96
Callum's POV
Returning to Dark sky pack with just a diary wasn't what I'd expected from my meeting with Samantha. Not after the risk we'd both taken to meet up in the woods of the Darkmoon.
But the fact that Max kept a diary had me thinking and rethinking. If someone had told me he owned a diary, like a girl, I'd have doubted with every ounce of certainty.
A sigh left me and I tucked the shitty diary into the pit of my arms.
Ryder had a cup of hot coffee with him when I returned, his legs crossed as he rested them on the table while leaning back on his seat.
He had never been a lover of coffee. Definitely, he was battling sleep. And yes, executing our plan had taken hell of time. But I'd rather bear that delay than a shameful defeat coming from advancing to fight Max without a proper plan.
"How did it go?" Ryder asked, dropping his coffee on the table.
"You mean the meeting with Samantha?" I purposely asked him.
"What else would I mean?" He queried. But I was pretty sure that if he paid attention to details, he should have been able to tell already that it was a flop.
"Ah." I breathed out. "It was just a waste of time."
"What?"
"It was shitty. Stupid. Can't believe I took all that risk just to get a fucking diary!"
Ryder brought his legs down from the table, his brows lifting up. "A diary?"
"A fucking diary!"
"What for?" He brought his legs down from the table.
"I don't know. You could ask the chick."
He paused for a moment to think. Then he leaned forward. "What's in the diary? Let me see it."
"We don't have time to waste on that stupid thing," I said, refusing to release the book. "A grown man lamenting each and every day of his life about his stupid wolf who keeps manipulating him into doing what he doesn't want to do. What are we gonna do with that?"
Ryder rubbed his jaw, squinting his eyes as if trying to remember something.
He leaned back on his chair, his hands going behind the back of his neck.
"By the way, the tunnel we're meant to sneak in through has been sealed by Max. I never thought his mind would go there," Ryder reported.
"What?" My eyes bulged. My brain couldn't take it. At this point?!
"Yeah. The work is fresh. Must have been done tonight," he added.
"How the fuck do you know all that?" I asked him.
"I had some of Frank's men go out there to check it out," Ryder said.
I folded my fist hard beside my thighs. That was a very bad news, not the kind I wanted to hear at all.
Just then, Ryder shot up from his chair like a bullet.
"Callum!" My name bursted out of his mouth.
"What?" I raised a brow.
"His wolf," he said. "Max's wolf... It might be the real problem."
"And if it is?" I asked nonchalantly.
"Then we can make his wolf our target, bring it down, and boom, we have Max taken care of," he said.
I let out a tsk. "Crap."
The door swung open with force and a pissed-off Frank stormed in. His presence aggravated my anger.
My eyes trailed to what he wore, an all black leather jacket with a jean trouser and a pair of black timberland boots.
"I've had enough patience for your sloppy plans, Callum," he growled as he walked up to us.
"Get your shit together and stay out of this," I growled back at him. "Ryder and I are going to handle this how we're supposed to."
"Huh? Do you know what you've caused already? Your sloppy ass has caused Samantha to be arrested by Max!" He fired.
My lids rose. Shocked. "What?"
"How do you know that?" Ryder asked.
"The bastard phoned me and told me personally, bragging about how he's a step ahead of us!" Frank yelled. "You can stay here and plan for however long you want. But as for me —" he jabbed his thumb at his chest, "I won't sit here and wait for you while that bastard has my siblings hostage!"
"Fuck!" I ran my fingers through my hair. What was I going to do? How was I going to make Frank wait when it seemed now that he had more to lose than Ryder and I?
"I've delayed enough. I'm attacking the Darkmoon tonight," Frank said. "By 10pm, I'm moving out with my troops. You can sit here all night long if you want. I'll teach that piece of shit a lesson he'd never forget."
I had to find an excuse. I really had to. Frank wasn't being his usual self now, he wasn't thinking and that could turn out really bad for us. Max had to be followed with caution, else Liv and Samantha could lose their lives.
"Hold on—" I was about to say when Ryder cut in.
"We stalled enough, Callum. We really need to take action now."
"Fuck! Am I the only one thinking straight in this room? Is it so difficult to understand that we could be putting Liv's life in danger by charging at Max?! It would have been understandable if it were a surprise attack, but he's fucking aware that we could possibly attack tonight!"
"Put those fucking excuses back into your fucking pants and hit the battlefield, Callum!" Frank blasted at me. "That's what makes an Alpha, those long-ass plots that make it difficult for you to take a fucking simple decision don't!"
"I'm with you on this one!" Ryder said to Frank. "We can't stay here all night planning and replanning. We have to go out there and fight. What if Max harms Liv, anyway?"
"That's the simple truth. So tell me, Callum, are you in or not?" Frank demanded.
It was obvious at this point that I couldn't hold Frank back anymore. The best thing I could do now was move along with him and stay close so he doesn't make rash decisions.
I exhaled softly. "I'm in."
With that, Frank revealed that his soldiers were already outside the mansion, waiting for him. He had only come in to know if we were going to join him or not. Now, we had, but one more problem persisted. How would we get into the Darkmoon pack?
"We can find an insider," Frank suggested. "I'm pretty sure not everyone is on Max's side, especially those who'd have preferred either of you being their Alpha."
"That's a tough gamble," Ryder said, shaking his head. "Max has been ruling with an iron fist. All the pack members probably have the fear of his name installed in them."
I scratched the back of my head. I hated the fact that dealing with Max had turned a tough nut to crack. But I had a plan.
"Max is smart, but we can outsmart him," I said. "I know just how to."
A line of expectation grew on Ryder's face, while Frank didn't look like he was ready to listen.
"It's obvious that he's expecting us to attack tonight. I'm sure he's prepared for an all out attack, but we can surprise him by attacking with just a few men to make him think he had overestimated us, and then he'd lower his guard," I said.
A frown grew on Frank's face. "You might be leading my men to their graves."
"Not when we know what we're doing." I countered him. "Once he has captured them, he'd definitely think we're no longer attacking tonight. And that's when the rest of us come in and strike with full force."
"You make it sound so easy," Frank sighed. "I'm pretty sure it won't go that way."
"Let's give it a try before we conclude," Ryder suggested.
After a brief silence, I spoke again. "I'm going with the first troop to open the tunnel. If we don't succeed, the rest of you will have to find another way in. But if we do, then I'll give you guys the signal to come forward."
But it was going to take a long time to unseal the tunnel without attracting attention.
"You know there might be some of Max's men mounted at the tunnel," Ryder said.
"We'll take care of that. I'm going with soldiers, not engineers who can't fight," I told him. "Once the coast is clear, I'll send the signal."
"Quite convincing," Frank retorted. "It doesn't sound like a bad idea at all."
"Is there anything else holding us back?" Ryder asked.
I shook my head. "No."
"Then, I guess we're ready for war," he said, his eyes darting from mine to Frank's.
Frank and I glanced at each other and nodded. "Yes!"