6. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
Lex
There's a crisp chill to the wind as we stand on the edge of Daxton's town, waiting for the arrival of Wyatt and his pack.
I'm appreciative at how quickly they moved into action, immediately leaving their town and making the trip to Shadow Creek. There's no time to waste, and the longer we wait, the more anxious I feel. It's equal to a thousand knives slicing through my gut, but instead of letting the pain bring me to my knees, I'm gathering it up. I'm going to channel my rage and unleash it to a worthy recipient—the bastards who took Nyx.
When Daxton received notification from his wolves that Wyatt had crossed the border, we all immediately sprang into action. Maverick is standing on the other side of Daxton, and truthfully, I'm happy for the distance and body between us. If we don't get our hands on Nyx's capturers, I know what my second option will be for my anger.
I don't care about his sob story that his people gave us. At the end of the day, he made his decision to push her aside. I gave them both leeway to indulge in their fated needs but look where we ended up.
All of this could have been avoided if we had been smart. If Maverick had stopped being an asshole for one second, things would have been clearer.
Whoever took Nyx not only had motive, but we gave them the opportunity. They found our weakness and capitalized on it.
I blame myself as much as I blame Maverick. But I didn't shove her away when she needed someone. If anything, I tried to give her freedom, so that she wouldn't feel suffocated. Things were already complicated enough without her feeling the pressure of being locked up. The whole dual mate situation spiraled out of control. She's so young—not used to this lifestyle. As much as we needed to move things along, which is why we had scheduled her Luna initiation, I wanted her to know that she still had control too.
It's important that she knew that she could still be herself—not just a mate or Luna. And I let her down.
It was the lapse in judgment that haunts me. And I'll do everything in my power to rectify it once she's safely back with me.
But I can't dwell on what's potentially happening right now. We knew from word of mouth that packs were getting desperate—but Nyx is strong. I know she'll fight back… just hopefully it's not consequential.
I also can't allow myself to let my thoughts drift to what I should have been doing right now as the full moon hangs overhead.
Through the trees, I spot color in the shadows before wolves emerge. Next to me, Daxton straightens up, ready to brief them.
We wait until they have reached us, Daxton directing them to where they can change, and before long, I'm face to face with Wyatt.
"This is not the visit I was hoping for," he says warmly. "And so soon."
Daxton nods, taking charge—probably because he knows if either myself or Maverick speak right now, we're going to air our dirty laundry. Wyatt is no stranger to our unusual situation, but we don't have the time to exchange blows, nor will it reflect well on our respective packs. So, I stay quiet for now, listening to the conversation.
"We've been reaching out to nearby packs to ascertain if any rogue wolves passed through their land. So far there's been no sighting, but they can't have just gone through unseen with an unconscious girl in tow."
At the mention of Nyx, my neck stiffens which is quickly noticed by Wyatt. He gives me a sympathetic smile.
"How are you holding up, Lex?"
"I'll answer that when we get Nyx back," I answer sternly but with politeness.
He nods, flicking his gaze over to Maverick. "And you?"
"I'm fine," he replies, and the urge to punch his smug face returns. But one look from Wyatt has me reconsidering—albeit only just.
Daxton is right though. Someone had to have noticed their presence. We know that Nyx was knocked out cold. She was calling for us before it suddenly went quiet. But I try not to focus on the fact that apparently it was Maverick who heard her and not me. When he filled us in on the situation, I was already holding myself back from going feral. But when he said he heard her screaming, calling my name , I was floored. Something obviously happened for them to suddenly be connected, but that's not important right now. The only thing that matters is getting her back.
"Well, we are ready when you are," Wyatt answers, gesturing to his pack behind him. He's brought around a dozen wolves with him which will help.
Knox has not long returned from home with Alix and gathered my own pack members. Beau is ready too, helping Knox get everyone in place.
In addition, Maverick called for back-up, and just before Wyatt's pack arrived, a dozen or so of his members entered Shadow Creek to join the others. Between all of us, we easily have at least forty wolves ready to spread out in search of her. The question now is how to disperse them.
It would make the most sense to spread out, cover more distance. But once we find the pack responsible, it's going to get messy, and the more wolves we have ready to fight, the better.
If we can pinpoint a pack or location, it would make everything easier. But so far, our inquiries have come up short, much to my frustration.
I almost want to say that she couldn't have just vanished into thin air—except, there's always the possibility that she could have.
As much as I want to assume she'd be safe if the pack responsible suddenly vanished because she's tied to all of us, we still don't know what we are up against. If it is the universe , then what exactly can we do to stop it?
But the mate connection is still strong, so I know she's okay. It's just a race against the clock.
"We'll head to my office first to look over our information once more," Daxton says to Wyatt, but addressing the whole group. "Your pack can head to our training field where the others are waiting."
Wyatt nods, giving the go ahead to his pack, as we turn and head back into town.
Once the four of us are in Daxton's office, we quickly run through everything again, hoping that another set of eyes might pick up on something we've missed.
"And you definitely ruled out the neighboring packs?" Maverick asks, glancing at Daxton.
"Yes," he confirms. "And I think it would be suicide to have her so close by. But they are checking their perimeters for any evidence."
Wyatt sits in Nyx's usual chair, flicking through the pile of books that she had borrowed from the library. "She had quite the collection here," he murmurs. "Mainly material relating to the Great War."
"We've been trying to find ties to what happened last time," I chime in, brows furrowed as I hold up a piece of paper and scan it. "But we're still not sure if it's related."
"I don't believe in coincidences," Maverick grumbles. "Especially since she spoke to the witch."
Daxton nods. "I agree. If packs and other species are disappearing, it has to be a bigger force than anything we could do."
"So, it's safe to assume that the disappearances are a part of something bigger," I confirm. "But that still leads us to the question of who took my mate."
I don't miss the way Maverick stiffens, avoiding my eyes. I'm on the verge of going feral, and to be honest, part of me wants to. But I do my best to ignore the feelings, knowing if I act on impulse then we'll have no chance of finding her.
"There can't be that many packs around given the land sizes," Wyatt mutters. "Who can we rule out?"
Daxton grabs a piece of paper from his stack. "We know that at present the White Pack, Eclipse Pack, Selene Pack, Crescent Pack, Yellow Moon Pack, and Silver Star Pack have gone. Excluding my neighboring packs that just leaves the Lunar Pack, Kingston's pack, Moonlight Pack, Seventh Circle Pack, and the New Moon Pack."
"Five packs is a lot for us to investigate quickly," Maverick mutters, deep in thought. "Even if we split up, we still don't have the numbers. It will take days to travel to all of them."
"Wait," Wyatt says, holding up his hand. "What was the last one you said?"
Daxton glances back down at the paper. "New Moon Pack."
It falls silent for a moment while Wyatt flicks through one of Nyx's books. Stopping on a page, his eyes scan over the words, before his eyebrows shoot up. "Well, that's interesting."
"What?" Maverick and I shoot out at the same time.
A smile appears on Wyatt's face at our dual question, before he hands the book over to Daxton. He reads the open page, frowning.
"Stevens marked some information about the Great War," he starts, glancing up at us. "During it, Goddess Ophelia's home was invaded, and she was taken by the New Moon Pack." Pausing, he hands the book to me.
I snatch it from him, hastily reading the paragraph. "Kidnapped by the New Moon Pack," I repeat. "It is unknown of her intended fate, but it is thought that along the way she found her fated mate. It is believed she convinced the New Moon Pack to surrender their position in the Great War."
Maverick leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Alright. If we're running with the theory that history is repeating itself, then it's entirely possible that other packs believe that to be the case too."
"Have you managed to contact them?" Wyatt asks Daxton.
He shakes his head. "No," he answers. "None of us have any ties to them, so we've been unable to reach out without traveling there."
"I think that's your best shot," Wyatt points out.
"Except if it's wrong, then we will have wasted resources and time for nothing," Maverick growls.
We all share a look, before Daxton turns to me. "Lex, I think this should be your call. What do you want to do?"
To be honest, it makes me feel sick. We're running out of time. If we're wrong about this, particularly since there's only a twenty percent chance that they are the culprits, then Nyx is as good as dead. But if we split up to cover more ground, we run the risk of being outnumbered even more so.
The paragraph about Goddess Ophelia's history is eerily similar to Nyx's. And if history is repeating itself, then it means she is the answer to everything. But we could be wrong, and if we are, Nyx will be the one that pays the price.
"I don't understand why she can't contact us and why we can't feel her location," I say, shaking my head. "If we make the wrong decision…" I trail off, letting them fill in the blanks.
Maverick lets out a sigh. "What other options do we have? If we split up, we're risking all of our packs."
"I agree," I growl. "We need a strong, united front."
"So, it's settled then," Daxton mutters.
I nod. "It's settled. Get the packs ready. We're going to the New Moon territory."