65, Allies

Colin’s POV

As they got up to their apartment, they got to work. It was late, but they didn’t have much time. Colin started calling the pack’s allies, and Sean and Adina called packs they had stayed at during the years they thought could help. Sean also called his brother to let him know what was happening.

It was a little after midnight as they finished and went to bed. Colin relaxed as he took in the scents of Adina and Sean. Adina was in her back with Sean and Colin surrounding her, forming a cocoon to keep her safe.

Colin still hated the idea of Adina remaining with the pack; he hated the idea that she would be on her own in the shelter. He also knew that there was no way for him to avoid it. As he let his thoughts run wild, he felt that neither of his mates was asleep. They all had too many ideas to settle down.

He felt Adina take a deep breath, and then he felt the sensation, like bubbles, flow over his skin as she shared her magic with them. Once again, he could see the network of the pack. The tiny glowing dots pulsated with each pack member’s heartbeat.

There was a difference from last time. He found Adina’s white dot, surrounded by his and Sean’s. Around the three of them, there was a shimmer. He had no idea what the shimmer was, but it felt comforting.

As last time, the image of their pack, connected through the barely visible thread of magic, made Colin proud and relaxed. With that image on his mind, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Adina’s POV

The morning was full of things to do. No one knew when the rogues would attack, but no one wanted to wait until it was too late. The evacuation of those who chose to seek shelter with the dryads was in full swing.

Adina had talked to the tribe monarch of the dryads, and she had assured Adina that her pack members would be well taken care of.

“Have any of you changed your mind?” Adina asked Julia and Clara, that was working alongside her, to organise and keep track of who was leaving. They both shook their heads. Adina smiled.

“Well then, we are almost done with this. We should make sure our guest rooms are ready to be used. The Thorns comprise just about six hundred warriors, and then there are the warriors that allies may send,” Adina told them.

“We don’t have that many guest beds,” Julia said.

“I know. We will have to use the school. We can turn the classrooms into accommodation. I’m sure we can be resourceful and find bedding and things like that,” Adina said.

They got to work on that, with Sean tagging along. He was in constant contact with Colin and Jason. Adina smiled as she saw him trying to unfold a sleeping bag at the same time. He was having a mind link conversation.

‘My lady, the first of the Thorns should arrive in an hour,’ Cernack mind linked her.

‘Thank you, Cernack; who will be the first to arrive?’ she asked.

“Roger’s werewolves,” Cernack said.

Adina told her mates the news and continued to work.

The school was full of volunteers that helped make beds, move furniture out of the way and just make sure things were in place for the guests.

Adina walked into a classroom and saw Johnny and Rose standing there. They both looked upset, and Adina got worried for a moment.

“Rose, you should leave with your parents,” Johnny said.

“I don’t want to. I want to stay and help,” Rose objected.

“Don’t be stubborn. Just go; it’s safer,” Johnny insisted.

“I don’t care. I’m staying, and no one can change my mind. If it’s so much safer, why aren’t you going?” Rose asked.

“I have told you. The pack, especially the luna and her mates, have done so much for me. I should stay and help her,” Johnny said.

Adina realised she was eavesdropping, but she couldn’t help herself. They were too sweet. Sean looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes and pushed his so the door would hide them.

“She has helped me as well. I’m not going,” Rose retorted.

“Rose, please. You are younger than I am. Just go, get to safety, please?” Johnny tried.

“No, I am staying. Now quit bothering me and help me move the desks,” Rose said. Johnny hesitated for a moment; then, he did what she asked.

‘They are so cute,’ Adina mind linked Sean.

‘Sure,’ Sean said, sounding completely uninterested.

‘Oh, you aren’t fooling me. You are as happy as I am that Johnny seems to have turned around,’ Adina told him and kissed his cheek.

‘Maybe,’ Sean admitted and couldn’t hide the smile.

‘Okay, I think he will turn out to be a good wolf. He has a deep streak of loyalty in him. It will be interesting to see how his skills are when he starts to train,’ he then said.

An hour later, almost to the second, the guards at the north gate mind linked Adina to tell her they had let fifty werewolf warriors through. Adina thanked them and told Sean they needed to go.

Adina, Sean, Colin, and Jason met outside the pack house and watched the five vans drive up. Out stepped fifty serious-looking werewolves. They all saluted Adina.

“Welcome to the Black Moon pack. This is Colin, the pack’s alpha and my consort; this is Sean, my protector and consort. Their word is my word. This is our gamma, Jason. We all thank you for coming to our aid,” Adina said to them.

“It is our honour, my lady. I am Stefan. I’m the head warrior for our group,” an older wolf told her.

“Sean and Jason will inform you about the situation and show you to your rooms. We would be happy if you joined the pack for lunch in a couple of hours,” Adina said.

As Sean and Jason escorted the warriors away, Adina joined Colin and Mateo to look at a map over the pack land. They were trying to determine their weak points and how to organise themselves.

They broke for lunch and joined the pack and the warriors. Adina was proud of the way the pack greeted the warriors. She had feared they would be left alone to the side. But several of the pack’s warriors took a seat among the new warriors and ever brought their mates with them.

Julia and Clara joined their table, and soon Jason and Sean showed up.

“Two vampires and one of the witch’ warrior groups should arrive about two hours after lunch. The rest will arrive around dinnertime,” Adina told them.

“But can the vampire travel that early?” Julia asked. Everyone looked at her.

“Yes, why wouldn’t they?” Mateo asked her.

“Well, I thought with the sun being up and all,” she said.

“I don’t understand,” Colin said, voicing what everyone was thinking.

“Won’t they burst into flames?” Julia asked. Now everyone looked at her with surprise. Then Adina made the connection and laughed.

“You are talking about that vampires can’t be in the sunlight?” Adina asked.

“Yes,” Julia said.

“That is something vampires spread amongst humans to throw them off. That and that they can’t stand garlic and can’t be seen in mirrors. None of that is true. Well, not anymore, at least. The mirror thing was true when mirrors were made with silver. But nowadays, there isn’t any silver in them, and vampires can be seen,” Adina smiled.

“Oh, and the stake?” Julia asked.

“That is true if it’s dipped in silver. A silver knife will also do the trick as long as it hits the heart. Decapitation is still the best option,” Sean told her.

“Right,” Julia said, sounding shocked. Mateo sent an irritated look at Sean.

“I take it you have never met a vampire?” Adina asked Julia.

“Not that I know of,” she shook her head.

“We don’t have much contact with other magical species,” Colin explained.

“You will from now on,” Adina smiled. “I think I’ll bring you to the dryads when I go to thank them for helping us out,” she said to Julia.

“Really?” Julia asked.

“Yes, I think you would love it. And it’s a good place to start when introducing other magical creatures,” Adina smiled.

“May I come as well? I have never seen a dryad,” Clara asked.

“Sure, I will make it a girl’s trip,” Adina smiled.

“Erhm,” Sean said.

“Well, a girl’s trip and Sean,” Adina laughed, and they all joined her.

It felt nice to laugh amongst the tension and stress of the day. Adina knew they would be back into complete focus in a couple of minutes.

After lunch, they went up to Colin’s office and continued planning the strategy. Sean and Jason left after an hour to fill the warriors in on the plan.

The pack had a little over four hundred warriors, with the full force of the thorns. They would be around a thousand.

By the estimates they had gotten from Finland, the rogue army would be around three thousand and then an unknown number of vampires. Their best guess was that the number of enemy vampires would be around forty to fifty.

The odds weren’t in their favour, Adina thought. They would have more vampires, which should give them some advantages. And they had witches, another perk. But she didn’t think it would accommodate the missing two thousand warriors.

They would get support from their allies, both the pack ones and the ones Adina and her family had. But it was hard to measure how many and when they would arrive.

“Can’t we use silver? We can rig traps or something,” Julia asked.

“No, sweetie, the risk of one of our triggering it is too high,” Mateo told her.

“The only reason the enemy uses the silver harnesses is that they don’t care what happens with the rogues. The wolves are expandable to them. If half of them die from their weapons, it doesn’t matter to the vampires,” Adina said. Colin nodded.

“That is awful,” Julia said, and Adina had to smile. She loved how innocent and gentle her friend was.

“With that being said, we need to warn everyone to be careful about anything that looks out of place,” Mateo said. The others nodded.

“We can almost assume that the vampires won’t be wearing anything silver. They have too much self-preservation,” Adina said.

As the words left her, the alarm sounded. Adina froze and looked at Colin. He had a determined look on his face as he grabbed her arm and started walking toward the shelter.

‘Sean,’ Adina mind linked.

‘I’m on my way, sweetheart,’ he told her.

No one said anything as Colin and Mateo escorted the three women downstairs. Adina saw that the remaining pack members were already going down in the shelter.

“Down you go,” Colin said.

“I need to see Sean first,” Adina said. Colin looked at her and nodded. It took Sean three minutes to join them.

“Why aren’t you in the shelter?” Sean asked as he and Jason came walking.

“I needed to see both of you,” Adina told him.

Sean and Colin enveloped her in an embrace, and Adina tried to take in the feeling, to store it in her memory. She feared it could be the last time they would be together. She had lost one family; she couldn’t lose another.

“I love you, both of you. I need you both to be safe,” she told them.

“We will be. Don’t worry about us, little dove,” Colin told her.

“You take care of yourself and our pup; this will be over soon, and we can start a life without all of this,” Sean reassured her.

They both kissed her before letting go of her. Adina saw them rub shoulders with each other. It had become their way of showing affection, and then they walked away. Adina felt a lump in her stomach, but she ignored it, squared her shoulders, and headed for the shelter. She saw Julia and Clara saying goodbye to their mates, and then they joined her.