"It isn't and it won't." Greyson answered immediately, holding Adam's gaze confidently.
"If I order you to do something immediately after the breach, and change your assignment, or the direction, then you'll follow that order immediately?" Adam asked.
"Yes."
"Even if that order contradicts what you think should happen on the ground at any given moment?"
"Yes." He answered instantly and Adam nodded once before looking back at the device with the blueprints.
"Ok then. Stay inside the formation limits and don't outrun the line," he said finally and Greyson grinned widely.
"You got it!."
Then Lexi's voice cut in over the shared line again.
"Guys for fuck sake! I swear to all that is fucking sinful that I am gonna die of old age at this rate!" Lexi pushed, "Tell me we can blast these motherfuckers already! It's cold up here and I'm fucking hungry…"
Adam answers without shifting his attention.
"Hold your position until we give the order," Adam repeated and it was followed with a stream of expletives that made Greyson snort with laughter on the way back to his new position on the front line.
As he approached his new position, the fighters assigned to the vanguard adjusted automatically. Two stepped to the side slightly to open space for him and another stepped back to align the numbers.
Greyson took his place and looked down the line at the same time that Orynn moved forward, out of the secondary unit and heading towards where Greyson stood watching.
Orynn held Greyson's gaze as he came to a stop beside him and Greyson nodded in acknowledgement.
Lexi had only told him part of what Orynn had been subject to, and it wouldn't surprise him if he wanted to take position here in order to claim some sort of vengeance against Ely if he was indeed still holed up inside this godawful castle with his father.
Aoife broke free from the secondary unit and rushed forward with Felix close behind.
"Are you really going in with the vanguard?!" She blurted out as she pulled to a stop in front of him.
Orynn trilled at her as he inclined his head and she sighed heavily, glancing back at Felix.
"But why?! Why do you have to go in first? You weren't assigned to the vanguard they…" she pleaded but Orynn huffed gently at her before he spoke.
"Ely made me," Orynn replied directly through their link, "If there is even a small chance that he is still inside, then I want to be first to face him. If Ely cannot end me, then Ely will find his end at my hands."
Aoife seemed to deflate a little as she stared up at him.
"There's no changing your mind is there?" she murmured softly as Orynn shook his head.
"I can at least provide some healing on the move Aoife. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, I have survived worse than what waits for me inside."
"Fine, but you make sure that you stay close to Greyson and don't you dare break off on your own." She relented finally.
"We'll be watching Orynn," Felix's voice came from just beyond her shoulder, "You're too important to Aoife for her to lose now and as her mate, it's my job to protect her and her family."
Orynn trilled gratefully and nodded in acknowledgement to Felix before they moved away.
Orynn turned to face the front, his eyes narrowing on their target and Greyson did the same.
Above them, Bella adjusted her position in the air, her rumble or irritation heard loud and clear and Lexi's voice returned on the channel.
"Bitch I'm gonna be creating barbecue any second now if you don't tell me that we can shoot shit!"
Adam chuckled as he took his position on the other side of Greyson and touched his finger to his in ear device.
"Go for it Lexi, you're clear to fire."
They didn't even need the communication channel to hear her whoop of happiness and with a terrifying roar of fury, Bella's mouth opened wide and a horrific swirling mass of shadow was hurled directly at the wall to the right of the main gate.
The stone of the castle wall seemed to melt under the impact, the breach opening wide enough to enter immediately.
"Advance," Adam yelled above the deafening roar of his men and as one, they moved forward, straight towards the opening that Bella and Lexi had cleared for them.
"Go get em fuckers!" Lexi yelled over the comms and then publicly, in a message meant for both Greyson and Allen, "If either of you furballs get even slightly hurt, I'm gonna make your life hell. So you better come back safely, do you hear me? I'm not mounting another rescue mission to save your asses."
Greyson chuckled as Allen appeared at his side and they shared a knowing look.
They came back together or not at all, otherwise Lexi would never forgive them and that was surely a fate worse than death for whoever was left standing.
As soon as they entered the breach and emerged into the corridor beyond, something felt off. Despite the gaping hole in the wall to let air flow freely, the air inside stank of death and it seemed to clog their lungs with each breath they took.
A few of the warriors gagged hard as they made entry behind Greyson. Clearly they were not used to the stench of death that permeated the places that Ely's fleshcrafting magick had infiltrated.
Greyson lead the vanguard forward cautiously, pulling his neck scarf up to cover his face. He could shift and allow his Lycan form to take over, but for now, remaining in their human forms would get them through the castle quicker with less chance of being detected.
"No more than four wide in each row," he murmured into his communication device, "No one passes me, Orynn, Adam or Allen."
The vanguard compresses immediately to match his orders and for a moment, as they move forward, their carefully held formation begins to look a little chaotic whilst they make the necessary adjustments as they head further in.