The Alpha's Rebel

Chapter 43

"How do even figure out how to find Vara?" I ask Maddox the next morning. We're sitting at the island in the kitchen, scarfing down our eggs and bacon and coffee. We have a pack leader meeting in fifteen minutes, and our usual morning activities made us lose track of time.

"I'm hoping my dad knows something. I invited him to the meeting," Maddox tells me in between mouth fulls of food. I smile at the thought of getting to see Alan.

"I can't imagine there's no files or anything about her whereabouts or at least how to contact her. When Kennedy said the witch in our region, it seemed as though each pack in the region would have a way to contact her."

Maddox nods, "I know." He takes his last bite and gets up to put his dishes in the sink. "We should have asked Kennedy how to find Vara."

I nod, eating my last bite of my eggs and also getting up to out my dishes in the sink. I pour the rest of my coffee in a to-go cup and take my last piece of bacon with me, eating it as we hop in the jeep to head to the pack house.

"What do you think she'll want in return?" I ask Maddox. I haven't given myself much time to think about it, because I have no idea how far Vara would be willing to go. Kennedy didn't make it sound good, and though I haven't thought much about it, I'm terrified that she's going to ask for our first born son or something like that.

"Another question I wish I could answer for you, baby," Maddox sighs, picking up my hand in his and resting them in the center console. His thumb strokes the back of my hand as he drives with his other hand on the wheel. For a moment, I forget about everything else. Maddox's wild bed head and relaxed posture as he drives the jeep has me falling in love with him all over again.

"I'm taking you out tomorrow night."

I laugh at the suddenness of his words, my mind breaking out of the happy trance I was in. "What? Like, on a date?"

"I don't know what else I'd be taking you out on," Maddox teases, glancing at me before turning his eyes back to the road. "I've never taken you out on a date, and it's about time I do."

"Is this, like, a fancy date that I'll need to dress up for?"

"Of course. Only the very best for my mate," he responds, squeezing my hand.

Only the very best indeed. I've already got a plan forming in my mind for the best ways to tease him all night long. He'll be begging for me by the end of the night.

Maddox pulls up to the pack house and parks the jeep, and we head inside to the meeting room where I first met all of the leaders. I take my seat between Maddox and Lea. She gives me a nod in greeting. We may be friends, but in this room, it is all business.

Alan is on the other side of Maddox, and he doesn't hold back a smile when I meet his eyes. Damien on the other side of him, and he bows his head in a respectful manner. I look around the room at the rest of my pack leaders. I don't remember everybody's name, but I do recognize every face and what their role is, and I'm taking that as a small win.

When every spot has filled, Maddox clears his throat. Not that it was needed, since all of the attention was already on him and I. "Thank you all for meeting with us this morning with such short notice. We have an update on the plan to take care of the hunter, but we need help figuring out the next step."

"We have been made aware that the witch in our region can help us conceal our scent, therefore help our trackers, warriors, and border patrol become undetected by the hunter," I say, and I'm shocked at how cool, calm, and collected my voice sounds. Inside, I'm freaking out as I address my pack members, but part of me feels a surge of pride in my role as luna of this pack. I feel the same feeling from Maddox, and when I glance at him, he's staring down at me with amazement in his eyes that I almost cry.

Me.

Harper fucking Matthews.

Almost cry.

Because of how my mate is looking at me.

The mate bond really has been turning me into a big softy. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

"We are not sure how to locate our regional witch, though. All we know is her name is Vara," I continue.

"The biggest purpose of this meeting is to figure that out, and put together a plan for going to see her," Maddox says. "So if anyone does know how we can contact Vara, now is the time to step forward. Otherwise, start putting your heads together."

Someone raise their hand, and I recognize it as Jones, the head of the tech department. Maddox gives him a nod to proceed. "Have you thought about reaching out to the elders? They might know something about contacting Vara that we don't."

"We haven't thought of that. Thank you, Jones," Maddox says. I notice that he keeps saying "we", and I love it. We can absolutely think for ourselves, but in a situation like this when we're presenting a united front to our pack leaders, it shows that we're a team. An equal team. Neither one of us has more power than the other.

It was always my biggest worry being with my mate, not being treated like an equal. Maddox has (almost) been so good at it since day one. Other than the fight we had after I found the first arrow, he hasn't treated me as anything less than his equal. I know that through everything we go through with this pack, I will always be standing there right next to him leading the way.

Maddox's eyes glaze over, and I know he must be mind linking an elder to come to the meeting. This is something we need an answer to ASAP.

"What's the plan once we have the ability to hide our scents?" Matthew asks. Lea nods, showing she had the exact same question.

"We'll lay low for a few days as our trackers try to find anything now that they'll also be undetectable," Maddox instructs. Hans nods in understanding. "We're going to up patrol even more to eliminate the hunter sneaking through, especially now that they won't be able to detect us." Matthew nods at this. "Our warriors will be stationed along with border patrol. I don't want there being any risk of someone being alone and being attacked. If everyone has a partner and one is injured, the other one can continue to track the hunter." Lea nods.

I know the plan. I helped come up with the plan. But all I can think about when Maddox delivers the plan is how fucking sexy he is in alpha mode and how much I want to jump his bones. He seems to sense my horniness through the mate bond, because he mind links me with a playful tone, Keep it in your pants, sweetheart.

I want to growl at the scolding, playful or not, but I do, in fact, manage to keep it in my pants.

There's a knock on the door, and three people who can only be elders walk on. For one, their older than anyone else here, and for two, they bring an aura of being an elder. There's no way to explain the feeling one gets when an elder is present. Next to the alpha, luna, and beta, they are the most respected members of the pack. Just like a pack leader has the natural born urge to protect their pack, everyone in that pack is born with the natural urge to protect their elders.

Three more seats are added to the table, and the three elders sit down. They are introduced to me as Maggie, Kenny, and Daniel. They bow their heads at Maddox, Alan and I, and everyone else at the table bows their head at the elders.

"Alpha, Luna. What can we do for you?" Kenny asks.

Maddox explains everything, from the first arrow to needing to get in contact with Vara. "We don't know how to contact her though, and Jones suggested you might," he finishes.

"Do you?" I ask hopefully, not knowing if I can handle another "no".

Maggie looks at Kenny and Daniel, turns back to us, and smiles. She has some of the kindest eyes I've ever seen. "Yes. We do."