Brodie's POV

"How the fuck, did he manage to orchestrate this without you knowing!" I snarl into Zorricks sullen face. Riley sits frustratingly by his side, rubbing his arm adoringly.

"And why the hell didn't you tell us your Mate was an element wolf!" He counters.

"Because I thought you were the asshole that was after her!" the table whines under my weight as I lean further into his face bearing my teeth.

"And the rest of them" Zorrick flicks his head around the room to emphasize the other Alpha and Lunas still here.

"We figured it out less than a week ago and I received threats against her. Considering there hasn't been an element wolf for over one hundred years. I decided to fain caution, until after the meeting" I spit through gritted teeth not liking being raked over the coals in front of my fellow peers.

Zorrick stands and leans across the table face inches from mine. Leo presses to come forward in my mind and I shudder with my attempts to keep him back.

"Well, that's another lie! Her brother is also an element wolf born before her and breaking the hundred-year drought!"

"Both Stella and I had no idea he even existed. Know-one here knew? Regan has had him for years! Hiding him from everyone!" I bellow sick of deflecting accusations against my honesty.

"So you say!" Zorrick pushes a finger into my chest challenging me, Leo presses forward and I can't hold back his roar as my fingers turn into claws swiping for the Alpha throat. He jumps back with a smirk when my claw sinks into the wood of the table instead of his flesh. Riley screams at me shocked that I almost just sliced her newly found mates throat.

"Tell me Zorrick, what deal did you make with Regan when Blue Mountain Pack was all but slaughtered!" Zorricks flinches and everyone's attentions turn to him.

"You see I can't for the life of me understand how two of their children were wiped from the face of existence, and all members that would have held information about their abilities were also slaughtered that night? Explain to me how you did not know about least Stella's brother. He would have been the next Alpha of their pack!"

An agreed rumble for answers rolls around the room. Zorrick face turns resigned and I swear I see regret flicker across his stony face

"I knew of Brads existence, but not his abilities" He admits, and the shocked murmurs of the room conclude the other Alpha's are bristling at Zorrick deceit. Even Riley frowns angrily at her mate.

"I'll explain" he continues.

"Please do enlighten us!" I growl.

"Blue Mountains was the desired territory, standing in between two of my already concerned lands. I wanted easier transitions and travels for my packs. Blue mountain was difficult about haveing my pack members using the land to cross. They became annoying to me."

"So you slaughtered them" I accuse.

"No! I went to bargain with them for safe passage or threaten that I would take them out anyway. When I arrived I was approached by Alpha David of Darkmoons pack and his son who we all now know as Alpha Regan." he clears his throat and I twitch angrily for him to get to the punch line.

"There packs were aligned already, had been for years. They said the Alpha and Luna had become difficult with them too, making them nervous for a stronger alliance. We came to an agreement, that If I couldn't form an agreement with Blue Mountain first, they would aid me in a takeover. They would run the two packs on my behalf under a new alliance."

"And why so much bloodshed?" the question everyone's dying to now.

Zorrick lets out a heavy sigh. David passed it off that it was necessary, they wouldn't be able to control the packs adequately if they were left alive. I was told Brad the boy had been slaughtered also, though I never saw his body amongst the carnage. They did as they were told never stepping out of line once, I had no reason until now to question their loyalty to me." He growls still furious about the betrayal.

"They must have known of his abilities and held him within their territories. Poor boy has been a prisoner for years. I swear no word or knowledge of an infant girl was presented to me and I saw no evidence of her existence!"

"Guess I'll just believe your word on that then"

"Yes! Just like I'll accept your decision to hide your mate's abilities and threats laid against her!" he roars approaching me with menace.

"We might be allies but we have no formed agreements, why would I have come to you with such information!" I feel my claws extending once again as I shudder, repressing the urge to shift and attack Zorrick.

"Because I had the power to help you fool" I roar at his insult done with his arrogance.

"Enough!!!" rips across the room. "Arguing about the details that lead us here, that won't help us get Stella back!" Alpha Henry booms, attempting to prevent a brawl.

"Please remind me again why you are here", I snap, angry at my sister fawning all over Zorrick! That comment earns me a nasty scowl from my baby sister and a protective growl from Zorrick.

"Because he's done nothing wrong and wants to help!" she calmly states back at me. I throw a chair at the wall, then slam my hands back on the desk. Gaining my control back over Leo and making sure all appendages are human once again.

"He has her. That deceiving disgusting bastard has my Stella." Her terror-filled eyes haunt me whenever I close my own. How did I let this happen?

It's only been an hour since she was ripped from me. Fucking nearly drowned to death by the hands of her own brother. Shuddering at the thought of what pain my mate must be experiencing almost sends me into another destructive frenzy. Would she even be conscious by now? The image of her naked and limp body in the hands of that maniac sends me over the edge. The desk is my next victim.

"Enough!" my father booms, stopping my outburst of uncontrolled rage.

"Just tell me, son! Is this how Stella would approach this scenario? Has she taught you nothing since her arrival?" My Fathers right; how would Stella deal with this? She would assess her options with the precision of a trained expert. All the while looking sexy as fuck I miss her already. I let go of the pieces of the broken desk in my hand breathing heavily trying to clear my head enough to form a plan of rescue.

My Father places a firm hand on my shoulder.

"I promised I'd protect her" my voice breaks as the pain of losing my mate consumes me once again.

"We will get her back. You need to get a hold of yourself first, though. We can't go galavanting after her with you in such a state and  Zorrick is right you should have trusted at least some of us with the knowledge of Stella's gifts. We could have helped protect her more effectively"

"Fuck dad! I get it ok!"
"We made the call, not knowing if our enemy was even at this meeting" Josh defends our decision to keep quiet.
"Because of her abilities, we didn't want anyone else getting any ideas either" I half growl looking pointedly at the other unmated Alphas in the room. That earns me some scowls but also nods of approval, even from my father.

My Dad's right and I know it. More of our pack members could have helped keep Stella safe, I will forever regret not trusting more of them. Stella's concern for a traitor in our pack kept me from trusting anyone who wasn't in that room.

I snap my attention to a sheepish looking Travis, hiding in the back corner of the meeting room.

Drilling my gaze into his I calmly but threateningly ask  him where his latest fling is
"Where Is Kelci" he looks away raking an aggravated hand through his hair.
"She's gone. Kelci used me to get intel on Stella, she was your traitor as she predicted"

I can't control Leo as I lunge for the window-smashing through it, I shift into my wolf form on a roar. I hear Josh shift and follow after me now in his wolf-skin. Guess he wants to make sure I don't try and attempt to run after Stella.

How could I be so stupid, this is my fault. I didn't listen, I didn't trust and I got consumed utterly convincing myself it was Zorrick, who was after my Mate.

After an hour of Leo stomping around the forest, snapping at fallen branches and howling in pain. I feel Eli, Josh's wolf approach me. I've ended up near the packhouse again and shift back into human form.

Josh follows me all the way to the suite and once inside I throw him some clothes while I also get dressed. Walking out of the wardrobe I can't help It when my eyes land on the still crumpled sheets of our bed. Images of our lovemaking send shuddering agony through my nerve endings. Picking up Stella's pillow and inhaling her scent helps calm me enough to think clearly again.

By the time I walk out of the bedroom holding one of Stella's worn shirts from the laundry hamper, I'm more in control of myself for the first time since she was taken. Josh doesn't comment on her shirt that I'm holding or what took me so long. He just hands me a glass.

"Here", I down the whiskey in one go, savouring the burn. Josh pours me another and this time I can take a more amicable swallow.

"Our plan failed, but we did the right thing. We all got too focused on Zorrick, despite him telling Stella he didn't harm her parents."

"I know" is all I can reply welcoming the deadly numbness creeping over my body. I'm grateful for Josh's company, if he hadn't followed me into the woods I would have tried to go after Stella alone. He stays drinking whiskey and talking strategies. At 3 am and a bottle of whiskey between us, he goes into the spare room staying with me rather than his mate tonight.

I owe my beta and best friend a lot after this is all done. Cradling Stella's pillow I manage to fall asleep surrounded by an illusion she is here with me...

The next morning, pain threatened to swallow me whole, but I need to get my shit together. I am Alpha of this pack and we have just had our Luna stolen. If I can't get her back and avenge the betrayal, my pack members will lose faith in me and possibly even loyalty.

Forcing myself into a deadly Alpha mode I mind-link for a meeting after breakfast to commence. It's time to get my little mate back!

"We will send out a search party to Regan's pack. Presumably, he has taken her there" My father gives Zorrick a pointed look.

"He wouldn't dare take her back to one of my territories", Zorrick growls. Causing Riley to snuggle into him. I look away, sick of their happiness. It's selfish, I know. I swallow another sip of whiskey, I can't get drunk being a werewolf, but the burn of the dark liquid helps keep me in control.

"We need a plan then. Can someone present a decent plan!" My voice calms a little as I try to clear my thoughts long enough to focus on getting Stella back. My father hands me another whiskey and starts pulling out territory maps of Reagan's grounds.

"We will send scouts, thanks to Stella's exceptional training; they are stealthy and should be able to assess the situation without arousing suspicion."

"No need", Zorrick interrupts." I have already sent my men; they should be there in the next half an hour". Instead of gratitude, this pisses me off further.

"Why would you send people without my permission?" I growl dangerously. I'll kill him if Regan hurts Stella for his ignorance.

"Because we are currently allies. Regan may still want my alliance to stand; sending my men to scope that out would be expected and not considered threatening!"

He has a point."Right so in the meantime while we wait for a report. Let's work out an attack plan," I announce to my now allied packmates. Alpha Zorrick and half the other Alphas from this meeting have stayed after my outburst yesterday, they have agreed to aid me on this and I will be forever grateful.

"Stella returned the map of Regan's patrol details?" Alpha Henry asks doubtfully.

"Yes," I say through gritted teeth. Had I paid more attention to Stella's drawings on that piece of dam paper, I would have a much better chance right now. Unfortunately, this has already crossed my mind and sent yet another wave of failure through my body. Regan must be laughing at my blind ignorance; the thought of his hands on my mate almost pushes Leo out, I take another searing swallow of my drink.

Why are we wasting time? Let's just go and get mate ourselves, Leo growls.

Even you know that's stupid. We need to pull ourselves together and make a solid plan. That's what our mate would do, we have to be smart, not stupid. Leo whines and settles in the back of my head.

We wait for a report from Zorricks men, whilst planning a possible attack or attempts to get ourselves into Regan's territory with minimal casualties. Hour's pass and Casey does an excellent job bringing everybody food and drinks to keep them focused. She forces me to eat something with my mother's help, I chew away whilst still staring at the maps just to get them to shut up.

Zorricks phone rings.
"Talk to me" he barks down the phone. I'm grateful he's sent Riley away, I couldn't stand another minute of their love-filled gazes. A panicked voice rushes hurried and strangled words I can't understand. I do hear the words attacked as the line goes dead and Zorricks face turns to thunder.

"My men are dead and our alliances are broken. Regan has an army of Rogues" Zorricks tone is ice-cold and no more needs to be said, this is now war from him also.

The rest of the day is spent plotting and now with Zorrick all in we have his army at our full disposal. Before he was willing to help, but now he has to honour his fallen and with confirmation that all alliances broken systems all go. I hate to admit it but the bastard was right sending his men and not mine. Although I don't think mine would have got killed.

I sent some of our own scouts anyway not telling him and they should be able to get me some intel shortly also. My Father and Josh were on board with the idea also wanting our own eyes on Regan.

By the end of the day, the decision is made to move to a closer location. We pack up and move out at nightfall so we have the cover of darkness. We have to take a long route to get to a safe-house on the outskirts of Regan's territories. We don't want him to know we are close.

Regan will be prepared for an attack but we can benefit from the surprise of when that will be.

I'm grateful for the journey and to be moving forward with a plan. I need every distraction I can get to keep my mind off what Regan could be doing with Stella. There was no way I could have spent another night alone in our bed...

The next morning we're all assembled in our new location.

"It's been two fucking days! I'm not waiting any longer! That asshole has had her for two days already!" I roar at my father and Zorrick.

"We need to wait till nightfall" Zorrick nods, agreeing with my father. I growl with frustration.

"I will chain you till then for your own good if I have to Brodie", Zorrick growls back, exasperated with me. I've had barely any sleep and because of that, neither have these two.

"You can't rush and ruin your chance. Now I know what it's like to have a mate. I won't let you!" Zorrick continues furiously with me. Josh stands between us, sensing a brawl and intervening once again. Josh has stayed by my side, feeding me whiskey and going over every absolute possibility about our plan; he will continue to stick by me until we successfully get Stella out of there.

"I have lost my men also, I will remind you. Their lives need to be avenged" Zorrick continues calming down slightly.

"I know", I groan, dismay at having to wait another five hours before attempting to rescue my little mate. Zorricks men were all murdered on-site by an army of rogues large enough to match Zorricks. My men came across their bodies and I was able to give Zorrick a report there were no survivors.

Surprisingly, Zorrick approved of my move to send men behind his back, saying he would have done exactly the same.

Regan now has a more robust military than the largest of all packs, and he managed it completely undetected. Add Stella and her brother's abilities to his master plan, and he's basically compiled a pack capable of wiping the rest of us all out one by one.

He won't have planned for us to join forces, that's just not the way wolves normally work, but he's taken things too far and justice will be served.

"How far are we from the first patrol lines" I already know this, but I want to go over all the details again. I see several eye rolls come from the men compiled into this room. Josh responds as he always does, calm and precise. It's all that's holding me together; he's just as focused on this as me.

"A twenty-minute run in wolf-form." he starts, then continues going over our plan to get in undetected.

Thanks to Stella's training, my men have managed to fully scope the edges of Regan's pack-line completely undetected. My little mate is impressive, and her hard work is being used to get her back to me. Josh finishes his plan on one last statement, which snaps my attention.

"Once we are in, and cause a distraction. We can only hope Stella finds a way to get out of whatever bonds or prison Regan is now keeping her in." Unfortunately, Stella's exceptional skills at escape and stealth mean that Regan is keeping her locked uptight. Travis admitted bragging to Kelci openly about Stella's talents so Regan will be fully aware of her abilities.

Josh and Travis were convinced if Regan let his guard down for a second, she would've escaped on her own by now, and I have to agree, having lost her several times myself. Regan must have her contained in a cell or bound. The thoughts make shudders of rage wrack through me and a long growl from Leo concludes we can't wait to tear him limb from limb.

"She will get out; I know she will!"... I'm coming, little mate. don't give up