Page 77 of Broken Forced Mate

“I’ll be with you,” I tell her without hesitation.

“Are you sure? They specifically mentioned killing my bodyguard.”

“Let them try.”

For the first time since her return, Raegan smiles. “Then we have a plan.”

“Well, I have to get approval from the alpha,” I remind her. “But you have my support.”

The intelligence specialist speaks up from her position against the wall. “There’s something else you should know about their weapons.”

“What?” Raegan asks.

“I saw focusing arrays that could hit individual targets from miles away.”

“That changes things,” Theodore comments. “If they can pick off our leaders from a distance—”

“Then we don’t give them clear targets,” Raegan interrupts. “We keep Ash and Oren out of sight. If the alpha and luna go down, we’re screwed.”

I snort and reply, “You think your brother is going to go for that?”

“No, but I’m counting on you to convince him it’s necessary.”

“He wouldn’t have to stay hidden for long,” the specialist continues. “The weapons also seem to be powered by individual Amanzite cores. Take out the core, disable the weapon.”

A new possibility occurs to me. “Could we turn their weapons against them?”

“Theoretically, yes. But you’d need to understand the magical interface systems.”

Raegan and I look at each other. Neither of us has expertise in magical weapons.

“I might know someone who could help,” she says thoughtfully. “I’m willing to bet the matriarch could do it, and she wouldn’t even need to get that close.”

The next few hours pass in a flurry of preparation and waiting. Theodore coordinates the positioning of our fighters while Raegan reviews the maps one more time. I can see the exhaustion in her face, but she refuses to rest.

“Contact on the perimeter,” Jay reports over the radio. “Friendly forces approaching from the east.”

“That’s Oren,” I tell Raegan. “Right on schedule.”

We move outside to meet the reinforcements. Oren arrives with exactly fifty fighters as promised, all of them looking ready for battle. He spots Raegan, and his relief is visible.

“You look terrible,” he tells his sister bluntly.

“Thanks for the pep talk,” she responds. “Did you bring the good fighters or the ones you wanted to get rid of?”

“The best I could spare without leaving our territory defenseless.” Oren’s eyes scan the defensive positions we’ve established. “Brief me on the situation.”

I give him a quick rundown of Thornridge’s planned assault and Raegan’s proposed trap. His face grows darker with each detail.

“You want to use my sister as bait,” he growls. “You’re her husband, Wyn. You’re supposed to be looking after her, not putting in right in the middle of the shit show.”

“It’s the best tactical option we have,” Raegan argues before I can respond.

“It’s also the most dangerous.”

“Every option is dangerous now. At least this one gives us some control over the engagement.”

Oren eyes the tactical map, cocking his head to the side. “Their magical weapons change everything. Traditional defensive positions won’t protect against life-draining devices.”