Twenty-Six

It has been two days since Amira was hospitalized and for once Calix can feel a fleeting feeling of relief when the mate bond between them finally falls into place. But that relief was quickly taken away when the flood of pain she was suffering despite being unconscious hit him.

He could feel every emotion and ounce of pain she experienced while her body healed and adjusted to the mate mark settling into her system. He is amazed she survived in the condition she is currently in, making it all the more agonizing knowing he will never see her again.

Regardless of what her mother says, he can't deny any longer that he is the one who has brought her all this unnecessary suffering. Myla would have never attacked her if he had dealt with her properly the first time, instead of trusting in their childhood bond and leaving her with a firm warning.

It was clear who the culprit was after Calix came to his senses. Myla must have snuck back into the pack and somehow messed with Calix's food. How she got in and how she knew the exact plates to touch is still a mystery, but none of this would have happened if again, he did things right the first time.

He has endangered his mate's life twice because he couldn't make the right decision. How could he ever call himself her protector, or even a proper Alpha, with those actions of regret? For the last two days, Calix has done nothing but drown himself in his sorrows, hiding out in the Dean's office that not many faculty know he owns or enters.

However, there is one person outside the faculty who is aware of the true owner of the school.

"You look disgusting." Isaac coughs to hide his laugh as he enters the room. "This place smells stale, too."

"Fuck off."

"I might as well, your current state has already answered my question."

Calix glares at him. "What the hell does that mean?"

"May I?' Isaac asks, motioning to the couch before sitting down, not waiting for an answer. "I came here wondering why Amira's mother suddenly reached out to me to ask for protection at the hospital. I heard all about what happened to Amira, though how it happened is still unknown, I could kind of figure it out once I saw her."

"Protection? Do they not have enough at the hospital, or did something happen?" Calix grows unstable, his eyes showing it.

Isaac realizes how unhinged he is and decides to leave the heckling for later.

"She's fine, they just wanted protection on the outside, in case something that isn't human decided to show up," he says and gives a nervous smile.

It doesn't take a genius to know he is speaking of Calix.

"If there is anyone I can trust besides myself to do their best to keep her safe, I hope that person can be you, Alpha Lund."

Isaac is shocked when Calix addresses him as such, only ever sarcastically hearing that title since gaining it.

"Of course, I will never let anything happen to her. You have my word."

Calix chuckles. "Then, I suppose there isn't much else to say. You can leave."

"Are you really not going to do anything other than drink yourself dumb here?"

As if to prove his point, Calix takes a swig of his bourbon bottle.

"What do you expect me to do? It is clear I have been a danger to her, just by her existing next to me. You pointed it out yourself, she is a human and won't feel the mate bond the same as I will, which means she has the chance to move on fall in love with someone else, and live a normal life. If this is what I must do for her to have that, I'm more than willing."

Isaac slams his hand on the table. "Do you realize what you're saying? The mate bond will never go away, you will continue to feel everything she does, know every emotion she has, and you will feel the unbearable pain of the distance she might create between you two if she decides ever to leave. Why would you put yourself through that?"

"Because nothing is worse than losing her completely!" Calix shouts. "If you have nothing else to say, get the hell out."

Isaac shakes his head but shows himself out, leaving Calix to continue drowning himself in his sorrows until he passes out.

~*~

Calix is abruptly awoken once more by the panicked face of Isaac. He grumbles and is about to ask why he came back until he feels it.

Or rather, what he doesn't feel. His mate bonds.

"What the hell happened to her?" he growls.

"Someone took her, we don't know. Everyone who was guarding her was either slaughtered or beat unconscious, a surprise attack." Isaac explains as Calix grabs his jacket and walks to the door.

"Her parents?" Calix asks.

"They're safe, they returned home for the night and are coming back in the morning, but no doubt the hospital will be informing them soon, they will most likely head straight there."

"Then we have to beat them, keep up." Calix quickly shifts once outside and takes off.

They are behind the emergency ward in no time, Isaac pointing up to the window of the room Amira was staying in, the pane still left wide open. They climb the large oak tree next to the wall and jump onto the window ledge to pull themselves into the still chaotic-looking room.

"How long has it been exactly since you discovered she was missing?" Calix asks.

"About 20 minutes, maybe 15 minutes since I alerted the staff that there was a break-in. They said no one was seen entering her room, whoever it was had to have come through the window, but I'm not sure how they got through without breaking it."

"Regardless of how they got in, it hasn't been much time since she left, we might be able to pick up her scent. Can you smell anything else?" Calix tries to pick up the remainder of her smell and finds it almost instantly, the trail actually leading out the window rather than the door.

"They went this way," he says.

"Are you sure? Does that mean they came through the door and left through the window? The security here is terrible."

Calix growls. "You're telling me. Come on, let's follow her trail and see where it leads."

Back out the window, they follow her trail into the city, taking back alleys to avoid their wolf forms being detected by any night wanderers. Calix can feel his bond with Amira growing a bit stronger with every step he takes, his hope slowly growing along with it.

Until the trail comes to a dead stop just outside of the city, no trace of it beyond their point.

"How can it just disappear like that?" Isaac asks.

Calix ignores him, thinking of another way to pick up her scent without wandering over to the next city, one where they don't allow their kind.

"It's possible she was carried into the next town over if a human has taken her. Come on, let's turn back for now – ahh shit!" Calix cries out as a searing hot pain strikes his neck and instantly recognizes that it isn't his own pain.

It belongs to Amira.