19: Just Spiffing

I was pacing. Constantly. I felt like all I did was pace. Of course the moon goddess would pick this moment to start making me very aware of the mate bond between Nathaniel and I, which is simply spiffing. The last thing I needed whilst trying to organise a hostile takeover was my body and my wolf to be distracted.

I had hardly come to terms with the fact Nathaniel and I were fated mates, let alone worked out what I was going to do, especially with Luke. My wolf was absolutely adamant that I could have both of them, but I was just not convinced by that.

It was less than an hour between my speaking to Lyla and when everyone got here. I felt my body relax, my blood pressure and heart rate settle when I saw Nathaniel come back through the door. The tense look on his face when he met my eyes said he felt the same way. His wolf was close, he was trying to work out what was going on too. The look in his eyes though, the swirling dark that was nearly black told me that his wolf wanted us, regardless of whether Nathaniel planned to accept it.

He stepped towards me, his movements deliberate, slow, like he thought I’d push him away. I met his gaze, my wolf at the surface, clawing at my skin, wanting to shift more than anything so she could get to know her mate. His wolf was exactly the same.

Nathaniel and I might have been holding back, but the wolves knew exactly what they wanted.

“Later,” I whispered to Nathaniel. “We’ll pick this up after debriefing.”

He nodded, his face disappointed. “I mean it,” I whispered, before he could turn away. “Just not in front of this many people, and we need to debrief before details start getting lost.”

I moved back to the table, sinking into my chair, and motioning everyone else to do the same. “Okay so, what has been happening? How are the tunnels?”

“Some of the tunnels are blocked, but we will be able to get through. The tunnels that are still accessible are narrow, though, and not very tall either,” Julienne explained, the stress evident in her voice.

“They’re tunnels designed to be travelled as a wolf,” Nathaniel added. “They were put in to make it easy to move between key buildings in an emergency, and if you’re needing to move that quickly, you’re going to be running as a wolf because it’s just quicker.”

“So if we’re using the tunnels, we’ll either have to split our forces, or head in with a small team.”

Julienne nodded. “Any more than six wolves would be a struggle going through those tunnels. If we’re using those, I would suggest a strike team through the tunnels, and having the rest of the team on standby in case we need backup.”

“Thanks, Julienne. Nathaniel, where do the tunnels come out in relation to the main packhouse?”

“One of them comes out in the basement, alpha. The packhouse is built on top of old ruins, so there’s a maze of corridors and rooms underground. The tunnel we’re talking about using comes out through a trapdoor in one of the storage rooms.”

“What’s stored down there? Is it guarded?”

“It’s meant to be an emergency food store, but at least last time I was there, it was empty. There are security cameras everywhere, but it’s old equipment, my father never wanted to pay to get it upgraded.”

“So we can potentially get around it?”

“From what I can tell and what Nathaniel has told me, alpha, Lyla would be able to hack the system easily. Some of the main tunnels have more up-to-date equipment, but as soon as we get to the smaller tunnels, it will be smooth sailing.”

“Is there anything else we need to know about the tunnels?”

Nathaniel nodded, and I couldn’t help but watch him intently as he did, my eyes focusing on his and the way he bit his bottom lip when he was concentrating. “We have a choice of entrances to the tunnels. Both are guarded. The entrance that will be easier to access is further away, so we’d be spending more time in the tunnels that do have up-to-date kit. The entrance that’s closer is much more heavily guarded, so we have the choice of dealing with more guards on the entrance, or spending more time in heavily monitored tunnels.”

I sighed, deep in thought. Even though my mind was running around plotting the best way to take down Edward, I couldn’t shake Nathaniel from my mind.

“We’ll have Lyla scope it out,” I replied, trying to sound more confident and more in control than I felt at that moment. I was very aware that both Luke and Nathaniel kept glancing in my direction, they both knew something was wrong.

“We need to know if Lyla can get us past the cameras before we go any further with this.”

A chorus of “yes alpha” met my ears.

“Luke, Grayson. Anything to add on the tunnels?”

“No, alpha. We only saw the entrances before discovering that Nathaniel and Julienne were being held against their will.”

“Since Edward knows Julienne is on my payroll, I assume that it’s no longer a secret that you’re working with us?”

“Sadly not, alpha. He was suspicious anyway given our history, but now he knows for sure that I’m involved. They’re also now very suspicious of what we’re up to, so it won’t be long until they’re sending someone after us.”

“Did any of you hear anything interesting about this ritual they’re carrying out?”

“Sadly not, alpha. Nathaniel and I weren’t there for very long, not conscious anyway.”

“We didn’t get a chance to concentrate on it either, alpha. We focused on getting in and out as quickly as possible.”

“I have Lyla and the rest of Sierra on it, we should have more information on this tomorrow. I have to say, I’m curious as to what your father is up to, Nathaniel. Do you have any ideas?”

“Honestly alpha, it could be all manner of different things. There are a lot of old rituals that can boost one’s power, or put someone under their control. Either of those would be possible.”

“Perfect. Okay people, get some rest. Back to it tomorrow. Nathaniel, stay behind please.”

Julienne and Grayson said their goodbyes and were out of the room quickly. Both were staying in their quarters here, as were their teams. They were both planning to focus on training with their teams whilst waiting for the sign to go. Mine and Luke’s teams, however, were scheduled on the businesses for the next couple of days, so they were all still above ground.

Luke loitered. His face said he didn’t want to leave me on my own with Nathaniel. “Luke, I’m fine. Get some rest, we can come back to this all tomorrow.”

He nodded, finally. “Roger that, alpha.”

Once it was finally just Nathaniel and I, I turned towards him, rubbing my forehead. “I assume you felt it too, Nathaniel?”

He stepped towards me, hands reaching out and sitting on my waist. “I did. I felt your concern.”

“Yup, and I felt that you were soaked in wolfsbane, and fuck me it hurt.”