Fated

Chapter 35: The Rescue

Xander's POV:

Addie cried. She cried so hard when she hung up that phone and I knew there was no way in hell any more harm would come to Travis. I would not fucking let it. It was like I could feel her heart breaking and nothing had ever hurt as much as that since my parents died. I desperately wanted to take away her pain and assure her but she was rightfully freaked out.

What was even harder was getting her to agree to stay at the pack house. It wasn't that I thought she couldn't handle herself but she was way too upset and still hadn't healed from the last incident. It took two hours of me, Kaden and Tess talking her down for her to agree that her being out there injured would only distract the rest of us. She was so not happy about it and I hated telling her to stay back without me but it was the best way to assure she wouldn't get hurt and I could get Travis out without losing focus.

The other hard part was telling her we better call Tasha and make sure she made it on her honeymoon. I hated even bringing it up but at this point, I wasn't putting anything past those assholes. Tasha answered after a second phone call and said they were having a great time on the beach in the Bahamas so I at least didn't have her to worry about.

Thankfully, Cassie's masking potion was done and currently my best were getting their scents masked. I was leaving Addie with Cassie, Katie, Renzo and Ginny. Ginny more for emotional support than anything else, that and she always got nervous when Tess went out on missions like this so she needed the support herself. I had other guards including some of Mateo's pack since we were taking so many but that's who I asked to stay with her in the house. I came inside when Cassie was almost done setting up the masking scents and found Addie curled up on the couch in the living room clutching a pillow.

"Adira," I said, crouching in front of her and setting my hand on her face. "I swear to you I will get him back safely. I swear it," I said, standing and kissing her forehead.

I moved to leave but she caught my hand and looked up at me with such vulnerability I wished even more I didn't have to leave her side. "Please be careful. I don't want to lose either one of you," she said.

"You won't lose anyone," I assured her, kissing her hand. "I'll be back before you know it, love."

She didn't seem so certain and it was the longest she ever held onto my hand, our fingers only falling away from each other after I was far enough away we had no other choice. I gave her my best reassuring smile before going outside to my pack who was coming with us.

"Tess and Gina are leading the group that will be tracking down Travis," I said, walking past them. "Trackers and two warriors go with them, the rest of you are with me and Kaden. We're leaving early enough I'm much more concerned with quiet than speed. Only your scents are masked, not your sounds. Be as silent as possible," I said before shifting and heading into the forest.

Knox Valley was only about a ten minute run out and we had thirty minutes to get there but I intended to take it slow in case they had people watching. I left our patrol the same and didn't go out in the break they talked about but it bothered me they'd been paying enough attention to know when and where the breaks were. I couldn't possible have patrols running across every inch of the border twenty-four seven but I was thinking we needed a new plan in how we approached patrols.

We spread out and were careful about picking out wolves we found. Running into one of them would mean the possibility of them linking their pack so instead we snuck past as we made our way to the valley, only picking off ones that we scented as rogues. The closer we got, the more certain I was that Travis was not going to be in the clearing.

Look for a human scent. I don't believe he's out here but he can't be too far. They know Addie's too smart to give up quickly. They'll have him nearby in case they need to use him, I linked.