Farsin?Marcus asked as he ran.
It is I. The traitor is dead.
His sons?Marcus couldn’t help feeling pity for Sloane. Cord he knew would handle it well, but the younger brother was softer.
Were here, they witnessed. It was the Mark of Velvore that decreed it. Velvore has spoken.
Marcus didn’t know what to make of that, but he knew he would be told soon. The game was shifting. Had they won an advantage if Cornelius was no longer in play?
Anika?
Dead, the Three felt it.
I am sorry. Marcus had never particularly liked the Council Elder, but still she was an Akrhyn and had done her best in her earlier years to be a strong voice for the Lycans.
Marcus? The Mark of Velvore has collapsed. He called out to the Ravens. The Blade and Stone are on a hunt with a company of Elite, as Akrhyn Houses have been targeted.
Marcus slowed as he listened.They were not to leave Headquarters. Have they fallen?
We do not know. Are you still in the northern territory?
Marcus?Tove asked as she and the other Lycan slowed to match his pace.
No, we entered the Yukon, but the Drakhyn are moving south.
I fear they are already here, Farsin said through the link.
Stop,Marcus ordered the Lycans who ran with him. He looked around him as they circled him, wondering why he had called a halt to their progress.
The pups, Tegan and Michael, are in trouble. Cornelius has been executed, the Drakhyn make their move.
We go back?Taras asked in disbelief.Elrick is out there.
Marcus’s head dropped, and he debated internally.We go forward.
Marcus!Tove said beside him.
We are too far, our path is north, our battle is with the free. Tegan Holt can handle herself.
And the brother?one of the other Lycans asked curiously.
He will be fine. Marcus waited a moment, and his gut felt right.We move on.He started to run again.Farsin, I am too far, send another. The Lycan began to run north again.
You can yell, Marcus told Tove, blocking the others from the link.
I won’t need to yell, Tove told him angrily.Salem will cast you out if anything happens to them.
We are too far north, Marcus said reasonably.This fight ahead is what we’re here for.
All Akrhyn is what we fight for,Tove said sharply. Lycan, Vampyre, Castor, Sentinel, House Akrhyn, we fight for all. We are not Cornelius Ivanov.
Ouch,Marcus sent through the link. Silence was his answer, and he began to second-guess his decision, but he was certain he was doing the right thing.
The taint of the Drakhyn travelled to them over the wind as they got closer. Marcus slowed the pack as they neared the Drakhyn making their way south.
Taras sniffed the air, and a low growl came from deep in his throat.They have Elrick, I recognise his scent.
Good, that’s who we came for. Marcus thought about the terrain ahead.There is a low area northeast of here, we’ll intercept them there.