JARED'S POV

I raked my hand through my hair, tugging on the brunette strands harshly. Gia gazed at me nervously, gulping as she copied my actions, shaking her head.

"How did this even happen?" I demanded, running my hand down my face, glaring at my friend who I was more than upset with right now. I understood that she didn't mean for Anna to be taken, but she had let her guard down and it had resulted in Anna's Father showing up on the doorstep.

"We assumed it was you at the door, and I know that you and Anna are going through a tough time right now. I just came to the conclusion that you were both talking things through," Gia responded, her face sorrowful as Clara nodded at her, letting her know that it was okay. "The TV was so loud and-"

"Gia, it's fine," Clara muttered, shooting me a wide eyed look. "Jared is obviously just worried, and we need to just focus on finding Anna for the moment. Nobody blames you."

Dylan scratched at his stubble as he hummed, looking tired.

"How did he even get into town without the warriors spotting him?" I asked, my voice strained as I began to shake. "I thought they were keeping tabs on him."

Dylan nodded, clicking his tongue. "They were, but they caught Amelia's scent, and that distracted them. I'm starting to think that it was actually meant to be a distraction."

Raising my brows at my Alpha, I began chewing on my fingernail, muttering to myself. "You think that Amelia is working with Anna's Father? I don't know about that. Amelia is the type of person to work alone."

Gia and Clara both nodded in agreement, causing Dylan to shrug. "I understand that, but maybe she saw her chance and took it. Maybe she realised that she wasn't going to be able to get to Anna without teaming up with somebody."

"Right," I stated, bracing my hands on my wheels. "I don't care about the ins and outs. I need to find my mate."

My heart was racing from within my chest, and I began to pace, my wheels gliding against the hardwood floor with ease.

"The warriors are out as we speak tracking Amelia's scent," Dylan informed me, but I shook my head, cursing to myself.

I was furious that I couldn't shift and track my mate along with them. What kind of mate was I? I couldn't even head out to find her. I couldn't protect her. It made me feel pathetic.

"Jared, I'm so sorry," Gia told me, making her way over and placing her hand on my shoulder, but, I shrugged it away.

I was upset with her, but it was just because I needed someone to direct my anger towards. I hadn't expected Gia to be so inattentive, and it frustrated me. How was I ever supposed to put my trust in her again? Especially when it came to my mate?

Suddenly, we heard crying from upstairs, and Clara sent me an apologetic look, excusing herself and making her way up the stairs to tend to her children. Dylan made his way towards the front door, whipping his T-shirt off and throwing it down on the floor.

"I'm going to go and join the fighters," he informed us, also pulling off his shorts before he shifted, his large wolf quickly appearing on the patio.

"I'll go too," Gia told me, dropping her gaze and shuffling out of the door to also morph into her wolf, following Dylan as they raced across the field.

"Fuck!" I yelled loudly as I threw one of the cushions from the couch across the room, the fabric splitting as it hit the wall opposite me, feathers floating through the air.

Clara heard my outburst, and she came rushing down with Sonny in her arms, his tear stained face staring at me. I instantly relaxed after seeing him, knowing that it wouldn't be fair on him to become loud and agitated. He didn't need to see that. He was only a child.

"Jared?" Clara asked, raising her brows at me and dragging her bottom lip into her mouth, her eyes looking worrisome.

I shook my head at her, waving her back up the stairs, tilting my head back and staring up at the ceiling. My phone then began to buzz, and I pulled it out to see a useless and uninteresting notification popping up on me phone, but, just as I was about to shove my phone back into my pocket, I remembered how Amelia had called me, and my eyes widened.

Searching through my phone records, I pressed on the number Amelia had used to call me, and I held the phone up to my ear. My breathing was rapid, and I cleared my throat as I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

"Jared," I heard from the other end, the slimy and seductive voice causing me to shiver in disgust.

"Amelia," I spat, my teeth clenched. "Where is my mate?"

Amelia chuckled, and I imagined that she was picking at her nails causally, not having a care in the world right now. "And what makes you think that I have your beloved human?"

I shook my head, my grip tightening on my phone. "I'm not an idiot, Amelia. Her disappearance and your scent being in the territory wasn't a coincidence."

"Alright, alright, fine, you got me," Amelia said, and it sounded as if she was smiling. "She's here, and she's fine. For the most part."

"If you touch her I swear to-"

"What, Jared? What will you do? You don't know where we are, so it's looking like there's not much that you can actually do to save your little pet."

I noticed how Amelia never called Anna my mate, and it was because she honestly believed that she still held that title. Her and I were never meant to be though. We were completely different people, and the Moon Goddess had made a hell of a mistake by pairing us together.

"Tell me where you are," I demanded, and Amelia hummed from the other end of the line. "Please, Amelia. Just don't hurt her."

"It's a little too late for that," she spoke, and I instantly released a low growl deep from my chest.

"If she has so much as a scratch on her, then I will rip you limb from limb Amelia!"

She cleared her throat after a few seconds, and I heard some shuffling, it sounding as if she had stepped away from wherever she previously had been standing to finish the conversation. "If only you fought this much for us, Jared."

"What?" I asked, my voice harsh.

"You never cared this much for me, and you have no idea how much I hate it to see that you've moved on with someone else."

I couldn't believe Amelia's words. She had made out with Dean right after meeting me, and then cheated on me when we decided to give the relationship a go. She then left when things got too hard, running away from her problems like a coward instead of just facing the situation.

I didn't want her after what she had done, and she didn't like that. She hated the fact that she hadn't got what she wanted. She wanted to have her cake and eat it, and I wasn't having it.

"That's where you're wrong, Amelia," I told her. "I cared for you so much. You meant everything to me, but you were selfish and reckless and you dragged me down with you. Breaking our bond was the best thing I've ever done, and I will never regret it. We never belonged together."

I heard a growl from the phone, and I pulled it away from my ear, growing increasingly angry. I didn't want to have this conversation with her. I just wanted the location of my mate so I could come and get her.

"Do you not even realise how I feel right now? The bond is broken from your end, Jared, but not from mine," Amelia spat. "How do you think I feel seeing you with someone else?"

I rolled my eyes, grinding my teeth together, but, I knew that I needed to keep Amelia talking. She sounded vulnerable right now, and I was hoping that she was going to give away their whereabouts.

"How do you think I felt?" I snapped back. "I gave you not just one chance, but two, and you still stabbed me in the back. You strung me along."

"I was young! I didn't know what I was doing, and you just gave up on me. Mates should never give up."

I didn't care for Amelia's words, and I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Listen, my phone is about to die. Tell me where you are and we can continue this conversation when I see you."

Amelia then huffed. "No, don't you think I know what you'll do when you get here? You'll take Anna away and leave me to try and fend off your fighters on my own. I'm not stupid."

Humming, I sighed. "Amelia, you want closure and answers. I can tell. I want them too. Even though I broke the mate bond, I still thought about you. Every day. This conversation needs to happen."

What I was saying was a lie, but, I wanted to pray on Amelia's weakness.

Me.

I needed her to think that I didn't hate her as much as she thought I did. I wasn't about to confess my love for her, not only because I definitely didn't love her, but because I knew that she would never believe me. Offering us both closure was a good way to allow her to think that I needed it just as much as she did.

I only wanted to get Anna away from her though. That was the goal here.

"Closure? I don't want closure, Jared," Amelia told me, sounding seething. "I want revenge."

•••

Give it a rest Amelia.

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