Marked

Chapter 53: An Agreement

I lost track of how many times I paced back and forth in the office, trying to work up the nerve to call Xander. I had every intention of going back for the dinner, saying goodbye, hopefully smoothing things over. Had. That was before eight of our wolves went missing, before Thaddeus, before Mia had to see the aftermath of her friends ripped to pieces.

I couldn't leave them. I just couldn't. Even if it was only for a weekend.

Sighing, I stared down at Xander's name, my thumb hovering over the call symbol. I didn't know how to do this. We hadn't even spoken since Kane and I marked each other, since I lost my connection to him and everyone else. Tears pricked my eyes and I swallowed hard before tapping the screen and bringing the phone to my ear.

"Tess, I'm so glad you called," Addie answered. Shit. I was supposed to talk to Xander first. They were both my pack leaders, but Xander was like my brother. I'd grown up with him, I'd spent my entire life connected to him.

"Addie," I said, trying to keep my voice even. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine, how are you?" She asked. "And sorry, I know you were calling Xander but he's out on a run and I saw your name on the screen, I just really wanted to hear your voice."

"Don't be sorry," I said, leaning back against the desk. "I'm... I'm okay."

"Just okay?" She asked, her voice laced with concern. "I was hoping you were happy when I felt..."

"No, no, I am," I assured. "That part is good. That part is really good. It's just... Something happened," I said, tilting my head back as if that would keep the tears from coming out. "We lost eight of our wolves."

"What?" Addie asked. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, what happened?"

"We don't know," I sighed. "They're missing. We were attacked by these... I don't know what to call them, different kind of wolves, I guess. We're pretty sure whoever they came from is who took our wolves that were on patrol. A lot has happened in the last few hours."

"Holy shit," Addie breathed. "What can we do? Do you need help?"

"I mean... I don't know that anyone over there can do anything different than what we've been doing," I said honestly. "Kane and Ben just took out two more search parties to try to catch a scent, a few of our witches are working on a tracking spell, but it's not very hopeful. Listen, Addie, there's a lot of shit you all need to know, and things Kora and Rykan need to know too. We are so not as safe as we thought we were. The Elders know about Kora."

Silence. It was rare to get silence from Addie.

"How did that happen?" Addie asked. "And if they know, why haven't they made a move?"

"Long story," I sighed, shaking my head. "I'll start with Dean and I getting attacked on the territory."

I launched into the story, including the moment I hated where one of those things got my heel. Addie had always been a good listener but this was different. I recognized her tone as she calmly asked questions. She was already planning, calculating, trying to make sense of it all. By the time I was done, she was silent again. So silent I checked my screen to make sure we hadn't somehow been disconnected.

"This vampire guy," she started.

"Thaddeus."

"Right. What makes you think you can trust him?"

"I mean... If he wanted to hurt us, he could have," I pointed out. "I know Kane is strong but... Addie, you should've seen this guy move. Everything about him oozes power. I've never seen anyone move as fast as he does and I've seen a lot."