"This is a serious problem!" Shale's voice boomed harshly in the dark confines of the underground laboratory. The Coven was not the only thing that had been left in disarray. The leader of the Lycan Clan had been slaughtered. Aside from Raze, Lucian had placed his trust in three other Lycans: Shale, Taylor, and Josiah. The three had wasted no time in stepping up to organize and calm the frenzied clan to the best of their abilities. "We can not deny the fact that we need Kraven," Shale continued, looking to the other two for reassurance.
"After murdering Lucian, I'd no sooner place my trust in Kraven than I would have Viktor," stated Taylor gruffly.
"Trust or not, he was our only ally." Josiah nodded in agreement, but kept silent. "He knows the Coven inside and out. If we want to get the Hybrid back, we need him."
Taylor snarled, "We don't need the help of any fuckin' Blood, we can infiltrate the Coven on our own!" At this statement, Shale growled angrily, defiantly. This was not how things were supposed to play out. He glared at Taylor and roared again, this time, in challenge. The cool-tempered Josiah chuckled as the other two began to change; their human forms melting away to give room for a thick and hairy hide, while their facial structures elongated to form gnashing snouts.
Taylor and Shale circled each other awkwardly in the small room, their bodies far too big to do any sort of real fighting. But it was Shale who struck first, regardless of their location. A large, clawed paw swiped out, striking Taylor across the chest. Taylor yelped in momentary pain at the deep gash before pouncing on Shale, sending several tables flying over, spilling the contents to the ground. It didn't take more than a few minutes for Josiah to intervene, pulling them apart both verbally and physically. Each was covered in blood and sweat, even after the short fight. During a normal battle, the smaller Josiah would not have been able to pull the two Lycans apart. But Shale and Taylor were merely quarreling, and allowed themselves to be separated.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen," said Josiah, a calm smile on his refined features, "Let's try and be a bit more mature, shall we?" Shale and Taylor swiftly changed back, their heaving bodies shrinking back into their sweating human forms. "Taylor," Josiah continued placidly, "be reasonable. We want this to be successful, and without the inside knowledge of the Coven, this recapturing of the Hybrid will become a suicide mission."
"You seem to have overlooked the fact that Kraven is being detained by Marcus," said Taylor with a smug grin. Shale arched a brow angrily, his lips curling into another snarl.
"Lies!!"
"No, I swear it!" Taylor protested, his hands raised in defense. "One of the watchmen reported his return to the Mansion some time ago." Shale glared angrily at the fellow Lycan, seeming unwilling to accept the claims. If what Taylor said was true, then what was supposed to be a standard locate – and – detain mission would now become a rescue as well. Though Shale had often wondered why Kraven had decided to side with the Lycans, he knew better than to act against the peculiar, yet helpful alliance. Kraven was their ticket to the Coven.
Shale growled again, masking resignation beneath his usual "warrior's" face. "Fine. But it's up to you to assemble a team." He jabbed a finger into Taylor's bleeding and sweaty chest with the final statement before leaving the room, most likely to find another Lycan willing to partake in an innocent scrap.
Josiah smiled, watching the Lycan retreat. The expression, however, was strained. This entire situation was testing his patience.
"Honestly," he muttered, "You two could not be more immature sometimes." Taylor said nothing, just snorted his disagreement.
"Now, please…get yourself cleaned up. I expect the team to be ready for departure by Saturday." That would leave Taylor merely one day to assemble and arm the team. With a smirk, Josiah slipped past Taylor, leaving him alone to clean his wounds.
The Coven wouldn't know what hit it.