Mated to the Beast of the Wasteland (Gillian and Merrick) novel Chapter 264

Chapter 264 The Full Assault Never Came

Chapter 264 The Full Assault Never Came

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Merrick walked up to her and stopped. He stood straight, his face steady, and there was a softness in his gaze that barely seemed to belong there.

He raised his right hand and snapped off a Legion salute, clean and sharp.

“Mrs. Cole, wait for me to bring good news back.” His voice was low and solid, and it settled something in her chest.

Gillian pulled in a breath, straightened up, and returned the salute just as crisply. “Yes, Commander,” she said.

The words were simple, but they carried her trust in him completely.

“See you, honey.”

Merrick turned and walked, and Gillian watched his back, a hollow ache opening up in her

chest.

The Chelone Warship punched into the sky. He’d waited to tell her in person because he knew she needed to hear it face to face.

But she didn’t have time to sit in it. No one knew if the parasites would hit again tonight, and if they did, she had to hold the pool with whoever was left.

She pulled herself together and turned to Adrian, her voice already back to calm. “Who did Merrick take with him? Send me the roster. We’re holding the taint pool tonight. Nothing gets through,” she said.

Adrian nodded and pulled up the data fast. “Commander Cole took Dominic’s unit. Twenty from the Flora Squad, five hundred beastman soldiers, and the clerics, including Ms. Mandy Evans. He left Number Five and Number Six here to back you up.”

The more Adrian checked, the clearer it got. Merrick had thought of everything. “He also had a rainfall rig set up before he left. While he’s gone, you can use it to seed the gray rain. The defensive positions are mostly locked in. All you have to do is hold the center. Do you want to keep his layout?”

“We’ll run it his way and adjust if we have to,” Gillian said.

“Yes, Mrs. Cole.”

“Let’s go.”

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13:08 Tue, Jul 14

Chapter 264 The Full Assault Never Came

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Merrick was better at this than she was. His tactical sense wasn’t something she needed to second-guess, and the fact that he’d left her the entire Flora Squad told her he’d been worried.

She split seventy flower beasts into a unit and stationed them on all four sides. All she could hope was that tonight would be lighter than the last.

At the same hour as the night before, the black earth outside the taint pool started to rustle.

“Everyone, weapons ready,” she called out.

But the full assault never came. The parasites came in waves, small and probing, endless but hollow, like the real force was holding back.

Nobody dared relax.

By the time the corpses piled high outside the pool, the sky was lightening with dawn.

Gillian couldn’t believe it had been that easy. It felt wrong. The parasites had gotten smarter. Every wave had been a feeler.

The attack had been light, but plenty of beastmen were still worn down to the bone by the end of the night.

Ruby stood beside Gillian and studied her face, which had gone paler by the hour. “Mom, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing. I’m just tired.” Gillian shook her head. “Ruby, call the flower beasts back to rest. I’ll meet you at the taint pool.”

“Okay, but if something’s wrong, you tell me,” Ruby said.

“I’m fine, Ruby. Go.”

“Okay.” Ruby hesitated, glancing back over and over, then finally ran.

Gillian looked down at her wrist terminal. The messages she’d sent Merrick before dawn still had no reply.

“Adrian, do you think Merrick’s reached the Naiad River yet?” she asked.

“Mrs. Cole, Commander Cole took Dominic’s Chelone Warship. Running the energy stones at full burn, they should’ve been close by now,” Adrian said.

A cold feeling coiled in Gillian’s stomach.

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13:08 Tue, Jul 14

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