Page 17 of Alpha Fate

“I know.” Her voice is hesitant. “Maybe I should go, too. The more fighters we have, the better our chances, and—”

Jagger looks horrified. “No fucking way. You’re barely healed.”

“But—”

“I said no, my love. I won’t be able to focus if I’m distracted by you – it will be more dangerous.” There’s a firm finality to his voice. I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t want my mate running into the line of fire, either. If I had one.

I feel a growing sense of urgency as I imagine Savannah still locked down there. Those males had been barely restrained. And with Rack being out of commission…

Fuck.

She’s like a lamb being led to the slaughter. Except that I have no doubt they don’t plan to kill her. What those fuckers have in mind is far worse.

Goddammit!

I hate myself for leaving her there. How long has it been since I left? The better part of a day, for sure. It’ll take us at least that long to get back. Probably longer. I made the trip at breakneck speed, but if we do that on the return trip, we won’t be fit to fight when we get there.

“We’re wasting time!” I snap. “Can’t we send out a scouting party sooner? Just a small team of us to get in and out? We don’t need to launch a fucking full-scale attack. I can go in and—”

“We tried that before, remember?” Jagger raises an eyebrow. “And look where it got us.”

“I’d have a better plan this time,” I mutter. I can’t deny that my headlong rush into danger hadn’t met with the most successful outcome.

“Yes, you will. And that plan will be to go in with backup.” He sets his jaw. “I won’t tolerate argument on this, Heller. We won’t risk you again…or any of the others.”

I should feel comforted by the fact that he’s concerned for my welfare – as a good Alpha should be. But still, it rankles.

My impatience spikes. “She fucking needs us now!”

“He’s right, Jagger.” Sierra’s voice is strangled. “What if they do to her what they planned to do to me?”

“Do you think I’m not aware of that?” He’s pulled Sierra closer. I sense there are emotions at war within him. “But we won’t serve any purpose if we rush in there and show our hand. Then we’ll get ourselves taken out, and there’ll be even less chance of rescuing her.”

“I agree with Jagger.” Callum finally joins in the conversation after watching silently. “We may have won the last battle, but we took a lot of hits. And we’ve already seen that Rack’s people play dirty. They fooled us once. They may be ready for us again.”

I set a hand on my hip and run my palm over the top of my head, tugging at my hair as I huff in frustration. I can’t argue the merit of their point. I ran in blindly before and fucked up.

At least you found her down there.

If I hadn’t gone in, we may never have known that they had her. But if we don’t work this thing out properly, this rescue mission will be a fuck up. Dropping my hands, I track a path across the room, the movement giving me something to focus on.

“Okay,” I relent. “What’s the plan?”

I’m pacing back and forth in front of Jagger’s desk, my mind racing with thoughts of Savannah. I can’t shake the image of her in that cell, her eyes glazed over and her body weak from the drugs they’ve been pumping into her. I need to get her out of there.

“Like I said, we’ll leave at first light,” Jagger says, his voice firm and commanding. “We’ll make it to Leadmills by nightfall, and that’s when we’ll strike.”

Callum nods in agreement. “We’ll split into two teams. The main thrust of the team will attack from the outer boundaries to draw most of them away, while a second team, including you, Gage, will get into the compound and head to the cells where Savannah is being held. The trickiest part will be getting her out unharmed.”

I stop pacing and turn to face them. “I told you. I can make it through the battle in my human form. My wolf couldn’t carry her when I left the last time.” I grind my teeth as I think about it for the thousandth time. “This time, I won’t make the same mistake.”

Jagger looks at me, then nods. “Agreed. But you’ll need to be careful. We don’t know what kind of shape she’ll be in.”

“I know,” I say, my voice tight. “But I’ll make a plan, whatever it has to be.”

Sierra speaks up then, her voice shaking with anxiety. “What if they’ve moved her? What if she’s not even in the cells anymore?”

Callum puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “We’ll do our best to gather intel before we attack. But even if she’s not in the cells, we’ll find her.”

---