"Right," I say in a low tone as I stare at everyone sitting in my office. "As you all know, the reason you are here is because my mate has been kidnapped and I need your help getting her back. I wish I was able to do it myself but if I did, it would end in more deaths than I would like it to and  I can't risk that."

I collect my thoughts and watch as everyone nods. For a moment, I take in the scene.

All of my family, as well as Levi, Bentley, and Noah, are sitting to the left of me while the neighbouring Alphas I invited - Corbin and Oscar - Steve, Noah - my head warrior wolf - and Teresa are to my right. I zone back in when I notice Beckett raising his eyebrows at me, telling me to continue.

"As of just recently, we have discovered where Zane's base is and my mate has been managing to skip her wolfsbane injections in order to stay in contact with me."

I sigh and run my hands through my hair wearily before continuing.

"However, I have already left finding her way too long and horrible things have happened, which is why we need to get her back as soon as possible. My parents are going to hold down the pack here while I'm gone which I appreciate. Bella & Beckett, you are not to come. It's not safe for you two. You'll stay here with mum and dad."

They go to protest but are quickly shut down by my parents which I silently thank them for.

"Corbin, Oscar..." I start, addressing them directly. "Are you two in?"

"My pack and I are in," Corbin replies, sternly.

"As are me and my pack" Oscar adds. "Especially because that lowlife of a rogue and his stupid goons have been harassing my pack for years and I'm more than ready for it to stop and for him to be dead" he continues, his expression turning to one of anger.

"Great, thank you. I appreciate it."

"How soon are you wanting to leave?" Corbin asks, curiously.

"Ideally, I would want to leave right now if I could, so how long would you need?" I ask, looking at both Corbin and Oscar. I watch as they nod and their eyes glaze over for a second before returning to normal.

"I would need about two hours at maximum" Corbin states.

"I'd probably only need an hour" Oscar adds, nodding.

"Right, then it's settled. It's just after ten p.m. now, so we will meet back here with your troupes in two hours and then leave shortly after. We will get to Zane's hideout just after six, tomorrow morning and go from there. Now, for the plan," I say, as the determination starts to set in.

"We need to attack them when their defenses are at their weakest which - much to my displeasure - means attacking them while Zane is with my mate. As much as I truly despise the idea of using her as bait, it will give us an easy window in and help to avoid unnecessary casualties."

Dante whines at the thought but I push on.

"If he's distracted, he won't be there to back his men when we first attack. Obviously, he will realise what is happening and will come and join them, and we need to be ready for that. As soon as he leaves to help his mean fight, I will sneak into the house and find Acacia. I can't let anything else happen to her."

"What happens if he doesn't leave though?" Noah asks quietly.

Dante growls and I fight him to stay in control, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"The exact same thing as what will happen if he does leave, I will find Acacia and then rip his fucking head off. Either way, he dies." Noah nods, satisfied with my reply. I watch everyone carefully for a moment and notice Corbin and Oscar give each other a look for a moment.

"Spit it out" I grunt at them, as they turn back to look at me. I have a feeling I might know what they are about to say, however, I wish I didn't have to hear it.

"I hate to say it Grayson and I know you've thought of this already and don't want to have to think about it, but what happens if he kills her as soon as we attack?" Corbin asks, a careful composure about him.

Goddammit.

I groan and rub my hands over my face and through my hair as Dante whimpers and pushes past the little control I have left. I know my eyes have shifted as the air quickly changes and Levi and Bentley's eyes shift too, prepared, in case Dante loses it completely.

"Yes, there is a chance that could happen and if it does, you need to get as far away from me as possible. Leave. Take your wounded and home" he growls coldly, gripping the desk with white knuckles.

Shit.

"Dante, give me back control" I groan, fighting him.

"No!" he spits back.

"Come on man, please? This isn't helping the situation and we've already wasted enough time as it is."

"Fine"

He quickly backs off and I regain control, the tension dissipating. 

"What he means to say is" I start wearily, looking at them. "You've all heard the stories. I wouldn't want you to get hurt because she's been killed and our bond is broken. I'll be too far gone and out for blood at that point, regardless of whether we are working together or not. So the safest option is for you to retreat and I'll contact you once I've calmed down."

They nod, exchanging another glance.

"Let's just hope it stays as hypothetical then," Becket says jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. Bella smacks him, mortified.

"Sorry Grayson, he's an idiot" she squeaks, eyes wide.

"It's okay, he was just trying to lighten the mood" I reply, forcing a small smile onto my face.

I nod and look around the room once more.

"So it's settled then, I want everyone back here with their packs, in two hours, ready to go," I say, my Alpha voice coming through due to Dante being close by.

"I'll talk to Acacia in the meantime and let her know the plan so that she is able to help us from her end. Sound good?"

"Sounds great" Oscar and Corbin say simultaneously, causing everyone to awkwardly chuckle, the tension in the room still present at the thought of the impending events.

I quickly dismiss everyone and watch as they all leave before I sit back in my chair and rub my eyes wearily.

"Acacia?" I ask quietly.

"Yeah?" she replies quietly.

"We have a plan. I know it's probably not what you want to hear but the best time to attack would be when Zane is with you as it will leave his band of rogues vulnerable. I won't let anything actually happen to you though because we will time it so that we attack right before he can try anything."

"Oh, okay. That makes sense."

"Yeah and then assuming everything goes to plan, it would create a distraction that would mean I would be able to come and find you."

"But what about Zane?"

"Well, chances are he'll leave you to help as soon as someone in his pack mind links him so I will just hide and wait for him to leave before coming and getting you."

"Okay. I trust you, Grayson."

"Thank you, Princess." I start gently. "We will be there just after six tomorrow morning, I'm just waiting for the neighbouring packs to get sorted and then we will leave here."

"Okay. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Nothing right now, thank you though. The only I need you to do is tell me when he's coming in the morning."

"Okay, I can do that."

"Thank you, Princess. So, how are you feeling?" I ask nervously.

"Drained" she replies softly. God, I can only imagine. Not only has she just lost our baby and is going through a miscarriage but she is also still stuck in that hell hole because I haven't been able to find her fast enough.

"You should get some rest, Princess."

"So should you" she replies with a sigh.

"Unfortunately, I can't, I have to get my pack ready to come to save you and rip Zane's fucking head off," I say as I stand up and leave my office, heading for my bedroom. I walk through the door and am faced with my empty room.

I miss Acacia. Everything's too quiet without her.

"I'm so ready for you to be back here, Princess," I say softly.

"I'm ready to come back too, Grayson. I miss you so much. You've made me feel safe for the first time in my life."

"You didn't feel safe when you were with your family?"

"I'd like to think I did but all I remember of my family before I was taken was my parents always doing Alpha stuff, leaving my sister and I with a nanny. I'm just glad they were able to keep Claire from being taken too," she replies quietly, her voice wavering at the end.

"I'm sorry, Acacia."

"It's okay. If none of this had happened then I probably wouldn't have met you."

"Don't say that, sweetheart. I would have found you eventually. Plus, your parents should have done more to prevent you from being taken in the first place. The fact that they were only able to save your sister and not you too truly infuriates me."

"We both know that you don't know that for certain, Grayson, as much as I want to believe you, and I know they should have but unfortunately, we can't do anything about what they did."

Dante whines even though he knows she's right. There's no saying whether we would have ever found her had she not escaped and ended up on our territory. There's a good chance I would still think that I didn't need a mate as they would slow me down.

God, I'm such an arsehole.

"How is everyone doing?" she asks quietly changing the subject.

"They're okay" I start as I head into the wardrobe to look through the weapons I keep hidden in my safe. 

There hadn't always been a safe in here. I had it installed when I first became Alpha so I could keep valuable personal items and weapons in it without fear of them being stolen or destroyed if were to ever had a fire or be under attack. Sweeping the section of my hanging clothes aside, I unlock the safe and begin to sift through my selection of daggers. Silver daggers laced with wolfsbane, purposely designed to kill disgusting creatures such as Zane. 

"They are all a bit lost without you because they need their Luna back but they are surviving."

"Well, I'll be back tomorrow so until then, they can suck it up" she replies, her voice light for the first time in a while.

I smirk as I select an ornate dagger with an emerald green hilt embossed with a decorative skull design and tuck the sheath into the band of my pants. In theory, I shouldn't have to use it, but I never know and I can never be too well prepared for a situation like this. I'm not going to take any more chances with Acacia's life.

Just a few more hours.

"Sleep, Princess," I say huskily, a wave of exhaustion washing over me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Tomorrow's going to be an intense day and you'll need all the strength you can get. I'll wake you up when we are close"

"Okay. I love you," she says softly.

"I love you too. Goodnight Princess," I reply, a small smile painted on my lips.

"Goodnight Grayson."

God, I love her.

"Soon," Dante says optimistically. I grunt in agreement before heading outside to meet up with the rest of my warriors who are waiting patiently outside in the clearing with Noah, Levi and Bentley. Scanning the group, I pick out two faces that I explicitly told not to come.

Bella and Beckett.

"Come here you two" I growl, mind-linking them as Noah begins to address the group of warriors standing before me. The twins give each other a look before sheepishly making their way out of the crowd and over to me.

I pull them aside, glaring.

"What the hell are you two doing here?! I told you two that you need to stay home because it's not safe" I say lowly, trying my best not to yell.

"Well, we are almost adults, for one. Plus we couldn't let you have all the fun big brother." Beckett says, smirking.

I groan and rub my hands over my face.

"Firstly, it's not going to be fun and yeah, you may almost be adults, but you're not yet. I know you want to be a part of everything that happens now that you have both shifted and are becoming older and stronger, I get that, but you can't come this time, it's really not safe. If you were to come, you're my responsibility and I can't bare the idea of losing either of you if something were to happen, so please, for my sake, stay at home. I don't want to have to use my Alpha command on you guys, but I will if it means that I know you two are safe."

Realisation dawns on them as guilt washes over me. I hate being hard on them but I'm their big brother and their Alpha. It's my job to keep them safe and keep them out of trouble.

"Okay, Grayson. We'll stay home this time, only because it clearly means a lot to you," Bella starts softly. "But don't expect us to be so obedient next time." A grin sneaks onto her face and I roll my eyes.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you two," I groan, trying not to smile.

"Good" she smirks before linking her arm through Becketts and dragging him back towards their house.

I watch them walk away for a moment before turning my attention back to the group.

"Over to you Grayson," Noah says, nodding at me to take over and explain the plan.

Right, let's do this.

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