The Silver Guardian Bk. 02 Ch. 03

Lily was in a form-fitting strapless emerald green satin dress with a deep plunge, with four-inch black stiletto heels. She was wearing her Rolex, as well as the bracelet and earrings that Dante had bought for her, and had her hair up with a few artistic tendrils falling around her face, all held in place with the diamond and emerald hair combs that Dante had surprised her with in New Orleans. She also wore her mating necklace and charm. She looked stunning, and Dante felt a tightening in his pants once again as he gazed upon his gorgeous wife and mate.

He took her hand and led her out of the room, where they met up with Astrid, Freydis, Brynhild and Hilde, who were all dressed beautifully in various cuts and colors of dresses to accompany them. Even with their unique hairstyles with mostly shaved scalps except for long tresses of hair draping partway down their backs from their crowns, and runic tattoos on their scalps, faces and necks, they looked devastatingly beautiful and Dante and Lily complimented them as such. The ladies blushed in appreciation at such praise from their leaders. They very much looked the part of being Royal Pack, and knew they were representing their Pack well here tonight.

Hilde spoke to Lily and Dante, summing up what the ladies were thinking.

"Thank you both for such kind words. You both look incredible tonight, and very much our Alpha King and Alpha Queen. We are proud to stand beside you, and we cannot wait until we can take you home to show you off to your Pack. Please allow us to escort you to dinner, and I'm sure we will have an enjoyable evening."

Dante and Lily smiled as Lily nodded her head in acceptance, and Astrid led them to the Villa's grand dining room.

***

Gio and Sophia met them as they arrived, and welcomed them to dinner. They were dressed exquisitely themselves, with Gio in a perfectly tailored rich navy suit with subtle pin striping and some tasteful gold jewelry, while his mate Sophia was wearing an elegant and sexy cream dress with narrow straps, and beautiful diamond and amethyst jewelry to complement her beauty. They both looked very much the Italian power couple, which was appropriate in that they were captains of a huge industry and fortune, not to mention a very large Pack. Gio and Sophia hugged each of the Royal Couple before Gio spoke:

"Good evening! I hope your rest was relaxing and... doubly pleasant." Gio and Sophia grinned at them as Lily realized they might have been a little loud in their affections, and given Lycans' extraordinary hearing could have been overheard way over here in this side of the Villa. She blushed as Dante grinned heartily before winking at Gio.

Lily cleared her throat and composed herself, or attempted to. "Thank you, it was very pleasant... umm, and it seems we have worked up quite the appetite... oh dear... and we are looking forward to dinner," then sent to Dante through their bond, How on earth did I manage to mess that up so badly? How brightly am I blushing?

All of them laughed softly and Sophia winked at Lily conspiratorially before nodding her head and responding coquettishly.

"Yes of course, it's always nice to relax after travel and let go of that... ummm... built up stress. Dinner will be served shortly, so let us take our seats so we can eat."

Dinner turned out to be an amazing meal with food everywhere and wine flowing like water. There was lasagna, fresh baked bread, antipasto, ziti, seafood scampi and many other dishes. It was a long and enjoyable relaxed meal, very much in the Italian tradition with everyone talking and getting to know each other better, and having a great time. After dinner, Lily, Sophia, Maria and the other ladies retired to Sophia's sitting room in the Villa to relax and chat for the remainder of the evening.

Dante and Gio and several other men retired to Gio's lounge, where Dante was offered drinks and cigars. Dante found that Gio was a man after his own heart, with a love for fine whiskey and aged cigars. He even had Dante's favorite bourbon, and he poured himself a large glass of Four Roses Single Barrel Barrel Strength whiskey from a private casking that Gio had gotten directly from the distillery. Dante picked out a six-year-old Arturo Fuente, Fuente Fuente Opus X Forbidden X Belicoso cigar that had caught his eye, before he cut it and lit it up, enjoying the finely aged tobacco and whiskey. Gio had joined him with the Four Roses, but picked out a Cuban Montecristo No. 2 Belicoso himself, with several years of age on it. They sat down in large overstuffed leather lounge chairs and sipped on their whiskey while smoking their gourmet cigars.

Conversation initially started on the raid against Viktor while Gio shared a few more details, but neither wanted to make it a working night and soon moved on to more pleasant topics. Gio was an avid collector of cars as well as bikes, as was Dante although he had only one of each, and the bike wasn't due to arrive for another month. Gio's favorite car that he had done for himself was a 1969 COPO Camaro that he had redone in a pro street fashion in gunmetal silver with black pinstriping, which was absolutely incredible. Dante told him about the Chevelle he had built, and he and Gio spent over an hour discussing their cars and shared passion.

They later moved on to motorcycles, and Dante told Gio what Lily had gotten him for Christmas, his Kawasaki Ninja H2R, and how he couldn't wait until next month when it would be delivered. Gio had spent most of his adult life on motorcycles, and they spent a while talking about their rides and trips and places that they had each ridden in different parts of the world. Gio smiled broadly at the end.

"I have a treat for us. Tomorrow will be taken up with hashing out the plans for the raid and figuring out how we will attack and all the details for that, but we need to keep up appearances that nothing is off, and it's still nearly a week before the raid. So the day after tomorrow Sophia and Maria and I, along with some of our Pack that ride, will take you and Lily and your Hellhounds out on a nice ride on some of the great roads we have outside of Philly. I'll also get us into Pocono Raceway so we can have some fun on a closed track. Don't worry about gear and a bike, I'll have something ready for you and your Pack, so there's nothing to worry about."

Dante smiled warmly and patted him on the back, "That sounds fantastic my friend, thank you and I look forward to it immensely! Thank you also for your hospitality to me and my Pack. The Four Roses happens to be my personal favorite, and the cigar is fantastic. It reminds me how much I enjoy one on occasion and will have to get my own humidor and stock it up when I get back home. I'm going to be busy as hell, but I'm sure I can find some time here and there to sneak away and enjoy a good cigar."

Gio and Dante continued hanging out and enjoying the night for a couple more hours before Dante retired and met Lily back in their room, and they fell asleep after a brief shower together.

***

The next day the Royal Pack members together with Alpha Giovanni and his wife and sister gathered in one of the large conference rooms to plan the raid on Viktor's warehouse and distribution center. They brought up maps and blueprints on several large interactive screens, working through step by step details of their operation, including backup plans in case things didn't go as intended. Their planning included a route of egress once their mission had been accomplished, and how they would ensure there would be no police intervention until they had departed and covered their tracks. They would leave no trace, as if they were ghosts, or rather ghosts with excessive pyrotechnical abilities, since they would be leaving a smoking hole behind. Dante's military experience with the SEAL Teams was leveraged heavily to make sure it would go off without a hitch.

According to Gio's sources the meeting was scheduled to take place in an open area of a warehouse in the industrial district, where there were some skylights from the roof and some large windows along one wall that were blacked out. It was agreed that since Lily was pregnant, she would not be breaching the building with Dante and most of the rest, but on this occasion she would utilize her expertise with her rifle to provide sniper support through one of the skylights. Astrid and Freydis would be stationed with her, partly as her personal bodyguards, but also joining some of Gio's Pack members in providing additional fire support. Between the bond that would be kept open between Dante and his Pack, as well as the thermal imaging scope on Lily's rifle, she and her team would be a tremendous asset, while also remaining relatively safe, because of course her safety was a higher priority than anyone else's. She longed to be by Dante's side and knew she would likely remain unharmed if she were, but everyone including she didn't want to risk her being within the heart of the battle if there were another option and she could still make a significant contribution. Madame Alpha Sophia would be located near Lily but at a different skylight, directing operations from a bird's eye view, coordinating teams and keeping tabs on any hostile reinforcements or other activity happening in or near the warehouse.

Dante and Gio along with Maria his top Beta and sister, also with Hilde and Brynhild would be the insertion team going in from the skylights. Teams launching from the back and main entrances would breech as soon as the insertion team made it to the warehouse floor, while Lily and her team would cover the main warehouse space with sniper support, and other Prussia Pack members would cover the side entrance with fire support as well as nail anyone trying to escape. There would be another team covering the final entrance at the far side of the building, and yet another serving as a reserve team in case anything unexpected came up.

Finally, the trucks and extraction team would come in. They would quickly remove any prisoners they captured, and also transport the teams on the ground back to a secure location. The extraction team would also plant explosives and incendiary devices around the plant to be set off once everyone had departed, to destroy all evidence and ensure nothing could be traced back to the Lycans.

They had spent the entire day hashing out the plans and combing through maps and blueprints and dossiers, firming up all the details of how they would execute this mission. They had done a working lunch and dinner in the conference room and it was getting late in the evening when they finally wrapped up the last of it.

Dante wrapped up the meeting. "Ok, it's been a long but very productive day and we're all tired. The final points, priorities and jobs will be reviewed during the briefing the evening of the raid, so for now we can let this go and simply monitor the situation for any changes until next Friday night. That's six days from now, and we have to behave normally so Viktor or anyone else watching us doesn't become suspicious. That means that as long as everything is under control and being monitored, we will all be subjected to the arduous duty of going out to have some fun with some activities Gio has planned."

Gio jumped in that that point. "Tomorrow, part of Dante's promised 'arduous duty' will be a bike ride out of town and stopping at Pocono Raceway for some fun on the track. After breakfast we'll head to the garage and get geared up for the ride. Lily, as I told your mate the other night, we will have safety gear, helmets, leathers, etc., for both of you and a bike for Dante that will be suitable for you to ride on the pillion behind him, since you don't have any experience yet. We spoke with Astrid, and she and your other Hellhounds all have motorcycle experience and licenses, so we'll supply bikes and gear for them as well, so that they can take part even while continuing to perform their bodyguard duties for you both."

Lily smiled, excited for tomorrow's activities, "Thank you Gio and Sophia, I'm excited to go on a ride with my mate and everyone, and I certainly appreciate your generosity. I'm sure you and Sophia, and I suspect even Maria, will help pick out suitable gear for Dante and me to wear."

Everyone discussed a few more things before wrapping up and heading off to bed. It had been a long day, and tomorrow was certain to be fun, so they were all ready to turn in so they could be fresh tomorrow.

***

The next morning everyone gathered for a large breakfast, where they ate and talked about where they would be riding that day.

Once breakfast was over, Sophia handed a large bag and two boxes to Lily, while Gio handed a similar large bag and two boxes to Dante. Dante and Lily each opened the larger of their two boxes and pulled out a custom painted helmet for each of them. They were a pair of Italian AGV Sportmodular Carbon helmets with custom graphics on them. Dante's had a silver crown painted on his, while Lily's had an emerald crown painted on hers. They each opened up their other box, and each had a pair of SIDI armored riding boots. In the bags, Dante had a pair of Dainese armored gloves and a custom black leather Dainese jacket done with silver accents, and his seal embroidered on the back in silver thread. He also had black armored leather race pants to finish off his gear. Lily had a pair of women's SIDI boots and Dainese gloves and jacket and pants, all armored, but hers was done in black with emerald green accents, and a blood-red lily on the back of her jacket.

Both Dante and Lily were grinning ear to ear and hugged Gio and Sophia, thanking them for the amazing gear and telling them how much they liked it all.

Sophia laughed and smiled at them both. "Think nothing of it; you need to be safe while you ride, and we always ride with full gear. Plus, it's still a bit crisp this time of year even though it's a rather nice day, so you'll be glad of the leathers. You've got AGV and Dainese gear since it's Italian, and we happen to own a good portion of each company, so it was no big deal. Besides, you're our friends and allies, and even our kind's Alpha King and Alpha Queen, how could we not do something a little special?"

Gio smiled and added, "We also outfitted your Hellhounds with gear that is theirs to keep, even though it isn't personalized like yours. Let's all get suited up and we'll meet in the garage and go for a ride."

Twenty minutes later, everyone met in the garage. Lily looked sexy as hell in her black and green leather. It hugged her tightly and showed off her incredible body. Dante looked dangerous and dripping with sex appeal in his black and silver leather. Lily looked at Dante, sending him, With how good you look in that, I think we might have to bring some leather into the bedroom, because I want to fuck you so bad right now!

Dante smirked and got a smoky look in his eyes as he agreed with his naughty mate. Gio, Sophia and Maria were decked out in black and red leather gear and standing next to their bikes. Gio and Sophia had matching Ducati Panigale 1299 superbikes, painted in classic Ducati red, while Maria liked the Streetfighter look so she rode a Ducati Monster 1200, but in red as well.

Astrid and her team were geared up and standing around Dante and Lily when Maria showed them to their bikes.

"These are Pack bikes, but they are all BMW S1000RR's, the top of the line superbikes you four will be riding today, I hope you enjoy them. They have been fully serviced and are in perfect working order."

Astrid and the Hellhounds smiled before Astrid responded to her. "Thank you very much, these are incredible bikes and we each have experience on them. I happen to own a heavily modified one myself, back home in Germany. These will be perfect, and we will really enjoy our ride with everyone."

Gio and Sophia led Dante and Lily off to a corner of the garage, where Dante's bike was waiting. Gio spoke with pride as he showed them the bike.

"Lily, Dante told me that you bought him a Kawasaki H2R for Christmas, and it will soon be delivered. That is one of the most incredible bikes ever made, but it's only made for one person to ride, so you won't be riding on the back with him, as it's a race bike and the most powerful in the world. This one however, is a new variation of that bike; it's a Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX SE with the same supercharged engine with some changes to it, but it's designed for two-up riding and comes with the matching hard bags, so both you and Dante can spend some time on it and travel when time and opportunity allows. It has the factory metallic green with black accent paint, with some extra work done to the brakes, suspension, exhaust and tuning to make it just a little bit more special. It is our gift to you both as our friends and allies, as well as a token of our support to your leadership of our kind. May you enjoy many blessed miles on it together."

Both Dante and Lily were speechless, and Lily even teared up a small amount while Dante just stared at the incredible machine.

Dante finally found his voice while Lily hugged first Sophia and then Gio. "I don't know what to say other than thank you, this is far too much, and I can't tell you how much we appreciate everything! I can promise that this bike will be loved and ridden often when things calm down, and I can't wait to take her to Germany and tour with her there too! Thank you, and you and your lovely mate and family will always be both close friends of ours, and allies that we shall never forsake. Long ago our families stood together, and today that will continue."

Gio and Dante smiled at each other like old friends before embracing and clapping each other on the back.

"I will have it crated and shipped to your former Pack when you leave, and it will be waiting on you when you return to where you are living."

After that, everyone donned the rest of their gear, hopped on the bikes and fired them up. There was a procession of more than thirty bikes roaring out of the Villa and heading out north of King of Prussia, heading into rural areas to go for a nice ride.

Lily hugged tightly to Dante on their Ninja and she leaned whenever he did as they tore through the morning air and he shifted through the gears. Dante quickly became accustomed to the bike and was impressed with the immense power it had as he twisted the throttle and watched the front of the bike rise up in a power wheelie at any speed, even racing along in triple digits. Lily was squealing and whooping through the bond, loving every minute of it as Dante couldn't help but smile at how much fun they were having, and how much they both enjoyed being on such a bike.

They all rode for a couple of hours before pulling into a small-town diner for lunch and a beer while they got off the bikes and stretched their legs for a break. The next leg would take a while as they rode to the Pocono Raceway, where they would get some track time.

***

It was mid-afternoon when everyone rolled up to Pocono Raceway. It was closed today, but Gio had arranged for it to be opened exclusively for them for several hours.

They made their way into the pit area before everyone turned off their bikes and climbed off them. Dante and Lily removed their helmets and pulled off their gloves and jackets, taking a breather.

Maria walked up to them. "Since you've never been here before, I'm sure you'll want to get to know the course. Let's get your hard bags off and fill it with some race gas, and swap over the tune to track settings, and I'll take you on a sighting lap or two to get comfortable. Then you can hammer it and see just what she will do for ya. I'm sure you know plenty about riding a girl hard and putting her away wet and all that..."