Between the Were Wars

"This is the end

Beautiful friend

This is the end

My only friend, the end

Of our elaborate plans, the end

Of everything that stands, the end

No safety or surprise, the end

I'll never look into your eyes...again"

The Doors- The End

The alarm echoed through the pack house as William and Melody frantically dressed. William strapped the silver Bowie to his belt, then handed the shoulder holster to Melody with the Glock. "You're familiar with this?"

"Absolutely, it's my duty weapon." She took the pistol and two extra magazines for her jacket as she adjusted the straps of the holster so it wouldn't move around. Some of the Omegas had guessed at her size at dinner and had left an assortment of clothes for her, so it was black utility pants, black T-shirt and a black hoodie with hiking boots. "Fashionable and tactically smart," she smiled as she twirled around. William had on his old desert camo pants and a black T-shirt with his matching utility jacket and desert boots, the same getup he had used so often in Iraq as an infantry officer before going back to school to get his law degree.

"Ready?" They were just moving to the door when Tammy knocked. She was outfitted in her FBI gear including a bulletproof vest.

"Sorry, Melody, but most of your gear was cut off you when you were scratched. I did get you this stuff. Silver core bullets coated in Wolfsbane." She handed over a pair of rifle cases, in one was an AR-15 with extra magazines and an Trijicon four power scope with illuminated reticle. The other contained a Remington 700 sniper rifle in .308 and a spotting scope.

William grinned. "I'm good with either one, so ladies choice."

Melody picked up the AR-15 and started loading extra magazines into her pockets. "Let's find a good firing position, I'll spot for you until they get close enough and then I'm unleashing hell on them." William kissed her then grabbed the case for the Remington. "Tammy, does the boss know about this?"

"Yes, he said to keep down and wait for the cavalry to arrive. I decided I wasn't going to hide, especially when Derek offered me one of these." She turned around so they could see the rifle on her back, it was a military M4 with attached grenade launcher. "I brought along high explosive and flare rounds. A girl has to accessorize."

"You bitch, you took my favorite!" Melody giggled with her as they all walked out the door. They went down the stairs to the front door where the Alpha and Betas were handing out defensive assignments. Derek looked at the three, his first thought had been to keep them as a final layer of defense for Renee, but Jesus had convinced him otherwise.

Derek pointed across the courtyard to the building housing the Pack hospital. "I need you guys up on top, take assignments for fields of fire from the Beta up there. If they make it to the hospital, barricade the door to the roof and wait for help. They will attack thinking Renee is there, but she has already been moved to the safe room in the basement of this house." The three turned away. "If I don't make it, thank you for fighting with us today."

William looked back and smiled. "It's an honor to fight alongside you with my Mate and our friend. Stay safe, Alpha." The three moved out. The compound was buzzing with activity as they set up defenses.

Gila Pack Territory

Undisclosed location

Enrique had grown frustrated with the satellite updates and had hacked into the US Air Force and CIA drone feeds. It hadn't take long for him to find the one tasked overhead. The live feed had allowed them to contact a Pack member who relayed the alarm to Alpha Renee. They had about sixty wolves coming from the north, traveling across country quickly. Ten minutes later the drone showed another group of forty or so closing in from the south. They had twenty minutes or so to go before they reached the Pack house.

Enrique was tensed up, his wolf didn't like being away from his Pack and his Alpha when they were threatened. "We need to go back."

Joe shook his head. "Can't do that. Alpha's orders are that you cannot return until she clears it. Our orders are to protect you." He could sense the conflict in Enrique. "You are doing something we can't, you have value here, keep doing it." Ricky went back to the cave entrance, looking outside.

"Shit. You know, if they have the drone, they could spot the solar panels and the communications dish. With nothing else out here, they'll look eventually."

Enrique shook his head. "I need that stuff up there to keep the surveillance going. Start planning an escape route, if they lock on to us I'll grab my laptop and we'll run for it. Meanwhile, I'm watching the drone feed."

Outside East Gila Pack Territory, Hwy 40

New Mexico

"LOAD UP, IT'S GO TIME!!" Snake burst out of the office followed by Hector and his guards. While they headed for their armored SUV, he watched his men grab their gear and jump into their Hummers and Suburbans. Two minutes later, the vehicles were pulling out of the warehouse and heading west to Pack lands at high speed.

Gila Pack Compound

Pack Building Roof

The scouts were running back to the compound, having spotted the wolves coming in from the north and south and linking the Alphas this information. Derek looked around at the desert landscape, the sun was getting lower in the sky but there was still plenty of light. "Diggs is overconfident, why else would he try an attack at dinnertime?"

Alpha Merino was next to him, an expensive pair of binoculars around his neck. "If he expected just a few defenders, he's going to shit his pants when he sees who is here." Looking around, there were well over a hundred members of the three Packs dug into defensive positions on the roof, through windows, or on the ground, and a number more inside protecting the safe room. All were armed with military-style weapons, including some long range weapons like the Johnson pack .50 cal sniper rifles. Once again, the warning provided by Enrique was key to them being able to set a trap. The two Alphas adjusted assignments on the rooftops, setting shooters in groups and keeping a smaller number in reserve to respond in a direction needed.

Although Amanda's armory had been cleared out, they were fully armed with the extras brought by the Johnson and El Paso packs. They were lucky that the high explosives were kept away from the Pack house, in a hidden bunker. They had set a whole case of Claymore mines with remote detonation on the likely approaches to the Pack hospital, focused on natural choke points the attackers may go through.

"They're almost here." Alpha Merino could see them about two miles away, a large pack moving quickly. Opening the link to his Pack, and with Derek and another Beta opening up the other two Pack links, he gave the final instructions. "Everyone stay out of sight until I give the order. We will suck them in close, pretending to be caught by surprise, then when the first explosion occurs you unleash on them. Medics and runners, stay back from the windows and roof edges until needed. Tonight, this ends." They watched as the defenders crouched below windows or laid flat on the rooftops, only the Alphas would watch. Juan took the north side, Derek the south as that was where most of their pack members were deployed.

The decoys did their job as instructed. They were posted about a mile away, and when they saw the enemy Packs approaching they fired a few wild shots in their direction then shifted to wolf form and sprinted back to the Pack house. As expected, when the attackers knew they were spotted they sprinted forward in a chase, but this just stretched them out instead of keeping one small group. The north group was heading right for the hospital, the south group for the Pack house and safe room.

"Steady... steady... ready...NOW!" Derek's command ended with the first Claymore explosions, the lead wolves coming in through the gates of the garden were cut down in a hail of shrapnel. A few seconds later, the wolves coming between two rock formations towards the hospital met the same fate in a loud explosion. At once, the defenders brought their rifles to bear on the attackers and opened fire. A hail of bullets cut through the line of attackers, stopping them in their tracks. Dozens were killed in the first ten seconds of the battle, their torn and bleeding bodies littering the yard.

"RETREAT!" The three Alphas attacking from the south quickly lost their enthusiasm for the attack, as mercenaries often do when faced with overwhelming force. Their remaining wolves ran back and took cover behind rock formations as withering rifle fire cut down even more of them. Diggs was yelling at his Pack to continue on, but anyone who moved was quickly killed. The smart wolves took cover instead. Diggs, of course, had been leading from behind, waiting for his men to wipe out any resistance so he could waltz in and kill Renee himself. The gunfire slowed as people reloaded and targets became scarce again.

Derek surveyed the field and saw the attack had been repulsed easily. Wounded and dead wolves were scattered all around the compound. "CEASE FIRE!" Things soon went quiet, broken only by the whimpers of the wounded and the sounds of combat reloads. "Shoot only if targets appear hostile. Let's see what they do."

Cave

Unknown location, Gila territory

"What the hell is this?" Enrique zoomed in as Joe walked over to Enrique's laptop, both watching the Predator drone feed. A convoy of vehicles was inbound from the east at high speed. Humvees and Suburbans... an invasion force. It was about five minutes away from the compound, he thought. He opened his cellphone and dialed Alpha Renee, since they were outside mind link range. He notified her of the inbound threat. He was just about to close up when another convoy caught his eye. It was about ten miles inside the territory, and what made it unique was that it included a truck towing a large excavator on a trailer. It was going a lot slower, so it wasn't as much of a priority.

Just as he was about to turn off the laptop, it turned off onto a dirt trail leading towards them. It was now heading towards the canyons in the center of their territory. There was nothing out there but sand and rock, he thought, but this couldn't be an accident. "Alpha, there is a second convoy out there, it has turned off the main road and is heading... somewhere. Why would someone bring an excavator and construction equipment onto our lands right now?"

Renee broadcast the question to her Betas, and Rick responded. "Alpha Renee, they must have found out where we buried the Soccorro cartel money. Shit, this whole attack may just be a diversion to get the money!"

Renee quieted the Betas who wanted to go after them. "We're effectively surrounded, guys. We pulled everyone back to the compound, and we have multiple vehicles that will be here in about two minutes. Enrique, you're the only ones who can help on this. Follow them, and do what you can to delay or disable until we can get help to you."

"Yes Alpha, we're on it. We're shutting down our surveillance and we will arm up and go after them."

Pack Safe Room

Gila Compound

Renee had just hung up on Enrique when her phone rang, with an unknown number. "Hello, this is Renee."

"Alpha Hastings, this is Hector Beltran. I'm a couple minutes out from you, are you still hanging on?"

Renee shook her head, she knew that they had worked with the Pacific cartel to take out the Soccorro cartel, but certainly didn't expect to hear from him. "We're holding them off, where exactly are you?"

"Our vehicles are nearly in sight. I've got forty heavily armed and well trained men with me, where do you need them?" Not hearing anything at first, he realized what may be happening. "Renee, we're here to help. We had information that you were going to be attacked but not where from or when. We owe you a debt for what you did earlier, and we are here to make sure an attack against you does not succeed."

Renee smiled, she had allies she didn't expect in this fight. "Stay at least a half mile away, set a perimeter and make sure they can't escape. We've stopped their initial attack, they may be regrouping for another try. Just make sure these bastards don't escape." She linked her Pack the information, requesting that they not be fired upon as they arrived. A few minutes later they were in sight, as briefed the vehicles turned off the main road and started to circle the attackers, dropping men off in cover areas and stationing vehicles where they could respond to any outbreaks.

The enemy wolves could only watch as they were flanked by armed men, and their escape routes were cut off. A few groups tried, but were quickly cut down by the highly trained mercenaries employed by the Cartel leader. They now focused on staying out of sight.

Renee, Derek and Jesus agreed it was time to make an offer. Renee dialed a number that fed the public address system, broadcasting her words to all buildings and the outside areas. "This is Alpha Renee Hastings of the Gila Pack. Your attack has failed, and the greed and dishonor of your Alphas has already led to the deaths of many of you. Our fight is not with you who were ordered to participate in the attack, it is with the cowardly Alphas and Betas. You have one chance to save your own lives. Shift, put your hands on your head and walk to the road by the Pack hospital. Those who surrender to us will be shown mercy, those who refuse will find none. You have two minutes to decide." She waited a minute, and there was no motion.

"This is Alpha Hastings. Those of you who are remaining in place because an Alpha order has been placed on you, I offer you a place in my pack. Reject your Alpha and accept me, and live." Men began standing up all around, ignoring the commands of the Alphas who previously controlled them. Several dozen men were soon kneeling on the concrete by the hospital, and they were quickly handcuffed and led inside until they could be processed.

Derek looked out after counting the captured, dead and wounded. "We have maybe two dozen men left including the four Alphas and their Betas. I want teams organized to go clear them out, but leave enough men on the rooftops to provide them with sniper overwatch. Capture if possible, if not kill them." The men scrambled to carry out his orders. "Renee, can you contact our Cartel friends? Have them slowly close in as our teams move out."

Renee agreed. "I will do that, and I want our medics and stretcherbearers to follow behind our patrols and pick up injured wolves and bring them to the hospital."

"That's fine, but any wolf that does not switch allegiance to one of our Packs is restrained in silver. That includes any that aren't conscious. I can't have enemy sneaking behind our lines."

Gila Pack Territory

Sealed Cave

Enrique, Joe and Ricky paused near the top of the canyon, still in wolf form. The latter shrugged off their specially made packs that allowed them to carry their rifles and ammunition with them while in wolf form, and Enrique shifted first to help them out. They put on clothes from the backpack Enrique had carried, then with their scoped rifles in hand they slowly moved forward to where they could look down at the activity below them. The excavator had been unloaded and was moving to the blocked off cave entrance. They counted four armed guards, plus three individuals who looked to be in charge.

One of them was Caleb. Enrique growled as he saw him through his rifle scope, he was wearing handcuffs and ankle shackles. One he identified as Kim Corrigan, the dirty DEA agent who had assassinated her boss and taken over the Albuquerque office. The last was an older man in a power suit, he didn't know him but he didn't appear to be local. He was sweating like a priest in a strip club as he watched the activity. "What the hell is Caleb doing working with these guys?"

Rick looked over. "Check out the back of the Suburban." It was difficult, but he could just make out the person bound and gagged in the back seat, her eyes closed and head back.

"Maria. Fuck, they are using her against him." He tried the mind link with Caleb, but it didn't work. "I don't know, maybe they drugged him or something, I can't link to him. It doesn't matter, though, they will open up that cave soon and discover what is in it. What's the plan?"

Joe motioned for them to move away from the edge and used a rock on the loose sand to draw it up. "OK, they won't be able to hear anything with that excavator running, so we should be able to get down there if we avoid being seen. Rick, you stay up here and use your rifle to take out the guards. Since it is silenced and subsonic, you have a good chance to get them all before they figure out what is happening. I'll come from the left side and get the three in command, Enrique, you go to the Suburban and protect Maria. I don't want her being hurt, and once she is safe Caleb will be able to help us. Don't worry about the construction guys, they will probably surrender, but if they start causing trouble Rick can take them out. Key off me, when I move to take out the command group I want you to start with the guards. Enrique, watch me or Rick for your go."

Meanwhile, the group below was making their own plans. The man in the suit looked over at Kim. "When they have an opening, you take him in with you and verify it is in there. If it isn't, we kill her in front of him and then I kill him myself." One of the guards came up and placed a collar around Caleb's neck before removing his shackles. He then handed Kim a small remote control. "This is a shock collar we found useful in working with werewolves. If you press the button, it acts like a stun gun, takes him to the ground and incapacitates him for a minute or two. It's also lined with aircraft grade cables, so if he tries to shift he'll choke himself. Don't let him out of your sight."

She took the offered flashlights, handing one to Caleb and turning her own on. She shucked her jacket, glad she at least was wearing comfortable shoes and not heels, since clearly this guy didn't want to get dirty. "Come on, then, let's get in there." They could see the excavator had cleared enough of the debris at the top for them to make their was in.

Caleb picked his way to the top of the rock pile and looked in before sliding in feet first. The cave opening was only about four feet high for a few yards until it opened up above them. He was standing and checking the walls and ceilings for stability as Kim came up behind him. "We used explosives to seal this up, and there's no telling how stable this place is now. Let's get this done and get out of here." He moved forward, sure that she was behind him as he headed to the storage chamber. He stopped as his flashlight moved over the sealed packages containing the money, and the ammo cans and containers holding the gold and jewelry. He could see Kim's face as she came up next to him, it wasn't often that that someone got to see eight hundred million dollars in cash. Kim walked forward, pulling one of the sealed bundles she verified it was real.

She kept it in her left hand as she walked back to him. "You told the truth. Let's go back and get your mate for you." She let him walk ahead of her, their flashlights cutting through the dark until the bright light of the cave entrance was in front of him. He slowly climbed up the pile of rubble and exited. She set the flashlight aside and made her way up with the cash in her left hand and the remote in the right. She got halfway out and froze.

Looking around, she saw the guards on the ground dead. The boss man was on his knees and his hands cuffed behind his back, while the construction guys were sitting on the ground with an armed man guarding them. Caleb was hugging a man who wasn't even alive, Enrique Mendez was dead, had been dead. She did the only thing she could think of. She pressed the button to her remote.