"If I do this," Adam continued, "I expect you to be here, resting, not working, and waiting for news from the battlefield. Can you at least do that? Just this once? You have Coral and Eva and…Brad. Utilise them to cover your load until you know for certain which way this assault has gone."
Ann's stomach churned violently at the thought of anything other than victory but she pushed that thought aside quickly.
"Ok" She said finally, "Because I love you, and because I want you to be able to fight without any distractions, I'll stay away from work until you're home again."
"Do you promise?" Adam asked, and Ann nodded seriously.
"I promise."
"A knock at the door pulled them from their conversation and Adam glanced over at the door, knowing what was waiting.
"Sir? The men are asking for an estimate on deployment time." a voice came and Ann could feel her eyes begin to tear up again.
"Have them prepare to leave," Adam answered gruffly, "I'll be there in a few minutes."
Neither Ann nor Adam said another word to each other, they simply reached for each other's hand and squeezed, leaning in for a kiss before reluctantly letting go.
Ann watched him leave and as the door closed behind him, she let the tears fall freely.
"Be safe," she whispered into the empty room as the sound of his footsteps disappeared down the corridor.
Although the sky has already begun to darken, Greyson hasn't moved from his position in hours. He glowers out at the castle, scanning for the faintest signs of movement but still, he sees nothing.
The castle is too still for his liking and he knew damn well that if his father and brother were holed up in there, whatever they were planning, the more time that they had to prepare it, the worse it was going to be for all of them.
He wanted to be on the move already, all of this waiting around was crucifying him and no matter how much both Lexi and Allen tried to reassure him, their words didn't soothe any of the anger or trepidation inside him.
He checked the same stretch of damaged wall again, his eyes tracing all of the fractures and weak points that he had already memorised. Lexi and Bella would obliterate that stretch of wall easily and breaching into the castle shouldn't be an issue at all, the only thing that he was concerned about was whether or not the enemy had already figured out where they were breaching.
They shouldn't be waiting this long to move, they should have moved already..
Behind him, the units were all more than ready. As soon as the reinforcements had arrived through the portal they had begun moving into place, checking any weapons without instructions and any armour was adjusted in small, habitual movements. Orders passed quietly along the lines of men and women, as they discussed strategy and pairings while they waited.
Everyone knew what came next.
Greyson stayed where he was, his hands resting on his hips as waited for the order to move. He wanted to pace, but he didn't want his restless energy to rub off on the men. Distractions caused mistakes and he wouldn't have a single man fall because he lacked self control.
His ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps approaching from behind him and he knew exactly who it was before the scent even reached him. His wolfs aura out here was unmistakable.
"Walk with me." Adam said brusquely and he was already turning away from him as Greyson moved to follow.
They moved far enough away from everyone that the noise of the preparations faded into the background and they made their way towards an area of the camp that was much quieter, and had no unwanted ears listening to the conversation that they were about to have.
"I wanted to wait to tell you this," Adam said with a sigh, turning to face him, "But Ann thought that you should know before we begin the assault."
Greyson frowned slightly.
"Is it serious?" He asked carefully as he instantly recognised the tone that Adam had adopted. It was the sort of tone that he himself had used when delivering bad news to men in his unit but this time, he was on the receiving end of it.
His stomach lurched as he quickly checked the sky for any sign of Bella and Lexi, and his anxiety settled as their now familiar shape was still seen clearly patrolling the skies in slow, almost lazy, manoeuvres.
"Jesus, for a second I thought it was something to do with Lexi," He sighed and Adam shook his head with a small smile.
"No, but you'll probably want to involve her with this at some point." Adam said, "I think it always helps if all the females in your life get along with each other well."
Greyson stills.
"All of the females?" He repeats suspiciously, "Lexi is the only female in my life."
"She was," Adam replied, clearly struggling to find the right words, "But…not anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't really know how to dress this up, so I'll just say it bluntly." Adam said, "Your mother is alive. So is your youngest brother."
All at once, Greyson felt as though the floor had disappeared from under his feet and it took everything in him to remain standing instead of collapsing to the floor.
"What? No. That…that's impossible," He forced out, his mouth suddenly unbearably dry and his throat felt as though it had closed completely.
"No, it's not." Adam said, reaching into his pocket and offering a bottle of water to him, "Take a seat, have a drink, and I'll explain everything."
Greyson took the bottle in a daze like state and sank to the floor, sipping at the bottle carefully as he shook his head in disbelief.
"I don't understand…"
"No, I know it will come as a shock but Ann was adamant that you knew before you faced your father." Adam said as he sank down next to him, attempting to reassure him with his presence.
"I don't…it can't be true," Greyson stammered, clearly at a loss for words as he turned to look at Adam, "She died when I was a ateenager…before i enlisted in the border area defence force. The Enclave confirmed it…how…"