Fated

Chapter 40: Afraid of The Dark

Addie's POV:

We ran through the plans with Mateo's pack and Lynn's showed up shortly after. Marissa and Geoff didn't show up until the next day and by then it appeared to Lynn's scouts that there was definitely movement from Rego's pack and whatever the hell vampire clan it was, heading our direction. We ran through the plans with all the packs individually and as a group, just to make sure everyone understood what we would be doing.

I'd never been afraid of the dark. My mom taught me the dark could be used to your advantage because a lot of people had a natural fear of the dark. What people didn't understand was taking away your sight allowed your other senses to become heightened and as long as you remained calm, you were actually safer in the dark where yes, you couldn't see them, but they couldn't see you either. It was a matter of patience, of choosing your timing wisely, of listening for when they started to get freaked out; be it a stumble from unsure footing or an increase in breathing from adrenaline, there was always a give-away that could give you the advantage as long as you stayed calm and quiet.

Of course, she was referring to humans and humans was not what I was dealing with anymore and so as the sun started to set, for the first time ever, I was a little afraid of the dark.

These were predators, they saw better in the night than I could, their hearing was better, they were faster, stronger. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little afraid but being afraid wasn't terrible. The only time fear was really a problem was when you let it take over you, otherwise fear was good. It kept you cautious and alert, it kept you from being overconfident. I had a feeling Rego was a little too confident based on my single interaction with him.

Overconfident was easy to manipulate. Overconfident was a bigger weakness than being a little slower.

I was checking over the map one more time to make sure we didn't leave any holes open, to make sure the only apparent weaknesses were intentional weaknesses that would lead to traps. That's when Xander came up behind me and set his hands on my shoulders. It wasn't because I saw him I knew it was him, I just knew it was him from the touch, from the way I seemed to be able to feel him more than before.

"You all right, love?" He asked, brushing my hair aside and pressing a kiss just below my ear that sent chills through my body.

"I'm good," I nodded. "A little nervous."

"I'd be worried if you weren't," he chuckled, wrapping his arm around my waist and nuzzling into my neck. "Perhaps we should ease some tension before night takes over," he said, sliding his hand down to the top of my jeans.

I shouldn't. I knew I definitely shouldn't but damn... I wanted him.

I turned towards him and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss. Kissing him was so electrifying. I didn't think I'd ever get used to what that felt like. His hands slid into my back pockets and he broke away from the kiss, pressing his forehead against mine.

"I think we should take this inside," he said, lifting me up and starting into the house.

We barely made it to the stairs when he paused. It was the face. The linking face.

"What is it?" I asked, my heart picking up speed.

"It's Alpha Rykan again," he frowned. "He wants to talk to us. Leila said he's at the border."

"Oh," I said, a little surprised. "Well, I guess we should... Let him in?"

"Hold on," Xander sighed, setting me down and pulling me into a tight hug. "I want to know what he wants."

I rested my head in his chest and waited. It was weird how much communicating went on that I couldn't even know about but I'd gotten at least mostly used to it so I waited until he spoke again.