The Silver Guardian Bk. 02 Ch. 03

The demolition team moved through the building and distribution facility, lacing it with explosives and accelerant to destroy it completely and remove all evidence of the criminal operation headquartered here and its sudden demise.

Dante contacted Lily through the bond as everyone loaded up and embarked on their journey to the holding facility.

We're done with the cleanup, the building is primed and we are en route to the holding facility. We're about to detonate the warehouse. Where are you and what's your status?

Dante heard Lily's voice in his head as she responded.

We are already twenty minutes away from the facility and have secure custody of our two prisoners. All clear here, but we are remaining vigilant with Astrid and Freydis guarding us and on high alert. See you shortly, and watch your back.

When the rest of the teams had pulled out and were a safe distance away, Dante motioned to send the radio signal, and a shockwave raced past their speeding vehicles as the building exploded into flames, flying apart as an inferno raged within, destroying all traces of their involvement.

***

Everyone had arrived at the holding center. From the outside it looked like a remote and defunct manufacturing facility but inside, it was completely renovated and had been turned into a holding complex where some of their messier work was handled. Carlos Garza had been taken into one room where Sophia, Maria and Gio were dealing with him, assisted by some of their specialists. They were extracting enough information to completely cripple the drug operations, plus a major portion of all organized crime within Philadelphia and the surrounding area.

Ivan however, was chained to a steel chair with silver manacles that were burning into his wrists and ankles and preventing shifting. Since Dane had removed one of his hands, they also had a silver cuff around his right bicep, ensuring he couldn't get loose.

The Royal Pack team was in an adjacent room watching their captive and discussing the situation. Dante was preparing to go in there and interrogate him to start extracting the key information regarding Viktor: his forces. influence and capabilities. He knew that to get the information he needed he would have to break the man, and it would be an horrific and disturbing thing to watch, since he had been trained on how to do this. and was also no longer restricted by the influence of any governing agency, laws or international conventions. When all possible information had been gained, Ivan would be killed and his body disposed of as well, as would Carlos. Dante didn't want Lily to see him in that role, not wanting her to think badly of him, since he was about to do despicable things to another living being.

"Baby, I don't want you to be in there, or even in here watching this. It's going to get unspeakably ugly and disturbing, and you don't need to see that and suffer nightmares afterwards. What I'll have to do to get what we need will horrify you, and I don't want you seeing that, let alone thinking badly of me or changing your opinion about who I am."

Dante was pleading with Lily to avoid souring anything between them, but Lily was having none of it.

"Dante, you listen to me and you listen good. There is absolutely nothing you could ever do that would change my opinion of you. I love you and support you without condition, and nothing will ever change that. We are two halves of one whole, inseparable. If we allow you to begin hiding parts of who you are from me for fear that I will judge you, we will begin creating cracks in our unity that will weaken us, which could eventually even destroy our bond. And that goes both ways of course, I mustn't ever begin hiding things from you, for the same reason.

"I know you have training and experience in this dark undertaking, and since we're on such a restricted timetable you will need to be even more brutal than normal to get the results needed. This pathetic worm is a monster though, and by Luna's own decree is part of the darkness we are to cleanse and wipe from our world. I killed people for the first time today, both wolves and humans. I couldn't even tell you how many, as I fired off shot after shot and I regret none of it; it was required by our mission. By the time all is said and done, you and I will have oceans of blood on our hands. Neither of us look forward to it, neither of us will relish it, but we will do what we must and it has already begun. To cleanse our kind and reunite that which was broken will require tens of thousands of deaths if not more, so my getting squeamish over your brutal but necessary torture of a wolf who is a drug peddler, bully, cock-sucker and probable rapist is not something that's going to happen.

"I'm going to be in there right with you asking questions, observing our... not just your... ruthless pursuit of data. As will you, I will observe not for pleasure or vengeance, but to learn his psychological weaknesses so we can exploit them, whatever it takes to break this fiend and get him to spill. For the same reasons, plus her own level of knowledge and experience, Astrid will be in there right alongside us. The rest of our Hellhounds will also be with us, guarding and observing, so we will be left uninterrupted until he is our total stool pigeon, telling us everything he knows. At that point, Gio and anyone he wants involved will come in and ask their questions as well, and then it will be all over, and lights out for Ivan.

"When the Prophecy says, 'May Luna have mercy upon the wicked, for the Silver Guardian will not,' it's not just talking about you, it's talking about us both."

Once Dante had listened to his mate, allowing her meaning to sink in, he realized just how right she was. He was so proud of her: she had grown so much in such a short period of time from the loner and the reserved Alpha's daughter to becoming the Queen of their entire race, embodying strength, determination and fortitude that were simply unmatched and incontestable. She was Alpha Queen and she was his fated Great Love, and she lived every nuance of it, of that there was no doubt.

"You're right Lily, and I apologize. I was trying to shield you from the ugliness that I've always been so accustomed to bearing alone. But ever since the moment we've met, I have never been alone again; you have been with me unfailingly, no matter how good or bad the situation. I don't need to shield you from anything, and I was wrong. It's time to steel ourselves for what is to come... together. The sooner we get the information we need, the sooner this can be over, and we can be done with this business."

***

It was many hours later, and was now early morning when Dante, Lily and Astrid left the room. Dante was wiping the blood from his hands and otherwise cleaning himself up. Ivan looked like he was barely holding onto life, the blood and sweat dripping off his broken and torn body, still trembling and weeping pathetically. Lily thought that was fitting, seeing as how many wolves and other people he had left like that himself, over his lifetime. He was truly a monster, and they had learned in excruciating detail just how broken and twisted this horrendous example of their race had become. The saddest part was that the more they learned, the more they discovered that Ivan looked like the Easter Bunny compared to Viktor, with all the evil he had perpetrated. Bad as it had been, none of them had an ounce of remorse for what they had done to Ivan.

Gio and his team had joined them a while back, and now all of them met together in the observation room to compare notes and verify that they had all the intelligence they would be able to extract from the broken wolf.

Dante addressed everyone. "We were able to get critical information on Viktor's organization and capabilities. Lily and I, with help from our Hellhounds, will compile this data and present it to all of our allies at the next council meeting. We will contact all of our allies to schedule the next meeting shortly after Lily and I return to the O'Connor Compound, so be prepared for that in the near future. Is there anything else that anyone wants to ask our talkative friend Ivan before I dispose of him?"

Dante looked around and noted that everyone was satisfied, and there was nothing left. Dante was quite angry still, with all of the information he had learned not only about Viktor, but also about how many disturbing and terrible things Ivan had done, primarily to women and children whether they were Lycan or human, and he was sickened by this twisted shade that his Mistress had commanded him to condemn.

Dante left the observation room and walked back into the cell where Ivan was restrained.

"Luna has condemned you and I have judged you, Ivan Kokorov. Tell your boss when he joins you in Hell that many more are on their way. Luna is sickened by what you and yours have become, and my mate and I will walk through this darkness, reaving all that we find and cleansing our race of the disease and the twisted caricature of Luna's race that you and yours have become."

Ivan's eyes went wide in terror and he screamed as Dante reached forward and grasped his head before twisting it ferociously and ripping it from his shoulders, silencing the broken monster that had now departed.

Dante shook some of the sweat and gore from his hands and turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door on a dark morning, glad to be done with this foul task.

Lily was waiting for him and pulled him into her arms, holding him, giving him comfort and beginning to cleanse and soothe her mate, serving as the sheath that she was always meant to be for the violence and death that he would deal when required. Just as she had promised him what felt like so long ago, she took him into another room and helped to wash the blood from his hands and from his soul and replace it with her love and comfort, washing it all away. When they were done, Lily stood in front of him and looked deep into his eyes before kissing him with all of her love, communicating the pride and adoration she felt for him even though he had no secrets from her.

"I love you, Dante. You did what you had to do and we have both begun to walk the Path that Luna has fated for us. This is only the beginning, and much more blood will stain both our hands before this is done. But each time, when it is over, I will become your sheath. I will wash away the blood and replace it with my love and my all-knowing acceptance and support of you. I will replace the violence with my love and my body and my heart and my soul, bringing you back each time. I love you Dante, and I am so very proud of you. We will walk this path hand in hand unwavering together, wherever it may take us for however long it takes. It's time to leave here and for us to return to the Villa where you will hold me as we close our eyes together to sleep peacefully and awaken anew."

Dante lifted his love close to him and held her with such love and tenderness, before he kissed her deeply, with all of his love and devotion for her. He set her back down and took her hand as they walked away to join the rest of their crew and head back to the Villa.

***

It was now Sunday morning, and Dante and Lily and the Hellhounds were packing and getting ready to head to the airport and make their way to the Great Lakes Pack and their final, delayed stop for this trip. During the wee hours of Saturday morning after they returned to the Villa, they had showered and changed and finally refueled with lots of food. They had returned to their room and slept most of the day, only getting up for a short time to eat dinner and soak themselves in the spa at the Villa for a while, before heading back to bed and sleeping through another night.

Gio, Sophia and Maria met them near the entrance to the Villa before Gio spoke.

"My Alpha King and Alpha Queen, thank you for your support and assistance. Our family and our Pack will always support you and always be your allies, as well as your friends. May Luna bless and watch over you both until we see you again. Be well my friends, and we thank you for coming to see us and help us."

With that, Gio embraced Dante and then Lily, before Sophia did the same and then Maria.

Lily responded to them. "Thank you our friends, and may Luna watch over all of you as well. We will see you at the next council meeting to discuss more progress. Thank you for having us, and it was a pleasure for us to meet you and to already have become such good friends."

Gio stepped up to Dante. "Oh, and I already have your bike crated up; it will be on its way to the O'Connor Pack tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it, and that she treats you well. I look forward to our next ride together. Who knows, for all we know, maybe it will be on the Autobahn in Germany!"

Dante smiled at him, "Maybe, hard to say at this point, but either way when the time allows, I will definitely have you and your family out to the Castle and we can take a trip on the Autobahn and even around the Nürburgring as well. Thank you again for the bike, she's amazing and I absolutely love it. Now I have a way for Lily to join me on rides, and that makes it even better. Until next time, my friend."

With that, Dante clapped Gio on the back and they all loaded up in the limos and headed to the airport.

The boarded their Learjet, taxied their way out and pointed the nose into the sky.

***