Page 21 of Bound to Enemy (Wolf Billionaire #3)

CHAPTER 21

DAXTON

I knew the day of darkness would come, but I had never expected it to come so soon. We were only days away from what we anticipated would be the battle day.

It had been a week of training and bolstering the walls. I would be lying if I said my body wasn't spent and my mind tired. My father had warned me that you would need to tap into a different kind of strength when you found yourself in war.

We were trying to prepare as best we could, but for some reason, I felt like we weren't doing enough.

I sat at the head of the table in my war room with my warriors and mate before me in their seats. We had been in this meeting for almost an hour now, and Aaron had been explaining the way forward.

"We must secure all areas of the moonstone chamber." He used his long pointing stick to pinpoint the moonstone chamber that housed the precious stone. "This is why I believe that the battle should be fought here."

This is a simple plan, but we do not seem to have other options. Everyone around the table nodded in agreement, all except for my mate, who stared at the map of the pack lands with great intensity.

I had studied her long enough to know when she was thinking hard about something. I had come to learn that the majority of the time when it came to matters of the rogues, my wife should be listened to. Blackstone had faced more attacks by the rogues and they understood their psyche.

"With all due respect, I disagree," Alessandra finally spoke up. Her eyes lifted to connect with those of Aaron. "In the most respectful way possible, your plan is likely to get all of us killed or, worse, turned into rogues because that is handing the stone right to them."

Every head turned to her. She had been quiet through the majority of this debrief and had sat at my right side observing. She had her hair tied up and her mark was on full display for everyone to see.

I loved it when she showed it off. It made me feel proud for some reason, like she was mine and no one else could have her.

"Excuse me?" Aaron, my head of patrol, spoke. His eyes looked between me and Alessandra.

Alessandra stood from her seat and walked to the center of the table. She held her hand out waiting for the large stick.

Aaron looked at me as if waiting for my permission to grant her what she wanted.

"She is your Luna, Aaron," I reminded him. When it came to her, they all ranked below her. She was under nobody, including me. I was her equal in every way.

"Of course." He inclined his head and gave her the pointing stick. "Forgive me, Luna. Please, proceed."

She took the pointer stick from him and started pointing to the map of the pack lands.

"The walls are weak right now because they are widespread. What we need to do for the next few days, at least, is to bring them in closer. That means we are giving up more ground to the rogues. But in doing this, we have a stronger shield.

Next, the moonstone. They have been searching for this thing for over a decade. We cannot place it in the very place where they know they will find it. We need to secure it in the chambers bolstered by the walls. My people were able to build what you would think is a force field around the crater that held the moonstone. This way we don't need to worry about them getting their hands on the moonstone because we already have the upper hand. If we simply try to fight from the holding place, then we leave ourselves more vulnerable to their attacks. But that is just me."

The room fell silent as each of my warriors considered her words.

It was Daniel, my head of technical strategy, who spoke first, "The Luna is correct in this. It will leave us less vulnerable, but the only issue here is that moving the moonstone is tricky business. Not to mention if we are to actually touch it, the power surge alone could easily fry a wolf to ash."

"Your ancestors moved it when they stole it from my pack land." The little snarky tone in her voice didn't go unnoticed. "Sorry."

But she didn't sound the least bit sorry. I didn't fault her for still feeling a certain type of way about the way our ancestors handled everything. She had every right to be mad. What had happened had left her pack vulnerable and weakened.

"Ale," I said.

"Fine," she quipped, "the moonstone can be moved. It is suspended in the air by a zero-gravity chamber. To simply dislodge it, you need to create somewhat of a faux container. The walls where you keep the stone are lined with limestone and titanium. You can simply use a small chamber lined with the same elements in order to move it. I had created one back at Blackstone and it should be simple enough to replicate."

I was impressed. Not only was this woman stunning, but she had a mind in her skull. Every day I fell a little deeper in love with her.

How could I not have seen her like this all along? It was crazy what a few misunderstandings could do.

William had a matching look of respect and appreciation for my mate. The way she had taken charge and the way that she did it not only showed me what I had already guessed about her. She was a natural-born leader.

"I say we do it," my beta spoke up. "Out of everyone in this room, bar the alpha, the Luna has faced off with rogues alone and won."

A few of my other warriors nodded their heads in agreement, but Aaron was hesitant. I understood why he felt belittled, but my wife was correct.

"I agree," I concluded. I patted the wooden table. "Now that this has been concluded, everyone out."

They all looked at me confused and made no effort to get up off their asses.

"Leave. Are you all deaf?"

The chairs scraped against the floor and everyone inclined their heads in a bow and made their way out of the room.

My wife turned to leave as well.

"Not you, Ale."

She paused and looked at me with those eyes of hers. With one glance, I knew that I was a goner. I could refuse this woman nothing. If she wanted the moon, then I would find a way to lasso it down to the earth for her.

I pushed away from the large table just enough so my legs came from under it. "Come here, Ale."

She placed the pointing stick down and walked over to me. I extended my hand to her and she took it graciously. I pulled her into my lap, her body instantly melted into mine, and we both sighed in unison.

Our days were so busy now that we didn't have any time for ourselves. I slept next to her every night, but I would get up every morning before the sun rose in order to bolster the walls around the pack.

I pressed my lips on the side of her head, breathing in her sweet scent. My wolf instantly calmed and my spirit felt at ease. There was just something about being close to her that always managed to center me.

"I missed you," I muttered into her hair.

I saw her every day but I never got the chance to actually see her. We had gone from enjoying each other for the first three weeks of our relationship to now only managing a few cuddles and kisses before our bodies collapsed.

We didn't get those mornings together where we would sleep in and talk about the most mundane things. It was the silliest of things, but those were my favorite moments with her. That was where I got to know her beyond the prim and proper persona she had built for herself.

"I missed you too," she placed her head on my shoulder and looked up at me. "How was your day?"

"Good, well as good as war prep can be." I brushed the small strand that had fallen from her face. "How was your day?"

"Hectic, some of your wolves are taking time to unlearn the tactics that they knew and relearn how to fend off the rogues. It's not easy, I understand that, but we don't have time. The rogues could be coming any day now and the last thing that I want is for us to lose a lot of people."

This was the thing of war. Your weak links could be the difference maker between winning the war and losing. In this instance, the cost of losing was far too great; the only option we had was to win.

"I know, baby." I kissed her forehead. "They will adapt. I think it just takes a little time. But how are you though? I can see the fatigue in your eyes."

Her eyebrows pulled together in a frown. "Are you saying I'm ugly, Vale?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't avoid my question. Are you taking care of yourself the way that you should? If training is taking its toll on you, then let Jason take the lead."

She shook her head vigorously. "No, I'm fine. I think today was just one of those hard days, besides I think my time of the month is fast approaching. I always get tired around that time, so that could be it."

I wasn't fully convinced. I knew just how hyper-focused she could get. I didn't want to get into it when we were meant to be enjoying each other's alone time.

"Just make sure you rest and eat, Ale. You need those two in order to face off with the rogues in the first place."

"I know," she melted into me again. "I just want all of this to be over."

"Me too, my love."

We had a huge storm brewing and we didn't know how many would come out on the other side. I just hoped that both me and her made it, but if one of us had to live to see the end of this war, I would make sure it was her.

Between her life and mine, it would always be hers.