Addie's POV:

My hand was grabbed roughly, catching me by surprise. 

"Don't walk away like that," Xander growled. "You scared me."

My eyes widened at his tone. He wasn't usually like that with me.

"Whoa, what the hell, dude?" Travis said, taking a step towards Xander.

The look I saw cross Xander's face at Travis's objection actually truly scared me. I hadn't seen him this pissed off since the night I was taken. I sucked in a breath and reached over, wrapping my arms around Xander's waist to try to get him to calm down.

"It's okay. He's just protective. This is Xander," I introduced. "Xander, Travis."

Travis narrowed his eyes at me and shook his head. I realized exactly how it looked. I normally hated the possessive type and he knew that. They locked in on each other, neither seeming very happy with the other.

"Xander, you remember me telling you about Travis, my best friend?" I tried.

His eyes snapped to mine and he released a low breath, his hand wrapping around my waist.

"Of course. Heard a lot about you," he finally said, his voice strained.

God, this wasn't good.

"Wish I could say the same," Travis answered, narrowing his eyes at Xander.

Great. Both of them being protective. I rolled my eyes and stepped between them, smiling at Travis. "Give us a minute," I said, giving him a reassuring smile before turning and pulling Xander with me.

It took effort to get him to budge but he finally did, his hand gripping my waist tightly. Tighter than usual. "What has gotten into you?" I hissed. "It's just Travis. You knew about him, didn't you? You were there that night."

"Yes, I was there that night. I was there when he made a move on you," Xander growled, sending a glare back at Travis.

"Oh my God, Xander," I groaned. "You can't be mad about that! We're not even together!"

He winced at my comment then turned us down a hallway and pressed me up against the wall.

"Please stop reminding me we're not together," he snapped. "I'm aware. Regardless, you are here with me. Not with him. You're here with me as your pretend boyfriend."

"Jesus, Xander. Get a grip," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Have you forgotten how easily the jealousy comes or should I remind you?" He inclined his head to one of the bridesmaids that sauntered down the hallway past us.

I groaned and shook my head. "No. But God, come on. He's my best friend and we decided not to sleep together anymore so can you just let it go and trust me?"

"It's not you I don't trust," he growled, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around me, burying his face into my neck.

I inhaled sharply and froze, my hands hovering over him as he nuzzled into my neck. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to calm down," he mumbled against my neck, inhaling deeply.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around him. It was weird but the last thing I needed was him getting in a fight with Travis. Okay, it was weird but I also was enjoying it way more than I should. Especially given his possessive display.

His breathing evened out and it was strange but I could almost feel him calming down.

"Xander," I said softly, running my hand through his hair.

Why did he have to have perfect hair, too? Dammit.

"What?" he grumbled, tightening his arms around me.

"You can't fight with Travis. I'm sorry he makes you feel jealous but I need you to trust me, okay? He won't try anything. We've already talked about it. He kind of knows about you. Just trust me. Is that so hard?" I asked, pulling back to look at him.

"Of course it's not," he sighed. "It's not just him, it-" He stopped short and shook his head before placing a kiss on my cheek. "I'll play nice. Promise."

"Something else is wrong," I realized, narrowing my eyes.

I knew his reaction was extreme. At first I thought it was just a wolf thing and that was part of it but something else was wrong. I didn't know what but I could feel it bothering him. It was strange because it wasn't just him I felt. I felt a general sense of unease in the house today, too.

"Nothing's wrong. I was just worried about you and then I saw him."

"What aren't you telling me?" I said, setting my hands on my hips.

The guilty look on his face was gone almost too fast to notice. What the hell?

"Everything okay?" Travis asked, coming around the corner.

Xander visibly stiffened and I frowned but grabbed his hand, squeezing it. I wasn't done with him but I couldn't talk about it in front of Travis.

"We're all good. Just needed to talk. And now I need to talk to Travis," I said, eyeing Xander. He looked over at me, an overwhelmed look on his face. "Alone," I emphasized.

He narrowed his eyes at me before tugging me to his side and planting a kiss on my lips that left me breathless and needy. It ended much too quickly and he released me, walking away while running a hand through his hair.

Damn him. I was doing okay until then. The punk knew exactly what he was doing. Travis frowned after him then turned to me, shaking his head.

"Um, what the fuck was that?" He asked.

"That was Xander," I tried, giving him my best smile.

"You can't stand guys like that," he said, frowning.

"You misunderstand," I said, waving my hand dismissively.

"Enlighten me," he said, crossing his arms. "Because he seemed crazy controlling just now."

"He isn't," I sighed, pressing my fingers to my temples.

I had no idea how I was going to explain this one. I hated lying to him.

"Look, you know how I was MIA for a couple days?" I started.

I could tell him part of the truth, at least. Travis nodded but kept his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I um... Some guys took me," I said shakily.

"What??" Travis said, his eyes widening. "How could you keep that from me? What the hell??"

"Please don't yell at me," I said, holding up my hands defensively.

I saw Xander making his way over, his eyes fixated on Travis. Oh for goodness sake, he was protective. I used Travis's minor distracted tantrum as a way to get Xander's attention. I shooed him with my hands and shook my head furiously. He gestured to Travis with an angry look on his face and I shooed him again.

If looks could kill, damn. He turned and walked away angrily. Oh dear. I was in for it with him tonight.

"Did you get hurt?" Travis finally said, looking at me again.

"I mean, yeah, a little," I said, setting my hand on my arm.

"I have a million questions!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I just... it's so fresh and it was so scary and I..." I stopped, the memories hitting me.

I'd been doing okay. Now that I was thinking about it I was getting freaked out again. Travis stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me.

"You don't have to tell me right now," he said, squeezing me tightly. "It's okay. I'm sorry I got mad. I just can't believe you kept this from me."

"I didn't mean to," I sighed. "I just didn't want to talk about it and I especially didn't want it overshadowing Tasha's wedding so please, please, let this stay between us."

He frowned but nodded, releasing me from the hug. "What does he have to do with this?" He asked suspiciously.

"He didn't take me, if that's what you're asking," I said, feeling annoyed at his insinuation. "He actually... He got me back. I wouldn't have made it without him. The whole thing freaked us both out quite a bit so yes, he's a little protective tonight. Ever since it happened he's barely let me out of his sight. He's just worried, Travis. He's worried then he saw me standing with a guy he didn't know."

Travis sighed, seeming still unconvinced but less angry. "He got you out?" He repeated.

I nodded, biting my lip. "I would've died if not for him. It was really bad, Travis."

It was true. I never would've made it to a hospital with a wound like that.

"God, Addie. I'm so sorry. I... I don't even know what to say," he said, pulling me into another hug. "Are you pressing charges?"

Oh shit. How was I going to explain that one?

"It's um... It's complicated," I said.

Very convincing, Addie.

"You mean you're not?" Travis asked, pulling back to look at me.

I opened my mouth to speak but Xander was back at my side, glaring at Travis. God, he really needed to get over that because Travis was staying a part of my life whether he liked it or not.

"Tasha's asking for you, love," he said, his expression softening when he looked at me, offering his hand. "Something about a bouquet toss."

I smiled and took his hand before looking back at Travis. "It's too much right now. Can we just drop it for now? I'm okay. That's good enough, isn't it?" 

He sighed but nodded and looked over at Xander warily.

"Good. Let's go," I said, taking Xander's arm before he could glare at Travis again.

Travis followed behind us but Xander bent his head down to whisper in my ear. "He was upsetting you," he said angrily. "What did he do?"

"He wasn't," I said, rolling my eyes. "I just got upset when I remembered what happened."

"You told him?" He asked, his eyes widening.

"No," I said quickly. "Of course I didn't. Not in detail. I just told him I was taken by some guys and you saved my life. That's it. No werewolf secrets, I swear," I said, squeezing his hand.

He breathed a sigh of relief and brought my hand to his lips. "That night is still bothering you?" He asked.

"I mean, I think it will for a while. I think I've just had so much going on I haven't had time for it to properly sink in, you know?" I said as we walked back into the reception.

"Right. I'm sorry," he said, kissing my hand again.

"Don't be. It's not in either of our control. But hey, be nice, okay?" I said, looking up at him. "He means a lot to me. As a friend. He's the closest thing I have to family. Try to think of him like my brother."

I squeezed his hand and he glanced over at Travis briefly before nodding. I pressed a kiss to his cheek before letting his hand go and moving to the dance floor where Tasha was waiting with the other bridesmaids.

"Trouble in paradise?" Tash asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not. It was just a little awkward for them to meet, considering," I said, shrugging.

"Oh," Tasha said, nodding in understand. "Everything okay?"

"It is now. Don't worry about it. You have a bouquet to toss," I said, nodding to the flowers in her hands.

"Don't you mean you have a bouquet to catch?" She countered, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Oh my God, stop. We haven't been together that long," I said, glancing over at Xander who was exactly where I left him and very clearly heard what Tasha said based on the stupid smug look on his face. I wish I didn't like the way smug looked on him.

"Well he's crazy about you and you seem crazy about him and after today I think he's proven he's husband material. I'm just sayin'," Tasha said, flipping back her hair and walked to the center of the dance floor.

I tried to avoid catching it but I swear even though she was facing away, she threw it right at me. She seemed a little too happy to see me holding it and sent a wink to Xander before running off to dance with Alex. The gesture had me hiding my face as I couldn't control the blush that happened. Hands settled on mine and I lifted my eyes, already knowing who it was.

"Stop hiding every time you blush. I like seeing it," Xander said, an amused look on his face.

"Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes and walking to the table we had dinner and setting down the bouquet.

"So I looked it up and apparently this means you're next to be married," he said, leaning against the table with an overly happy look on his face.

"Dude, I've known you for less than a week."

He smirked. "And yet you can't keep your hands off me."

I rolled my eyes and went to smack his arm but his hand caught mine and he brought my palm up for a kiss. I didn't know why, but any time he did that it felt so intimate. Especially when he maintained eye contact like he was now.

"See?" He teased.

"Shut up," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. I turned to walk away but paused. I turned to face him again, tilting my head to the side. "Wait, did you say you looked up what catching the bouquet means?" He nodded and I frowned. "How do you not know that?"

"I've never been to a human wedding." He shrugged "Our weddings are very different."

"Oh."

I hadn't thought of that.

"Honestly though, you think my world is weird? It's 'bad luck' unless the bride has something old, new, borrowed and blue. Whoever catches the bouquet is married next. Whoever catches the garter belt is married next and they remove that intimate object publicly, the veil is meant to keep away evil spirits. But yeah, mates is where you draw the line of believability," he said, shaking his head.

"Where did you get all that?" I asked, giggling.

"The internet. Lots of things were happening that confused me."

"God, Xander. Don't believe everything you read on the internet. It's just superstitions and traditions, I don't actually believe any of that," I said, rolling my eyes.

"So you're a skeptic in your world, too?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm practical."

"Says the woman who's going home with a werewolf at the end of the night," he countered, smirking.

I narrowed my eyes at him and turned before he could catch my smile.

"Saw that," he called after me as I made my way to the dance floor.

I giggled and glanced back at him. The smile on his face was everything. Did I really just think that? What was he doing to me?

I actively tried to not look back at him again but I couldn't help it and when I did the reminder that he was definitely hiding something from me became very apparent. When I looked back, he wasn't looking at me. He was looking out a window, his eyes narrowed and his posture tense. I couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on and why the hell he wasn't telling me.

A/N:

Phew! That meeting with Travis didn't go so bad, it could've gone worse, right? Anyway, this story is getting super close to 13K reads and I'm soooo excited!! Thank you, awesome readers :D Thank you for your votes and comments, they are everything!! WattPad limits the number of posts you can make on people's message boards and apparently I reached that limit trying to thank you all individually, so if I missed you, I'm sorry and as soon as my limit is open again, you'll be hearing from me :D Drop a comment to let me know what you thought of this chapter and don't forget to vote! :)

How about Addie calming Xander down? She's getting more used to him I think ;)

Ooof, how do you think it's going to go over when she finds out what Xander's hiding?

Side note, I've been doing a lot of writing ahead for this story because you all are so amazing and encouraging :D And I'm actually getting pretty close to the end :O (still needs editing of course). Anyway, when I get to the end with only some edits to do, I may start regularly updating twice a week. I'll keep you informed :)

And remember, the end is not the end, I've started writing spin-offs for our favorites: Kaden <3 and Tess. I've also started writing a spin-off for a character you haven't met yet but who is AWESOME. His and her story will be next in the timeline of things after Fated is finished. The order will be: Kora and Rykan (you'll meet Rykan in a few chapters ;)), then Tess, then Kaden last. So I hope you guys are in for that ride because it's going to be a few books and they will definitely have more Addie and Xander in all of them :D

Until next week, lovelies <3