“Holy shit,” Dagger murmured. “What is it?”
Evander grinned. “I like to call it… anti-juice.”
Dagger blinked. “Anti-juice. Couldn’t you come up with a more badass name for it?”
“No. It’s perfect.”
Rielle nodded her agreement. “If you’d ever had juice, you’d know exactly how badass it is to be anti-juice.”
Cassian shrugged, walking over to inspect a vial. “She’s probably right. How do we use this stuff?”
“Two ways,” Evander explained, lifting a blue cylinder from the bunch. “The larger cannisters, like this, can be launched or thrown. Pull the pin, like an old style grenade and toss. For large coverage, for groups of mutants, etcetera. These smaller ones…” he pointed to finger-sized vials “… these can be loaded into the guns for more targeted attack.”
“Nice.” Cassian nodded in appreciation. “And what does it do?”
“It’s a more concentrated version of what we’ve been using to treat the addicted omegas. At low doses, it seems to reverse some of the effects of the juice. Concentrated, and in this form…” he glanced at Rielle, “we hope it will stop a mutant in his tracks, and revert the effects of the juice.”
“Good,” I said. “And have we replenished what we lost in the armory raid?”
Dagger shook his head. “Not fully. But our armies are well equipped, and with the omega wolves at our side, we have a clear advantage.”
I nodded. “Agreed. So here’s how it will go down.” I brought their attention to a screen where I’d started mapping out our battle plan. “Cassian, your army will protect Luxoria. The humans might send soldiers around the back when they encounter us in the Badlands, thinking they can attack from behind. Your job is to stop them, and guard the castle from any incursions.”
Cassian crossed his arms, nodding his approval. “Done.”
Charolet stood beside him. “This will put me in a position to see that Zelene is safe.”
“Do not let her do anything stupid,” the king spoke up.
“She would never.” Charolet blinked innocently.
“I mean it, Charolet. Don’t let her take risks with the baby coming so soon.”
Charolet’s expression softened. “She won’t. You know she won’t. And I won’t let anything happen to her.”
This seemed to satisfy Adalai, so I continued laying out the plan.
“Evander, your army will serve as a second wave attack and an extra protection against an invasion of the city. Your position will be here, between Luxoria and the Badlands. No doubt, you will field the harshest attacks from the beta resistance, those that don’t join the humans in the Badlands.”
Evander rubbed his palms together, looking like something of a mad scientist mastermind mixed with a warrior. “I have some tricks up my sleeve for the betas. Things nobody will be expecting.”
“Perfect.”
Rielle placed her hand on her mate’s arm. “Let’s not forget there are plenty of innocent betas out there who just want peace.”
Evander nodded. “Yes, mate. And they deserve to be protected from their own kind too.”
A collective nod circled the room. Peace was our end goal. Getting there was going to take a fight.
“Dagger,” I continued, “Your omega army and mine will spread equally across the Badlands, with strategic pockets of soldiers and wolves interspersed in these locations.” I pointed to several spots on the map.
Dagger nodded. “Sound cannons are already in place. They will affect the wolves in the same way they do the mutants, so they have to be used as a last resort.”
“Understood.” I pumped my fists, adrenaline already flooding my body. This would work. It had to. “Going by what we know from Charolet and Rielle’s experience at the Keep, the humans think they have the advantage with their Elite programmed mutants. But they have no idea what a unified pack of our size can accomplish. I believe we don’t even fully grasp what we can do together.” I stared at Ashla. She and the other omega mates had always known we were stronger together. That what was seen by some as a disadvantage was really an upper hand. That being seen as the weakest sometimes meant you had to become the strongest.
“We will win this war,” I ground out, determination flooding my voice. “For our people, for our future. Because goddamned happily-ever-afters shouldn’t exist in just fairy tales. It’s time to show our people what peace looks like, feels like. It’s time to work together and end this once and for all.”
A collective roar filled the room.
“Let’s go,” Adalai commanded, stalking toward the exit, the others following behind.
Pulling Ashla close, I inspected her leathers and weapons. Sure, she was the pro at outfitting for battle but I still wanted to double check everything. For my own peace of mind. If anything happened to her…
“This will work,” she said, and the surety in her voice was exactly what I needed from her.
I kissed her hard on the mouth, tasting her and letting my desire fuel me. When I pulled away, we were both breathless.
I pressed my forehead to hers. “Promise me you’ll shift into your wolf form when the fighting gets heavy. Use your animal. I know what she can do.”
Ashla nodded, pulling back to straighten my collar. “I will. And… don’t forget you have one too. You’re free to shift now. The enemy won’t expect it. It might come in handy.”
I brushed my thumb over her cheek, amazed at how perfect she was for me. “Good thinking, mate.”
With her at my side, and my soldiers at my back, I made my way to the Badlands to face our enemies one last time.
Ashla
Chapter Eighteen
The taste of Solen’s kiss would fuel me through this battle. We
