Torn

Chapter 26✓

Quinn

"Are you sure? How did you manage to figure out where she is in such a brief period of time? It's only been a few hours." Xander demands, his eyes darken with the forward push of his wolf.

It's not that he's ungrateful that Liam thinks he's figured it out. This probably feels like déjà vu from when his brother was taken. I know he still partially blames me for the fact that we have never found him. I understood, I'm sure if I stood in his shoes, I would have a hard time not blaming those around me as well.

Liam brings over the rolled-up map over to the desk and spreads it out. He takes a red pen and makes a large X over what looks like a heavily wooded area.

"This is where we are currently; the pack house." He explains, taking his pen and drawing a large circle around the marked pack house. He slides his hand over to the left side of the map and makes another slash. "And this here, is Carter's cabin. This is the area we are searching." He says pointing the large area above the mark for the pack house that he had drawn. "We ran into a Lycan on our patrol around ten days ago, right around here." He makes another large X on the map just a few inches away from Carter's cabin. My wolf bristles at how close he has continuously been to her.

"The Lycan gave us the slip before we were able to terminate him. He was faster and much bigger than the previous Lycans we had encountered before. My Alpha's, he is incredibly smart and calculated in his movements." Liam shakes his head.

"I couldn't figure out why he looked so familiar until it suddenly clicked. I was searching for the maps when I remembered the science magazine that Luna Serena had been very persistently trying to show me last week. She pretty well shoved the book into my arms, and I saw a picture of this head scientist guy at the old Lupine Preservation Center at the bottom of some report he had made. He looks just like an older version of the Lycan we ran into. It has to be his father. She's going to be at the lab, Alpha's. I know it." Liam has his pointer finger tapping roughly on one spot on the map over and over before taking the pen, slashing another large X on the map, and circling it.

I look over at my mother who is doing everything she can to avoid looking me in the eye but has a small smile on her face. I know she feels like her job is complete and that she has helped without actually stepping in to interfere. She must have seen something this time and thank the fucking goddess she did. She had done everything she could to use her Sight to see if she could find Xander and the other missing pack mates, but nothing ever came of it. No visions, no intuitive moments, nothing.

"Well, we know better than to ignore the help of our Omega and Luna." I nod. "Okay, get the supplies ready. We leave in an hour-"

A cough from my mother cuts me off. She shakes her head at me. My brows furrow deeply until her voice whispers in my head as she mind-links me.

You cannot leave until first light, son. As difficult of an ask as this is, Spirit tells me her journey isn't ready to be over yet. I am sorry, my boy. Her voice is like silk, regardless of how frustrated her words make me.

"We leave at sunrise. Get your rest." I snarl and storm out of the room.

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Once I calmed my wolf, I spent the rest of the evening strategizing and finalizing plans with the pack warriors while Xander helped gather supplies and prepare the warriors that were being left behind to protect the pack.

The more time that passed with Carter being gone, the more agitated and angry my wolf - and I - became. It was getting hard to reign him in. Carter may not be our fated mate, but we had loved her since childhood. She was ours and we would tear apart anyone who tried to keep her from us.

I spent years of my life begging the Moon Goddess to make Carter our mate, and for years I felt a bond grow between the three of us. But my heart broke time after time when my wolf would tell me that we could love her, but she was not our destined. He wanted her and was intrigued by her. He made it clear that there was something special about her and that we needed her, but I knew that if our mate were found we would have no choice.

I thought back to that day a few months ago when her little body had slammed right into mine on the sidewalk. At first, I thought I was hallucinating her all over again. I had spent years thinking I was seeing her out of the corner of my eye, or that she was someone walking on the sidewalk, just to turn out to be wrong.

I had looked down to see her in front of me and stared into those perfect blue eyes. The first thing I noticed was that she had a dusting of freckles over the bridge of her nose, onto her cheeks and thought that they had not been quite so noticeable when we were teenagers.

That irresistible crescent moon that marked the skin behind her ear still made me want to bend her over and trace up the side of her neck with my tongue and let my teeth graze her marking spot. The thought almost made me shiver with anticipation.

Her scent had hit me like a ton of bricks, and I could have fallen to my knees in front of her, right then and there. I wanted to beg her to be mine. I had wanted to grab her and sink my teeth into her and claim her before she could even try to leave me again.

I wanted to tell her that I loved her. That I had loved her my whole damn life and would continue to love her until my death. But when I heard she was going to meet with Xander my heart fell. She wasn't here when our friendship had fallen apart. She had been gone for the disappearance of Xavier and didn't see how that had affected both Xander and I so deeply, but also so differently.

Xander wanted to risk it all to find his twin, and I understood, I had. I helped in every aspect that I could until it started to affect the well-being of my pack itself. I needed to take a step back in the search to take care of my pack members, and Xander had never forgiven me. Xavier was never found, and I was aware that he would always blame me partially for that.

Things became more tense between our packs, the closer it came to the date of our arranged mating. Xander and I had not communicated to each other directly in years. If we needed to pass messages between the packs, then our beta's took on the carrier pigeon position much to their chagrin.

We put aside all our differences the moment we discovered Carter was back in town. We knew we needed to work together to reunite with Carter and to try and get her to agree to complete the bond with us before it was too late. Now we might have fucked up and lost her for good.

I dismiss the remaining pack warriors and tell them to try and get a good rest. I needed them to be at their best tomorrow. Sighing loudly, I run my hands roughly through my hair and walk out through the office doors towards the stairs that lead to my room.

I can't stop my mind from running through the events that had happened today. Chantal. The arrangement. The anger at scenting her with the Lycan. It feels like I've gotten whiplash. We'd gone from being in complete bliss at having Carter in my bed, peacefully sleeping between us, to preparing for fucking war.

It broke me to discover that she had given herself completely to that beast when she was supposed to be ours. But worse than all the devastation I had felt at the scent of her arousal, was the deep, cold lividity my wolf feels at the scent of her fear.

There is this utter sense of dread that overcame me the moment that sickeningly tangy and metallic smell reached me. My wolf took over full control before I even realized what had happened. I am going to make that bastard pay for touching her, and the price is his life. If she does not walk out of wherever she is right now, unscathed, nothing and no one will be able to stop the destruction my wolf and I will rain upon the world.

I walk into my room and pull my shirt off over my head before flopping onto my bed like a dead weight. I'm exhausted. I know I am going to have a tough time getting a decent rest tonight, but I also know I have no choice but to be at full capacity tomorrow.

I'm getting my damn woman back and fated mate be damned. She will be mine by day's end tomorrow. I will not allow her to walk this earth another day without wearing my mark. I love her, my wolf loves her and it's about damn time she knew it.