Chapter 395: Cyra has gone crazy too.

Sienna woke to the gentle pressure of Elias’s hand. The shades were still closed, and the brightest light in the room came from the television which had not been turned off through the night.

"Sorry for waking you," Elias whispered, his voice low but urgent. He was being careful not to wake the cubs curled at the foot of the bed or Soren, who was snoring on the fold out couch, under two covers. "I won’t be able to enjoy days two and three of our vacation. We have made significant advances in the rebel movement investigation. Today, we must carry out a crucial task."

Sienna rubbed her temples, exhaustion clinging to her bones. They had only slept off two hours ago, after watching movies for most of the night, and eating a whole lot of unhealthy desserts. "I have news too. My maternal grandparents are here," she murmured. "In the hotel. Preparing to make their move, from the looks of things."

Before he could reply, the television caught their attention. Both turned at the same time as Breaking News flashed across the bottom.

The trending news was all about the supermarket fires. Multiple cities. Smoke and chaos as rumors of some kind of attack was lurking. But that was not related to the newest headline.

Fire at the residence of the Wolf tribe Lord.

Sienna’s breath caught. The anchor’s voice was grave, with a hint of excitement. "It has been confirmed that the Wolf lord’s eldest son, formerly rumored to be next in line for the position of Wold lord has perished, with one of his cousins."

The scene cut to a press conference. Geo, stood before the cameras, his expression carved from stone. Sienna and Elias exchanged a look--shocked, but not surprised. They knew him too well. He had avenged his sister.

Yet neither spoke it aloud.

On screen, Geo declared: "As of today, my father is retiring from his position of Wolf lord. I will be taking his place, following a vote of the Wolf council of elders and support of my family. It is my intention to re-unite the wolf tribe into one big family. The rising segregation between wolves according to the color of their fur will not stand. I will also be opening roads to new alliances between the wold tribe and other tribes, including those we have not been getting along with. Negotiations are already underway with the fox lord’s family for a marriage alliance between their family and mine. Further updates will be provided according to how things develop."

"Shit." Sienna murmured. She turned to Elias, blinking quickly. "He is going to marry Cyra, to consolidate his position, isn’t he? This is not right, he doesn’t love her. At least, as far as I know." She frowned deeply. "You are not going to say yes to this, are you? Geo is a good guy, but you cannot sell your sister for a few benefits!"

Elias nearly laughed. "I am not selling her, she is selling herself. Cyra is an adult, and she went to our grandmother about this marriage alliance. When she proposed it, she didn’t come to me, because she knew I would say no. Geo is not exactly welcomed in his tribe, and now, he has probably killed his siblings. He has enemies, and his wife will be seen as his weakness. As a target. Cyra’s marriage is now out of my hands. If they are both willing to do it, then I am in no position to stop them."

Sienna sighed. "Mija has gone crazy, and so has Cyra."

Elias kissed her on the cheek and rose. "I must go," he said simply. His mission called. Literally--Lenard had called him three times so far.

Sienna went back to sleep. Elias went back to the station, where he found Lenard grimacing like an angry cat.

***

Meanwhile Itai was just as busy as the team that was hunting him. Maps sprawled across a big holo-screen, red dots marked houses were the rebels settled young orphans. Live footage from the supermarkets was playing, showing scenes of air thick with smoke. They had burned more than supermarkets, some of their other properties like a hotel and a few warehouses were also on fire.

Other holo screens of video calls as he communicated with the coordinators of his movement.

"Remove the weak links," he ordered, voice cold as steel. "Anyone with a loose tongue--eliminate them. It doesn’t matter what your relationship with them is. If they will endanger the mission, kill them. I have killed my brother-in-law to protect us. You should not be afraid to make similar sacrifices."

None of the coordinators responded to that.

Itai continued. "Move the assets from the northern warehouses to the northern docks. Have everything sent to the Northern city of Pingdai. What cannot be moved should be burned. We cannot afford leaks."

One coordinator hesitated. "My lord, you mentioned killing this with loose tongues. Some of these people are nobles--"

Itai’s gaze silenced him. "Loose tongues kill faster than blades. If they cannot keep secrets, they are already dead."

****

Elias was already on the move, with a team of enforcers that had been shutting down every casino owned by the Stormfeathers legally. The one they were heading into was the biggest one, frequented by nobles and the rich.

It was early in the morning, but the casino was alive with noise--chips clattering, dice rolling, and low hum of money changing hands.

But behind the glamour, in a private office, Sam Stormfeather, one of Itai’s brothers was bellowing commands and sweating heavily, as if it was summer. He and his bodyguards and some workers were hastily collecting cash, stuffing it into bags, preparing to flee.

A few bodyguards were stopped on their way out, with large bags of cash on their backs.

"They are running." Elias said, with a frown. "Spread out, cover all exits," He commanded his men, racing ahead to the office with half of his team.

Sam Stormfeather sneered when he saw him. "Fox lord....you dare raid us here? This is a legitimate business! This is not even your city. You have no right to throw your weight around here." He walked backwards as he screamed in agitation.

His bodyguards threw blades and fired at the enforcers, while forming a wall around Sam.

But, the enforcers were wearing full body armor, from head to toe. The bullets barely scratched them. The clash was immediate, fists flying, tables overturned. Bones were broken. The enforcers were skilled, but the rebels were desperate.

Then, Elias stepped forward, calm amidst chaos. His tails flicked once, and his aura surged. wave of mental strength rippled outward, invisible yet crushing.