Her Fated Mate

Chapter No: 14

Isabella's P.O.V.

Aiden was being mysterious.

He said that he knew how we could find Mason, and that was around noon. It was almost five in the evening, and still, there was no news from the boys yet. Matt, Ryan, Aiden, and Blake went to the pack house to get the work done because what Aiden needed wasn't available at my house. I don't believe it, though. Something was telling me that it was because of something else. They were trying to hide it from me, or I was reading too much into it. I was left in my own house under the supervision of Rose, Rachel, Mia, and Iris. One of them was following me at all times, which was mostly Rose. Others were trying to complete some household chores. It was as if they were worried I might explode.

I was now getting tired of people walking around me on eggshells, so I asked, “How long is this going to take?” Rose looked at me with a confused expression, so I elaborated, “Everyone is worried about what to say and what not to say. How long is everyone going to behave like this?” She gave me a small smile and said, “We are not doing it on purpose, Bells. Everyone who is here right now loves you, adores you, or at least cares for you. Worrying becomes a trait when these things are involved.”

I nodded, agreeing to what she just said, because if the roles were reversed, I would be the same, maybe even worse, and that wouldn’t have ended well. She held onto my hands and said, “I know you don't like being babied, but just this once. Let us baby you.”

I don’t say anything, but a lone tear betrays my strong composure and slides down my cheek, landing on her wrist. One moment, she was holding onto my hands, the next I was engulfed in a warm hug, and that is when I murmured, “I never thought this would happen. I still find it hard to believe.” Hearing my words, Rose pulls away, moving her hands to my face. She tilts it up a little to make eye contact with me and asks, “Do you feel that there could be some valid reason for what he did?” Without even giving it a thought, I nod. Hurt covers her features and now it's her turn to cry. She has a trail of tears on her face, one after the other as she says, “I hope you’re right, Bells. For the first time in my life, I hope that there is a valid reason for those ugly actions. I don’t like seeing you like this as you’re beyond repair. I want my Bella back and if it means that, we’ll have to search the whole world. I promise you, Bells, we won’t leave a stone unturned.”

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The clock was ticking and with it, my patience was turning thin. I had to know what was going on with the guys, they walked out of here a long time ago and didn't even bother informing us about their so-called plan of action.

I am the Warrior head for god's sake, they had to know that all this was making me go crazy.

I was close to bolting out when "Love Me Like You Do" blasted through the house. I knew who that ringtone belonged to, and just in time for her to pick up the call, my eyes diverted towards Rose. She answered the call with, "Yes baby." And I knew it was Matt.

Finally, some news.

My eyes were trained on her, waiting for some kind of reaction to understand and prepare myself for either good or bad news. Unfortunately, her expression was neutral and left me unsatisfied. She hummed once, before replying with, "Okay, we are coming". Hearing her words, I got up and went by the door, before she could disconnect her call. Disconnecting the call, she gave me a weird look, before informing me, "They want us to come over. Looks like they found something." Rachel came running towards her, curious and maybe a little relieved, thinking that they had found Mason, "What? Where is he?"

“Not him Rach”, I corrected; “at least not YET.”

With a dejected expression, Rachel nodded before walking towards me. I finally opened the door, and we made our way to Matt's office.

Every possible ugly thought that could torture me ran past my mind and by the time we entered the Packhouse and made our way toward Matt’s Office, I was agitated. Not bothering to knock, Rose pushed the door wide open and stepped inside, followed by me and Rachel. All four pairs of eyes moved towards us at the slam of the door. Rose went all the way in and sat on Matt’s chair as he stood right beside it. No one but Luna could ever do that. I walked up to them and stood by his desk right between Ryan and Matt. Rachel came in and settled between Aiden and Blake. Rose was the first one to ask, “So what do we know so far?” Aiden cleared his throat, pointing towards his watch, responding, “You see this. I got a similar one for Blake and Mason last Christmas.” Rachel nudged him with her elbow and said, “Good for you. But that isn’t what Rose is asking about.” A small chuckle came from Blake as he pulled Rachel towards him and responded, “Let him explain babe. Dude’s got some serious news.” I have no idea why the watch is related to this whole Find Mason Quest, but I’m too curious to ignore it. I look at Aiden and then back at his watch; it takes me a second to realize what Aiden is trying to insinuate. I locked eyes with Aiden as I exclaimed, “It’s a TRACKER! You are such a genius, Aiden.” A genuine smile plastered on his face as he slowly passed me the watch to examine. The moment I get my hands on the watch, I start examining it to look for something that will give it out as a tracker, and to my luck, there isn't anything on it. So, unless and until someone informs you about being a tracker, you won’t know. And that means Mason doesn’t know either. I’m busy in my thoughts when I hear Aiden say, “It has a hidden tracker fitted inside its mechanism, and it's a daylight watch, so it charges itself up using sunlight. I got it as a safety measure and didn’t inform those two on purpose. Didn’t know back then that this could come in handy.” I don't want to say it out loud, but truth be told, Aiden’s intelligence is what makes him the most attractive being in the room. A small yet genuine smile plasters on my face as I look at him. I hope he is blessed with an amazing mate, someone who does not bring drama to the table, because this man right here deserves the best. I realize I’ve been staring at him this whole time when someone clears their throat. Matt is in deep thought when I give him a small nudge and ask, “What are you thinking about?” He looks at me, a determined expression on his face as he says, “It's a daylight watch, so that means unless and until he is trapped in some dark cave or at least a few feet under the surface, we should be able to track him, right?” Aiden nods at this question, while Ryan questions, “How many hours did you say this watch could survive without sunlight?” This time Aiden responded, “At least 48–72 hrs.” 48-72 hours!

“If I’m not wrong, it hasn't been that long since he disappeared. So that means, even if he is somewhere where the light doesn't reach him, we should still be able to track him” was Rose’s reply. “He didn’t disappear, Rose. He went missing. There is a difference in both of these things,” Rachel corrected. Rose looked least bothered by her statement as she continued, “That's what you think Rach. But let's not distract ourselves from the important thing here. So Aiden, can you track him?”

Before Aiden could answer, Matt replied, “Yes he can. But” “BUT? But what?” came my irritated response. I didn't mean to sound rude, but that's what I sounded like. Ryan slowly circled his arm around my shoulder, trying to comfort me as he said, “But the moment we track him down, the device will start vibrating, alerting him about it. So, if he…”

He did not have to finish the statement, because I knew what came next, “If he didn't want to be found, we might lose him forever. Because this is our only chance.”

Tears started pouring down my cheek as I thought that he might actually want nothing to do with me and just move on with his life. Rose rushed to wrap her arms around me, rubbing my back to calm me down, but it wasn't helping. Rachel was the one who spoke, pulling me out of my misery as she said, “Trust me when I say this, he would never do that.” Everyone in the room was looking at her, but she had her eyes trained on me as she continued, “Go ahead and track him. Let's bring my idiotic brother and your stupid mate back.”