Taking Power With The Alpha's Daughter

Chapter 7: To The Appalachians

***PHIL POV***

    At first light, the siren blared.

    Jean-Marie put us up in guest rooms because we didn’t make it back to the hotel after that first night.  We had been out for maybe 4 hours when the attack alarms blared. I had no clue how many there were, but I knew we had bogeys on the property.  That knowledge shot me on my feet immediately.  I opened up my window and shifted into Madison before I hit the ground.

    The wave that I took on had 8 werecougars in it.  I got lucky in the sense that I landed right on one of them and felt their neck break instantly.  

    “Seven to go in this group,” Madison thought.  “This is fun!”

    It was then that I accepted my wolf was nuts.

    As I was in the process of dispatching the next cougar to the afterlife, I saw Billie leading three other cougars on a merry chase into the woods.  I figured that they had about twenty minutes of life left.

    I continued my fights out in the open with the rest of my squad of cougars, wondering why in the hell these cats were so hell-bent on taking over this area.  It wasn’t that they were skilled fighters or anything like that.

    These cats were terrible!

    I had gotten through all but two of the cats from the opposition in the course of 20 minutes, and I was completely confused.  If Uncle Jim were to start a fight with another group, he’d send the best we had to the battlefields every single time.  I also noticed a large wolf on my right who was having similar ease with killing their cougars.

    Am I missing the main battle? I linked Kristy.  Because this is easy.  I’ve had very little trouble with the cats that I’m fighting.

    I’ve noticed that as well, Kristy replied.  Something really weird is going on with this den.  Have they sent all their rookie fighters as cannon fodder, or have their more skilled fighters figured out that no matter who they send, they’re coming back in body bags?!

    I have absolutely no clue, but I have an idea.  Can you tell where in the world they’re coming from?

    I think I have them tracked from the north, Kristy replied.  Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?

    We need Jean-Marie’s blessing first, but yes, let’s counterattack these fuckers and drive them into Tennessee, I replied, feeling the need to really whip some ass.  I lazily smacked the cougar in front of me, but the swipe had enough force behind it that they were knocked completely unconscious.  Once I forcibly told that cat it was nap time, I leapt toward my guest window and shifted out of Madison midair, landing right in the room I had stayed in the night before.  I quickly changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top and ran downstairs and back outside where Jean-Marie had just shifted out of the wolf that fought next to me.

    “Jean-Marie, with your permission, I’d like to take some of your best fighters and have them meet up with the rest of my crew and chase the cats back to wherever the hell they came from.”

    “I’m to the point where I’m sick of them as well,” Jean-Marie replied.  “I do have one request, though.”

    “What’s that?” I asked.

    “Do your absolute best to capture one of those pieces of used-up litter,” Jean-Marie ordered.  “I want to see if we can figure out anything more than we already know.  We have a hunch that this is Lucas O’Neill’s den.  That much is a given.  The biggest thing that I want to know is if anyone is fronting them at all.  We have to get a hold of this nonsense and figure out a way to put our antidote on the market without us getting killed in the process.”

    “I agree with that sentiment completely,” I stated.  “We can make that happen. So I’m going to let everyone on my side in on that conversation, and we’ll get to it.”

    “Good.  I’m not your Alpha, but I’m ordering you to kick ass,” Jean-Marie declared.

    “Yes, sir!” I replied with a smile.  I closed my eyes to link everyone.  I hadn’t seen Kristy yet, so I assumed that she was in decent shape.  If the cats she was fighting were as bad as the ones I dealt with, then she viewed this as nothing more than a warmup.

    Kristy, are you doing okay? I asked.

    Never better, she replied happily.  I’m standing outside the ES packhouse as Billie.  I had a feeling you were coming up with a plan, and I think I know where the hell it’s going.

    Yep, you were correct in that assumption, I replied. But, Michael, Mira, and Justin, please be warned I’ve also started a link with Dalvin.  

    Hello, Gamma, Dalvin stated.  Are we gonna kick some kitty ass today?

    That’s the purpose of this conversation, I stated in the link with a giant smile on my face.  I just got Jean-Marie’s blessing to attack the cougar den head-on.  He wants them gone, so Alpha, with your permission, I want to chase the cats all the way out of Louisiana and into the Smokey Mountains.

    What special instructions did Jean-Marie give you?  Does he want anything in particular? Michael asked.

    Only that we capture one of them, bring them back to him, and see if they can get anything out of them.  We know that someone is fronting this operation, and we think we know who in the hell it is.  We just need to prove it.

    Agreed, Justin replied.  That makes an amazing amount of sense.

    We’re all on the same page, Michael replied.  I want to see where this attack is coming from and why it’s even happening in the first damned place.  Make your counterattack happen, and make it right.

    Copy that.  I was about to break the link when I got a text from Jean-Marie.  He asked me to read it aloud in the link with everyone else.

    Really quick, before we go our separate ways for a while when the battle is done, and we capture someone, Jean-Marie wants to chat about the plant and how operational it is.  Apparently, teaming up with Bonnie was a damned good idea because a plan is already in place, and he’s ready to talk numbers, I told everyone.  Any day now, they're supposed to get in an expert chemist who can work with our people and the recipe we have.  I don’t know if they want to improve it or keep it as is, but we’re onto something.

    Damn!  That was fast! Michael exclaimed.  Well, we’ll have to make things relatively quick.  Mira and I have our “what are you having” sonogram appointment at 7 tonight.

    Kristy squealed with excitement.  Do you have any guesses on what you’re having?

    I think we’re having a girl, Mira replied.  At least, that’s what I’m hoping for.  I want Miracle to have what we had when we were girls, Kristy.

    Speaking of which, how is my adorable Mini-Me? Kristy asked.  Could someone send me a picture of her?

    Yes, I can, Justin replied.  She’s doing well.  She just took a crap on me right before I put a fresh diaper on her.

    That’s my girl! Kristy said with glee.

    Well, that stinks for Justin, but that’s pretty damned adorable, and I sure hope you’re able to give Miracle that, Mira, I said with a smile.  I adore you and Michael so much; you two are f*****g goals.

    THERE’S THE PHIL WE KNOW AND LOVE! Kristy yelled.  WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!

    I knew what Kristy was doing.  Neither of us had told anyone back home; we figured out my mate was out there.  However, that would be a conversation for another day.

    He’s about to go back into his hidey-hole.  For now, it’s all business.  Let’s go kick the hell out of some damned cougars!

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***KRISTY POV***

    I had noticed one hell of a change in Phil that morning.  He seemed lighter.  He seemed less stressed.  He seemed...almost happy.

    He knew he wasn’t destined to be alone.

    And he had something of his own to fight for.

    And fight he did.

    The moment the link broke, Phil shifted into Madison before I could even think about shifting into Billie, and Madison picked up the scent of the cougars before I could.  The more pungent it got, the more we slowed down. Finally, when Madison stopped, I knew that we were close.  I looked behind and saw our posse of a combined 75 wolves, including me, Phil, Jean-Marie, and the Everfur Shadows warriors who volunteered.

    Billie peered down the hill and saw what made Madison stop in his tracks.

    There had to have been 150 werecougars and 20 wolves.

    And they were all asleep.  

    They had no clue we were there.

    I decided to link Michael and see if he could use me as a conduit to link Jean-Marie to see what in the hell he wanted to do.

    Let me try.  Focus your eyes on him, and we’ll see what we can do, Michael replied in the link.

    I found the wolf that was Jean-Marie on my third attempt after the first and second ones landed me on Everfur Shadows wolves.  Once I figured it out, Michael tried talking to him a third time.

    Alpha Allard, this is Alpha Bartholomew, can you hear me?

    The eyes of Jean-Marie’s wolf began bulging like nothing I had ever seen before.

    How in the f*****g f**k do you do this?! Jean-Marie shouted in the link, astonished.

    Again, it’s a Phoenix wolf thing, Michael laughed.  There’s a lot of things that I can do that even I’m just finding out I’m capable of.  This falls under that category.

    This is so cool, Jean-Marie linked.  So, I’m assuming one of you have a plan?

    Simple, I stated.  I want to do a full-frontal assault and chase them into the Appalachians.  

    Do we have enough horses, or wolves, for that? Jean-Marie asked.

    I chuckled at his joke, knowing what he was talking about.  He was worried that we didn’t have the capabilities to carry out this plan.  He didn’t know about the ace we had up our sleeves.

    We have a whole other crew of 30 wolves at the Marriott that’s waiting to attack as well.  We’ve got them matched with even numbers, and our people are battle-hardened.  This will be easy.

    f**k me, Jean-Marie whispered to himself.  Okay then.  Let’s GOOO!!!

    The link felt larger to me, and that’s when I realized that he had brought his whole regiment of warriors in the link as well.

    And they charged.

    One of the advantages of Phil knowing werecougar culture inside and out was that we knew the “generals'' or “commanders'' of the den would be at the head of whatever battle force they could drum up.  By the luck of the Goddess, that is where we ended up when we came over the hill they used as cover.

    And, based on the description of her cougar and human form we had gotten right after we all took office, we could tell that Monica O’Neill was there.

    I set my sights right for her and charged with the rest of the group.  Monica never saw me coming, and I grabbed the back of her neck in my mouth and pulled her struggling self back up the hill, which I knew was the pressure point in the werecougar anatomy that would prevent her from shifting into her cat.  With the job of us needing to capture someone for intelligence purposes, I heard some audible “OH s**t’s” by the group of werecougars and werewolves we had charged.  Some of their people were killed, and those that weren’t ran like hell to the north.  I knew that once the ES group would force them to Shreveport, the CW squads would send them into Arkansas and then to the Appalachians.  We knew we had the stamina for it.  I doubted they did.

    I kept the link with Phil open as he set them off.  By the time I had walked back to the Everfur Shadows packhouse, they had reached Shreveport, and the marathon was on.

    Some of the interrogation specialists for Everfur Shadows escorted an incredibly pissed-off Monica O’Neill and myself to the interrogation rooms in the Everfur Shadows’ basement.  They handcuffed her to an interrogation chair and injected an interference chip in her shoulder to prevent her from shifting.  Once she was secure, I ran Billie up to my room on the guest floor, changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and walked back to the basement.  I was met with a murderous glare from Monica.

    “How we doing, Monica?” I asked casually, popping the tab on the soda I got from an omega on the way down.

    “f**k you!” she screamed in response.

    “Well, I’m doing fine, thanks for asking!” I replied cheerfully.  I took a swig of the soda, set it back down, and met her glare with a smirk.

    We sat in comfortable silence, or at least comfortable silence for me, as I played on my phone. Then, Justin sent me a photo of Miracle sitting at my desk, looking like she was taking a phone call.  It made me smile, so I decided to use this to my advantage.

    “This is my daughter, Miracle,” I told her, showing her the picture.  Monica closed her eyes in a deliberate response to me being friendly.

    “I’d like to get back to her soon, so do me a favor and tell me why you’re here and why in the hell some of the wolves from Phantom Grounds were here as well,” I told her.

    Of all of the reactions she could have had, maniacal laughter was not one of the ones I would have expected.  And yet Monica actually cackled in my face.

    “I can’t believe you actually asked me that question,” she responded.

    “Care to elaborate?” I replied.  “Has he contracted you all to do his dirty work for him?”

    “Hell, no!” she yelled, now giggling.  “We own him!  Fabian’s so far in debt to a bookie in Las Vegas in our den, and we’re moving on fighting him.  He planned this expedition down here to f**k with the Alpha of this pack to disrupt their income source unprovoked.  He’s figured out that Jean-Marie and Crescent Woods are in bed.  He just hasn’t figured out why.”