Xander POV:

As much as I would've loved to spend days with Addie, getting to know every single inch of her skin, the threat wouldn't let us. I isolated us as long as I could but unfortunately, we had to get to our responsibilities. Rego and the vampires wouldn't wait for us to bask in each other and so we had to act.

The Elders were permanently on my shit list. Lynn tried to talk to them and they did nothing. Addie's word meant nothing and neither did the word of the rogues we took in. They have no pack and their lack of loyalty makes them unreliable. That's what they said. Never mind these rogues banded together and were essentially an official pack. The way rogues were treated in our world was unacceptable. Just because a few of them made terrible choices didn't mean all of them did.

It was the one major point Alpha Rykan and I couldn't agree on.

We were trying to get Rykan on our side which was why we were currently in my office with him. I'd known him my whole life and his pack was in Washington, not too far from ours. Addie sat at my desk while I stood behind her with Rykan sitting across from us. He hadn't changed one bit since we were kids. The same stoic, grumpy expression, his dark hair still cut short, his copper eyes unfaltering to the point most leaders would take it as challenge. Except I knew him and this was just how Rykan was.

We explained the situation and although he appeared completely unaffected by everything we said, I knew the wheels were turning in there. He was better at stoic than even I was. The problem wasn't that he didn't believe us, it was the rogues.

Rykan and I had known each other since we were pups and while I understood that his hatred for rogues came from a very dark place in his past, it didn't make it okay for him to hate all of them. He would argue my good instances with some didn't make it okay to assume all were good. He was closest to Rego both geographically and in terms of alliance so Addie hoped we could sway him to help us but the moment he smelled rogues on our territory, it was a lost cause.

"You can be so fucking stupid sometimes," Rykan growled, crossing his arms.

"He's actually an amazing Alpha so you might want to check that tone," Addie snapped, meeting his glare just as fiercely.

"A good Alpha would not let a band of criminals onto his land, putting his pack in danger," Rykan snapped. "You have children that are less than a mile away from them, your own mate is less than a mile away and you're just trusting these rogues? Just like that? They were fighting against you for fuck's sake," he said, shaking his head. "What makes you think their switch of loyalty is genuine? For all you know, they agreed to this ridiculous arrangement just so they could feed information to Rego."

"You're not denying that Rego has a part in this," I pointed out.

"I can't confirm or deny it from any evidence except I don't think she's lying," Rykan said, his eyes darting to Addie. "I believe you, Luna, I truly do," Rykan said, meeting her gaze before bringing it back to me. "That being said, it unfortunately does not mean you can handle this however the fuck you feel like it with no physical evidence. You should wait for the Elder's involvement. It's the law, in case you've forgotten. Doing anything else would put you under their heat again and it would also put anyone helping you under that heat."

"Waiting on the Elders has historically gotten people killed for how long they take," I argued.

"Trusting rogues has historically gotten people killed," Rykan countered, narrowing his eyes. "I won't work with you while you have rogues on your territory. Find someone else," he growled, his eyes flickering for a moment. He had a worse temper than anyone else I knew.

"So you believe me but it's not enough just because of the rogues?" Addie asked, shaking her head.

"I mean no disrespect to you, Luna," Rykan said, rising from his chair and setting his hands on the desk, meeting Addie's gaze. "I've heard enough about you that I've come to respect you but I would advise you to consider other opinions instead of just listening to what your mate tells you about our world. Just as your human world has its differing opinions, our world does too. It might be good for you to get an education on both and make a decision for yourself without his influence. Despite what you've heard, Xander doesn't do everything perfect," he said, raising his eyes to me. "And I would argue that letting killers who owe no loyalty to you or anyone else is a pretty fucking stupid move so yes," he said, his eyes darting back to Addie. "I do believe you but I will not put my pack's lives at risk with rogues and no Elder backup. My pack comes first and I won't put them in danger needlessly. If you decide to wake up and see how dangerous rogues can be, then I'll consider it but until then, don't bother calling on me again."

Rykan turned and left, letting the door shut loudly behind him. I sighed and rested my forearms on the back of the chair Addie sat in, shaking my head. "I told you he's a lost cause."

"What's his problem?" Addie asked, rising from the chair and sitting on the desk, crossing her arms. "He was so weird. He was like respectful but also so grumpy. Did you piss him off besides the rogue thing?"

"Rykan and I have always butted heads," I admitted, running my hand through my hair. "We grew up learning to be Alphas together and were often pitted against each other for training's sake. I never wanted it to be a competition but it's how it ended up a lot of the time. The rogue issue is just... A tender subject."

"Did something happen?" She frowned.

"He lost a lot because of rogues," I admitted. "His dad, his brother and half the pack was killed by rogues right before he took over. It's true, Addie, some of them are not good. Some of them give over to their animal side and start taking whatever they want as if they have a right to it. Rykan's history with them is... Complicated. He's actually a very good Alpha, that aside. His life hasn't exactly been easy and he does not like to talk about it or open up about it. Or really, anything. He's very private."

"Well, I guess we just have to work without him," Addie sighed. "We have other people."

"We do," I nodded, walking over and wrapping my arms around her waist. "It's going to be fine."

"It kind of sucks to be sitting here just waiting for Rego to do something," she said, resting her forehead against mine.

"I know but if we make the first visible move, he'll use the Elders against us and with how pissed off they are at me, I'm sure the Elders would move a lot faster if it meant I was the one getting in trouble. It's a shitty situation," I said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "The current Elders really need to be replaced, I have faith in maybe two of them but the rest are corrupt. But don't worry. We have eyes on Rego and we'll know when he makes a move."

"What if we didn't make a visible first move?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. There was a glint in her eye that made me nervous.

"I don't know if I like where this is going," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"I'm just saying if we were to, say, use live bait..."

"No," I growled.

"You didn't even hear what I had to say," she frowned.

"Does it include you being live bait?"

"Well, I mean..." She said, darting her eyes away.

"Then I don't need to hear anymore," I said, narrowing my eyes. "Don't even think about it, Adira."

"Oh, full naming me, huh?" She said, rolling her eyes. "I know you're serious when you say my full name."

"Do you? Good, then you'll know I'm serious when I say..." I leaned in and pressed a kiss against her neck, lifting her and setting her on the desk, stepping between her legs. "I want to fuck you on my desk, Adira."

"Our desk," she breathed, tangling her hands in my hair.

I couldn't help but smile against her warm skin. "I want to fuck you on our desk, Adira," I said, trailing kisses from her neck up her jaw to her lips.

"Xander," she whined. "We need to make a plan."

"We made a plan together and now you're trying to change it, let's stick with the original plan that we made together," I said, pulling her into a kiss.

She moaned and I groaned, cupping her ass and pulling her against me, sliding my tongue between her soft lips and finding hers. She broke out of the kiss so I moved back down to her neck.

"You're such a cheater," she breathed. "My new plan is flawless."

"Arguable," I said, nipping at her neck. "I would call using you as live bait a pretty big fucking flaw."

"I'd barely be in harm," she said, wrapping her legs around my waist, bringing us closer.

"I prefer no harm at all," I said, bringing my lips back to hers.

She sighed but didn't break away from our kiss, just pulled me deeper. I rocked myself into her and she whimpered, sliding her hands down my back and up into my shirt. I'd never get tired of feeling that, her hands against my bare skin. I rocked against her again and slid my hand up her shirt onto her back, holding her tightly against me and pressing my fingers into her soft skin.

Goddess, I needed to have her again.

We need to talk. Now, Tess linked.

I growled in frustration and Addie sighed, pulling back and looking up at me. "Someone linking you?"

"Tess," I nodded.

"That's what you get for not listening to my plan," she shrugged, pushing me back and hopping off the desk.

"Watch it, love," I warned, following her towards the door. "Don't make me drag you to bed to pay for the attitude."

"Oh no," she said mockingly. "Don't do that. That sounds just terrible," she said dramatically, rolling her eyes. "I mean at least use a real threat, for fuck's sake," she said, looking back at winking at me before opening the door. "What's up, Tess?"

"Not much," Tess said, seeming amused. She probably overheard part of that. Damn werewolf hearing. "Just that Lynn just called and it seems like Rego is mobilizing. Marissa also called and said there was a huge movement from the Nightshade Clan of vamps. Suspiciously looked like they were headed towards Rego's territory in big numbers."

"Shit," I spat, pulling out my phone and dialing Mateo's number. "Call Geoff," I said to Tess before Mateo answered.

"Lynn already called," Mateo answered. "Getting some warriors together as we speak."

"Thank you," I said, wrapping my arm around Addie's waist. If Rego was mobilizing he could move any moment now.

"Anything for you and your pack, Xander. I'll see you soon," he said, hanging up the phone.

"Didn't you just tell me it's going to be fine?" Addie asked, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"It will be," I said. I hoped. "I just can't help but be nervous. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Then we better be careful," she said with a small smile, grabbing my hand and lacing our fingers together.

Just having her close to me like that was able to relax me more. Ever since we'd been together, I felt so much closer to her, like she was finally letting me in. I could feel more of her every day and the more I felt of her, the more time I spent with her with the walls down, the more I loved about her.

I'd do anything to protect her, I just wished she'd let me protect her and sit on the sidelines but of course, she wasn't going to do that. I couldn't decide if I was proud or annoyed by that.

"We should do a check of everything," Addie said, squeezing my hand and grabbing the map of the territory we'd marked up so we could show our plans to our allies.

Ah yes, her basically military-defense setup of the pack was both impressive and slightly disturbing. I started to wonder if her mom was the only CIA agent in the family but Addie said she definitely was. Her mom just trained her well.

Pack members that would normally wait in the pack-house until it was safe armed themselves and we had posts set up all over the pack. Addie and Gina had been working with them on shooting and as a result, for the first time ever, we had sniper rifles on the territory and people that knew how to use them.

Let's just say I was happy I had Addie on my side and wasn't on her opposing side because she was damn good at this. Between her and Tess's strategy, I felt more confident than ever we would be well-defended.

That didn't put my mind at ease though. My mate, my human mate was still insisting on being part of the action. I commended her bravery but I couldn't help but be nervous. She was smart, there was no doubt about that, but they were physically faster and stronger.

I wouldn't go far from her when the fighting started.

I walked out the doors of the pack-house with Addie where Gina was leading some of the others on making the last of the crossbows to defend against the vampires. The arrows were made entirely with wood tips so they would be effective. Gina had been working nonstop and taking in volunteers to get it done. I was definitely giving her some time off after this.

We were as prepared as we could be.

Mateo and several of his pack-members showed up shortly after we inspected Gina's work. They opted to stay in wolf form so they could be ready and while I warned Addie about that, I was a little surprised to see her go with it so easily. I really shouldn't be at this point. My Addie was ridiculously resilient and she had really stepped into the role. She even went on a run with us.

So instead of being weird or asking questions, she simply crouched down and laid out the map where Mateo's pack gathered and offered a smile.

"All right," she said, flattening out the map. "Here's what we're going to do."

A/N:

Heyy loves! I hope you had a great rest of your week :) Fated hit 150K yesterday!! Thank you thank you thank you for the love! ❤ Let me know what you thought of this chapter 😊

I don't know why but Wattpad is being rude so there's no media above because it wouldn't load anything I tried 😒 I'll try again later ❤

What'd you think of Xander and Addie's little banter before they got interrupted?

Do you think Addie's strategy is going to work?

Eeek, are we nervous about what's going to happen in the next chapters? Looks like we're getting close to a fight here 👀

Alpha Rykan has been introduced, first impressions?

This is the same Alpha Rykan who will be a focus in the next book which by the way, is not that far away from being released! We only have 3 chapters and an epilogue left! 😭

In case anyone's wondering, I already have the first chapter for the next book basically ready to upload and I plan to start it shortly after this one is done ❤ I'm excited for you to meet the heroine in this next book, I'm having a lot of fun writing her personality 😁

Sidenote, I know I made the title and all so I shouldn't be laughing, but I couldn't stop singing "Be Prepared" from Lion King 😂

Okay loves, have a fantastic and safe weekend ❤