Mostly, the space was filled with weapons, tactical gear, and surveillance equipment.
In the center of the table, a large LED screen illuminated the stained oak as Saint swiped two fingers across the glass. An image of a large manor house—older, but not that dissimilar from La Madriguera—appeared, its peeling paint awash in fading sunlight.
“Where?” Dominic asked.
“Southwest of Savannah,” Saint answered. “It doesn’t look to be a permanent residence, but the sentry team estimates a couple dozen vamps inside.”
“What about the shifters?”
Saint shook his head. “Some scent trails leading toward the property, but no visual confirmation.”
“Reports show minimal security around the perimeter, but the house itself is warded,” Chapel added.
Dominic nodded that he understood. More time to gather intel and plan their attack would have been ideal, of course, but the full moon had already passed. If the pattern held, this might be their only window before people started dying.
“Do we have a drop zone?”
Chapel swiped the screen to bring up a satellite view of a dense forest beyond the estate. Then she drew a circle with her index finger approximately half a mile beyond the grounds.
“Here.”
Dominic nodded again. “Kennedy and Thierry, go with Saint. Chapel, you’re with me.”
Making a jump halfway across the country wasn’t difficult, but the more people he tried to bring with him, the more taxing it became. Sharing the strain with his brother made sense.
“Boone, you’ll stay with Sammy.” Calm. Confident. No hint of the tension buried beneath the words.
The wolf nodded and took a step back, separating himself from the group.
Sammy had been hovering near the doorway, fingers tangled in the hem of his shirt, pretending not to listen to the preparations. At the sound of his name, however, he jerked his head up, his full attention on Dominic.
“Oh.”
He didn’t say anything else, but that single syllable felt heavier than it should have.
“Problem?”
“I…uh…” Trailing off, Sammy glanced past him to the other wolves, then back. “Never mind.”
Without looking away, Dominic called over his shoulder, “Head out.”
One by one, the pack filed out of the library to wait for him on the front lawn. Boone hesitated, silent communication passing between them in the form of eyebrow raises and posture shifts. Then he, too, exited the room.
“Spit it out,” he said once they were alone, his tone gruffer than he’d intended.
“I don’t need someone to stay with me.”
“Yes, you do.”
“The house is warded,” Sammy argued. “Besides, who in their right mind would try attacking this place?”
No one in their right mind, and that was kind of the point.
By now, rumors that Dominic Rivas had a new mate would have begun to spread beyond the pack. And there were plenty of people—enemies, dissenters, opportunists—who would happily exploit what they considered a weakness if given the chance.
Assigning someone else to protect his mate had never been his first choice. In fact, every instinct he possessed actively rebelled against the idea.
Such was the burden of being a leader, though. As much as he might want to, he couldn’t send his pack into a house full of vampires while he stayed behind.