Moonlit Beasts Ch 10 1

Tanner paced back and forth in the large meeting room. A wooden, round table surrounded by nine filled chairs occupied the majority of the room. One chair, reserved for the Alpha of the pack, remained unoccupied before Tanner.

"Please, sit down. We will handle this." A voice rang out, pulling Tanner from his thoughts. "Jethro...you know what this means." He shook his head sorrowfully. "As far as we can see, it is an act of war. Miss Josette's relation to you only adding to the severity of the situation. Come, my friend. The council and I have concocted a plan; one you would like to hear." Tanner took his seat in the vacant chair, waiting for his second to continue speaking.

Jethro cleared his throat before starting once more. "What I propose, is a diversion. Knowing Sven, he will want to get the ritual over as quickly as possible. The gods are fickle beasts; they care not if she is already mated or not to you, Tanner. What they care about is the nocturnal mating ceremony...and the resulting sacrificial ceremony. As long as Sven has her in his grasp, she will not survive the next almost eight hours to nightfall."

Tanner's hands clenched the armrests of his chair, turning his knuckles white. His jaw clenched forcefully while he tried to remain as calm as possible given the news.

"What we propose," Another council member chimed in, placing a rolled parchment onto the center of the table. "Is that the entirety of the Loup attack from the front and sides." He unrolled the parchment, unveiling a well detailed schematic of the Silver Bullet's defenses and base of operations. "A frontal assault combined with attacking from the east and west wings would pull all of their forces to us...and allow you to sneak in through the back."

The council member pointed a finger towards the back entrance of the base. "From what we can perceive, the ceremony will be held in the South corridor, far underground. There is no schematic for that area, so once you get inside you will be on your own. This plan is dangerous, we know, but is our only option."

Tanner unclenched is hands from the arms rests, pulling the schematic closer to him. His eyes scanned over the print, looking for any other ways, but finding none.

"I see. Jethro, Hamell," His second and the council member who had spoken before raised their eyes level with his. "You two will accompany me. Hamell, you know the base inside and out, correct?" The man nodded. "Good, find a way to the lower levels. Jethro, accompany him. You know what my expectations are."

Both men nodded, excusing themselves from the rest of the council to do as they were bidden. "The rest of you may leave. Prepare the others. Every able man and woman must be present. We leave in an hour. I don't want to wait any longer than necessary."

The rest of the council members nodded, vacating the room to follow their Alpha's orders, leaving Tanner alone. "Please, just don't let us be too late..."

Jo raised her head to stare at her reflection in the mirror. Sven had left hours ago to 'make sure those idiots haven't ruined the ceremonial chambers' as he had put it. The two twin women from earlier were busily fussing over her hair and dress. "Everything must be perfect for the master." "We cannot disappoint him." Tatianna and Nymeria's speech mattered little to Jo, who had begun to feel nub to the world around her.

Already, she had been held captive at the hands of her mate's enemy for over three hours. Yet there was no sign of any rescue party arriving for her. So...she had given up; resigned to her fate at the hands of this horrible creature. I'm just thankful that he wasn't the one to take my purity...only Tanner could have been that man... Thoughts and images of Tanner filled her mind, bringing an even stronger sense of fear to her.

"Don't cry Miss. The master will be quite cross with us if your make up is smudged when he sees you." Nymeria quickly stated, matter-of-factly. "Yes, that's right. Please don't cry Miss." The two women quickly went to work righting her face, making sure that no smudge remained, before placing a long, veiled halo atop her curled, auburn hair. A forceful knock sounded on the door, causing Tatianna to run to answer it.

In strode Sven, completely ignoring the bows the twins gave to him. His eyes were set on his prize. Like a predator stalking his prey, he made his way closer and closer to Jo, his eyes roaming up and down her physique as he did so. "My, my little bird. Don't you look a vision. It seems I may have died and ascended to heaven, I am in the presence of such beauty." Jo remained unmoving, biting back her rude retort. She wouldn't give this monster the satisfaction of knowing how much he got under her skin.

A firm hand gripped the back of her neck, forcing her gaze to meet his. "When I speak to you, you will respond. Am I understood?" Jo quickly nodded, swallowing past the lump in her throat. "Good girl." His grip loosened as his hand snaked its way down her back to land around her waist. "Now, let us go. We have a ceremony to attend...and I don't think that we will have any...uninvited...guests to worry about." His lips broke into a smile, seeing Jo's face fall slightly at the news.

She knew it to be true, but she still had to hope. She still had to hope that Tanner would come for her. But as Sven led her through the winding hallways lower and lower into the castle, that little light of hope began to falter.

Please...Tanner...Please find me.

Her silent prayer was swallowed up by the sound of the large doors that led to the ceremony room closing behind them, blocking out the sounds of shouts and screams coming from the courtyard.