Chapter 66

LEO

The bombs were heard all over the territory. The fires were visible for miles, and the fallen ash settled on the ground even in the most far-flung corners.

The soldiers flocked to the army center, and now I stood among a crowd of thousands of whispering men awaiting an explanation.

I held my hand up, ordering a silence that instantly swept over the entire army.

“I’m sure all of you heard the explosions. And before rumors spread, and the truth is distorted, I better inform you of the truth,” I began, speaking loudly so all could hear.

“Tonight at quarter past midnight, bombs planted by Andrea Martinez were detonated in the homes of Commanders Eduardo Siciliano, Paulo Salvatore, Mario Rossi, Emiliano Fruili, and Rafaello Carlucci.

“They and their families were all killed.”

I had every single set of eyes on me as a deadly silence took hold. Only the crackling of the distant fires and cries of wild animals trapped in the flames could be heard.

“And while this is a huge tragedy for the Stella Pack, and those men will not be forgotten, we have no time to grieve.

“We have already lost too many lives at the hands of Andrea Martinez, and for now the mourning and funerals will have to wait. We will honor the deaths in another way: by taking him down.

“By protecting our civilians, our children, our mates, our elderly, and our sick.”

There was a cheer of support throughout the army.

“Martinez has shown us tonight that he wants to play dirty,” I continued. “So fine. We will do this his way.

“That means we will show no mercy, we will take no prisoners, there will be no rules, and no tactics will be considered too brutal.

“This will be like no war we have ever fought before, but we will carry the same Stella strength, bravery, resistance, and resilience that has taken us to victory time and time and time again.

“We have never been defeated before, and if Martinez thinks his bombs and machine guns can, he is gravely mistaken. That fucker is a dead man.

“He has been since he first set eyes on my luna all those months ago, and his inevitable fate is long overdue.”

There was another cheer. This time louder and more passionate.

“We may have lost our head commanders,” I added. “Five strong, skilled, intelligent, cunning warriors. But it’s going to take far more than that to bring the Stella Pack down.

“And I’m sure their deputies will do them proud in stepping up to fill their roles and lead our squadrons to victory. So arm up, soldiers, and prepare for battle. Your seniors will deliver your first orders shortly.”

With that, they all disbanded with shouts and applause.

But I couldn’t bring myself to smile and cheer like they did. My speech had been a success.

I needed to keep up the morale if we were to stand a chance, but with the sky still aglow with the blaze of the explosions, the victory I talked of wasn’t in sight. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

I marched over to Blair who stood briefing the five deputy head commanders, now just the head commanders.

Their faces were all pale, probably the shock of losing their bosses or maybe the immense pressure they suddenly had on their shoulders.

But Blair and I had devised a plan for each of the five divisions they commanded. All they needed to do was carry out my orders.

“So in summary,” Blair began, “division one: border defense. Bombs on the roads, machine guns hidden in the trees. Patrols covering every single possible entrance. That includes Seattle and the airport.

“Division two: base defense. The fortification is nearly complete. There are towers to position snipers and machine guns. Soldiers patrolling the walls are to be unarmed with additional hand grenades.

“Scouts with communication devices are to be positioned a mile around the base ready to provide feedback information and stop them before they get anywhere near the civilians.”

“Division three: targeting Martinez. Your job is simple. Track the bastard down and kill him. But simple doesn’t mean easy. He’s sly and cunning. We know he’s not easy to find.

“But the men in division three are the only soldiers permitted to delay the deaths of Martinez’s men. Get information out of them. They are weak-willed, disloyal, and will spill without much effort.

“That’s Martinez’s greatest weakness, and you will exploit the fuck out of it. Some of them won’t know a word of English, but you have recording devices and a system to send files back to translators. Use it.

“Division four: second line of defense. You will be between the borders and the base hunting down and killing Martinez’s soldiers by any means you can. Explosives, machine guns, snipers, hand grenades.

“You have free rein over the armory.

“Division five: for now, you will join division four. But as the situation develops, and we know more about Martinez’s tactics, your role will become more apparent.

“You are crucial to the plan to adapt to whatever Martinez hits us with. Remember, we are going into this with very little information. We have no idea what to expect.”

They all nodded.

“Anything to add, Alpha?” Blair asked, turning to me.

“Division three, if you have the chance, make his death as slow and painful as possible,” I said. “Make him suffer.”

“But I assume that means that an opportunity to kill him shouldn’t be missed on the grounds of being too merciful,” Blair said.

“No,” I said through gritted teeth. “His heart stopping is your priority. If that means he doesn’t suffer before it beats for the last time, I will at least take some satisfaction in knowing he will still suffer in hell.”

Half an hour later, I was watching as the divisions disbanded to fulfill their allocated roles.

“Elena, Maria, Allison,” I said, calling over my sisters and their best friend.

Since the war against Haden’s pack years ago, they’d stayed members of the army and trained alongside our brothers.

They were incredible soldiers, just like the other one hundred women that had been recruited in the last few years since the policy changed to allow any woman who can pass the physical tests to join.

They were still a minority, and Ella still considered the tests unfair on the female body, but they were there to ensure a soldier is up to standard and ultimately to ensure their safety.

I wasn’t going to let anyone I didn’t think was strong enough fight. Same for the men. And they were welcome to train hard as they liked in the civilian training center until they could pass the tests.

They responded to my call and approached me.

Maria’s bows and arrows had been replaced by a sniper and bullets. Elena gripped a gun as long as her arm while Allison carried a box of explosives.

“I know you don’t like being coddled or treated differently to any other soldiers on the grounds of being women or my sisters, but…,” I began.

“You know what happened to Ella. You know these men have no morals. Keep your guard up.”

Elena nodded. “Don’t worry, Leo. If you thought Maria was dangerous with that bow, you should see her with a sniper.”

I smiled. “I know. I certainly wouldn’t mess with you three. But just be careful and look out for each other,” I said.

They nodded before Elena and Maria gave me a quick hug before continuing with their preparations.

I then spotted Max over by the armory.

“Ella, Milly, and the kids are in the vault, I trust?” I asked as I stood next to him.

“Locked and bolted,” he confirmed.

I nodded and sighed a slight sigh of relief. “Were they okay?” I asked.

“There were some tears and worried faces from the kids. But Ella held it together,” he replied. “She’s amazing like that. No matter how hard things are for her, she’ll do whatever she must for those little kids.”

I smiled. “She sure is amazing. And she has a huge heart too. She feels terrible about what happened with Milly. She’d change it in an instant if she could.”

Max nodded before he looked up to me. “I know…but she can’t.”

I sighed.

“And do you regret it?” he asked. “Because we all know at the end of the day it didn’t matter whether Ella supported it or not, it was your decision as alpha to test Milly’s powers. So do you regret it?”

I paused for a second. “No. I am sorry that it turned out this way, but I am not sorry for grasping at what could have been an opportunity to save this pack from certain doom.”

I quickly bit my tongue and looked around. The soldiers were all still busy, and I had fortunately not managed to turn any heads.

“Certain doom, huh?” he asked. “You think we’re fucked?”

“I’m not willing to underestimate Martinez for a piece of mind,” I replied. “Now push your spite for me out of your mind and focus on at least trying to win this war.

“If by some miracle we succeed, you can leave with your sister and never have to look at me again. And keep your mouth shut. I need morale to stay high.”

I knew Max was entitled to be mad about Milly, but he certainly had a way of pissing me off when I was already on edge. As I walked away from him, another man was approaching me.

Haden.

Just what I needed.

“Is it important?” I snapped as he began to follow me.

“Last time you had to lead anything of this scale on home turf it was against Ayas,” he said. “It’s an honor to fight alongside the great Alpha Loren rather than against you.”

“Fuck off, Haden,” I replied. “I don’t have time for your pointless twittering.”

“I just wanted to let you know you have my full support,” he said.

I stopped walking and turned to face him. Having once been a powerful alpha, he was nearly as tall as me and still stood with the posture and nerve of the man he once was.

In the years since the end of our official feud, Lia had forced us into many failed attempts to get along.

While he had no choice but to comply with my orders, he had hardly ever been the submissive type and did everything with the most resentment and reluctance possible.

He irritated me beyond measure, and much to Lia’s dismay, any endeavors for civility and peaceful “family time” only ever ended with arguments.

So to hear him give me his “full support” was something I never thought I’d experience.

“I don’t like you, Loren,” he said bluntly. “But I don’t like Martinez more. He kidnapped my nephew, and he poses a threat to my own family too. So I will fight for you to take him down.”

“You are a member of my army, and you don’t have a choice—but I appreciate it. Thank you, Haden,” I said with a half smile. “Now get back to your division before I am forced to discipline you.”

He nodded and finally left me alone.

I spent the next half an hour watching over my men as they prepared. I helped them load up their trucks, buckle up their bulletproof vests, hand out helmets, and package emergency first aid kits.

There was apprehension, nerves, and tension, but these men certainly didn’t lack courage. They were hardened, experienced soldiers.

And they were ready to lay down their lives to protect this fight, and they certainly weren’t scared of Andrea Martinez.

“Alpha,” Blair said, approaching me as I stood in the middle of the facility. “Everything’s ready. Shall we give the go-ahead?”

I nodded and waved my hand to the drivers of the trucks and the patrols ready to file out. “Let’s do this.”