Page 101 of Wrath

And I’d do everything in my power to ensure we got one.

THIRTY-TWO

LUPE

Agrowl crawled its way up my throat as I peered through the binoculars at the human work camp far below.

Killian stood on one side of me, his tail twitching with agitation, while Bash paced behind us.

I knew that things were bad in my kingdom, but I never expectedthis. How could I? This went beyond what my nightmares could even conjure.

According to my research, there were over a dozen of these prisons scattered throughout the territory. From my perch above, on a steep cliffside, I could see just around thirty tiny wooden houses clustered together, the walls covered in graffiti and the windows cracked, if not entirely broken.

Directly to the left of the houses stood an immense structure with a vaulted roof and steel shutters. It reminded me distinctly of a…factory. And when it had turned eight this morning, over one hundred humans were guided from their homes and to the building in a single-file line. It was nearing five in the afternoon, and the humans still had yet to emerge.

Surrounding the entire area was a chain-link fence manned by over thirty guards.

Fucking hell.

“What’s the plan?” Bash stopped his relentless pacing and moved to crouch beside me, one hand touching the tufts of grass beneath our feet. His gaze remained fixed on the buildings far below.

I lowered my binoculars with a sigh. “We take this information back to the base and decide. It’s not safe to loiter.”

We had over one hundred fighters with us, and I knew if we asked for it, Z would send more. We’d set up camp a few miles back, in a stretch of forest that had remained relatively uninhabited over the years.

“All of those people…” Killian swallowed doggedly. “We need to stop this, Lupe. We need to.”

“We will,” I assured him…both of them.

It was my family who’d committed these atrocious acts to begin with. I’d be damned if I didn’t do everything in my power to right this wrong.

With a sigh, I pivoted on my heel and began walking in the direction of our camp.

I’d counted thirty-two guards stationed there.

Our army of one hundred—plus me, Bash, and Killian—could handle that many. But how many enemies were inside of the factory? Another dozen? Two dozen? And what about the humans? I saw over one hundred adults, but were there any children? I couldn’t risk any of them being harmed in the crossfire.

I removed my glasses to drag a hand down my face.

I wasn’t good at all of…this. Planning wars and battles and implementing strategies. Maybe on paper, I could do it. But in real life? When real lives were on the line?

I suddenly missed Z with a desperation that stole my breath away.

She would know exactly what to say to reassure me. My girl wouldn’t try to come up with a solution to my problem. Oh no. She would merely remind me that I knew this kingdom better than anyone and would come up with the best solution if I put my mind to it.

We could surround the camp. Put twenty of our best fighters near the main entrance but create a perimeter so no one could escape. We could bring a surplus of weapons so the able-bodied humans could?—

“Ummm…guys?” Killian’s tentative voice reached me, as if from the end of a long tunnel.

I turned, frowning, only to immediately freeze at the sight before me.

“No one fucking move,” a somewhat familiar man hissed from where he stood behind Killian, holding a dagger to the incubus’s throat.

Bash’s hands glowed green with magic, his eyes glinting with a savage intensity.

Where the fuck did I know this man from?

“You don’t want to do this, Turner,” Bash said placatingly, and Turner whirled his way, his eyes flaring.

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