[JEREMY]
"Fuck," Jer cursed as they both took heavy breaths. They awere tired from the fighting, but the fact that Rukiya Greyson was coming for them, was even more terrifying.
Maybe they needed to find a way to stall, but knowing Rukiya, she would break through any and all barriers that were put against her. It was all just a matter of time, which at the moment, the Sicario pack had very little of.
"What will you do now?" Dom asked as he turned to look at Jer. He knew that this was just one of the challenges that they would face. They were slowly realizing how much impact having Awuor had in the pack and now that she was gone and most probably dead, they had nothing.
"We'll face her. It's obvious that she doesn't want peace, otherwise, she would have sent the messenger with a request for a truce," Jer said, and Dom just laughed. It was almost like he was enjoying this and clearly, Jer wasn't having any of it. So before Jer said another word, Dom got up.
"That's more like it. Now come along, we have warriors to prepare. And we need to be ready, because fighting Rukiya, will be like fighting Awuor, and we both know my sister could be a crazy bitch sometimes," Dom said as they walked out of the gym.
The next few days were busy in Sicario. The warriors were training day and night and were, with tuba doubt, exhausted. But they couldn't stop. They couldn't afford it, because Theo, one of the watchers at the gate had already sighted the Greyson troops closing in on them.
It was a battle they had never expected, but one that they had no other option other than to fight. This was the life they had to live through.
"Train! Harder! Rukiya and her people won't let you off, just because you have been training daily. So make sure you protect the pack! Make sure you protect your families, our families because at the end of the day, this is our home!" jer said to the warriors who were sparring with each other.
They were worried about going against the Greyson warriors, but they had a responsibility to their people, and their home.
"Yes, alpha!" the warriors responded, right before Reynard walked into the training grounds and headed to the alpha.
"Keep training, I'll be back!" Jer said as he walked out with Reynard.
"What is it this time?" Jer asked and Reynard looked at him tiredly, almost like the unexpected was truly happening. Whatever it was, it seriously couldn't be worse than what they had all endured, right?
"Alpha, they are closing in on the gates. What do we do now?"
"We stall," Jer said, before adding, "tell the warriors at the gates to be ready. I'll inform the ones on the training grounds too. And do not under any circumstances ring the bell," Jer said, making Reynard look at him like he was crazy.
Not ringing the bell would mean that they would definitely have little time for the pack members to evacuate. They had almost no time right now and with what was happening would it really be enough for the women and children to stay in the houses that fast?
"Okay, alpha," Reynard said, before leaving.
Jer sighed as he looked at the warriors who were training hard. He knew he had been keeping them on their toes for a long time and that they were tired, which was also why he told them to stop training and get ready.
They needed to rest.
Maybe it was crazy what he was doing, but the Sicario defense system had different stages. And the warriors that he was personally training, were the kind of warriors who stepped into the war, when shit was going sideways.
They were the death squad and if the battle with the Greysons was out there in the field, then the death squad could have gone. But until then, they had to restock their energy while the other warriors tried to keep the defenses steady.
With his warriors dispersed and ready, Jer knew he had to find a way to communicate with his people and tell them to go to safety, without sounding the warning bells. So he used the mind links between him as the Sicario alpha and his people.
That was the only private link that wouldn't sell out.
"Good afternoon Sicario. We have enemies closing in on our territory at the moment. Do not be scared, because our warriors will hold the fort. Leave everything as it is, and only take the essentials and walk slowly to your homes.
"Initiate the lockdown protocol on the homes, and do not leave. The protocol will make it easier for the human resources team to get food to the houses by sundown and until the battle ends. Take care of each other, and be safe," Jer said, before he shut the mind links.
He knew they were scared. He could smell their fear from the moment he talked about the enemies closing in. Jer knew he couldn't tell them why there was a war but he would once they dealt with this.
There would be losses and possible destruction, but Jer could only hope that lives were saved. After all, he was still clinging on to the idea that Rukiya wouldn't let her people attack women and children.
With the announcement bit down, Jer walked to the palace, where the alpha Sicario, Dom, and Elodie were waiting for him. While Elodie was technically useless to the team, she was there because apparently, she was the motivation Jer needed to keep the pack going. It was like she was his escort or consort.
"That was a great announcement. Theo says the Greyson troops are at our gates. How do you want to play this?" Alpha Sicario asked and Jer looked at the map before him.
He knew the troops had to have surrounded the northern part of Sicario, which meant that this was probably not an invasion, right?
"We face them. We can't stay back like pvssies at war. We have to show up. Buckle up people, we have to defend our home," Jer said, even though he wanted to go out there and negotiate. However, he knew he had nothing to negotiate with.
Rukiya's high-value prisoners were probably the reason why her pack had stayed silent for a while and now that she had nothing anymore, she ended up letting out the anger, the disappointment of a pack that was too quick to do so many things without thinking.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Alpha Sicario said and Elodie stood back. She watched them as they put their war armor on, and since she was a warrior too, she could have joined in the battle, but she couldn't.
Not when she was sure that one of these three people had been the very reason her best friend was dead. She wasn't going to join in a war of fools.
"Aren't you coming?" Dom asked, even though he had a feeling she wasn't.
"Women aren't allowed to go to war, remember?" Elodie shrugged like it was the most common thing.
"Yeah right, and Rukiya Greyson is a man, yeah?" Dom laughed before he walked out with Jer and alpha Sicario, leaving Elodie in the alpha's office.