sight. Not yet. Maybe not ever.


    I marched over to ir who stood briefing the five deputy headmanders, now just the head


    immense pressure they suddenly had on their soldiers.


    But ir and I had devised a n for each of the five divisions theymanded. All they needed to do


    was carry out my orders.


    "So in summary," ir began, "Division one: border defence. Bombs on the roads, machine guns


    hidden in the trees, Patrols covering every single possible entrance. That includes Seattle and the


    airport.


    Division two: base defence. The fortification is nearlyplete. There are towers to position snipers


    and machine guns. Soldiers on patrolling the walls are to be unarmed with additional hand grenades.


    Scouts withmunication devices are to be position a mile around the base ready to feedback


    information and stop them before they get anywhere near the civilians.


    Division three: targetting Martinez. Your job is simple. Track the bastard down and kill him. But simple


    doesn''t mean easy. He''s sly and cunning. We know he''s not easy to find. But the men in division three


    are the only soldiers permitted to dy the deaths of Martinez''s men. Get information out of them.


    They are weak-willed, disloyal and will spill without much effort. That''s Martinez''s greatest weakness


    and you will exploit the fuck out of it. Some of them won''t know a word of English but you have


    recording devices and a system to send files back to trantors. Use it.


    Division four: Second line of defence. You will be between the borders and the base hunting down and


    killing Martinez''s soldiers by any means you can. Explosives, machine guns, snipers, hand grenades.


    You have free reign over the armoury.


    Division five: For now you will join division four. But as the situation develops and we know more about


    Martinez''s tactics, your role will be more apparent. You are crucial to the n to adapt to


    whatever Martinez hits us with. Remember we are going into this with very little information. We have


    no idea what to expect."


    They all nodded.


    "Anything to add Alpha?" ir asked turning to me.


    "Division three. If you have the chance, make his death as slow and painful as possible," I said, "Make


    him suffer."


    "But I assume that means that an opportunity to kill him shouldn''t be missed on the grounds of being


    too merciful," ir said.


    "No," I said through gritted teeth, "His heart stopping is your priority. If that means he doesn''t suffer


    before it beats for thest time, I will at least take some satisfaction in knowing he will still suffer in hell."


    Half an hourter, I was watching as the divisions disbanded to fulfil their allocated roles.


    "Elena, Maria, Allison," I said calling over my sisters and their best friend.


    Since the war against Haden''s pack years ago, they''d stayed members of the army and trained


    alongside our brothers. They were incredible soldiers, just like the other one hundred women that had


    been recruited in thest few years since the policy changed to allow any woman who can pass the


    physical tests to join. They were still a minority and E still considered the tests unfair on the female


    body but they are there to ensure a soldier is up to standard and ultimately to ensure their safety. I


    wasn''t going to let anyone I didn''t think was strong enough fight. Same goes for the men. And they are


    wee to train hard as they like in the civilian training centre until they can pass the tests.


    They responded to my call and approached me.


    Maria''s bows and arrows had been reced by a sniper and bullets. Elena gripped a gun as long as


    her arm whilst Allison carried a box of explosives.


    "I know you don''t like being coddled or treated differently to any other soldiers on the grounds of being


    women or my sisters but..." I began, "You know what happened to E. You know these men have no


    morals. Keep your guards up."


    Elena nodded, "Don''t worry, Leo. If you thought Maria was dangerous with that bow you should see her


    with a sniper."


    I smiled, "I know. I certainly wouldn''t mess with you three. But just be careful and look out for each


    other," I said.


    They nodded before Elena and Maria gave me a quick hug before continuing with their preparations.


    I then spotted Max over by the armoury.


    "E, Milly and the kids are in the vault I trust?" I asked as I stood next to him.


    "Locked and bolted," he confirmed.


    I nodded and sighed a slight sigh of relief, "Were they okay?" I asked.


    "There was some tears and worried faces from the kids. But E held it together," he replied, "She''s


    amazing like that. No matter how hard things are for her, she''ll do whatever she must for those little


    kids."


    I smiled, "She sure is amazing. And she has a huge heart too. She feels terrible about what happened


    with Milly. She''d change it in an instant if she could."


    Max nodded before he looked up to me, "I know... but she can''t."


    I sighed.


    "And do you regret it?" he asked, "Because we all know at the end of the day it didn''t matter whether


    E supported it or not, it was your decision as Alpha to test Milly''s powers. So do you regret it?"


    I paused for a second, "No. I am sorry that it turned out this way but I am not sorry for sping at what


    could have been an opportunity to save this pack from certain doom."


    I quickly bit my tongue and looked around. The soldiers were all still busy and I had fortunately not


    managed to turn any heads.


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    "Certain doom huh?" he asked, "You think we''re fucked?"


    "I''m not willing to underestimate Martinez for a piece of mind," I replied. "Now push your spite for me


    out of your mind and focus on at least trying to win this war. If by some miracle we seed, you can


    leave with your sister and never have to look at me again. And keep your mouth shut. I need morale to


    stay high."


    I knew Max was entitled to be mad about Milly but he certainly had a way of pissing me off when I was


    already on edge. As I walked away from him, another man was approaching me.


    Haden.


    Just what I needed.


    "Is it important?" I snapped as he began to follow me.


    "Last time you had to lead anything of this scale on home turf it was against Ayas," he said, "It''s an


    honour to fight alongside the great Alpha Loren rather than against you."


    "Fuck of Haden," I replied, "I don''t have time for your pointless wittering."


    "I just wanted to let you know you have my full support," he said.


    I stopped walking and turned to face him. Having once been a powerful Alpha, he was nearly as tall as


    me and still stood with the posture and nerve of the man he once was.


    In the years since the end of our official feud, Lia had forced us into many failed attempts to get along.


    Whilst he had no choice but toply to my orders, he had hardly ever been the submissive type and


    done everything with the most resent and reluctance possible. He irritated me beyond measure and


    much to Lia''s dismay, any endeavours for civility and peaceful ''family time'' only ever ended with


    arguments. So to hear him give me his ''full support'' was something I never thought I''d experience.


    "I don''t like you, Loren," he said bluntly. "But I don''t like Martinez more. He kidnapped my nephew and


    he poses a threat to my own family too. So I will fight for you to take him down."


    "You are a member of my army and you don''t have a choice...but I appreciate it. Thank you, Haden," I


    said with a half-smile, "Now get back to your division before I am forced to discipline you."


    He nodded and finally left me alone.


    I spent the next half an hour, watching over my men as they prepared. I helped them load up their


    trucks, buckle up their bulletproof vests, hand out helmets and package emergency first aid kits.


    There were apprehension, nerves and tensions but these men certainly didn''tck courage. They were


    hardened, experienced soldiers. And they were ready toy down their lives to protect this fight and


    they certainly weren''t scared of Andrea Martinez.


    "Alpha," ir said approaching me as I stood in the middle of the facility, "Everything''s ready. Shall we


    give go ahead?"


    I nodded and waved my hand to the drivers of the trucks and the patrols ready to file out, "Let''s do


    this."