Chapter 144: Gathering Forces

We flew to a secret location. Remote island. Off the coast of Greece. Neutral territory.

Five hundred fighters waited for us. Wolves. Vampires. Witches. All ready. All angry. All survivors of Covenant attacks.

"Welcome, Luna Triad." A tall man stepped forward. Scarred. Battle-worn. "I'm Dimitri. Leader of the European resistance. We've been fighting the Covenant for twenty years. Waiting for this moment."

"Thank you for coming. For joining us." I shook his hand. Strong grip. Warrior's handshake.

"We're not doing this for you. We're doing this for ourselves. For revenge. For freedom. For ending centuries of fear." Dimitri looked at Luna. "But the prophecy says she's the key. So we follow her. We protect her. We help her win."

Luna stepped forward. Confident. Strong. "I won't let you down. I promise."

Dimitri smiled. "You're young. But you have old eyes. Warrior eyes. Good."

We spent three days coordinating. Planning. Organizing attack strategies.

"The Covenant base has three entry points. Main entrance. Heavily guarded. Side entrance. Less guards but more traps. Underground tunnels. Oldest route. Dangerous but possible." Cassandra showed maps. "We split into three teams. Attack all at once. Overwhelm them."

"What about the captured supernatural beings inside? How many?" Marcus asked.

"Over two hundred. Held in cells. Tortured. Experimented on. Brainwashed." Dimitri's voice was hard. "Some might fight for the Covenant. Stockholm syndrome. Mind control. We need to be ready for that."

"We free who we can. Fight who we must." Cole was practical. "Survival first."

"And the vault? Where Luna needs to go?" Sarah asked.

"Center of the base. Deepest level. Surrounded by their strongest guards. Their most powerful weapons." Cassandra pointed. "That's where Victor and Margaret will be. Waiting. Expecting Luna."

"So we deliver her right to them? Into their hands?" Maya looked worried.

"With backup close behind. Hidden. Ready to strike." I explained. "Luna opens the vault. We destroy the artifacts. Then we attack. Chaos. Confusion. Victory."

"Lots can go wrong." Nina pointed out. "If they separate Luna from us. If they lock doors. If they trigger defenses. If backup can't reach her in time."

"Then I fight alone until you arrive." Luna said simply. "I can handle myself."

I wanted to argue. Wanted to say no. Wanted to protect her. But she was right. Luna could handle herself. Better than most adults.

"We practice. Run drills. Perfect timing. Minimize risk." Cassandra organized training. "Three days. Then we attack."

Those three days flew by. Training. Drilling. Perfecting.

Luna trained hardest. Learning Covenant protocols. Their language. Their customs. Their expectations. She had to convince them she was surrendering. Willing. Compliant. Until the moment to strike.

"You're a natural actress." Cassandra watched Luna practice. "They'll believe you."

"Because I'm telling partial truth. I am willing. To fight them. To end them. To protect everyone." Luna smiled. Fierce. "They'll never see it coming."

The night before the attack I couldn't sleep. Too nervous. Too worried. Too scared.

Cole found me. "Can't sleep either?"

"Tomorrow everything changes. We win or we lose. Luna lives or dies. It's all or nothing." I looked at the stars. Clear night. Beautiful. Calm before storm.

"She'll be fine. We'll all be fine. We've survived everything so far. We'll survive this." Cole held me. "And when it's over. When the Covenant is destroyed. We'll have real peace. Finally. Actually. Completely."

"You really believe that?"

"I have to. Otherwise what are we fighting for?" Cole kissed my forehead. "Come on. Try to rest. Tomorrow is a long day."

I slept a little. Not much. But enough.

Dawn came. The day. The attack. The end. Or the beginning. Depending on outcome.

"Everyone ready?" I addressed our forces. Fifteen hundred fighters. All geared up. All determined.

They roared. A battle cry. Shaking the ground.

"Team one. Main entrance. I lead. We hit hard. We hit fast. We draw attention." Dimitri rallied his group.

"Team two. Side entrance. I lead. We disable traps. We flank. We cut off reinforcements." Marcus took his vampires.

"Team three. Underground tunnels. I lead. We go deep. We free prisoners. We secure exit routes." Sarah led with Maya. Pack and witches combined.

"Team four. Infiltration. Luna and I enter front door. Surrender. Access vault. Wait for signal. Then chaos." Cassandra stood with Luna.

"Cole, Nina, you're with me. We follow team four. Stay close. Hidden. Ready to strike when needed." I finalized positions.

Everyone moved out. Helicopters. Boats. Vehicles. All heading to Switzerland. To Covenant headquarters. To war.

We arrived at midday. The base looked normal. Office building. Corporate. Innocent. But underground was massive. Evil. Deadly.

Teams got in position. Waiting. Watching. Ready.

Cassandra and Luna walked to main entrance. Hands up. Surrendering. Guards surrounded them immediately. Guns pointed. Suspicious.

"I'm Luna Hartman. Daughter of Lita Dillard. Luna Triad." Luna spoke clearly. "I'm here to surrender. To join the Covenant. To fulfill the prophecy. Take me to Victor Crane."

The guards looked at each other. Shocked. This was too easy. Too perfect. Too good.

But also exactly what they wanted. What they'd been hunting. What Victor demanded.

"Search them. Both. Check for weapons. Tricks. Magic." The lead guard ordered.

They searched. Found nothing. We'd prepared for this. No weapons. No obvious magic. Just Luna and Cassandra. Looking helpless. Looking defeated. Looking perfect.

"Take them to Victor. Immediately. He'll want to see this himself." The guard radioed in.

They were escorted inside. Deeper. Into the base. Into the trap.

But the trap was ours. Not theirs. They just didn't know it yet.

Through a hidden earpiece I heard everything. Listened. Tracked. Waited for the signal.

"She's inside. Moving to lower levels. Approaching the vault." Cassandra's voice. Coded. Calm.

"All teams ready. On my signal. We attack. We end this." I prepared. Three. Two. One.

But before I could give the signal. Screams. Gunfire. Explosions. From inside the base.

Something went wrong. Terribly wrong. The attack started early. Without coordination. Without plan.

"All teams go! Now! Now! Now!" I screamed into radio.

We rushed the base. All teams. All at once. Chaos. Confusion. Battle.

But inside. Something bad happened. Something that changed everything.

And Luna was at the center. Alone. In danger. Fighting for her life.