Chapter 18

Filtairn sat at his desk completely frustrated. Another group of Lycans had been taken by the Titans as soon as they'd left the safety of the compound. No contact had been initiated regarding a trade or ransom so Filtairn could only imagine that they'd either been killed or turned into slaves. As he released a growl he heard a sharp knock on his office door and before he could even answer, Janik and Ajax were bursting in.

“Another group was taken outside of our gates! That's the third group today!” Janik explained.

“Ok. That's it. No one leaves the compound. Janik you organize moving all Lycans to the main building. We'll have to utilize every room and every space. Ajax, gather Sophia and Avalina and move them to the inner sanctum with Alia. We have to protect Sophia at all costs. I'll call Darius at D Corp and get supplies and Centurions to help protect them. Janik, inform everyone this is an order from their Alpha.”

“Of course, I'll take care of it!” Janik bowed before quickly leaving.

“Do you think we should let Theanna know as well?” Ajax asked.

“Already taken care of. I just sent her a message. We're just over a week away from the Red Moon. The attacks have increased in frequency significantly which tells me they're becoming more desperate. Hopefully Theanna has been able to locate the Chalice and secure it away as she has the Neysa. How was Sophia the last time you talked to either of the sisters?”

“The changes are happening with more frequency as well but I don't know if it is because of the approaching Red Moon or the stress of everything that is happening. I know that Alia has been doing a fantastic job of trying to distract them both. Fortunately, she hasn't shifted into anything larger than her wolf. What's interesting is that Sophia said her wolf is remarkably quiet right now, only showing up when she's hungry or sees a male that perks her interest.”

“Ahh to be young,” Filtairn chuckled. “Theanna's last set of instructions pressed upon us that our sole responsibility must be keeping the clan and Sophia as safe as possible. So go ahead and bring them to the sanctum with Alia.”

“Of course,” Ajax responded with a bow as he left Filtairn's office.

Once Filtairn was alone again, he sighed deeply as he dropped his face into his hands. He just prayed that Thea was able to rescue the Lycans that were taken. Every instinct was telling him to exact revenge, to go after those taken.

He knew he had to have faith in Thea and how she was handling things. It wasn't just the Lycans involved. With another sigh he settled himself and picked up his phone to call Darius. At the rate the Titans were attacking he was going to need help protecting all of the she-wolves.

Filtairn couldn't help but smile when Darius answered on the second ring, “Hey old man! How's your day? I hope it's better than mine.”

“Around this place? A good day is when I have a 'normal' workload. Helen is constantly reminding me that's what the term 'delegating' is for. As you know, if you want things done right sometimes you have to do it yourself. Now how can I help a fellow 'old man'?” Darius chuckled.

“I'm sure you know that we've been contending with daily attacks from the Titans. Everyday I'm losing more and more of my warriors. Thea wants me to keep the clan as safe as possible. That means no more trips off the compound, but we're going to need supplies.”

“We can take care of that. I'll make arrangements to get you a shipment as soon as possible. Do you need a few Centurions to offset your losses until they can be recovered?” Darius asked as he immediately began typing away on his computer putting everything needed into action as soon as possible.

“Please. Thea mentioned they seem to have a vulnerability to poisons. I know your teams have rather specialized weaponry.”

“They do indeed. I'll make sure they're aware of that particular point and suit up accordingly. When you talked to my granddaughter recently, how did she sound?”

“Like she was being pulled into fifty directions all at once. Our call was interrupted more than once until she finally went into her office and blocked anyone from bothering her. She asked me if this was what having children was like. I told her that it was worse,” Filtairn laughed.

“I don't know, the children that work here are definitely worse but then I was lucky, I only had Nira and then Theanna. With the Red Moon being around the corner I can only imagine how chaotic things are. Thea always did thrive in chaos though so I’m sure she's fine,” Darius stated confidently.

“She is but that doesn't stop you from worrying or from missing her. Believe me, I get it. We want them to grow up and do great things and when they do we can't be prouder, but we also miss the days when we were everything to them.”

“Exactly. I'm so proud of her, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't worry. I think I need a vacation. Helen has been pressuring me to take one. She says if I wait until the time is right, it'll never happen. Have you ever wondered how we managed to get these women who are so obviously out of our league to fall in love with us?”

“Every damn day!” Filtairn laughed.

“Anyways, you should get the first provisions this evening and the Centurions will be in contact with you shortly.”

“Thank you, my friend. It's greatly appreciated.”

“Call me if you need anything else. We'll talk again soon!”

“Absolutely, talk to you soon!” Filtairn replied with a smile as he hung up. If there was any sort of silver lining to what was happening, it was definitely that his alliance and friendship with Darius Deus was stronger than ever. Now to pray the wolves in his house didn't act like wild animals.

~~*~~

Theanna was sitting at her desk reading over Kira's report and looking over the photos she provided. From the details that the report gave, she was getting a clearer picture on how the Titan's fought and their strategy style. The report was providing her with some ideas and the formation of a plan.

A guard appeared before her with a deep bow. “Yes, what is it?” Thea asked without even looking up.

“Sidian, my Queen, He, along with Aym and Melchom, have returned.”

“Excellent. Have them shown into my office and send for Damian as well.”

“Of course, my Queen,” the guard bowed before leaving.

Thea hoped they'd been successful. Time was running short and she needed to get everything taken care of. Taking a deep breath in an effort to lower her stress levels and fend off the headache that was threatening, Theanna smiled as she felt her mate start to massage her neck and shoulders. “Mmmm... that feels good.”

“After dinner, Zoqa, I'll make sure all this stress is released from your beautiful body,” Damian murmured as he placed a soft kiss on the side of her neck.

“I'll hold you to that, my Dnirya.” At that moment Sidian, Aym and Melchom entered her office wearing proud smiles. “Welcome back! As fast as you've returned, I'm guessing you were successful.”

“We were indeed, my Queen,” Sidian replied as he produced a large ornate golden chalice. “It was right where I expected it to be, as were all of Azorack's other 'treasures'. We brought all that we could find back with us. Hezin is currently securing them in your vault until you have a chance to take a look at them, my Queen. I also believe it would be prudent to send a team back there to make sure we didn't miss anything.”

“Agreed. Thank you, you’ve done extremely well. Thank you for your continued loyalty,” Thea smiled as she looked at the Lycan Chalice. The stem was studded with blood-red rubies while the cup was decorated with golden carvings showing how a man changed into a wolf and then returned to that of a man. It was incredibly detailed and beautiful. After this was all over, she was looking forward to returning the beautiful Chalice back to Filtairn and his people.

“We’re always at your service, our Queen,” Melchom replied as the three of them bowed before leaving her office.

“You know, you would never guess that something this beautiful could be used to unmake all the realms.”

Thea smiled at her mate. “Total truth right there especially since I don't pick up any residual power in it. Can you put it away?” Thea asked as she handed it to him.

Muttering a spell under his breath, Damian drew a large square in the air, where a door mysteriously appeared. Opening it, he placed the Lycan Chalice inside. Closing the door, after which it immediately disappeared, Damian turned and kissed Thea on the cheek. “I'm going to return to the training arena. I want to make sure the legions are prepared. Call if you need me, Zoqa.”

“Of course, my love,” she smiled as she returned to her mountain of work.