Chapter 40-

Ember:
I am so warm and comfortable nestled between my men. James is snoring lightly with his arm under my head and his erection pressing into my ass. Lucas’s face is buried in my neck and his little breaths tickle me; his hand is lazily draped over my hip. This is where I am happy, where I am safe. I smile when I think of us tangled up in passion last night. All of my comfort quickly turns into dread and fear as the alarm blares and both of my mates jump out of our bed naked and alert. They quickly throw on pants but don’t bother with shirts since they will be shifting soon. A moment of fear and panic crosses James’s face when we start hearing the howl that indicates distress and extreme danger from whoever is on watch. “Lucas you get the kids and Ember into the bunker. I’ll go meet our enemy.” “Alpha…” Lucas looks at his brother like he wants to argue but I know that look on James’s face, he wont settle for just anyone looking after us. James looks at his brother and claps him on the back. “Keep our family safe. I’ll keep you in the loop. I want at least ten warriors in the bunker with you. Make sure all the women and children get in safely.” “I will brother.” James looks at me and kisses me hard. “I love you queenie, stay in the bunker.” “I love you too honey. Come back to me.” James gives me a smirk as he runs out of our bedroom. “Always my queen.”

Time both stands still and feels like it is running out as we get our kids into the bunker. Once Oriel, Irvin, and Apollo are in with me and ten warriors are stationed inside with us, Lucas goes to make sure every woman and child has been brought down to safety. I am thankful that in the last few years we built a new bunker and made it comfortable and stocked with food and supplies for our ever-growing pack. We even have multiple rooms throughout the underground shelter now for people who need to rest or for children to play. Right now, everyone gathers in the main area with all the tables so that we can keep track of who is in here. Young children and even some of the women have started crying and are fearful of what is happening up top. I know I need to keep the calm down here so that our men can focus on whatever threat is going on above. “All right everyone we need to keep quiet and calm. Our men are up there defending our pack. We can trust in them to protect us. I’m going to go through and do a role call, after I’ve counted you if you have small children who need to go back to sleep there are rooms available for you. As always no one comes or leaves the bunker without permission.” “Yes Luna.” The pack calls out and I start checking in with everyone one by one and making sure all members of the pack are accounted for. As soon as I’ve finished settling everyone in Lucas enters the bunker and seals the door behind him. When he pulls me into a room and closes the door, I get worried. “This threat is not just regular hunters like we originally thought. I only heard bits and pieces from James but there is a small battalion of vampires along with the hunters and one of them has history with this pack. James told me you are not to leave this bunker.” I grab onto Lucas’s shirt and put my head on his chest willing myself to calm down. “I can’t lose him.” “You wont baby. I’ll make sure of it. Now let’s not worry too much yet there didn’t look to be too many of them, and I already checked the houses, no one was left behind. How’s everyone holding up down here?” I let out a shaky breath trying to calm my nerves. “Everyone is accounted for and settling in. We have enough supplies to last us five days if needed. We also have two of the men stationed at the escape hatch. So if we need, we should be able to get everyone out safely.” “You did good baby. We just have to trust James and the warriors to handle everything up top.” We get everyone quieted and calmed down again and wait. When I first came down into the bunker with my family, I initially felt James’s worry and anger but nothing too extreme came through our bond, which gave me hope. Everyone seemed to be dealing with the attack and doing their part until the howls started ringing out. They weren’t howls of warning they were the howls of despair. Ones that they call out when their brothers have fallen in battle. Not only was I bombarded with James’s fierce anger, but the bonded women who were starting to lose their men began wailing with the pain of a severed bond connection. I looked to Lucas with more fear than I’ve felt in a long time. I see the worry in his eyes. “Go my love. Help protect our Alpha and our men.” Lucas grabs me and kisses me hard. Irvin, Oriel, and Apollo are huddled with us, and all share the worry we both feel. “Irvin, you protect the bunker with the other men. No one is to leave understand.” “Yes dad. I’ll protect our pack.” “I know you will son. I love you all, listen to your mother.” “Yes daddy.” Oriel and Apollo call out hugging Lucas before he leaves us in the safety of the bunker. I take a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart. I look at my children to give them comfort when I see my youngest is no longer in the room with us. “Apollo!” I call out in the bunker, panic raising in my chest. “Has anyone seen Apollo?!” I yell out.
James:
When I see who is leading the attack on my pack my blood boils. The humans and vampires have breached our boarder and are now in our village. My only comfort is knowing my mate and the rest of my family are tucked down in the safety of the bunker. We had to learn our lessons the hard way. After losing our families so long ago we made the bunker and alarms a priority while building our little town back up from nothing. With all of the growing families we made vast improvements in the last few years including an escape route if we were ever overrun. I pray that Ember will listen and stay safe where she is. Seeing the disgusting, blood sucking rat in front of me fills me with hate. He is the one who gave our secrets to the human hunters and didn’t come to the aid of our families when called upon. He helped them attack us for profit. He was paid by the humans and thought of us not as the allies we were supposed to be but as a threat to his supposed power. Vampires and Wolves have been allies in the past, but I can never trust one of them again. Not after Marcus helped destroy my pack. I feel no pity for the destruction of his filthy coven. I didn’t involve the repulsive humans in my affairs, no I killed them myself. My warriors and I took vengeance on them and the human settlement that was near them. My mouth was filled with their blood, and I feel no regret. Marcus took my mate and son from me along with so many others, I am happy to have killed so many blood suckers. He will need a lot more men if he thinks he will come here and destroy my family. “Marcus!” I call out. I shift back to my human form before them. He is lined up on horses with another vampire beside him and behind him is his small army of men and vampires. “Oh James, I thought you might not recognize me.” Marcus gets off his horse along with the man beside him and sends me a condescending smile. “How could I forget the scum that worked with the humans to try to wipe us out. How much gold again did they pay you for our location and secrets? We were supposed to work together, to offer protection to each other in time of need, that was the agreement your father and I came up with when you settled your coven so near our pack. Tell me was your coven’s blood worth the gold and power you thought you could gain?” The man beside him who I now recognize as the new vampire king and Marcus’s younger brother looks taken aback. The brothers argue for a moment it’s hard to pick up everything they are saying, but the so-called king looks pissed. It seems he wasn’t given the full accounting of what happened when he betrayed us. I’m sure Marcus painted us as murders. He is lucky he wasn’t there when we raided his coven, or he would be dead just as they are. I should have known he was behind these recent attacks. I just wonder how he located the new village. How did he know how to get through our boarders? I see my answer as the brothers continue to argue. Ava stands outside of a carriage about two hundred meters from me. How disappointing, doesn’t she know her son, no my son is here as well. “This is your only chance Marcus, take your men and go or else I will kill you and every man you brought with you. Whatever claim you think you have for revenge, you are wrong.” I think the vampire king sees he has been deceived to come to the aid of his unfortunate older brother because he starts to get back on his horse and shakes his head. Marcus is not dissuaded so easily, before I can intervein he takes Conor my cousin and a member of my council by the throat and turns his neck so fast and hard that it almost severs his head from his body. My mother’s sister’s son is dead, and I howl out to start the attack. The supposed vampire kings mind is now made up for him, he calls his men forward to fight. War has begun.