“Since we’re all here,” Kora said, standing before the people in the meeting room, acting as the representative of the meeting. “Let’s begin the Lycan Raid Meeting.”

As the meeting began, a couple of priests came into the room and brought in some sort of machine. Its body was a black box with a golden tube with a black lens at the front.

It was being transported through a cart of sorts and placed at the other end of the room. Another group of priests showed up and brought in a blackboard and placed it right next to Kora.

The two objects that the priests brought in were a Slide-projector and a blackboard used for the projector. This machine was created thanks to the help of the Helsing Genius and sibling to Janus, Kane, and Kora; Sherley Van Helsing.

After a bit of tinkering with the projector, a light came from the lens and was pointed at the blackboard, causing an image to appear. The image was the map of the Broad Street Ward of the City of London.

“As you can see, this is the map of the Broad Street Ward,” Kora explained. “Our current location is here in the All-Hallows church.”

Kora then uses a long stick and points it at the map, showing where they were at the moment. She then moves the stick and points it a little downwards to the left.

“According to the Lycan that was interrogated, the base of the Howlers pack is located somewhere here. Near Drapers Garden.”

“That’s not far from the Dutch Church,” Kane noted. “Are you sure that the Lycan was telling the truth?”

Having a Lycan next nearby a church isn’t considered a smart move. After all, all they need to do is take residence at the church and assault them as soon as possible.

However…

“Janus was the one that interrogated the Lycan, so we can more or less confirm his words.”

When Kora mentioned this, practically everyone in the room silently acknowledged her words as truth. Even Kane, although begrudgingly.

Out of all the Helsing children, Janus is the most feared by monsters. Not just because he was nicknamed the Merciless Helsing, but also the fact that his blood was poisonous to monsters, giving him the other notable title, The Poisoned Helsing.

When it comes to getting answers, and the right ones, from monsters, Janus was the man for the job.

After confirming that the information was true without a reasonable doubt, their continued on with the meeting.

“In the area near Drapers Garden, according to the Lycan that was interrogated, the Howlers are taking residence in a secret tunnel located there.”

“Typical of those bastards…” Kane grumbled.

“No wonder we couldn’t find them,” Ana stated. “They’ve been underground and moving around in the tunnels.”

Lycans usually roam about in the open when the moon is out. However, this secret tunnel could be their way of maneuvering around the city and staying in the shadows.

In the past, the Lycan race was out in the open, striking fear into the hearts of the people. However, with the Helsing Family and other families stepping in and stopping them, the Lycans had no choice but to go into hiding.

And as civilization grew and the world advanced, the Lycans and other monsters went further into hiding, rarely showing themselves except during the night.

“From what we can confirm,” Kora continued. “This secret tunnel spans across most of Broad Street and then some. The Howlers Pack have been using these tunnels to travel around the ward and do things in the shadows, away from even us.”

“Like the kidnappings?” Janus spoke up, causing the others to turn to him.

“Kidnappings?” Jacob muttered.

“There have been several kidnappings performed by the Howlers pack,” Kora explained. “They are mainly female…which means that the Alpha of the pack is likely using them as Breeders.”

“Breeders…those bastards!” Jacob clenched his fist in anger, clearly expressing what the others are feeling.

Breeders is a term used to describe females that have been turned by Lycans and used to make more Lycan soldiers, in this case, their children. What is known about Breeders and their uses is that they are turned by the Alpha and turned into that Alpha’s mate, or a Beta’s.

“Hold on,” Kane interjected. “If the Alpha is turning females into his breeders, then what is it planning? It would be better for the Alpha to just turn humans into its Betas and be done with it.”

In terms of the goal of the Alpha in question, it doesn’t make sense to gather Breeders to make more soldiers, because it would take years for them to mature. Finding well-built humans and turning them would be the better option.

However…

“According to the Lycan, the Alpha wasn’t satisfied with his current pack that it has gathered. It seems that the Alpha believes that making more soldiers through breeding will give it a better result.”

“To what end?” Jacob asked.

“That I’m not sure,” Kora stressed. “It seemed that even the Lycan we interrogated was confused by the Alpha’s behavior. How it was stressing over getting its pack stronger than ever. It’s as if…”

“The Alpha was preparing for war,” Janus concluded, causing the others to grow alarmed.

“War…?” Jacob said in surprise. “What do you mean?”

As Jacob questioned this, the others in the room including Kane and Kora looked at Janus, waiting for his explanation.

Janus takes a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing. “Considering how desperate the Alpha is to create stronger soldiers to the point where he’s resorting to Breeding his own soldiers, this means that the Alpha is expecting a war to occur. And when there’s a war, there’s a need for soldiers.”

The other HMDD members took a moment to ponder over Janus’s explanation. It was a sound theory, but if that were the case…this situation just got a lot more serious.

“If the Alpha is preparing for war…who is it against?” Jacob questioned. “Could it be the other Alphas from the other four notorious packs? Are we looking at a Pack War?”

Aside from the Howlers, there were still four other Lycan Packs in the City of London. And since the Alpha of the Howlers pack was preparing for war, it could very well be up against one of the other Packs.

This would mean that the HMDD was about to deal with a Pack War, a war between two Lycan packs. It could be compared to gang wars, in the sense, that both packs are trying to claim territory and power.

Of course, it might not be a regular Pack War where two packs butt heads. It could be a Mass Pack War, where multiple packs are fighting one another. Between the two Pack wars, a Mass Pack War was the most dangerous.

The last Mass Pack War that happened was around two centuries ago in France. It was a big war between four Lycan Packs that nearly devastated the country if the Helsing Patriarch at the time didn’t step in.

“If it is a Pack War, then we’ll need to take extra precautions when dealing with the Howlers,” Kora stated. “If we go after them and get involved in a Pack War, things will get dire quickly.”

“Which means we’ll have to scout the area and make sure that we’re only dealing with the Howlers at the moment.” Kane indicated. “If a Pack War does occur, then we simply have to wait it out until only one pack remains…then we deal with a said pack.”

“That would be the safest option, yes,” Kora agreed. “While waiting, we’ll have to isolate the Broad Street War and any other Ward involved in the war until it’s over.”

“Which means we’ll have to do a full evacuation of the Ward…” Ana concluded.

Upon hearing this, the whole room grew silent. A full evacuation is a very complicated and difficult task, mainly because it involves getting people to leave their homes before the fighting starts.

When this happens, there’s a lot of turmoil and chaos. Not only that but there are some people that are so stubborn to stay that they’ll die in their homes before leaving. It’s a very stressful task for any HMDD member and even the police.

“Before we dread for the worse…we should focus on the problem at hand. That being the Howlers…and only the Howlers.”

At Kora’s suggestion, everyone shook away the dreaded thought of the evacuation and focused on just the Howlers for now.

“Now then, since the location of the base is within a tunnel, we’ll have to make some preparations when sneaking inside and taking them down. For that, we’ll need to come up with several plans as to how to approach this. Who wants to go first?”

And thus, the captains of their respective groups started discussing their ideas in terms of dealing with the Lycan pack. Jacob suggested flushing the Lycans out of the tunnel and ambushing them in the open where they could take them down with ease.

Kane suggested that they should do a frontal assault at the tunnel and take advantage of the tunnel paths and entrap them in their own base. Kora thought about a pincer maneuver where they find another entry into the tunnels and surround them that way.

Their ideas were sound, but they were having a little difficulty trying to figure out which plan would be best to use. Meanwhile, Janus sat there in his seat, contemplating, as if he was bored.

Ana noticed this and looked a bit worried. Not just Ana, but Kora soon caught wind of this and decided to speak up.

“Janus, do you have any plan you’d like to tell us?”

When Kora asked this, all eyes went to Janus, who was a little alarmed. Most of the HMDD members looked at Janus with a bit of scorn, but the captains, mainly Jacob and Kora, were honestly curious about Janus’s plan.

Pondering for a moment, Janus soon explained his idea.

“We distract the Lycans by causing a commotion at the entrance of the secret tunnel and have them focused on that. Meanwhile, another group uses the other entrance and sneaks in, and faces off against the Alpha. If we do this, the Lycans that are distracted won’t be able to go to their Alpha, and the Alpha won’t have a way to escape.”

After Janus expressed his idea, Kora and the others pondered over his plan. It certainly sounded like a sound plan, but there were those who were skeptical.

“Who would be tasked with being the distraction?” Jacob asked.

In order for this plan to work, each person needed a specific role for this to succeed. So, asking this question was very important.

“I would say Captain Jacob and Ana would be able to handle the distraction part,” Janus stated. “With your group and the proper planning, you can keep those bastards distracted long enough for the rest of us to deal with the Alpha.”

“And by rest of us, you mean you, correct?” Ana said, looking skeptical.

“Obviously Kora and Kane would be part of the team to take down the Alpha. Not just me.”

As Janus said this, Ana could tell in his mind that he wishes it was just him. However, she said nothing as Janus continued explaining his plan.

As the plan would go, Jacob and Ana would lead their group against the Lycans at the entrance, serving as a distraction. In all the commotion, Janus, Kane, and Kora would use the other entrance of the tunnel and ambush the Alpha while his pack was distracted.

This way, the Beta Lycans won’t be able to go to their Alpha and aid him, and the Alpha won’t try to escape while the group was distracted.

It took a while for the group to consider Janus’s plan. Then, Kora was the one that spoke up.

“I believe Janus’s plan is the most ideal, at least in killing two birds with one stone.”

“I agree,” Ana joined in. “Having the Helsings deal with the Alpha would end things quickly as well, and make the Betas weaker, making them easier to take down.”

“…I also agree,” Jacob said. “While being the weakest, the Howlers are still formidable. Having the Alpha being dealt with by the Helsings is a smart move.”

With the two captains and Ana agreeing with Janus’s plan, all that was left was Kane, who was silent. Everyone looked at Kane, waiting for his answer.

Kora looked a bit worried, knowing that he might cause an issue with Janus’s plan or even challenge it, causing even more turmoil.

However…

“I guess I’ll agree with the plan as well,” Kane surrendered, surprising the others, including Janus.

After that brief moment of surprise, everyone focused back on the task, organizing their thoughts and plans for the Nest Raid. Once they got their plan all ready, the next step was preparing for the fight.

And for that, it was time to go to the Armory Room. Leaving the meeting room, the HMDD members went over to another door and opened it up, revealing a room filled with weapons of many kinds.

Rifles, guns, and a variety of blades were stacked up on the wall. There were several drawers and cabinets surrounding the room as well, most likely filled with ammo, daggers, and whatnot. There were shelves filled with vials and jars of certain liquids, likely used for coating blades and bullets.

The HMDD members entered the room and started going for their choice of weapons. Since they were going up against Lycans, known for their speed, durability, and strength, using guns was the best option.

Some picked up rifles while others went for handguns. They then started opening up the drawers, revealing boxes filled with ammo.

Taking out the boxes, the HMDD members brought the bullets over to the tables around the room and started doing so preparation. The members picked up a couple of vials and jars, all of them filled with a purple liquid, and started coating the bullets in them. The purple liquid was Wolf’s Bane, aka, Aconitum.

While the HMDD members were preparing for the fight, Janus was back in the meeting room, looking over the map of Broad street, specifically the tunnel route that Kora showed them during the meeting.

From what he remembered when interrogating the Lycan, he was told that there were two ways inside the tunnel. The one near Drapers Garden, and the one around a mile or so away in the East.

If Janus had to guess, the Alpha would be close to the other entrance or perhaps in the middle of the tunnel, making that part his base. Either way, he’ll need to be careful to not alarm the Alpha before getting to him.

While looking over the map, he heard a couple of footsteps approaching. Turning around, he saw Kane and Kora in front of him.

There was an awkward silence building up in the room. None of them said a word but they were all looking at one another.

It’s been a while since these three siblings were together in one room. Even before the Terror of Hyde, there was rarely a time when these three were alone together.

And now they were…and it was far more awkward than Janus anticipated.

Within the silence, Kane was the first to speak.

“Since we’ll be going up against the Alpha while the others are distracting the rest of the pack, I’ll be taking point.”

“…What?” At this, Janus couldn’t help but blurt this out in surprise…and annoyance.

“Well, I feel like I’m the fittest to lead our part of the raid. It’s either that or our sister should lead us.”

Upon hearing this, Janus knew for certain that Kane was going to try and take charge now. And he wasn’t having it.

“Sorry to break it to you, Kane, but I’m taking charge,” He declared.

“Oh…?” Kane raised an eyebrow, his aura growing a little intimidating.

“We’re going with my plan, and I was the one that encountered the Howlers first. Case and point; my case, my decision.”

Kane then glared at Janus, not amused by his statement.

“Are you sure it’s wise for you to lead us? May I remind you that the HMDD doesn’t view you all that highly at the moment.”

“Kane…!” Kora called out to her brother, calling out on his words.

However, Janus held his hand up and motioned her not to interfere.

“Whether they view me highly or not is irrelevant. If they don’t want me to lead them, then they can leave. I’m pretty sure the three of us know that even without their help, I can easily take down the Lycans on my own. In fact, if I wasn’t under supervision, I would do exactly that.”

Before his suspension and being currently under supervision, Janus has always worked solo and fought monsters on his own. He’s never needed a group and never had to do these meetings to prepare for a raid.

If he needs to do a raid, he does it on his own and takes care of it. With his Healing factor, he’s got nothing to worry about.

“Janus,” Kane said in a stern tone. “Unlike Kora, Jacob, and myself, you are a Lieutenant. That means you are a rank below us. Since that’s the case, I can easily consider you unfit to lead this operation.”

Kora was shocked and horrified that her twin would even attempt such a thing. Just when she was about to say something, Janus held her off again, staring directly into Kane’s eyes.

“You may be a Captain, but let’s face it, in a fight between you and me, we both know who would win, right?”

As Janus said this, Kane glared at him intensely, obviously annoyed by this statement. Even Kora was a little shocked that Janus would go this far.

Just before Kane could say anything else, Janus went on.

“What did you tell me when we were kids? If I want you to listen to me, then I needed to stand up and make you? Then here you go; I’m taking charge of this Raid, and if you have any objections, let’s sort it out, shall we?”

Janus made a daring smile, practically challenging Kane’s authority. The other twin continued to scowl at his younger brother, clearly growing angrier by the minute.

However, at the height of his anger, he suddenly became calm, breathing heavily. The fury in his eyes was replaced with a look of reluctant compliance.

“Good grief…look at how much you have grown, little brother,” Kane slightly smiled, though it didn’t look kind. “Once the little coward…now a true Helsing.”

“Please, I’ve been like this since before the academy,” Janus scoffs. “So, you have no objections?”

“No objection…for now.”

After Kane ominously said this, the trio was now on the same page. And just like that, Janus Van Helsing was now leading the group in the Howlers Pack Raid.