Hammers in the Shadows

Part One: Shadows and Ice - Chapter Nine

Zane glowered at her, I think it was more because of her getting him to sit down than it was because of what she said since there were hints of amusement in his eyes. "Herding cats!!! I will say no more, I am here and will give what I can."

Anna laughed and several other members of the council did as well, since they were well aware that he'd almost given his life for our survival.

Olaf smiled, "My young friend, we honour that agreement and we accept your assistance as long as you and your Alpha are willing to give it."

Shanna, who was sitting beside her mate, also smiled. "You and those from your Pack have shown us the best of your kind and we feel that you've sacrificed much so that we might survive."

I had joined my mate in our laughter at my stubborn, hard headed friend and I commented on what we were going to be doing. "Zane your determination is something that every member of this council admires and we will gladly continue to accept your aid. Though, as our Healer has already pointed out, for the time being you're on enforced rest since you're still recovering from that wound."

Zane glared at me, but I knew that he realized that in this case he had to listen to the advice of my mom.

That evening, after spending most of the day checking the defenses with Alex, I sat in my office and thought about how I'd tell Adam about the previous day's events. During the inspection of the defenses the only surprising thing that both of us had noticed was the relative lack of activity on the other side of the line, though after the drubbing we'd given them I doubted that the wolves really wanted to attack the line. Finally, after considering the problem for a few more minutes I picked up the handset and set the device to secure mode and made the call.

After a few moments of ringing I heard the phone get picked up and I could hear that he was happy that I was still among the living. "Mark, glad you could call. I take it that everybody is safe now?"

"Yes, and I'm glad that I could get a hold of you. We managed to beat them back yesterday with minimal casualties, though the three packs who attacked took significant loses. Ivan was there, with six other cats, though from what I've learned four of them were there simply to get away from Shadow Valley. Adam, Ivan was completely crazy, he was a Rogue cat, and he had his brother's sword."

There was a slight pause on the other end, "Didn't you bury that sword with the Rogue... and we're talking about the one that turned you, right?" Adam replied with a question.

"Yes, I confirmed with Olaf that he buried that blade with it's former owner, in an unmarked grave." I growled, "We haven't yet decided to do with Ivan's corpse, though after we've moved the Pride we will find a fitting burial place for him."

Adam snarled, a graphic ugly sound that reminded me that he could be really unpleasant when he was pissed off, after all Mikel had been buried for a reason, and for Ivan and Vladimir to give him an honourable cremation... "Down here Mark, the law is that if that happens, the one who's done such a thing will take the place of the one that was buried, unless they are sentenced to a worse fate." He gave a pause, which I took as him taking a breath to calm himself down. "What help do you need to deal with them? I have three APVs that I could send up your way, and I can send another group. Since Vladimir's group has finally been declared Rogue it frees up resources as a rogue group is almost the worst kind of enemy any Pack or Pride can have! The only thing worse is a Rogue Alpha..."

"Adam, these are my people, they only ones that we've classified as Rogues are the leaders. Out of the four that we captured yesterday every single one has joined the Pride and freely given us every single piece of information that they know about the defenses of Shadow Valley." I told him before I continued after pausing for a breath, "Tomorrow we plan on using every scrap of information that they've given us to take that territory from Vladimir and his cronies utilizing stealth and the cover of darkness, under those conditions the last thing we need is a tank, or other armoured vehicle. Hell, if we weren't worried about damage or stealth I would see if we could figure out how to get one of our's out there." I told him, "When I was first thinking of taking out Shadow Valley I was thinking that I was going to have Zane in command of the wolves. However, with him injured and not able to join the fighting for the next few weeks I am going to have to improvise." I commented, "I am going to have to drop that responsibility on a Senior Enforcer that I trust with my back. He's a bit young for the job, but he's strong and steady under pressure. Hell, with time and training he could make a good Second, perhaps even Alpha, though I probably shouldn't really talk. You wolves do things a bit differently than we do." I finished, leaning back in my chair.

"Yes, and thank you for keeping my Second alive. He's still recovering, but as soon as he's out of your medical section he'll start to push himself to the ragged edge, that's what makes him a good Second. I hope he recovers quickly. Is there anything that you need right now from me?"

I closed my eyes to think before I shook my head slightly, though Adam couldn't see that. "For the moment, I don't think so. I will try and contact you when the operation is complete and we've achieved success, but I can't guarantee when, or how I will manage that."

"I understand Mark, now you take care out there. Your Pride and your mate needs you to stay alive." He admonished me before he bid me a goodnight and hung up.

This chapter is a mite bit shorter than the last one, but I hope you don't mind a short breather before getting back into the action. As always thanks for the help Wolphin5 and maxd01 for the assistance with your characters. If you guys enjoy it please don't hesitate to leave comments and vote. I love reading the comments since they give me some insight into how people like this.