Chapter 84

-Dorothy-

I was waiting with the remaining council members, plotting out our plan of attack and defense. The situation looked dire but we weren’t completely out of options just yet, Surrender was out of the question, nob*dy doubted for a moment that the Tally would cut us down all the same even if we were to wave the white flag.

But we had armor on our side and we had the upper hand on them in one regard. They were fighting us on our own territory. We knew this terrain better than them and we intended to use that to our advantage.

Instead of meeting the Tally head-on, we formed a different strategy. One that, with the help of the iron armor and the lay of the land, would give us a fighting chance against the insidious: Tally shifters.

It wasn’t long before three Bielke scouts came running back to us to report the whereabouts of Johan’s army. According to the scouts, Johan and his troops, all in well form, were currently making their way through the open fields to the south and that was exactly where we planned to meet them

The fields were covered in tall grass and purple flowers that bloomed that time of year. Surrounding the open area was small hilltops and thick forests. The Tally would have to travel through the tangled trees to reach us.

“But what about Ignatius” one of the councilors had piped up. Our people are scared. How are we supposed to urge them. to run into battle when their leader isn’t here to guide them. They need to know that their Alpha stands with them.”

All eyes turned to me and I looked down at the map of the land that was rolled out in front of me on the table. “Ignatius is on his way. We’ll just have to hold our own until he can get here. Until then, we reassure everyone as best we can.”

We finalized our plans and the others set out to inform our own troops.

Angie had recovered almost immediately after my healing of her and was rushing about getting everyone organized before they were to move out. After speaking with the elders, I was caught up in the bustle, fighting the dizzy spell that came about after every healing ritual

The clattering of armor and the shouts of dozens of Bielke shifters rang out into the night as I hurried along, keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of Ignatius and his team returning.

Rita set out to round up every member of the pack who was unable to fight. Children and the elderly would be protected on the far side of the pack until it was safe for them to retum to their homes.

If this were to go south and we fell to the Tally, a flare would be lit and Kita would escort all of them as far away as possible. Our few allies would not light alongside us, they had made that clear after Ignatius had taken over, but they would offer refuge to our members if it came to that..

With so much going on, my head was filled with thoughts of strategy and war. I went about putting on my own armor in a distracted daze. The armor had been designed to accommodate both human and wolf forms.

The plates would slide and grind over each other as a shifter morphed from human to wolf, offering protection in both states without having to remove the iron in between. The whole getup made our members look like mechanical toys, iron wolves that could transform at will. It was an awe-inspiring fear to behold..

The armor itself was thin and light as it wasn’t there to protect the physical b*dy as much as to repel the Tally from coming into contact with a wearer entirely. I knotted my fiery hair into two long plates and hoped they wouldn’t get in the way.

My hair had grown a sizeable amount since I had first met Ignatius and the long red locks now hung just below my waist.

As much as Angie insisted that hair like that would prove dangerous in a fight, I couldn’t bear to cut it off. I tucked it away a best I could but it wasn’t long before my braids tumbled around my shoulders and small tendrils pulled themselves loose

I sl*pped on the small shoulder plates and secured them in place I had to ditch the breast plate entirely as it wouldn’t fit over my growing belly

Chapter 81

I instead opted for an iron sheet at my Isack and hefty iron gauntlets that Gideon had crafted for me personally. “For a belting chance,” he had said and grinned as I sl*pped them on and swung at the air.

“They’re perfect, Gids!” I had exclaimed and smashed my iron-did fist into the bark of a nearby tree, grinning gleefully when it let a dent in the bark.

Now, slays later, I sl*pped them on again and swung at the air, testing the weight of them and trying my best to remember everything Angie had taught me about combat.

As if summoned by my thoughts alone and out of seemingly nowhere, Angie popped up and pulled me aside. She eyed my weaponry and then shook her head to clear her thoughts. “We need to talk”

I followed her out of the forge to a quiet comer. She seemed agitated, dancing on her toes and sliding her eyes left and right as she made sure we were out of carshot.

“Angie” I coaxed “What’s up? Shouldn’t you be getting ready to rave?”

Angie ran a hand through her loose hair. She was unable to meet my gaze. “Look, Dorothy. I spoke to the scouts, I heard the verdict from the council meeting. They’ve seen Johan’s army and it’s not looking good for us“

“Why are you telling me this? I know all of this already. We have to light them, we don’t really have a choice.”

“I know, I know,” she mumbled. “But the thing is, they outnumber us by quite a lot. And without Ignatius here to urge everyone on, there’s a good chance we won’t be winning this way. The odds are stacked against us this time around.”

I shook my head. “Don’t ay that. How can you say that?” I stepped away from her when she reached for me. “We have a plan, we have the iron armor, We have a real chance!”

“Dorothy, listen to me Angie put her hands firmly on my shoulders and held me in place. “We’re going to light okay? We’re going to try our best. And I know you want to lielp, but I neeil you to stay behind. If it looks like things have taken a turn for the worst, I want you to get out of here. “Do you understand? Drop everything and get as far away from Bielke territory as possible. Take my car, you might have a better chance of escaping that way.”

“Tis not doing that I protested, gripping her wrists and wrenching her hands away from me. I Ignatius isn’t here to lead them then I’ll do it myself.”

“You can’t Dorothy! Think about your children-

“I can protect my children just fine. I snapped back and then sened my voice. “I’m the Luna of this pack, Angie. I have a duty to my people. I’m not going to run away and abandon them,”

Her face looked pained and she wrapped her anus around hersell. “If Jolan gets to you, there’s no telling what he’ll do. And I might not be able to keep an eye on you out there. I won’t be able to protect you

“If I’m on the battlefield, Johan will no doubt seek me out himself. That gives all of you a better chance to win this battle.” I folded my arms at my chest and lifted my chin.

1 tried to sound stern in my words but Angie was adamant that was to go nowhere near the battlefield.

“I can’t let you do this,” she said quietly. “Ignatius would never forgive me.”

“You can’t stop me either. And Ignatius will understand,” I answered flatly. I didn’t want to argue with her, not when the threat of demise loomed over our heads. Tensions were high and I tried my best to stay calm and collected. “I have to do this, Angie, please try and understand that.”

An odd idea occurred to me and I raised a hand to pause Angie when she opened her mouth to respond. “You said we’re lacking in numbers. There’s no denying that. But there is a way to fix that. Or at least, there might bel

Angie closed her l*ps and co cked her head to the side. “Oh? How

I thought it over for a moment, tapping my foot on the ground did not want to repeat the heinous acts of the previous Bielke leaders. But there was a way about the situation where everyone would get what they want

20

Chapter 84

The idea formed slowly in any head and I looked up at Angie with a new small glimmer of hope sparking in my chest.

“How fast do you think we can make it to the Bielke cells?”

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