(... continued)

"We need to head straight to Calareth."

Autumn gasped.

The sound tore out of her like she had been drowning and had only just broken the surface.

The words came sharp despite her visible weakness...

Dax caught her just in time, one arm coming around her shoulders, the other bracing her unsteady weight. She sagged against him, breath uneven, fingers curling weakly into his sleeve.

"Easy," he murmured automatically, though his mind was already racing. "Slow down. You are barely standing.Tell me what happened..."

But Autumn lifted her head anyway, eyes burning with a fevered clarity that didn’t match the rest of her shattered state.

"Dax," she said, forcing each syllable out, "there is no slowing down...no time for any explanation...you don’t understand what’s at stake...time’s running..." She was hyperventilating again.

" Ok! Ok! Calm down! " He frowned, steadying her more firmly as she swayed again.

"Calareth you say?" he repeated, confusion sharpening his tone. "Ummm, that region is sealed at the moment.Council controlled completely. And you know that they have never been on good terms with Alpha Kieran. We can’t just walk into..."

"I don’t care," she cut in, breath hitching violently. "I don’t care who controls it anymore." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

She pulled back just enough to look at him properly, her blazing blue eyes...dulled by exhaustion...locking onto his with terrifying intensity.

"I need to go there," she said. "Now. If I don’t... this doesn’t end with missing children or trapped Alphas, Dax."

Dax’s grip tightened.

"What are you saying?" he asked slowly.

Autumn swallowed, her throat working painfully.

"I am saying," she whispered, "that Calareth is the only place left that can stop what’s already been set in motion." Then after a pause she added. " At least I hope it is! If it’s not... Moon have mercy... "

Her knees buckled again.

Dax cursed under his breath and shifted, guiding her to lean more heavily against him.

"You are not thinking clearly at the moment," he said, though doubt had already begun creeping into his voice. "You have lost blood. Your magic, your strength. You need healers, not another adventure to a forbidden territory.Let me get you help. We can talk after you have recovered. In the meantime I will keep searching for Alpha and the kids if you could give me some lead..."

Autumn let out a breath that was almost a laugh...not a scoff entirely...it was mocking, dry, cracked, bitter.She could not wrap her head around the fact that Dax was not able to grasp the severity of the situation. Not at all.

"Healers won’t help," she said. "This isn’t a wound. It’s a countdown..."

She lifted a trembling hand, pressing it briefly to her chest.

"Dax... I am not exaggerating when I say this." Her voice dropped, deadly serious despite how weak it sounded.

"I need to go to Calareth to save all of us."

He stared at her.

The words hung there...heavy...

"...Literally," she added faintly. " Speaking of which. Have you heard from your dear wife? I guess not! "

For a long moment, the only sound was their breathing...hers ragged, his controlled but tight.

" Vera? What about her? " Dax already knew the answer but he wasn’t prepared to face the answers. He himself was delaying his logical conclusions.

" You came here tracking her scent. Didn’t you?"

Dax did not answer. He didn’t want to.

" Dax, things are much more complicated than can be explained at the moment. You need to trust me." she continued, forcing herself to stay upright, "the survival of your Alpha... and his children... depends on it."

That hit harder than any blade.

Dax’s jaw clenched.

"You are asking me to defy the Council. Fine. I don’t give a fuck about them anyways," he said quietly. "but that area was sealed off for a reason. To cross a line that hasn’t been crossed in decades,will have certain consequences,maybe even risking your life in this condition.And you are my responsibility at the moment..."

"I am asking you," Autumn replied, "to decide which authority you actually serve."

His wolf stirred, uneasy, alert.

Dax looked down at her...really looked this time with anger.

At the blood crusted along her temple.

At the tremor she couldn’t fully hide.

At the sheer will keeping her conscious when her body had clearly given up hours ago.

And beneath all of it... truth.

He exhaled slowly.

"This doesn’t make sense," he said, almost to himself.

"It will," Autumn whispered. "Just... not yet.It didn’t make sense to me either until I saw her with my own eyes.A mother’s love, the purest force in nature, when twisted,can be deadly...can be so severely fatal. I could have never believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes."

Another silence stretched between them.

Then...Dax nodded once.

Sharp. With some amount of finality.

"Alright," he said. "Then we go to Calareth."

Autumn’s shoulders sagged with relief she didn’t have the strength to show properly.

"You are willing to help me?" she breathed.

"Yes," he answered, already shifting his stance, scanning the tunnel instinctively. "Against my better judgment. Against every rule I swore to uphold.Not like I have another choice."

His eyes hardened.

"But if what you are saying is true... then rules don’t matter anymore."

Autumn closed her eyes briefly, letting out a shaky breath.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Dax adjusted his grip, preparing to move.

"Don’t thank me yet," he said quietly. "If we are doing this... there is no turning back.I will go get my men ready. Do you think you will be able to walk? " He asked, extending a hand.

Autumn grabbed his hand but not for support. She held his gaze and shook her head. " Not your men." Dax looked at her very puzzled.

" You surely are not thinking about going on a solo voyage, are you? The Council won’t listen to your words like I did. They don’t give a fuck about Alpha Or his heirs. They would gladly use this opportunity to finally take over our pack like they have been eyeing for eternity. I will need to get my men."

Autumn shook her head again." No! Not the Blackmoons. Get the Skarthheim soldiers ready for the voyage! "