Chapter 10: Crafting the Strategy

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Willow wraps up her training session and makes her way back to the castle for breakfast. She’s already discussed with her team who will accompany her on Andrei’s mission to find and communicate with the ancient ones. The dream from the previous night flickers in her mind.

She’s certain it’s a warning from the Goddess about the three figures in her dream. They’re not benevolent. They’re malevolent. Just like the new vampire king.

She’s decided to bring only Victor and Rueben on this mission. They’re good at following orders, covering their tracks, and dealing with potential traps. According to her vision, they’ll need to deal with at least one trap.

A net. The dining room is empty except for Andrei, who’s still seated at the table with a cup of coffee. He greets her with a smile as she enters, and she quickly grabs a water and a plate of food.

She’s dressed in form-fitting leggings and a sports bra. She grins as she starts to eat. After finishing her breakfast, she wipes her mouth, finishes her water, pushes her plate away, and leans her arms on the table to address him.

“Okay, I’ve got two of my guys ready to go. I just need to know where we’re headed and whether we’re walking, driving, or flying,” she says with a smirk.

“They’re actually here in England. Well, Scotland to be precise. A castle in the highlands. I suggest we fly, but not too close. We need the element of surprise,” he replies.

“Can you show me on the maps? We’ll need to plan our approach and make sure there are no unexpected hazards. Surprise and stealth are a shadow wolf’s strengths, you understand?”

“I can. The castle is mine. It’s been in my possession for many centuries. It’s surrounded by a jagged cliff on one side with the ocean below, and a dense forest around it. It appears abandoned and run-down, but that’s just a witch’s spell to keep the curious away,” he says with a grin, standing up and extending his hand to her.

“Show me the maps and I’ll show you the best place to land and then travel. I agree, they mustn’t know about our visit in case they’re working with my brother. It could be fatal. For you and your team, and eventually for me.

“They were the reason I abdicated the throne. I refused to reveal how I can walk in daylight. All the vampires wanted my secret. As king, they couldn’t demand it, but they felt I needed to step aside and let my brother take the throne to protect my secret.

“I suspect it was a ruse. Now that my brother is king, he could issue an order to reveal the secret. But I’m more powerful than he is. He can’t command me any more than the ancients can.

“I’m the first son of an original. I’ve never diluted my blood by turning another to create a pseudo-family. I’ve stayed true to Goddess Sekhmet,” he says, watching her eyes roam over him.

He sees the interest and desire in their depths. Her wolf’s attraction is clear. He smiles. “They’ve lost their minds to madness. Their minds have been corrupted by centuries of living unclean lives.”

Willow opens a room next to her brother’s office. A large table stands in the middle, covered with maps, papers, and documents. She shuffles papers around and finds a rolled-up map, which she unrolls and secures with paperweights. It’s a map of Scotland.

She peers down at it and finds the area she’s looking for. It’s in the northern part of Scotland, a more mountainous and rugged region. She points to a small village and a clear area just south of it. “This would be the best place for a helicopter to land. We can travel from here. It’ll take a few hours, but it’s the best route,” Willow says, looking down at the spot Andrei indicated and nodding.

She looks up at the map and notices the castle as well. It’s perched on a cliff next to the ocean, surrounded by forest. “I’ll get Logan to pull up Google Maps of the area. I like to see what I’m leading a team into.”

“It might not show a clear image. I had a powerful witch cast a spell on it centuries ago to make it appear dangerous and falling apart,” he reminds her.

“That doesn’t matter. Genisis will see, and I’m more interested in the surrounding area anyway. I plan to lure them out of the castle and capture at least one, if not all three of them,” she says with a grin.

She taps her knuckles on the map as if making a decision. “Let’s gear up and get moving. I want to do this tonight,” she says, spinning on her heels and heading for the door.

She turns and smiles at him. “Prepare yourself, Andrei. I’d like to think we can get this done tonight, but stranger things have happened, and it could take longer.”

He nods and heads to his room to drink a bag of blood.

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She asks Boris to meet her in his office after she’s given her team instructions and had the helicopter fueled. Her team is packing their gear and preparing food rations. Spending a couple of nights in the forest is standard for shadow wolves. They do it all the time.

She knocks on Boris’s door and enters. Her parents are also there.

“Do you have a plan?” Boris asks immediately.

“I do. He says the ancients are holed up in an old castle that actually belongs to him. So, we’re taking the chopper and heading that way. We’ll be coming in from the south and through the forest that surrounds most of the area.

“I had a vision last night. The creatures we’re going to encounter are nasty. They’ll try to kill me, but the Goddess showed me what to do,” she says, winking at her mother.

“I’ll be okay. Calm your heart, I can hear it all the way from here.”

Lyric grimaces. “You’re my daughter, of course I’m nervous!”

Kaiser takes her hand and squeezes it. “Have faith, my dear.”

“I know, I know!” She looks up at Willow. “Go on,” she encourages.

“I’m taking two shadow wolves with me, Rueben and Victor. I shouldn’t need more than that. Andrei is also a very powerful vampire. We should be able to handle three old men on their last legs easily,” she says with a grin.

“We have our equipment and comms. I’ll let you know when we land and when we’re done. I promise I’ll be careful,” she quickly adds, seeing her mother open her mouth to speak again.

Lyric nods, then stands and hugs her daughter. “I love you,” she whispers in her ear.

Willow hugs her back tightly, winks at her brother and father, then leaves the room to meet with Andrei and her team.