Caught in the crossfire

25

After a quick phone call Kay, Alaric, and Natalia soon found themselves in a secret meeting with Alpha Myers, and his son (and soon to be Alpha) Ben, of the Rock Creek Pack. Dispensing with formalities, the group turned their attention to the frail looking she-wolf at Kay's side.

Taking a deep, steadying breath Natalia began "I guess there's no easy way to put this so I'll just cut to the chase. Colt Bardolf has amassed an army and is about to start a war. First on Shifters, then on peoples of all kinds."

"What?" Exclaimed the two men from Rock Creek in surprise.

"It's true. He intends to take over the packs and declare himself king over all shifters. Then, he'll force all able bodied shifters to fight in his war. We're talking total world domination, though personally I think he'd settle for global chaos. Carnage, really" She continued with shaky breath, addressing the Alpha Myers. "Right now, Rock Creek is his target. You have one of the largest packs which will give him a boost in numbers but more importantly, you sit in a strategic location. Many of his plans depend on taking this spot. Which is why it is so important that this be stopped here, and now."

"How many are we up against?" Alaric cut in.

"I don't know the exact number, but somewhere around three thousand."

"What?!" The group sounded in alarm.

"That's about a three to one ratio of my entire pack! Women and children included! How is that even possible?!" Myers demanded.

"He's already been taking over packs for years" began Natalia

"Impossible! We'd have know, or someone would have heard." Argued Myers.

"He has Alpha Myers. My pack was one of them." She maintained, looking him dead in the eyes, challenging even. "He goes after small, remote packs. Ones that can't escape for help before he's got a tight control on them. First he targets the Luna to get control of the Alpha. If that doesn't work then he'll kill the Alpha and put one of his own men in charge. He does this with all the ranking and influential members of the pack as well as anyone who looks like they've enough fire in them to become a threat. He puts his own men in ranking positions to keep an eye on things and make sure the pack follows his will. By leaving the Alphas though it helps to ensure the compliance of the rest of the pack as well as avert suspicion. If all the sudden a whole bunch of little packs started getting new Alphas one after the other, other packs they'd associated with would start asking questions right? Everyone is so afraid of him, and especially for their mates, by the time he's through no one dares go against him or breathe a word to anyone. That's why no one has heard of this even though it's been going on for the past decade or so."

"That's... I..." floundered Myers in shock.

"Is he bringing all three thousand agains us? And what is his plan of attack? Do you know?" Asked Alaric.

"No. Only around two thousand I believe. He needs to leave some to ensure there's not a coup while he's out fighting. Unfortunately, I don't know all the details of his plans and quite frankly he's probably made some changes since he knows I heard them. But last I'd heard, he was going to surround the hill and attack after sundown. The good news is they will be using a lot of narcotics instead of more lethal weapons. He needs to accumulate numbers for his end goal so killing off entire packs would kind of defeat the purpose."

"Still, two thousand..." breathed Myers, "Even if we had both Rock Creek and Silver Fang warriors combined we would only be looking at a few hundred fighters. How on earth are we supposed to face that?!"

"I have some friends who could help level the playing field so to speak... if I can convince them to help." Kay put in, finally breaking her own silence. "They don't usually involve themselves in the affairs of any but their own kind though."

"Really? Who?" The group turned their eyes to her, some with hope, others intrigue.

"That is not important. What is important right now is that anyone who will not be fighting get to safety and all allies be called for help. I'll go and petition my friends." Kay rose from her seat by Alaric and made to leave.

"Don't you need to know our plan of attack before you talk to them?" Asked Ben.

"No. If they help they'll no doubt stick to the cover of the forest so any rouges that break through to the meadow you'll have to deal with on your own. Besides, Alaric can link me with anything I need to know." Kay caught the concerned look in her mate's eye and met it with a nod as if to say "trust me". The effects of the drugs Colt had given him still had not worn off sufficiently for the pair to mind link yet and she was reminded of the fact that that was still something she'd never yet even attempted to do. She only hoped her statement would not prove false when the moment of truth arrived.

"I'll call in my warriors." Stated Alaric as Kay left the room. "Unfortunately, some of my best men, including my Beta, were taken captive."

Kay's heart skipped a beat, having just heard Alaric's statement as the door closed behind her. A newfound fury welled up inside as she continued purposefully on her way.

"Right," stated Myers, "I'm going to call in my Beta then we can continue with our strategy."

"Yeah, about that..." began Natalia, "there's something you really need to know..."

———————

Hey! How are you all doing? Hope you're still enjoying the story :) I don't know about where you are, but it is soooo cold here and that wind is something else! I went out side earlier to do something and I thought my ears were gonna freeze and fall right off it was so cold lol. Anywho, if you have any questions or comments be sure to post them! I love hearing what y'all think! :)