Page 37 of Spirit Walker Pack (Kingdom of Wolves #5)

ARRIC

I’m tired of listening to Levi’s voice drone on about tactics and how to fight this war.

All he’s done so far is have piddly skirmishes against the packs on our border.

The Shadow Clan must think I’m stupid. I know that they only want this war to bleed my finances dry.

They think that they are going to get rich by selling me low-grade stuff and charging inflated prices.

So far I’ve only made two payments to them and that was for good stuff that they were using to impress me.

Levi wants me to lead the main attack on Blood Pearl Pack, no doubt so he can kill me in the confusion of the battle.

Well, I’m not going to be within miles of that battle.

I have plans of my own to attend to. My agenda still has getting a Luna at the top of it, and I know that the Alphas will swan off to war and leave their Lunas keeping the home fires burning.

I’ll just march in, take the one I like most and skedaddle out of there.

By the time they find out who’s missing, I’ll have them safely and securely back in no-man’s-land.

There’ll be no opportunity for any escaping this time, either.

When the Blood Pearl Pack Luna escaped last time, she made me look foolish. That won’t happen again.

“Arric… You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you? How do you expect to win and create your kingdom if you don’t know what needs to be done and when?”

“It’s quite simple my dear Levi. I leave that to you and the other minions I employ to take care of the dirty work. I have no intention of dirtying my hands with the blood of my enemies. I intend to keep my distance from the battlefield.”

“So you’ll willingly send others to die doing your bidding to make you a king but won’t stand with them.

Effectively, they will have nothing to fight for and will just give in when the fighting gets tough.

” The scorn in his voice is wasted on me.

I take no notice of it. “You’re a coward.

You won't ever become a king. Even if you could win the war, you’d never rule.

One of your minions would take the crown from you in an instant. There is no fear of you to stop them.”

He may have something there, but I know that I have enough loyal to me within my guards that it wouldn’t happen. I allow enough tidbits to fall from my table to keep them in awe of me, and respect my generosity.

“Levi, you forget yourself. You are here as an advisor but also as my general. You will leave here immediately and start the attack on the Blood Pearl Pack as soon as possible. There will be no holding reserves either. Take all the warriors available to you and march on their packhouse. I want the Blood Pearl Pack destroyed before sunset tomorrow and my banner raised over its ruins.”

I can see him fuming at this instruction, but I just don’t care.

He has enough warriors to walk through the woods of the Blood Pearl Pack and subdue everyone that he meets.

I expect to be crowning myself King of all I survey within forty-eight hours.

Woe betide anyone who prevents that from happening.

Watching Levi storm from the room, I have to hide a grin.

He is just so easy to throw off balance, it's losing its enjoyment. It won’t be for much longer.

I’ve arranged for his sudden demise as soon as the battle is won.

I have several individuals eager to earn my favor for the task of ridding me of the troublesome Shadow Clan observer.

Now it’s time for me to start my sneak attack to secure myself a worthy queen.

I’ve been told that the Spirit Walker Pack has recently had a new Luna, and she is quite a stunner.

They also tell me she was quite the warrior before that, too.

I can quite happily see myself breaking the spirit of someone like that and subduing her to become my queen.

I want a subservient queen. I don’t want to have to sleep with one eye open for fear of retribution.

I don’t want to be challenged when there are decisions to be made, either.

I want my instructions followed to the letter and without hesitation, not to have minions looking over my shoulder to see if the queen agrees.

Leading my force away from no-man’s-land, I feel like a king at the head of his army already. I feel powerful, majestic and in control. This is what I was destined for. My whole life has led to my being here and becoming something special in this world.

LEVI

What an arrogant fool Arric truly is. He is going to throw it all away just so he can chase after another male's mate. His fixation with having an established Luna as his queen will be the death of him if he isn’t careful.

My sources tell me he is going after Luna Fenya of the Spirit Walker Pack.

If that is the case, he won’t last his first night with her.

She’ll eat him up and spit him out. At least she’ll save me the job of killing him.

I might even return her to Alpha Lyle as a thank you for doing the deed.

It will take some time to reach the Blood Pearl Pack as Arric has refused to deploy his army of warriors in the manner I suggested.

He had half a dozen underground bunkers that would have been ideal for hiding his force closer to the border, but he refused to see the benefit of his troops staying fresh and not having to travel so far on the day of battle.

He even ordered them collapsed or sealed, for the Goddess’ sake. Stupid. Idiotic. Moron.

I can think of so many words to describe him, and not one of them complimentary. I hate him as I’ve hated no one else in my entire life. I need to put him out of my thoughts so I can concentrate on the task at hand.

One good thing. I know the identities of those he encouraged to put an end to me. They won’t last the battle, I’ve seen to that.

I’m having to push forward at a far faster pace than I would have liked.

The pathetic meeting this morning was a waste of time and effort.

He enjoys the sound of his voice far more than I enjoy hearing it.

It was a delaying tactic too. He knew I wanted the attack to start when the warriors of the Blood Pearl Pack would be relaxing from their daytime patrols, enjoying their meal and the next scheduled patrols would be confident that there would be no action until after dark.

Now, I shall miss that lulled period and have to rest the rogue warriors overnight ready to attack in the morning. They won’t be as alert, and they definitely won’t be happy about going without a hot breakfast.

By the time we reach the first of the underground bunkers, we’re approaching three quarters of the way to the border.

Some of the officers Arric appointed want to stop here and use the bunker to rest. When I ask how they plan to divide the force into who gets to use the bunker as a hotel, they look confused.

“The bunker will hold less than a quarter of our force. Who is going to volunteer to tell the other three-quarters that they get to sleep in the forest while a select few reside in the dry comfort and warmth of the bunker? I’m certainly not doing it.

Might as well paint a target on your back for the coming battle. ”

Realizing the discontent that their suggestion could generate, no one pursues the idea, and we carry on. In hindsight, I could have just told them that Arric had ordered them filled in or collapsed the entrances, but I didn’t think that deeply about it.

Stopping for a quick break causes enough drama when everyone realizes that it wasn’t the stop for the night they thought it was. Several fights break out, and one becomes so fierce that a death occurs. The survivor is quickly put to death by me to deter any further incidents.

It is past midnight when we finally reach our camping area. Most just find a spot to collapse and are asleep in seconds. Rousing those in charge, I instruct them to set up perimeter patrols and guard shifts. Damn it, I shouldn’t have to tell these shifters such basic requirements.

I lose the plot completely when I start to see fires being started for cooking and heat. Oh…my…Goddess! I should just go home now, resign from the Shadow Clan, and live out my life as a hermit in some cave in a faraway forest.

I’m up and about earlier than everyone else.

No surprise there then. Walking around the perimeter, I find only one solitary guard awake.

He challenges me as I approach in the mist, and I deliberately give the wrong answer.

When he tells me he recognizes me as Shadow Clan warrior Levi, General of the army, I advance and praise him for his vigilance.

Understanding I could have found a diamond in the rough, I transfer him to my personal squad and learn his name is Bellamy. Learning some of his background, I discover he was a close friend of Blackshadow’s Alpha Connell. That could prove useful, I think to myself.

After thirty minutes of trying to rouse the camp quietly, I realize I could have been stealthier using a bass drum and a loudspeaker. It’s an hour after dawn before we are positioned for our attack, and the Blood Pearl Pack must surely be waiting for us poised and ready.

I have no intention of becoming cannon fodder in the first few minutes, so I send in the first wave of warriors.

When they reach the border, the Blood Pearl Pack warriors appear as though they sprouted from the earth.

They quickly start to overwhelm our force, so the second wave joins them and seems to stem the tide.

I am just about to send the third wave when a tidal wave of warriors rushes out of the forest behind us.

Thinking that Arric has decided to claim the victory for himself, it takes a moment for me to realize that they are not our forces. I don’t know how they mustered such a force at our flank, or where they’ve come from, but this has us in dire straits. We could lose the war with our first engagement.