“I know. I’ve seen it,” Talia said.
“Did you know he possesses, among other things, nukes? If that doesn’t at least make you think twice, you are childishly naive. Nuclear weapons, whether stolen or bought., are in his possession. Ross cannot be taken. He defeated house Kent...”
“Kent?” Alicia asked, shocked. “They’re gone?”
“Within four hours, and he suffered no loss of manpower. They lost half their soldiers. Kent, at the time, was almost equal to House Slade. Everything they had. Everything: money, resources, equipment, men, artillery, all of it, now belong to Ross.”
“You knew all this and you did nothing?”
“I reported directly to Creed. As the trusted right hand of Wilson, I didn’t even think to go directly to Wilson. It was Creed who did nothing. Perhaps it was that he saw all these movements and that they were away from our house that things were left alone. Observed only. We were once, possibly, the only house that could’ve stopped him. Then the subject of succession came along and everything else took a back seat. What point is a house with no clear future, no direction?”
“And from there he only became stronger,” Alicia said, shaking her head. “I knew I should’ve trusted my gut about that fucker. I knew it. I wasted so much time. Squandered it trying to keep my family strong, not the house. And now he has my grandson, saying that he will bring him total power; enough to take the wolf world.”
“With an infant?” Alistair asked. “I have no idea what that means.”
“I do,” Talia said. “He’s been doing experiments on the baby...” Talia looked to Alicia. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t get him out, there was just no time...I was running, fighting...I couldn’t-”
Alicia held up a hand. “What experiments? What do you mean?”
“Taking his blood. A lot of it. He wants to use it somehow but I don’t know what for, I’m sorry.”
“We’ve got to go, there’s no time.” Alicia said, straightening herself.
“You’ll both die,” Alistair said softly.
“Stay here then!” Talia snapped. “You’ve got better things to do than die for something you don’t believe in, and I sure as shit have got better things to do than listen to a whiny little bitch all day.”
“What the hell is wrong with you? Both of you?” Alistair suddenly yelled. “Look behind us for fuck’s sake. The house is gone! The mansion in ruins! We three are all that’s left. And what? You’re going to go charging in there, again? Look what happened the last time you did that. And that’s when they weren’t expecting you. I’m not sorry for ever following my Alpha’s orders, but I’ll be damned if I will head into yet another battle with blinkers on. I was born with eyes and a voice, and I’ll use them.”
“Fine!” Talia said, stepping closer to him. “So what do you suggest then? Use those eyes and that voice. Run if you want. Hide. It is probably the smart thing to do. But it’s not what I am going to do. If you have any advice, tell me. If not, have fun doing whatever you want to do.”
“Madness,” Alistair said. Talia turned away and moved closer to Alicia. “You need allies, someone not afraid to stand up to Ross. There have been plenty over the years but most have been killed or cowed into silent obedience. One, that I know of, hasn’t: Scarlett Connelly.”
“The mad Scot? You have to be kidding,” Alicia said.
“The mad Scot was her father.”
“She’s an anarchist. Her father was a proud swinger. He wanted an alliance with Wilson purely so they could swap wives. What a great example of an Alpha. You want us to convince a millennial hippie on steroids to help us?”
“Ross killed her father and she’s vowed to return serve. You asked my advice and that’s it. She doesn’t have the resources, but she does have the will. That, and plenty of people that prefer her outlook on life to Ross’.”
“And that is?”
“To pretty much eat and fuck anything we want. No houses. No Alphas. No rules or restrictions. Because we are werewolves.”
“Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Fun while it lasts, but a disaster nonetheless.” Talia replied.
“Her family’s way of thinking got them laughed out of Scotland. They never fought any battles. They had allegiance to no house. They never aided nor were aided by anyone. They catered to a new generation of wolves with an old ‘make love not war’ mindset. It was ridiculous then and is even more ridiculous now. What was it, A House With No Home?”
“The other way around,” Alistair corrected. “A Home Without A House. That’s what they call themselves. Open to all and everyone. They promote complete freedom.”
“They promote STD’s, if we could contract them, and overdosing on anything that can be cooked up in a lab. They are made up of lone wolves kicked out of their packs and they drink and screw each other. It is pointless to continue this-”
“They did stop one of Ross’ supply routes. I heard about it several weeks ago. She let it be known to all that she was in open rebellion against him. Of course, no one paid any attention but a hit to Ross is a significant effort, no matter how small. He hasn’t been able to find them. Any trace vanishes.”
“Which it would if they have no base of operations,” Talia said, sounding thoughtful. “They keep moving around. Pretty good strategy.”
“Even if I thought we should entertain this, if he can’t find them, there’s no way we can. Thank you for the advice, but it’s time to move. I know we need help,
