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Jax's POV
I was standing on the stage in front of most of my pack as I watched them argue over what they thought would be the best thing to do. Some were saying to go to the elders and let them deal with Will's kidnapping and leave us out of it whilst others were saying to go in guns blazing and grab them.
Everyone was avoiding the elephant in the room though, the fact that everyone could be saved if we gave up our Luna, but there was no way that I was going to let that happen. She was my mate and the packs Luna, if she was to be taken then this pack would fall into turmoil.
I signed as I took in my pack members still yelling at each other and not allowing the other to speak, this was getting us nowhere.
"SILENCE!" I shouted, getting the attention of every individual in the hall. "There is no use in us all arguing. Myself, our Luna and Beta Xavier will take your suggestions under consideration but the main reason I called you all here today was to keep you all in the loop about what is going on and to give you a chance to have any of your questions answered."
"No does anyone else have any pressing questions they would like answered before we terminate this meeting?" I was met with silence, a clear indication that no one had anything further to ask regarding the matter at hand. They all knew what had happened to Annabelle whilst she was in her dream walk. I left it a few more seconds before announcing that the meeting was adjourned and that everyone was free to leave.
I sighed as I watched the last person leave the room and turned to find Annabelle watching me with curious eyes. I took her into my arms, needing the comfort of my mate after such a stressful meeting.
"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled by my T-shirt.
I nodded before kissing her on the head and releasing her "yeah I'm okay, just stressed".
"Don't worry, it will all work itself out soon" she reassured me with confidence.
I smiled at her confidence in me as I tightened my arms around her. "I know it will, I will inform the elders as soon as we're home to get the ball rolling on the rescue plan, but it's just weather we decide to organise an attack of our own that I'm thinking about."
"I don't think that's what she meant Jax" Xavier said as he stood up. I looked over at him confused to find him staring at Annabelle with a frown on his face.
I looked down at Annabelle, trying to figure out what he had seen that I had missed, but she had buried herself into my chest, hiding her face from me. "What does he mean Annabelle?" I asked but when she didn't answer I held her at arm's length. She looked guilty for some reason and wouldn't look me in the eye, what was running through that little mind of hers?
"You can't do it Luna" Xavier continued, talking directly to Annabelle "Jax wouldn't survive it and neither would the pack".
"I wouldn't survive what?" I demanded, feeling frustrated at being kept out of the loop.
Xavier stayed quiet as he continued to stare at her. She was now looking right back at Xavier with an almost pleading look in her eye, begging him to keep his mouth shut. "What the hell are you two on about!"
When Xavier saw that Annabelle wasn't going to say anything he sighed and looked up at me. "She's thinking about taking the offer they gave her. Her in exchange for the rest of the pack" he explained as he finally looked up at me.
I stayed silent for a moment, not knowing how to respond. She couldn't be that dumb, could she? But one look at her guilty expression told otherwise.
"YOU WHAT!" I shouted, the echo bouncing off the empty pack hall walls. "There is no way in hell I am letting you willingly give yourself up to those monsters do you hear me Annabelle? No way." I let go of her shoulders and started pacing around the stage area, needing to move to trying and release the anger and adrenaline that was surging through me. How could she do this to me? To us?
Annabelle sighed and took my hand into hers, halting me in my tracks. "It's for the best Jax, this way no one will get hurt because of me. These... people... will not only let your brother and the rest of the pack members go but also my parents. It is the least I could do after they have suffered for so long" she explained, a pained edge to her tone of voice.
"No. No, no, no I am not letting you serve yourself up to them and that is the end of this conversation. Now if you all will excuse me I need to go and inform the elders of the development" I ground out, trying my best to keep my tone in check.
Annabelle reached out to me, presumably in the hopes to calm me down and hear her out, but I just brushed her off and stormed outside. There was no way I was going to let her serve herself up on a golden platter to these people. There had to be some other way to save my brother and the rest of my pack without handing over my life line there just had to be, and I was going to find it.
After all it was my fault they'd gotten caught in the first place, sending them out into the territories of potentially very dangerous wolves without backup or a clear plan of what to do if something went wrong. I was a terrible Alpha, blinded by the needs of my mate over the needs of my pack.
"You okay there son?" My dad asked as he appeared behind me.
I laughed at his question. "Do I look alright to you? I have pack members and a brother missing on one hand and a mate who is so willing to give herself up she's willing to risk everything that we have built on the other. I am far from okay."
"Well for now let's just focus on one thing at a time okay? Your mate is perfectly safe at the moment, we are all keeping an eye on her so just take a breath and focus on getting your brother back alright? I will call the elders and inform them of the situation we are currently in whilst you talk to some of the pack warriors and get a plan together. We know their rough location thanks to the map so we will just sweep those areas until we find something."
I sighed, nodding my head in understanding. I really needed to learn to keep my head in a stressful situation if I ever want to become as good an alpha as my father had been. "Thank you dad; I really appreciate your experience and level headedness in all this".
Dad smiled and clapped me on the back. "No problem, now let's get back to your mate before she starts to worry about you.
I smiled back and nodded as we walked back into the main hall where I found Annabelle sitting on a vacant bench, fiddling with her fingers and jittering her legs. As soon as she saw me she released a mall sigh before getting up and walking over to me, relieved that I had come back.
I took her in my arms and places my nose against the side of her head, hoping her scent would aid in calming both me and my wolf down. If I wanted to come up with a reasonable plan of action, I'd have to learn to remain calm and collect under the pressure.
"So what now?" She whispered into my chest as she questioned our next move. "we're going to have to come up with something and fast if we want to stop more people from getting taken".
"That's assuming they'll even get that far" I said as I smiled into her hair. "They've now told us what their plan is, all we have to do is make sure everyone stays in lockdown and away from the borders of the territory. If we do this then the mystery guy would have no hope in getting their hands of more leverage" I explained.
Annabelle just nodded into my chest again but otherwise remained silent.
We stood like that for a few more minutes, each using the other to calm ourselves down and try to think of a solution on how to get back Will and the four trackers that had been taken with him.
"Why don't we all go back to our house" my mum suggested as she smiled on at us, "I'll make us all some lunch whilst you lot contact the elders and think of a way to get everyone back safe".
I looked down at Annabelle to make sure that she was up for more socialising and when I was greeted with a small smile and a nod I looked up at my mum and nodded. "Sure mum that would be great" I said as I took Annabelle's hand in mine and led her towards the main door.
"I am sorry Alpha Jax but you know we don't assist in these kinds of situations" Elder Garret explained.
We had been on speaker phone with the Elder circle for more than half an hour now and I still couldn't convince them to come down and assist us in our rescue mission.
"But sir they have five of my packs members held hostage, one of them being my brother, and are threatening to kidnap many more if we don't comply with their demands" I explained again for the millionth time.
"Alpha Jax, with all do respect to you and your family, why can't you just figure this one out on your own? Our records so that you are by no means vulnerable and defenceless, in fact as packs com you are one of the most skilled out there, so why do you need us to try and sort something out that you can't deal with yourself?"
I scowled at the condescending tone in Elder Garret's voice but didn't comment on it, disrespecting an Elder was a one-way ticket to their dungeons.
"Please Sir, as previously stated, I wish not to disclose information as to why they are waging war on my pack or about why I'd prefer not to get my pack involved with these people" I explained. I ran a hand down my face and looked over at Annabelle who was sitting on the sofa in my dad's office, her knees drawn up to her chest and her chin resting on her knee's. I needed to protect her at all costs and if that meant keeping her a secret from even the Elders I would do so in a heartbeat.
"Then I'm sorry Alpha Jax, without a logical reason as to why you need the Elders involvement I'm going to have to deny your request and-"
"It's because of me" Annabelle suddenly piped up as she raised her head from her knee's. "These people are threatening Jax's pack because of me and what I am".
I looked over at her with wide eyes, silently signalling her to stop talking. If the Elders found out about her there was no telling what they'd do with her.
"And to whom am I now speaking to?" Elder Garret questioned through the speaker.
"My name is Annabelle, I'm Jax's mate and the reason the Rising Dawn pack are after us" she explained. She slowly stood up and came to stand next to me so that her voice was closer to the speaker of the phone.
I raised my eyebrows at her and silently asked her what she was doing but she just ignored me as she focused on the phone. I looked over at my Dad and Hannah, looking for some kind of back up, but I was just met with shrugs as they too stared at her in confusion.
It wasn't that the Elder community was crooked in some way, or that I was worried they were going to come and steal my mate from me because of what she was, I was more scared about the information being leaked somehow. It only took one person overhearing a conversation they shouldn't be privy to, or someone misplacing a piece of paper and it falling into the wrong hands, that could make Annabelle's identity known and her life in danger.
"And why would they be after you Luna Annabelle?" Garret asked, slight intrigue clear in his voice.
"It's because of what I am" she sighed as she looked up at me, smiling slightly to show that she was okay with disclosing the information to them.
Well if she was alright with it then so was I, she was just as much in charge of this pack as I was and she had every right to make decisions about what we did and how we go about it.
"And what are you may I ask that makes you so valuable to the Alpha of the Rising Dawn pack?" Elder Garret asked.
"I-I'm a messenger of the Moon Goddess" she whispered as she clasped her hands together in front of her.
The line was silent for a moment before we heard yelling in the background, it seems that we had also been on speaker and the rest of the Elder's council had heard what Annabelle had admitted to.
"Luna Annabelle, we know for a fact that the messenger lineage had ended more than ten years ago with the tragic death of Jane and Samuel Miller. To impersonate a messenger is grounds for execution which we will not hesitate to enforce no matter what your rank is".
I growled at Elder Garret's threat, but Annabelle just placed her hand on my chest to try and calm me down as she continued to look at the phone on my father's desk.
"Sir Jane was my mother and Samuel was my father" she explained as she continued to stare down at the phone "and they aren't dead. I have recently learnt that they were kidnapped and have been held hostage by Alpha Parker all this time for the use of my mother's powers and her connection to the Goddess. Her connection has now been tethered however and has been passed down to me, they are using my family and pack as a bargaining chip to get to me and regain the power they lost with my mother."
The line was silent for a moment, the only noise being a soft murmur as the council deliberated their options.
"We will be there in two days' time" Elder Garret informed us before hanging up the phone, causing the dial tone to ring through the speaker system.
The four of us sat there in silence for a moment as we digested everything. The Elders now knew about Annabelle's identity, but what was more shocking than that was the fact that they knew about her parents and what her mother was capable of. That information alone gave me a small sense of relief in the Elders, if they had known about the messenger bloodline and hadn't acted on it in anyway then I was fairly confident that the identity of Annabelle and her whereabouts wouldn't be misplaced and that she was safe.
"Well that was fun" Hannah sighed as she pushed herself off from the back of the sofa. "Now all we have to do is make sure we survive the next forty-eight until they arrive and we'll be home safe" she muttered sarcastically whilst she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "I mean do the Elders seriously expect us to just going to sit here, twiddling our thumbs, until they arrive to save the day? I mean I don't know about you, but I don't feel particularly comfortable doing nothing, especially with Will still out there with them doing god knows what to him".
I looked over at Hannah as I watched her tap her foot on the floor expectantly as she stared at me, waiting to hear my plan.
"For now Hannah that's exactly what we're going to do" I said as I looked down at my mate who was still standing by my side. "Until we can think of a better plan of action we are going to wait them out, call their bluff."
"You can't be serious!" Hannah exclaimed as she looked at me in bewilderment.
"Yes Hannah I am being deadly serious. Will would not want us risking our lives to try and save his because we were to impatient to wait for backup. I hate the plan as much as you do, believe me, but my hands are tied here" I sighed, feeling the weight of the pack on my shoulders.
"But Jax-"
"We have no choice Hannah!" I yelled back, "we know nothing about the Rising Dawn pack or what they are capable off, I'd be an irresponsible Alpha to run in their guns blazing without knowing what we are up against".
The air deflated out of Hannah as I watched her shoulders drop and the fight leave her body. "Then what are we going to do?"
"I don't know" I shrugged "but between us we can think of something".
We deliberated up until the early hours of the morning, all of us huddled round the coffee table in the living room with a map of the area spread across it. We had come up with a few options on what we could do but none of them were particularly great. They all involved potential what ifs scenarios that were just to risky for us to take.
Annabelle was all for giving herself up as bait so that we could somehow sneak in, but I just couldn't risk it. We didn't know what these people wanted with her, not really, and I wasn't about to risk her life or anyone else's life on a guess that they wouldn't kill her.
The sobering news came just before we were about to break for breakfast, I had gotten a mind link that our patrol had caught a suspicious scent close to the border and were waiting for their orders to engage.
Without hesitation we all dropped what we were doing and ran as fast as we could, making sure the pack warriors were being cautious and alert for any form of suspicious activity whilst they waited for us to arrive.
When we got there, I caught the offending scent pretty quickly, the smell of fake pine leaves and burnt plastic was pretty hard to ignore as we all followed the trail to see where it led. All pack members had been warned to stay indoors with their doors bolted and to not answer for anyone unless contacted through the pack link. The last thing we needed right now was another few pack members to be taken from right under our noses.
"You stay behind me at all times Annabelle understand?" I warned her as we slowed our run to a brisk walk so as not to miss anything along the trail. Their people could have left anything whilst being on our land, it was important to stay vigilant and to not let our guard down.
"I know Jax" she whispered back as she gripped onto my hand tightly.
I was just about to respond when I caught a scent that made my stomach drop and my brain to freeze. Blood, dried blood.
"Stay here with the others" I instructed her as I let go of her hand and walked forward, whatever was up ahead I didn't want her to see it.
"Jax what is it?" She asked as she took a small step towards me.
"Please little mate, just stay where you are" I pleaded as I took slow, cautious steps to where the smell was coming from.
I could sense a few of my warriors walking behind me, ready to back me up if this was some form of trap, but I was too focussed on the task at hand to recognise who it was. Blood meant bodies and I couldn't help but feel immense guilt as I looked down at a dead body, a tracker who was in the scout hunt with Will when they had been kidnapped.
I felt immense sadness as I continued to stare down at the lifeless body, his throat slashed out and covered with blood. If I had worked faster, harder, than maybe this wouldn't have happened. I could have potentially saved his life if I had only gotten my head in the game.
"You can't blame yourself son" my dad muttered as he came and stood next to me. "You did everything you could, that's all anyone could ever ask of you" he sighed.
"But I could have prevented this" I ground out; my eyes unwavering as I stared at my feet.
"You couldn't have prevented this anymore than the next person Jax, you know that" he sighed, trying to make me feel better. "This was no one's fault but the person who blew the final blow".
"Jax what's going- oh my god!" Annabelle exclaimed next to me.
I looked up in shock to find her standing right next to me, her eyes glued onto the dead body in front of her with her hands covering her mouth. "What h-happened to him?" She exclaimed as she continued to look him over.
I quickly got in the way before she could see anymore and forced her backwards slightly so that she was further away. "Annabelle, I need you to look away okay? Just look at me and not behind me" I instructed her as I quickly linked Xavier so he could get down here and help me deal with the situation.
"Is he..?" She muttered, looking up into my eyes as she stuttered out a question I knew she didn't want to ask.
I sighed before nodding my head and taking her into my arms, "It's going to be alright Annabelle, everything is going to be okay" I muttered, I just wished I believed my own words.
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Unnoticed by @haleydulak