Greykin Valley

| 70 | A Few Hours' Rest

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| Jackson |

Cyrus explained his war plans to everyone, and Lumi, the fox-wolf Jackson and Wilson had rescued—who now appeared as a small, shy girl with long, icy hair and dark blue eyes—told him why each approach wouldn't work. So Cyrus quickly came up with another plan one after the other, evidently hoping that Lumi would eventually tell him that he was on the right track.

However, every word either of them said went in one of Jackson's ears and out the other. He couldn't concentrate; all he could think about was what happened with Wilson. Usually, he might be stuck pondering over what he learned in the conference hall; he'd be thinking about the evolving virus, the Zenith, whatever beyond the glaciers meant, and the leaders that he saw inside, but no...his mind was trapped reliving the moment his best friend kissed him.

He hadn't had a chance to tell Damon, and he wasn't sure when he'd get one. It was 4 a.m. already, and after this meeting, it seemed like everyone would be heading off to get some rest before the fight. Maybe then he'd get to tell his mate what happened. He was still afraid of what it might cause, though. Damon and Wilson hated each other, and he was almost certain that Damon was going to try and kill Wilson for this, so maybe waiting until there were people around who could stop him was a better idea. But he didn't want to leave it too long.

Cyrus then sighed loudly and said, "Guy's clearly gotten a lot smarter since the last time we faced each other."

Lumi wriggled around in her chair and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so we take Maleki," Raphael said as he leaned on Lumi's chair.

"Nah," Cyrus said, shaking his head. "If we show up with anything but wolves in our midst, he has every right to turn down my challenge." He looked down at the map on the table and shifted his eyes from each of the pins Lumi had marked Kane's hiding places with. "Numbers are gonna help us in most situations, but if he's in this narrow gully formation, he could attack from any angle and have the advantage."

Damon then asked, "How do we find which place he's at without alerting him?"

Cyrus tapped his chin while he pondered, and then he looked at Raphael. "You think Alucard will let us use some of those bird things?"

"The sentries," Raphael muttered irritably. "And I don't know. I'll ask him after he's done in the conference hall."

"What's a sentry?" Lalo asked.

"Like...the gargoyles?" Jackson questioned.

Cyrus shook his head. "Nah, it's these little crow bird things that Alucard did some weird demon possession magic to. They'll act like little drones and scour miles of territory in minutes."

"And if we can't use them?" Elias asked.

"We'll figure something else out," Cyrus answered. "All right, we can't really come up with much of an attack plan until we know where Kane is, so just take the next few hours to get some rest. I'll send someone to get you all when it's time to get ready. There's a bunch of spare rooms on the second floor, so go take your pick."

As Cyrus left the room with Raphael and Lumi, everyone else started mumbling and heading for the door.

Jackson was relieved that he was going to be able to get some more rest, but he wasn't sure that he'd get any. He had to tell Damon what happened with Wilson...and now was probably the only chance he'd get. He followed the pack out and up to the second floor, and once he and Damon picked out a room, his heart started racing. He felt anxious and hesitant; however, he wasn't going to convince himself that it was better left unsaid.