It has been an entire 24 hours since Amira has disappeared from her hospital room, with her parents working with the authorities to find her, and Calix working with his pack. He has rented an apartment not far from the city outskirts, the closest he can get to feel the faintest hint of the mate bond, so he knows she is at least okay and no longer suffering pain.
He is on his way back to the pack territory, crossing over the large bridge that cuts across the swamp surrounding his territory, when a silver car like a bullet comes out of nowhere and tries to run him off the road. He crashes into the side of the bridge instead, the entire corner of his car on the passenger side denting into the rocks.
Calix stumbles out of the car, his right leg getting slightly crushed from the impact and the deployment of the airbags knocking the wind out of him a little. He sees a pair of shoes that look vaguely familiar walking toward him before he is lifted by the shirt and a fist hits him squarely in the face.
"Nice to see you still in one piece, I thought for sure you would have fallen apart by now, but I should know now to never underestimate the great genes of the Volkov family."
Evander grabs his head and lifts it to meet his crazed-looking gaze, his appearance a mess with his light shaggy hair sticking up everywhere and his usual playful grin now bordering on that of a clown.
"You son of a bitch," Calix mutters and takes a swing, landing a punch on Evander's cheek to knock him back. "It was you; you took her!"
He charges at him again, but Evander manages to recover from the blow and sticks his leg out to kick Calix back against the crashed car. He calmly walks up and takes out a small token, throwing it down on the ground between Calix's legs.
"Do you recognize that?" Evander asks.
Calix picks it up and recognizes it as a coat of arms, but not of which pack.
"It's my family's insignia since we no longer have a pack. I challenge you to an Alpha duel at sunset, Highmoon territory, tomorrow night."
Calix laughs and chucks the insignia back at him. "What makes you think you can take me on? Are you going to fight dirty using Amira, rather than fight honourably like your grandfather claimed he did?'
Evander looks shocked.
"Yeah, I did my research. It was pretty stupid of you to use the same last name as your birth mother, even if she isn't alive anymore, the record books are."
This causes him to look enraged, his fists clenching and unclenching, but he doesn't come at Calix again.
"Well, since you know the truth, there is no point explaining anything to you. I'll see you tomorrow night, and don't worry," he pauses while heading back to his car. "I promise she will be taken care of until then, but don't bother trying to find her, or this duel will be over before it begins." He winks, then turns around to get in his car and drives away, leaving Calix with a broken car and possibly some fractured ribs.
He is close enough to pack territory to reach out through the mind link to Malachi, asking him to gather all the ranking members of the pack, as well as to ask Isaac and Alpha Morin if they are willing to lend a hand and meet in the meeting room. He shifts into his wolf to speed up his healing and takes off toward the pack house.
Once he gets there, he is greeted by Malachi and his father, Magnus, who gives him a solemn look, most likely expecting a scolding for his daughter and her fate. Next to them are Delta Edwards and Omega Dunya with her daughter Seria, whose coming-of-age is a few months away and is likely in training to take over from her mother.
On the other side of the room, to Calix's relief, stands Isaac and his father, along with Eris and Alpha Morin and what looks like his Beta.
"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice. Please take a seat, I will try and keep this brief." He breaks down the concerns with Amira, making the announcement as well that he has found his mate, though he regrets the way he has to break this wonderful news, Evander and his challenge are their biggest concern as allied packs.
"Is there anyone here with memories or past encounters with the previous Alpha family?"
It is Magnus who steps forward. "As most know, my family has been the appointed Beta family for many generations. My father was the current Beta at the time of Alpha Barlowe's reign, but I would call it more of a tyranny. He is the reason only 3 packs remain and why this area has resorted to nothing but dust and mud, he truly believed he was the superior Alpha, the King of them all. That is why Abram Volkov challenged Alpha Barlowe and barely won in the end."
"Alpha Lund found record books from what looked like a ruined reservation of a former pack. The book detailed that fight, and it said my grandfather had fought dirty, and that is how he managed to win," Calix says.
"Alpha Barlowe's mate was someone who didn't believe in his morals, she loathed how he had her but still mingled with other women and often bedded them without regard for her. On the night of the duel, she took her own life and that gave Abram Volkov the vantage he needed to eliminate Alpha Barlowe and take his place. It was Barlowe's son who accused the new Alpha Volkov of killing Barlowe's mate so he could win the fight, which sparked the downfall of the Barlowe family, no one wanted to be associated with them."
This explains where the anger and vengeance Evander carries has come from.
"Magnus, I want you and Delta Edwards to gather as much information about the Barlowe family as possible from elder pack members. Omega Dunya gathers a group of trackers and hunters willing to form a rescue team for Amira and work with Alpha Lund and his pack. I guess that she is being kept in the next city over, but it is a human-only city, we could never get through without sneaking our way over the city border somehow."
"What about the old subway system?" Isaac speaks up.
"Subway system, what are you talking about?" Calix asks.
Isaac takes out his phone and scrolls through his pictures until he pulls up what looks like an abandoned underground tunnel, with rock rubble covering the grounds and track parts can be seen poking out underneath.
"It was something Amira and I discovered a few years ago, there is an entrance not far from the public high school. It might have been covered up by now, but I'm sure we can break through again. We never got to explore the whole thing, but we looked it up and supposedly the Morrowfalls tried building a subway system between the two cities long before they opened their borders to other beings."
"It looks abandoned. What happened?" Omega Dunya asks.
"That I'm not sure of, but it said online that the tunnel was completed before construction suddenly stopped. That means there has to be a way underground to get us across the city border without being detected, it was far enough down that I couldn't even smell the air above."
Omega Dunya contemplates this. "If construction was really completed, they might have blueprints stashed somewhere in City Hall. I might be able to get my hands on them to help navigate the tunnels and see exactly where it stops."
The room soon erupts into soft chatter of plans and ideas.
Calix claps his hands. "It seems we have a solid plan in action for rescuing Amira, her safety is the top priority. Regardless of what danger I might find myself in, you are to stick to the plan until she is safely back in the arms of one of our members, leave the rest to me. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Alpha." Everyone responds before shuffling toward the door.
Calix stops Isaac on his way out and pulls him aside.
"What of Amira's parents?" he asks him.
"They aren't in the best state, I've already gone over and informed them what happened. Her mother didn't take it well and fainted, but otherwise, they are staying safe for the time being, I was able to convince them to keep the authorities out of this for now."
"It would be in her mother's best interest to keep the authorities out of this in general," Calix growls.
"Why is that?"
"Evander mentioned something interesting when proposing the Alpha challenge. He confirmed he had Amira and told me not to worry, that she is safe with him for now and I know he is telling the truth. The mate bond, I can feel that her condition has been stabilized just like the first time she was attacked, which means he has access to the rare Lycan gene she needs."
Isaac's eyes grow wide. "You don't think…"
"Yes, he revealed it subtly, but he must be related to Amira in some way, which means her life might be in greater danger than just being used as a pawn right now. You and Dunya need to work fast and do whatever it takes to get her out of there."
Isaac clasps his hand on Calix's shoulder and gives him a stern look.
"This is my way of repaying her for all the pain I've caused. I promise she will come home, with or without me."
Calix mimics his action. "In truth, I hope it is with your return. Now go."