Kayden woke with a jolt when there was a knock on the door, interupting her erotic dream. A blush filled her cheeks as she found herself in Dominik's arms still, clinging to him as she had the night before.
"The Grey Wolves are gone. All children must stay in their quarters. Available adults are needed in the Throne room. Advised, do not let children out of quarters."
The messenger moved along, and once more went door to door to proclaim his news. Kayden shook Dominik awake, her blush worsening when she saw his face, those dark eyes in her dream, those lips...
"We are needed in the Throne Room," she explained, "Sounds like clean up duties."
The door leading in to Lukai's room was busted when the messenger came, but Lukai and his sister were fine. Even though Issac had advised the candidates to stick together, Lukai still had one family member visiting. He'd advised Stephen and Bear to bunk in his room, where he could protect his young sister. And he had. He'd locked Stephen in the bathroom after the incessent little leech kept screaming every time he heard a noise. His little sister was hidden in the wardrobe with her dolls and told to stay quiet and out of sight. Bear proved an amirable fighter, the two of them working together in wolf form to tackle any threat that got into the room. They had barricaded it but it fell through and Grey Wolves were able to get in, although they only had to face one or two at a time. By morning the men were seeped in blood, as was the quarters.
So when the messenger did come, he had no door to knock on. Instead he found two angry wolves, waiting for their next victims.
"I see," was all he said, backing away, "Alpha wants able bodied wolves in the throne room. No children."
Lukai made a noise to Bear, nodding at him to go along, that he'd remain and clean up. Shifting into human form behind the bed, Lukai released Stephen and told him where to head, the man still drenched in blood. He began mopping up his body when their was a sharp gasp in his room and he came running out, still without clothes.
"Lukai," the white haired princess was standing in his room, looking relieved at first to see him, then surprised and shocked at his lack of clothing, "Please cover up!"
"Sorry princess," Lukai turned away, "Everything alright?"
"I saw the wreckage...wanted to see if you were still alive. I'm glad you are. I must head to the throne room. Are you coming?"
He smiled at her concern for him, "I think I'll stay behind here and clean up. My little sister is sleeping in the wardrobe and I'd really like to get her out, but she's too young to see this...mess."
Katerina stared at the bodies a few more seconds before nodding, "That's wise. I should catch up with Dominik...and the others of course. I will see you soon."
She left and Lukai got to work on his room, focusing on discarding the bodies and mopping up blood before his baby sister awoke.
They had gotten the news, and just like the rest, they were pulling down their baricades to see the damage. Blood splattered the stone walls, seeping across the floor in small and large puddles. Bodies were piled in doorways, rooms, and often in pieces. Hayley stopped looking after her stomach knotted for the third time, focusing on staring at her feet. On their way to the Throne room they found Bear freshly Changed, his human form still coated in blood as he dragged on a pair of oversized pants he found.
"It's temporary," he explained.
Hayley made a face, "You can't waltz into the Throne Room coated in blood Bear. I'm happy your alive...but I don't think anyone wants to know how many wolves are on your hands."
"Too many," he sounded upset, "Our barricade didn't hold and me and Lukai fended off wolves all night. No help from Stephen of course, and Dominik's been missing. I'm just on my way to my room to clean up and change into fresh clothes."
"I'll see you there."
As he left she turned to Flynn, "That could have been us. Thank god your barricade held all night."
She continued to the Throne Room with him, wanting to help clean up the sorrow leaking through the halls.
Gernesh was driving her nuts. Not only was the soon-to-be mama wolf stressed over her own mate, she had to listen to Gernesh all night rant and rave about Hayley's safety. Ivory tried calming him, but to no avail, so she retired to a chair and let him rant while she worried silently over Christian. As night became day scouts arrived from the East saying they held no attack, but there was word the North had been hit hard.
"And my mate? Christian?" she asked.
"Safe ma'am," the scout nodded, "Shall I send him your word?"
"Tell him I want him to run North, with a small but trustworthy group, and help Issac with any issues within the Northern Pack. They are not fighters, and they must have suffered greatly. I will return to the East to raise our army in preparation for a second attack. The Mountain Wolves have declared themselves enemies. This could lead to war."
When her scout left she turned to Gernesh, "There is no doubt that you will want to return to the North. I suggest you do the same as my mate, and take your strongest and loyalist men and women with you. If you could send word to the River Pack and West, that would also help."
"I have," no shook his head, "The Western Pack sent back my scout this morning, poor boy was about to collaspe. The Beta there is returning to the North with a few men, wanting to aid Issac. But for some reason there has been no response from the River Pack. And my scout has yet to return."
"That is most odd," Ivory shrugged, "It is matters for another time, I am sure the message has been relayed somehow. If it is alright with you, we would like to leave our children here, where they are safest."
"Of course."
"Then I must return to my duties. Thank you Gernesh. May your daughter return to you happy and healthy."
With that she left, walking through the pack's settlement towards the river that divided them from the East. She wore no shoes and nothing more than a loose white tunic with a high belt to hide the growing bulge of her stomach. Already her pregnancy was showing, an effect of the werewolf gene. Normal human pregnancies of nine months contrasted with the wolfs gestation period of around two months. Because of that, many female were's found their entire pregnancy to last between four and six months, making their babies growth exceptionally quicker. For Ivory that meant in a week she went from faint heart beats to growing belly, and soon there would be no way to hide it from the pack. It worried her though...exposing she was pregnant during war within the clan could be dangerous. Cruel hearted could see her as a weakness to Christian. Take out his mate and pups, and Christian would barely be able to lead his pack. Because of this Ivory was careful to hide her stomach, wanting to go as long as she could without anyone knowing.
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