Dante climbed back into the Bentley and resumed control of the wheel. He grinned at Lily, who was smiling broadly.
"Well baby," Lily chortled, "that's one way to take them out, hahaha!"
Hilde spoke from the rear row, "We're now down to a single pursuit car, and while it's a little way back, it's gaining ground again. Anyone have an idea for the final car?"
Dante was looking around at nearby buildings and signs when he saw a sign for a parking garage and got an idea.
"Hilde, we're going into that parking garage and using it to take out the final vehicle. Dig in the back and pull out a rifle for everyone here including Lily, but hand me Twin Moons. Once I pick a spot in here, we're getting out of the Bentley. I'll take out their vehicle and when it stops, I want everyone to pour rounds into it and finish off anyone still alive in the car. Got it?"
Everyone acknowledged as the assault rifles were passed out and Twin Moons were handed to Lily so she could give them to Dante when they halted. Dante turned sharply into the parking garage and went up one level before slamming on the brakes and throwing the Bentley into park as they raced out of the vehicle to set up their ambush.
Dante drew Twin Moons and positioned himself behind a concrete column on the left that he knew they'd have to pass, while Lily and the Hellhounds took cover on the opposite side a little way down.
Dante heard a thump and scraping as the final sedan entered the complex at high speed, scraping the undercarriage of the car as it tried to catch up. He heard the roar of the engine echoing off the concrete walls and getting louder as it sped up the ramps, chasing them. Dante prepared himself, gathering his power as Twin Moons glowed a brilliant white hot. Just as the car was about to pass his pylon, he stepped out and took a powerful double swing into the car, cutting through everything as the car sped past him, killing the driver and a rear passenger instantly by slicing completely through them. The car jerked, but continued accelerating before it slammed into another pylon with a sickening crunch. Lily and the Hellhounds leapt out and opened fire into the smashed car and hundreds of rounds turned it into Swiss cheese, finishing off anyone that might still have been alive inside. Smoke was pouring out of the destroyed car as flames could be seen coming up from underneath it.
Lily yelled out, "Everyone back in the Bentley; we're getting out of here before anyone else shows up!"
Everyone piled back into the Bentley and Dante exited the parking garage at a sedate pace and merged into the flow of traffic, so they wouldn't attract any further attention. They knew that shortly local law enforcement would be looking for a Bentley, which was very distinctive to begin with, but theirs would be the one riddled with bullet holes. They had to get to the Great Lakes Pack and stash the vehicle so they wouldn't have to deal with the police and waste time in long discussions about what constituted 'justifiable defensive force'.
***
Two hours later they had passed through the heart of Ann Arbor and were approaching the outskirts of the city on the far side. They knew the Great Lakes Pack House was isolated for privacy. They finally drove up near the huge Victorian mansion and parked a fair distance away, near some trees that shielded it from view.
Lily spoke to the Hellhounds. "Dante and I don't like the idea of wiping out an entire Pack if there is any way to avoid it. While Luna has tasked us with cleansing our race, She has also tasked us with uniting it. If we can avoid any unnecessary bloodshed, that's what we want. So when we infiltrate the mansion, only kill those that engage or attack us directly. We don't know if the entire Pack is aligned with Viktor, or if it's just their leadership. We'll find out one way or another once we're done, and more of them may have to be eliminated than just their leaders, but for now we're trying to keep the body count down."
Dante agreed with her as the Hellhounds agreed to Lily and Dante's wishes. They exited the Bentley and geared up, preparing for the assault. There was a high brick wall around the large property they would have to scale, and they were going to work their way behind the property and enter from the rear to avoid a confrontation visible from the street.
There was talk of leaving Lily in a safe location, and surprisingly it was Astrid who shot the idea down. "Lily has a simple choice: to be left alone somewhere that is allegedly safe, then face any hostile forces all by herself once they find her, or to face them surrounded by her team. I say she stays with us no matter what we're facing. Do you agree, my Queen?"
"No question about it," replied Lily, and that was that.
The house was on lock down, that much was clear. They had zero doubts that Alpha Bruce and Madame Alpha Tammy were aware that the team they had sent to dispose of them was dead, since they would have felt each death through the Alpha bond, in addition to the fact that none of them would have reported back in.
Dante, with all of his military experience and especially from his experience gained as point-man on the Teams, silently led Lily and the Hellhounds around the back of the property and they made their way to the wall at the edge of the grounds.
Dante paused and addressed the group.
"It's extremely likely that once we are over this wall we'll be noticed immediately, and enforcers in the Pack will respond. Remember, if they attack we neutralize them, but unless they do engage, we leave them be for now."
The wall was around eight feet tall and was easy enough for most of them to leap for a handhold at the top, then lever themselves over, and Lily and Dante with their extra strength could nearly leap the wall without touching it. Astrid and Hilde went over first, followed immediately by Lily and then Dante, with Bryn and Freydis following. They ended up tucked away in a remote back corner and so far were still in the clear, but there was a decent-sized open area needing to be negotiated before they reached the rear entrance, during which they would surely be spotted. Dante had everyone go weapons ready, as they prepared to make their run for the rear entrance.
"Now!" Dante commanded.
With that, Dante and Lily started heading at a moderate jog into the open with two Hellhounds flanking them on either side. They didn't want to run blindly as rapidly as possible, but rather to traverse the open area as rapidly as prudent, with eyes wide open. Off to their right they heard a wolf sound out the alarm and saw him move to engage them, lifting up a gun ready to fire. Freydis didn't miss a beat, raising her HK416 and firing a burst into his chest, silencing the wolf. With that, the response began in earnest as three more responded. Two came from the left and the other from the same rear entrance they were jogging towards. These three however, had shifted and were racing towards them as wolves. Astrid on the left, opened fire on the nearest wolf and dispatched that one, but the second wolf managed to get close and leapt into the air, going for a kill. Hilde drew her claymore on the run and swung, biting deep into the wolf's side and smashing him away, thus killing the second wolf. The final wolf was getting near enough to engage them head on, so Dante flowed in front of Lily to protect her and their unborn children and drew Twin Moons. The wolf was quite large for a Lycan and based on size it was clear that this was another one of the senior Betas. The wolf leapt into the air going for Dante's throat, only to wind up split in half from front to back as Dante had spun and executed a brutal sideways slash that cleaved the wolf from jaws to tail. Without breaking stride, the six continued across the grounds and soon made it to the back door. It had been locked after that third wolf's departure, and they could tell it was heavily reinforced. Instead of wasting valuable time trying to pick the lock, Dante decided to power through it. He didn't enter his War God state as he didn't want to go on a rampage through the house demolishing it, but he did channel a good portion of his strength into his legs, as the seal on his chest began to glow and lightning danced over his legs. He stepped forward and slammed his foot into the door, targeting the main lock mechanism and shattering the steel locks as the door flew inwards and slammed into the wall.
