The Sacrifice of the Cursed {2}

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The search for Nolan does not stop. Brook's search of Owen's house came up empty, Josh and Nick's spells do not work, and my father has not answered the letter I sent him. It is now about eleven in the morning and almost all the pack members are outdoors searching for the gamma. The ones who are not searching are either looking after the children, or distributing food for the people who are searching. After all, the search started a little over twelve hours ago.
With every hour that passes, Amoux gets more restless and angry. I have been trying to do my best to tame him, but my own ire is making the task harder than it is.
We should find that bloody bastard and torture him until he tells us where our gamma is. Amoux growls in my head. I can practically feel him moving around in my head as he fights to take control.
Amoux, please do not do this. Remember it is our duty to protect every single person in this pack, not just Nolan.
So, you are telling me that you are not the least bit angry? I am bloody seething and you are acting like you do not bloody care!
I do care Amoux; I am just trying to rely on my mind rather than my emotions. You have to do the same or we will lose our entire pack.
I cannot bloody do that! Our people are under bloody attack. Kidnapping our gamma is a freaking act of war! I feel myself getting pushed into the back of my mind as Amoux fights for control.
Despite his iron will and burning anger, I manage to hold on as I make my way through the trees and pass by people who stare at me worriedly. However, I do not allow anything to distract me from my destination; if I do Amoux will exploit it to completely overpower me and take control.
Xander?
Are you okay?
Did something happen?
Did someone else disappear?
Can I help you with something?
Are you losing control?
Do you need me to get the Fairchild witches?
Countless members mind-link me as I pass them, and even though I want to pull my mental wall up, I cannot do that because all my power and energy are focused on fighting my wolf.
About a mile away from my house, I hear Chance's voice call my name, and I can feel him running towards me; after me.
"Xander, what is wrong?" He stops me by holding both of my shoulders once he catches up with me. However, I do not allow him to waste any of the borrowed time that I have. Thus, I push him away and continue walking.
I sense him walking a few steps away from me, but I pay him no attention, I only focus on the house that is slowly starting to appear before me.
Amoux growls, yells, and thrashes in my mind causing me to wince every few seconds, but it does not affect my will.
"Should I call..."
"N... no... do... do not call... anyone." I cut my beta off. I pant as I reach the front steps.
"But Xander..."
"Just.... I ne... need you to... help me... get... get inside." I plead as I feel my eyes start turning black and start falling on the steps.
Without asking any questions, I feel his hands grab me by the biceps and help me back on my feet. We go up the five stairs before we enter the house.
"Where do you want to go?"
Let me the bloody hell out! Chance and Amoux say at the same time. The difference is while Amoux yells at me, Chance asks me quietly.
"Upstairs." I whisper as I ignore my wolf. There are about thirty stairs. Therefore, they are more challenging than the ones on the front porch.
Once we reach the second floor of the house, Chance helps me go to the direction I want to go to.
"What happened?" My mother emerges from her room and yells at both Chance and I once she sees my condition. As a result, Hope emerges from Amara's room with concern in her eyes.
I limb towards Hope as I point towards the room that she just came out from. Both her and Chance seem to understand what I want since both of them help me get into it with my mother following behind.
Inside the bedroom, Amara is lying in her bed sleeping; she seems detached from all the tension and the worry that surrounds the entire territory.
What the bloody hell are you doing?
I am showing what you can end up doing if you do not calm down. I answer him as I take slow steps towards the king sized bed. I do not stop until I am standing right before Amara's face.
Look at her Amoux!
What happened to her is not a bloody result of something that I bloody did!
No, but what you did in her name did nothing to help her. Over five years have passed, and she has still not gotten better. I used to tell you that whatever you did when you lost control was both of our faults because you are my wolf, and you always told me that I was wrong. Well, now I am telling you that you were right; it was your fault. Because while you can lie to everyone else, you cannot lie to me. I know that when you killed the werewolves who wronged Amara, you did not do it for her; you did it to ease your anger and to satisfy your need for blood. I know that you did it because you care about her; because she is part of our pack, and that you will do anything to keep our people safe. However, when you get angry, you use them as an excuse to allow your anger to control you. I was afraid to tell you this in the past, but I think you need to hear it because you are not self-aware of your own actions.
I feel him looking at her; really look at her. He takes in every detail of her face and of the soft mumbles she says during her sleep and the way she keeps moving around. He remembers every time she screamed out our name in her sleep, and how she always seems to be comforted by our presence.
The moment he realizes that he wants to be that kind of person to everyone in the pack is the moment he completely steps down and gives me full control. He wants to be a protector and a friend; he does not want to be the one who always ruins the situation.
Amoux?
You are bloody right. I am sorry. It takes him a couple of minutes to answer.
You never need to apologize to me; you are my wolf.
Once my breathing becomes even I turn around to Chance and order him to call our trusted circle to the house in ten minutes while making sure to keep my voice quiet so I do not wake Amara up.
After he leaves with Hope accompanying him, I make my way out of Amara's room very well aware of my mother's eyes on me. As soon as I close the door behind me, she opens her mouth; however I decide that I am in no mood to be hurt by her words. Hence, I say the one thing that will get her attention.
"Dad says hi, and he wishes you and his future child are okay." Her body immediately freezes as a small smile appears on her face. The sight of it makes me feel warm inside; she is my mother after all and I love her with all my heart.
"Is he okay?" She asks with urgency.
"Do not worry; he is perfectly fine. He misses you." Even though he did not say it in his letter, I know it is true, and I know that it will make my mother feel better; it is never easy to be away from your mate for such a long time.
"When will he come back?" I am surprised that she does not ask me where he is or why did I make him leave, but I feel grateful for it nonetheless. Therefore, I decide to tell her something that I told Josh last night.
"If things go the way I think they will, he will be here soon." I refrain from telling her how I believe things will go because I have no good scenarios in my head. The huge smile on her face makes me glad of my decision.
"You should get to sleep. I know you stayed up all night worried about Nolan." The mention of his name causes Amoux to growl in my head, but he maintains his feelings.
"Of course I am worried about him. Do you have any theories of what might have happened to him?"
"Get some rest." Is all I say before I turn around and start going to the kitchen where I hear Shadow and the others.
Good morning everyone, I know you are all worried about our gamma, and I know the entire pack has had a rough night. Regardless of the lack of results the search for Nolan has been, I request that you all retreat to your homes and rest while I try to figure out a way to find our gamma and save him if need be. I am sure all of you have a lot of questions, and I will answer every question you have in a pack meeting in a few days. Until then, I ask each and every one of you to be on high alert; do not wander the territory at night alone, do not allow your children to wander the territory alone. We are a family, so we must remain united in order to remain safe. Thank you and have a safe day. I mind link my entire pack and then pull my mental wall up before I enter the kitchen.

They munch on some cookies that Nick had made a couple of days ago. The silence tells me that all of them are eating the sweet food bitterly.
"Are you okay? Chance told us what happened." Shadow puts her hand in mine as she searches my eyes for an answer. I only give her a small smile and a nod which thankfully seems enough for her.
"What are we going to do now Xander?" The frustration practically radiates off of Josh.
"Owen has made his move by taking one of ours. So, I think it is time to make a move of our own." All of them look at me with confusion.
"I am not following." Brook murmurs. Next to her, I notice Chance looking at Hope almost the same way I look at Shadow. I make a mental note to ask him about it once this mess is over.
That is if we manage to bloody survive Alex!
You are being a pessimist Amoux.
Well the situation does not encourage me to be optimistic, that is bloody sure!
"They took one of ours, so we will take one of theirs."
"Are you saying we should kidnap Owen?" The wide smile on Lorenza's face would have caused any person to shudder; and for some reason, I do not like how much she likes the idea.
"That is exactly what I am saying." I answer while ignoring her disturbing smile.
That is a brilliant idea alpha.
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Nick chews on his cookie as he talks.
"I was hoping all of you would help me figure out the how."
"And once we have him, we can find a way to get answers out of him." Chance voices out his thoughts.
"Exactly. I know there are many things we have to figure out to make this work. But this is the only plan I have. We find a way to abduct him and trick him into giving up his secrets." No one says anything as everyone thinks through the countless possibilities and how bad some of them may be. I pray the possibility that is destined to come to pass works in our favor rather than the other way around.