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 f
Amira has no sense of time at this point, but she assumes at least a day has passed since she has gone missing and wonders if she is close enough for Calix to even sense her. There have been times where she believes she feels his presence slightly but isn’t sure if she is giving herself false hope that he will come and rescue her soon. “Still alive in here?” Evander calls out before entering the room. “The time has come, my dear sister.” “Don’t call me that, it’s weird, and what are you talking about?” “Does it bother you to think about being related to the likes of me?” “Do you have to ask? Of course, it does.” She sneers. His face darkens and he pulls out a knife, instantly making her regret her choice of words. “It’s time for the Alpha Challenge, a one-on-one duel to the death. I’ll need you front and center to lead your mate to his death and give him a front row seat to your own. I’m looking forward to quite t
Calix tries multiple times to call out to Amira once more through a mind link, but it only seems to work one time, whatever she does she doesn’t do again. His mind is silent as he awaits the final flow, wondering what she is thinking at this moment if she is crying and fighting to get free, or if she thankfully can’t see the scene unfolding before her. Knowing how psychotic Evander is, he will have her watching until the end. He just hopes she doesn’t feel the pain of the mate bond breaking and his death, and he has given Omega Dunya and her team enough time to flank the people holding Amira hostage. He doesn’t trust Evander to kill her as soon as he kills Calix, but he has to do something to buy time. Neither Malachi nor Isaac have returned with their team, and the fact that Amira is still within Evander’s clutches means they failed to save her. Calix knows they at least found her, or they would have sent word somehow by now, but there has been nothing since t
“She is here, Alpha,” Malachi speaks through the closed office door. “Bring her in.” The door opens and Amira’s mother steps through, her face rigid and body tense. “Please, have a seat. I just have a few questions, and I hope you will answer me honestly,” he says. “Or what? You’ll threaten me by using my daughter?” He chuckles, finishing up the reports on his desk, before looking up at her. “I can understand where your hatred toward our kind comes from, but you owe it to your daughter to tell her the truth. You knew this day would come, the responsibility is on you and no one else to handle this. If you would rather turn a blind eye, then I insist you tell me the truth and allow me to have her.” “Have her? She isn’t an object you can claim, she is my only child, and she deserves to live a peaceful and happy life. I made the choices of my past out of love for my family and the unsuspecting baby I had i
Calix wakes up to someone lightly rubbing his arm with something warm and damp, the smell of sanitizer and alcohol coating the air. Slowly coming to his senses, he suddenly jerks his hand toward the person next to him and grabs their hand, hearing a familiar shriek. He opens his eyes to see Amira crouching on the floor with gauze and bandages all around her. “You must have been really out of it, you didn’t even sense me walking in.” She grins. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you resting?” He panics and stands up, but everything in the room begins spinning and he sits right back down. “You overdid it during your fight and now that you’ve given yourself the proper time to relax, your body is going to feel all of that damage. I already asked one of the pack doctors to come by after you wake up, it’s almost morning anyway.” She finishes dressing one of the bandages on his arm. “Take off your shirt,” she says.
Amira Altaha has lived her entire 18 years living in a world where the natural and supernatural coexist with each other. Some areas accept the unknown creatures living next to them, and some banish their existence. Growing up in Morrow Falls, it has always been regarded as an off-charter city despite being rather large and prosperous, it is also surrounded by a thick and foggy swamp that many find off-putting. Beyond that lies Morrow Falls, a peaceful city of coexistence between creatures of all kinds, most of its quiet dullness due to the guarding bog surrounding it. Amira and the others have learned to live life alongside these mysterious and off beings, having them attend schools and run businesses to form a rather rich land. Some can’t imagine working alongside a supposed person sprouting wings from their back or someone who can turn into a wolf or a bear whenever they want but appears as a perfectly normal human otherwise. Amira, can’t imagine life without any of that, especial
When Amira finally comes to, she awakes to see she has been placed in Isaac’s room to rest, cuddled up in the very bed she has spent countless nights in before. The memories of the party just before she fainted come rushing back to her, and she suddenly feels sick to her stomach. She runs to the ensuite bathroom and pukes up the little contents of the drinks she has had so far tonight. Once her stomach is empty, she slumps to the ground and begins to sob, replaying Isaac’s words in her head. “I think I’ve found my mate.” This has always been a possibility she has known about, but that doesn’t make it sting any less finding out she isn’t Isaac’s mate, and it is another girl, one much prettier than her and of his kind rather than a useless human. Not only that, but she is also the daughter of an Alpha, the perfect Luna to rule alongside her own Alpha mate. What can a human-like Amira do for someone like Isaac if they were to get married? She isn’t his true mate, and she isn’t ev
Not being able to take the constant stares and whispers from those around her, Isaac disappearing shortly after to speak with his father in private, Amira retreats to his bedroom for the night, having no other way home and no cabs coming to this area of the city due to pack territory. Though she knows the city of Morrowfalls like the back of her hand, she isn’t an idiot to know bad people exist everywhere, and it’s never safe to wander around in the middle of the night in a city full of all sorts of creatures. She is also hoping this is where Isaac will return once the party is over, with the small shred of hope she still has. A short while after the door of his room opens and he thankfully walks in alone, looking frustrated after the talk with his father but also shocked to see her there. “Why did you leave the party so early?” he asks. She scoffs. “What did you expect me to do? Another girl told me straight to my face that you’re going to leave me for her and I need to be unders