Star Blessed

Preparations

RAFF

Heat from the sun soaked metal seeped through Raff's jeans as he leaned against the hood of the car, his attention locked on the concrete building housing most of the Starless pack. Behind him, his people- a mix of wolf and man- waited for his command, their eagerness swelling and scenting the air with smoke and fire.

This moment was the culmination of weeks of planning. Weeks of weeding out the innocents from this pack of monsters. Raff would take no lives that were not given in complete loyalty. A surprising number of werewolves had willingly swapped allegiances, a fact that only furthered convinced him that they were doing the right thing. Now, they were poised to strike and all who remained would face death if surrender wasn't given.

He wondered what his father would think about this war. Conroy Wellington had been one of the best men Raff had ever known, guiding his pack with honesty and fairness. A few had thought him weak for these tendencies and sought to exploit him. Again and again, the Starless pack had struck, seeking to overthrow the leadership of the Orion pack, and Conroy refused to retaliate. He believed the other pack was misguided and would come to see the light. Son, we were cursed in blood, and I will have no more of it on my hands. He'd gone feral and disappeared forty years ago.

"Raff, we have a slight problem," Lincoln said, coming to stand beside him. He mirrored his Alpha's body language, arms crossed over his broad chest while he scrutinized their target.

"That's not something I want to hear right before we start a war," Raff growled.

"The girls have either gone on vacation, moved, or taken a joy ride."

The Alpha's eyes widened as he turned, the blue blazing in the sunlight. "You told me we had people watching."

"Yeah, well the girls were in the house, and the house was being watched. They watched it as Thorne started the engine and pulled the house out into the open ocean."

A large dent formed beneath Raff's fist. "And did they jump in a boat and go after them?"

"Raff- be reasonable. First of all, that would blow our cover, and secondly, we weren't exactly prepared for them to take off like that. They would've had to steal a boat, which would've required hotwiring, and they'd have been gone."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I suppose I can find the positive. Like the fact that if she's on the water, she's not going to find herself in the middle of all of this." He needed her to be safe.

Lincoln clapped him on the back. "My thoughts exactly. So how much longer?"

"I'm just waiting to hear from Cruz that he's in position."

"Four legs or two?"

The men grinned at each other, their canines lengthening. Raff raised one hand, the nails sprouting from it thick and dark. "I think a little of both."

*********************************

THORNE

Thorne placed a hand on her stomach, willing the contents to stay down while offering praises for ground that didn't shift beneath her feet. She hadn't expected to experience sea sickness after living on a boat for a month, but it turned out traveling on the open seas was quite different than being docked in a harbor. Meribella, however, had seemed to brighten the further out they went.

They'd pulled the boat into the cove just outside beach cottage and dropped anchor. Within minutes, they'd come ashore, Meribella using her command over the waves to carry them inland. Not once did the selkie woman offer a single explanation, just situating Thorne in the small kitchen while disappearing into her old room.