Mason
I lie on my side as I watch Alaina sleep soundlessly beside me. She's on her side facing me, one hand under her pillow beneath her cheek and the other resting against her belly. Even subconsciously she's doing something to protect our pup. I know how much knowing Mary is being held prisoner by the people who want her is taking a toll on her. I want her to relax, I don't want her to have to worry about any of this. If I can get her to stand back and let me handle this while she takes care of herself and our baby, it will make things much simpler for me. But knowing her, she's going to try to plan something on her own to get Mary back. I can only hope that Brandon can keep her from making any hasty decisions.
I reach over and run my fingers through her hair and smile as the red strands filter through my fingers. I wonder if our child will have her red hair or be blond like me. I can't help but wish for it to look like her. This girl is my life, and now she's carrying our first pup. I didn't even know it was possible to love someone this much. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for her. She stirs slightly under my touch so I unravel my fingers from her hair and lean over to press a kiss against her head. I smile at her soft sigh and climb out of bed.
I push down the urge to wake her just to hear her voice because I know she needs to sleep. She took last night's news hard and nothing I did really helped to calm her down. Then I watched her struggle with sleep for almost two hours before she finally gave in and fell asleep against me. I want her to get as much rest as she can, and I have work to do. I have to start planning what we're going to do about that prick. I don't want him to come here for the attack, that's closer to my mate than I would like. The only option I can think of to keep my pack safe is to attack first. The danger is higher of course, but if we can do it right, then maybe we can manage to save more people than harm during this damn war. A clean shot at Dylan and Robert has the best chance of ending this all before it gets out of hand.
By the time I've showered and gotten dressed, Alaina has rolled over on my side of the bed and has her head buried in my pillow. I can't help but chuckle before walking over and kissing her head once more before heading downstairs quietly. I follow Brandon's scent to the kitchen and find him staring at a bowl of uneaten cereal. He glances up at me and bows his head respectfully but doesn't say anything.
"I'm going to be out most of the day, I'm going to need you and Aiden to watch Alaina. I don't want her going out of the house." I sigh and shake my head. "You know as well as I do that she may be cooking something up on her own, so just please keep her occupied," I say as I open the fridge and grab the jug of orange juice Alaina keeps stocked in there. I pour myself a glass and stand opposite of Brandon as I wait for his reply.
"Fine," he grumbles reluctantly. I growl at his disrespect but don't say anything further. I know he wishes to be part of all of this. Mary is his mate and I know he feels responsible for everything that's happening to her. But he needs to remember his duty, especially right now. I will fill him in later. "What are you going to do?"
"That's what today is for. I'm going to meet with the fighters and call Ace and Roman again so we can work something out. I want to attack first, and soon. I won't have them coming here and risk Alaina getting caught in the crossfire."
"What about Aiden and myself? We're part of the pack's fighters, so why aren't we going to be there when the plan is made?" I suppress another growl. He's pushing his luck. "With all due respect, I think Alaina needs to know what's going on too. She's the Luna of the pack." He keeps his eyes on his cereal as he finally lifts a spoonful to his mouth. I glare at him, but I know he's coming from a good place. He's right, Alaina needs to know, but I will fill her in after I've figured everything else out. If I can plan it out first, it will leave her with fewer things to worry about.
"I need you two to stay here and make sure she doesn't do anything. I can't let anything happen to her because she doesn't trust me to get Mary back to you safely. As her guards, the two of you are to keep her safe and in this territory at all times - preferably in this house for the most part. She can't go to the store, you will send someone. You can go for a run, but in the territory and with extra guards after you let me know. If she steps out of this house, even to just sit on the porch, I expect you to let me know what's going on at all times."
"She's not going to try anything," he states, looking up at me. I know he wants to believe that, but I don't for a second believe that my headstrong mate is going to sit back like she's been asked to. Not when something this important is at stake. She's too stubborn. I can only imagine what our pup will be like. Once Alaina sets her mind to something, she'll do just about anything in her power to see it through. She can be such a pain in my ass, but I love her so there is nothing I can do about it but endure it.
"I want to believe that, Brandon, but we both know how she gets when she wants something. Your happiness is very important to her. I know how much it's been killing her to see you suffer these last two months," he flinches, "and I know how that mind of hers works. If I'm right, she's trying to find a way to make the trade herself and get Mary back, then we've got a lot of work ahead of us to get her to stop."
"She promised me she would let you handle this last night," he explains further. I fur my eyebrows at him confused. "I told her that if anything happened to her because she did something to get Mary back, I wouldn't be able to even look at myself. I told her you wouldn't either and that I would willingly accept any punishment you deemed necessary for her being harmed in any way. She said she would let you handle it, and if staying behind instead of going with you is what I need to do to keep my Luna safe, then that's what I'll do." I nod my head in agreement. Alaina will make everything easier on me if she will do just that.
"Can I ask you something, Alpha?" I nod my head. "When are you planning to attack? I know you still have all the details to plan out, but still."
I sigh and sit down on one of the stools. "I don't know, honestly. I want to end this as quickly as possible, but I won't go into this without being prepared." He nods but stays silent. "If Dylan is taking this long to put something together, taking the time to try to gain allies, then it most likely means he thinks he has the upper hand. I want to reduce the number of losses we could have by taking him when he's not prepared."
"I'll stay with Alaina," Brandon says, nodding his head. "What good would I be in a battle right now anyway," he mutters before turning to leave the room after dumping his uneaten cereal down the sink. I know his wolf isn't happy about having to stay, I wouldn't want to stay back either when I knew my mate was in the hands of a sick Alpha with a fucking vendetta. But as much as I hate to admit it, he's right. If we were to take him with us, then it would put us at a disadvantage with him being distracted.
"Brandon," I call to him before he can leave the kitchen. He turns to look at me but doesn't say anything. His feelings are plastered over his face right now, there are no words needed. "I will bring back Mary for you, I promise." He tries to smile as he bows his head respectfully before heading back upstairs. I sigh and lean my head against the counter to try to relax. I hear her footsteps coming down the stairs before her scent surrounds me.
"Good morning," I say without lifting my head.
"You weren't in bed when I woke up," she says, her voice still filled with sleep, as she wraps her arms around my waist. I sit back as she leans her head against my back. I smile as I wrap a hand around hers and let the feeling of her surround me. "I was worried you had already left for the day, so I got up to come find you."
"What do you need?" I slide around on the stool and pull her between my legs as I look up at her. "I can't stay long this morning. I have to go find Jason and get the pack's fighters rounded up so I can let them know what's going on. I also need to adjust the patrols around the territory."
"I just wanted to let you know that I am not going to do anything behind your back," is what she says. I blink up at her. I know Brandon told me that, but if I'm being honest with myself, I didn't believe him. However, hearing her say that herself causes my wolf to relax. We've both been anxious that our mate was going to try something that gets her and our pup hurt. "I know you are probably worried that I will do something, but Brandon and I talked last night and he kept telling me that if something happened to me because I tried to get Mary back on my own he would never be able to forgive himself and it got me thinking.
"What if something happened to you because you were worried about me during a fight? If anything happened to you I would be left to raise our baby without a father, and I don't want to do that. We saw what happened with my mother, and I don't want that for us. She nearly fell apart when my father died and as much as I hate the man, I'm grateful she found Robert when she did, or else who knows what would have happened. You and this pup are everything to me, so I promise I will let you handle this."
I wrap my arms around her and bury my head in her neck, breathing in her scent. "You have no idea how much of a relief that is to hear, Red."
"I'm going to stay here while you deal with everything, and I won't try to fight anyone. In return for that..." I lean back and raise my eyebrows at her. Of course she's going to try to get something out of doing as she's asked. "I just want to know what you're planning and what's going on. I can't be completely left in the dark, Mason. I'm scared enough as it is, I don't even want to think about what would happen if I didn't know what you were doing or where you were. I would go crazy if I had to just sit around and wonder and worry over you all day. I would go crazy if I didn't know where you were and you got hurt."
I pull my head away from her neck and nod my head in understanding. She has a right to know, and so she will. "I plan on attacking them before they can attack us. That's what I'm going to tell the fighters today. Not all of them are going to come with me, but we have enough members in our pack that I can leave quite a few behind to help protect our lands while I deal with those assholes. Plus, we will have Ace's help and hopefully Roman's as well." I can't ignore the skeptical look on her face. I know it's not the best plan, but it's the best I can come up with that will end in less bloodshed.
"What if there are children there? And there are innocent people in that pack, Mason. You can't just kill everyone," she says with a worried expression.
"I won't allow anyone to kill any children or anyone who isn't fighting for that matter. Yes, there will be casualties but that is just the price of war. They asked for it when they tried to take you from me. I'm not going to let him have the chance to come here and hurt our pack. I want him as far away from our territory as possible. If he wants a fight, then I'll take one to him when he's least expecting it."
"What if he's planning to do the same? You could take everyone and then he could show up here."
"I already told you, I won't let that happen. I sent out trackers to keep an eye on his pack while we get everything ready here. It will be okay, Alaina. We will take care of this, and then we can worry about nothing but the pack and our beautiful little baby. This plan has its risks. We will be on his territory, but I'm hoping the element of surprise will throw him off enough that it won't matter. Everything will be fine."
She smiles and leans forward to press a kiss to my lips. I smile against her lips as I feel the electricity shoot between us. I will never tire of this feeling. I could sit here and kiss her all day every day and it would never get old or lose this amazing feeling. I look forward to the day when we don't have a war to worry about.
"Okay, well you can go ahead and I'll see you later for dinner, alright?" she says as she pulls out of my arms. I nod my head and give her one last kiss as I stand up before turning and heading out to meet up with the pack. I stare down at her for a second longer as those blue eyes shine up at me. "I love you," she whispers.
"I love you, too."