Chapter thirteen

Brian's eyes were almost blinded with rage, but his reasoning was as clear as day. Anger does that to him. He knew he could afford no mistakes.

The first thing he did was call Ethan. "We need to storm Blood Depth pack again." He told Ethan.

There was an intake of breath on the other end. "Again?" Ethan asked over the phone.

"Again." Brian replied curtly.

"Why again? They would be expecting us!" Ethan tried to advise Brian.

But though his reasoning was as clear as day, he was closed to reason. Nothing Ethan could say would make him back down.

"You're wasting your time trying to convince me otherwise." Brian replied shortly after all of Ethan's ranting.

Ethan sighed. He knew a lost battle when he saw one.

"You're giving a lot of attention to this girl…"

"She is my mate!" Brian replied defensively.

"Yeah. I know. Have you considered what you would do when Vivian returns?"

"Vivian can go to hell!" Brian replied shortly. "Now, are we going to that war or not? You know the answer I want."

Ethan sighed.

___

At the Blood Depth pack…

Loki smiled when the servant told him that the package had been delivered to Brian.

"Such fools," he muttered. "They allow us to move in and out of their pack freely? That's something they would pay dearly for, mark me. We would exploit that to hell."

The servant maintained a demure silence.

"Go call Dexter for me." Loki ordered.

Not too long after, Dexter arrived. He was limping badly. The skin around his right eye was black. His lips were swollen. It was obvious he was recently beaten up.

He stood to attention before his father. His father smiled at him with pity. "Don't worry, you will soon have your revenge."

"You're going to war against Winter Reigns pack?" Dexter asked hopefully. Already, he was making plans in his head, dreaming up tortures he would inflict on the alpha of Winter Reigns pack when he fell him in battle.

Alpha Loki laughed mockingly. "I won't go to war for your stupidity, son. I'm not as stupid as you are. I have a better plan."

"What's it, father?" Dexter asked.

Alpha Loki told his son what he had done. "I am almost sure they are already on their way here." he said. "I want it to be a one way trip."

The plans for the coming invaders were set into motion with immediate alacrity. Various traps were laid throughout the palace.

An hour later, a guard set up a sign on the palace gate. It said…

"Follow the arrows to get to the antidote."

___

It was night. The sky was overcast, and cloudy, which suited the two men perfectly.

Their bikes glided through the streets of Blood Reign pack, barely making any sound at all. The wolves have already retired, as it wasn't even close to the full moon.

"I still don't think this is a good idea." Ethan whispered to Brian. Brian ignored him, his face set straight ahead.

About thirty minutes later, they arrived in front of the Blood Palace. They had no difficulty seeing the sign at the gate, though it was dark.

Brian chuckled darkly after reading it. "That makes it easier." he said.

Ethan gave him an incredulous look. "Easier? They are leading us into a fucking trap!"

"It's only a trap when it can hold you, mate." Brian chuckled, patting Ethan genially. "I'm a lycan, they are werewolves, don't forget that."

"I still believe you're acting blindly." Ethan mumbled.

Without another word, Brian pushed the gate. It opened easily. It wasn't locked. Brain slid out a gun from his hip. He cocked it, took a deep breath, and took the lead.

Ethan followed, sighing.

After a quick glance around, guns at the ready, they advanced further. They didn't seem to be anyone around.

The arrows were clearly painted on the walls in bright red paint. The halls were eerily silent and empty as they took turns after turns.

"I don't like this." Ethan said. "It smells fishy,"

Brian didn't reply. He was on high alert, and that did not allow for much talking. But even he was worried. Even though he was listening his hardest, he couldn't hear any sound from any part of the palace.

The palace was as silent as if no one was there.

"Maybe they got tired of waiting and went to sleep?" Ethan suggested.

Brian gestured for Ethan to keep silent. He could hear footsteps. He paused, tensed. Ethan was a werewolf, so his hearing was not as sensitive as Brian's.

But he could sense something from the way Brian tensed. They paused, eyes darting around and ears perked.

"We gotta get out of here!" Ethan whispered.

Brian turned on him so fast he was scared. "And let my mate die?" He growled.

After following the arrows some more, they arrived at the end of a hallway. There was a single sliding door, though it was would be more appropriate to call it a gate.

Brian slapped some dark object on the gate.

"What's that?" Ethan asked. But Brian motioned him to shut up.

When they slid the gate open, they found it led to a hall. There was nothing in the hall, except for a vial on an illuminated pedestal right in the centre.

"Wait here. Don't let anyone come through. And when I signal, shoot for all you're worth!" Brian commanded, pushing Ethan into one of the heavy drapes that lined the walls.

Ethan nodded, gripping his gun tightly. Brian approached the illuminated pedestal cautiously, his eyes never leaving the vial that contained the antidote they had come for. The room was deathly quiet, and the weight of an impending trap hung in the air.

"This is it. This is where the real action starts." Brian whispered to himself as his hand reached out to grab the vial.

At the same time, his hand tightened on the trigger, ready to fire any moment.

He was so focused on a werewolf threat that when he grabbed the vial off the pedestal, the high pitched sound that followed made him jump several feet into the air.

"Damn it!" He cursed.

The sound was so high pitched he thought it couid burst his eardrums. It was affecting his very sensitive lycan hearing.

"Alpha!" Ethan called from the gateway. There was panic in his voice.

Brian looked over to see him struggling to keep the sliding gate from closing. It was obviously too heavy for only him to hold.

Struggling to keep himself focused against the grating sound, Brian rushed over. But he was too late. Ethan snapped out his fingers just in time to prevent the heavy metal from snapping them in two against the ledge.

"Shit! We're trapped." Ethan swore. There was a little panic in his voice.

Something suddenly occurred to Brian. He pushed Ethan into the drapes once more.

"Remember my instructions?" He asked him.

Ethan nodded.

"Good." Brian nodded, closing the drapes over him.

He walked back to the pedestal in the center, pretended as if he was just taking off the vial, and succumbed to the sound.

It wasn't hard. The sound had all but incapacitated him before he fought against it.

Moments later, moonlight seeped into the hall. What seemed like a floodlight had opened on the ceiling. A ring of men could be seen standing on the roof, looking down into the hall. Alpha Loki was among them.

He jumped down and landed lightly beside Brian. It seemed he was fully confident that the sound must have rendered Brian helpless.

"Put your hands up if you don't want to die!" He commanded. The men on the roof cocked their guns accordingly. The sound was audible, even above th high pitched siren.

Loki smiled mockingly. "Now, don't try anything funny or you would get your head blown off."

Brian nodded, still cowering under the sound. Alpha Loki waved his hands and the sound subsided.

"You know why I let you take the vial first?" Loki asked. "It would be easier to take you down as you try to protect the antidote while fighting me." He said with an air of satisfaction.

"Now, if you want to have any chance at using that gun in your hand successfully, give me the vial."

Loki's eyes glinted maliciously. "I believe you can deal with the disappointment if you do manage to escape with you life. Hand over the antidote. Now!" Loki commanded.

He did not notice the slight smile stretching the corners of Brian's lips. Brian let the the vial slip from his hand, apparently still shaken from the disconcerting sound.

As Loki tried to catch it, he did not notice Brian press a little button on the palms of his glove.

The dark object he had slapped on the gate exploded. The hall quaked. The ceiling caved in and the men on it fell, their arms flailing.

Ethan knew a signal when he saw one. He jumped out from behind the drapes and started shooting for what he was worth.

"Run with the antidote, I will cover you!" He screamed at Brian, still aiming and firing coolly at the men as he backed out slowly.

In the face of battle, he has changed from the highly anxious Ethan to a brave soldier who knew no fear.

By this time, Brian has already caught the vial. Within a few seconds, he was already out of the door. Ethan backed out after him, still firing heavily on the still disoriented men.

Just when they were outside the gate, there was another explosion. A section of the ceiling caved in, separating the two invaders.

At that moment, Brian's phone rang. It was Dr. Shelby calling.

"We need the antidote! Her breathing is becoming erratic. Where are you?!" The doctor screamed over the phone.

Brian stared at the phone, where the doctor's frantic voice could still be heard asking him where he was.

Then he stared at the blocks of concrete behind which Ethan was. He could still hear the sound of shooting.

"Damn it!" He muttered, clenching his fist.