Okay, honestly? I did not see that one coming, Sonya admits, absolutely baffled.

Neither of them is really sure what's going on.

Okay, that doesn't mean she had anything to do with Lilith's disappearance, Avery reasons to herself, and then clears her throat, returning to speaking to the man who's waiting for a response.

What time was the call made at?, Avery asks, and the man clears his throat awkwardly.

She can practically feel his nervousness through the link.

Just before 2 pm, he quickly responds, and Avery furrows her brows, pulling out her cellphone and looking at her call history.

She squints at the recent callers until she finds Kali's number, and then she frowns.

"Somebody tell me I'm not crazy, and that this number is two," Avery urges, holding her phone out in front of her.

Louisa grumbles, and then peers at the screen and rolls her eyes.

"Yes, it says two," she drawls, putting her free hand onto her hip.

Avery silently nods and returns to the man on the link.

Thank you, she ends with, cutting the link immediately.

She called Zephyr before she knew Lilith was missing, Sonya grumbles miserably.

Avery exhales slowly and closes her eyes in thought.

Any sightings of Luna Kali Petty are to be reported immediately, Avery booms through her pack link, and everybody quickly responds with agreement.

Nobody tries to protest, and nobody questions the order.

The generals will as soon as they see her, though, and she isn't looking forward to that interrogation.

"Byron, I need you to get the message to your contractors. Any sightings of Luna Kali Petty are to be reported to us immediately," she instructs, and he nods warily.

"Captured as well?" He asks quietly, and Avery pauses for a moment.

"No, we just need her location as soon as possible," she settles on saying, nodding as she speaks.

She's trying to hold in her anger.

She opened her arms to this girl, and she pays her back by kidnapping another friend of hers.

This is the last Luna we befriend. We have enough, Sonya hisses, equally angry.

"Is she missing as well?" Louisa asks, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"Not in the same way, Kali is hiding," Avery growls, her eyes turning to slits as she continues walking down the corridor.

Louisa quickly steps in front of her, sniffing the air intensely.

"Can you smell her?" Hayden asks, not exactly believing in this red-headed pregnant lady.

"Yes," Louisa snaps, "but if you're so convinced I can't, maybe you should give the tracking a go."

Hayden raises an eyebrow and snorts, rolling his eyes.

They walk in silence for a few minutes, slowly beginning to go downhill.

The metal-walled corridor begins to give way to a stony and mucky tunnel.

The temperature drops quickly as they get deeper, and Avery looks at Louisa in concern.

Her sister has been entirely silent and entirely focused on the task at hand, which is unusual for her.

"Are you sure she's down here?" Avery asks her in a hushed tone, and Louisa shoots her a glare.

"I'm pregnant, not dumb," she hisses, "she was here at some point recently, I can't guarantee she's still here."

Not dumb? That's debatable, Sonya snorts.

Avery nods silently, keeping her tongue in check.

Her sister is always a bitch; the hormones just made it a little worse.

"What were you mindlinking about a few minutes ago, Alpha?" Byron asks, and Avery bites her lip.

Should we tell them?, she asks Sonya, and her wolf rolls her eyes.

They're helping us look for Lilith. They should know what they could be getting into, Sonya shrugs, and Avery is inclined to agree.

"We know who called Alpha Zephyr earlier," Avery finally says, and they all turn and look at her while walking, waiting for her to continue.

When she doesn't, Hayden lets out a noise of frustration.

"Who was it, then?" He snaps, scowling as the silence continues.

"Kali, from my office," she responds, her tone sharp.

She doesn't appreciate his irritation at her; she isn't the one who kidnapped a Luna.

"Okay, and? Why is that important?" Louisa asks, pulling Avery along and walking faster and faster downhill.

"Because she rang him before she went to the hospital," Avery grimaces, trying to slow Louisa down.

"Okay," Byron nods, sounding somewhat confused.

"How did she know Lilith was missing if she didn't go to the hospital?" Louisa asks, and Avery refrains from facepalming.

She grits her teeth, and she can hear Hayden sigh.

"That's the problem. She must have been involved in Lilith's disappearance," Avery drawls, and Louisa slowly nods.

"And how well does she know your pack's land?" Byron asks urgently, and Avery closes her eyes for a second.

She opens her eyes just in time to avoid hitting her head off a low-hanging rock.

Hayden moves her out of the way of another one as she goes back to having her eyes closed.

She opens her eyes and brushes his hands off her shoulders after he successfully moves her.

"She doesn't know it all. She knows mostly the main areas, and I've had her running one track in particular, nowhere near here," she sighs, and Louisa frowns.

"I can't smell any other Luna down here, except for Lilith," Louisa shakes her head, and then stops walking.

"It's almost like she's beside us," she mumbles, and Avery raises her eyebrows in alarm.

The men turn in opposite directions and stare at the dirt walls.

"No, she might be under us," Louisa mutters, sniffing more.

Avery inhales the scent from Lilith's sweater, and she forces herself to recall it when she sniffs the air.

"Definitely below us," Avery says with certainty, and she and her sister begin walking again.

The men quickly hurry after them, neither of them liking being this far underground.

"Is it safe down here?" Byron asks, and Avery shrugs.

"I forgot this was here, to be honest. I don't think that it's caved in for a few years, though," she comments, and Hayden's eyes widen.

"Okay, I don't think we should be down here, then," he clears his throat, looking around wildly.

Byron rests a hand on the taller man's shoulder, and he shakes it off, his amber eyes flashing between black and their usual molten gold colour.

"It's okay, it won't fall in," Avery sighs, looking over her shoulder at him nervously.

If he starts freaking out, Louisa will get an attitude.

And Avery cannot deal with that today.

The four of them keep walking, but Hayden isn't happy.

He doesn't want to be in danger of dying when he has the chance to finally see his son again.

But he also doesn't go back on his word, so he's struggling to continue.

His wolf is at war with him, torn between self-preservation and a need to protect others.

Avery is having a similar battle, but the need to protect her friend wins every time.

She can sense the tension in the air, and she glances back at Hayden.

"You can go back if you want to," she shrugs, and he clenches his jaw.

"I'm no pussy," he snarls, and she rolls her eyes away from him.

"I never said you were," she says quietly, "I'd just understand if you wanted to go to the surface."

He doesn't respond, and they walk for another few meters until Louisa stops suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Avery asks, and Louisa slams her hand over her sister's mouth immediately, pointing to the wall beside them.

Avery raises an eyebrow and tries to talk, and Lilith frantically shakes her head, emphasising the wall more.

Byron puts a finger to his lips, and walks over to it, gently feeling the rugged surface.

"Behind?" He mouths to Louisa, who nods, her face set in certainty.

Byron beckons Hayden to stand at the other side of the wall, and they silently count down on their fingers before forcing all of their body weight onto the wall.

Avery can see them straining, and she joins in, flinging herself at the wall and dragging Louisa with her.

Their combined movements cause the wall to shift slightly, and Avery's ears physically perk up, listening for any noises.

Louisa shakes her head suddenly and claws at Avery and Byron's arms, pulling them back a little.

Hayden doesn't notice them moving and continues to push against the wall, forcing it to crumble.

"Move," Louisa hisses to him, but it's too late.

Hayden stumbles into the opening he created with sheer force.

"Oh," he whispers faintly, looking around the cavern.

Avery tries to get a grip on the back of his t-shirt, but he slips out of her fingers.

Hayden takes another step into the cavern, and instantly, seven knives are pointed at him.

"Oh, fuck," he snarls, looking over his shoulder.

Avery unlocks herself from Louisa, and she exchanges a look with Byron.

"I knew I should have left," he grumbles, edging backwards as one of the knives gets closer to his throat.

"Louisa, run," Avery snarls to her sister, shoving her back the way they came.

Louisa does as she's told for once, quickly waddling up the steep slopes.

Avery moves closer to Hayden, stepping forward and standing slightly behind him.

Byron puts a hand on Avery's arm, gently squeezing it as he edges forward too.

"I am Alpha Wilcott, stand down," she snarls, unable to see the faces of the knife-wielders.

One laughs, and she grits her teeth, trying to push in front of Hayden.

He doesn't move, merely scooping her backwards and remaining between her and the faceless attackers.

"Stand down," she orders, putting all of her energy into the command.

Three of the knives drop, and she grimaces, knowing that they must be from her pack.

"Show yourselves," she adds, and the three that dropped the knives step forward, looking remarkably pale.

Avery hides her smirk, knowing that they probably had been told they wouldn't be found.

She recognises all three as some of the teenagers from the training academy.

She mindlinks a guard to come and collect them, and then takes a step forward.

The four remaining people in the shadows seem far more unsure, and she can see one of the knives shaking.

"I hope you are aware you're currently threatening the Deputy General Inspector of the Connors pack, and well as the Alpha of this pack, and the biggest rogue contractor in the country," she hisses.

One more of the knives is thrown to the ground.

The one who drops the knife flees, and Avery side-steps Hayden, picking it up.

"I wonder what I can do with this," she sighs, "this is your last chance to surrender yourself."

She gives them a minute while she collects the other three knives.

When none of them move, and Hayden stays as still as a statue, Avery fires a knife into the leg of each of them.

Two more of the knives are thrown to the ground, but one remains.

"Brave," she muses, and Hayden quickly disarms him while Avery speaks.

He pins the young boy against the rocky wall, his arms behind his back at odd angles.

"I don't recognise these three," Avery frowns, "they're not my pack."

"They could be from the Addison pack," Byron suggests, checking on the three youths on the ground.

"She stabbed us," one of them gasps, his face sheet white.

"She didn't, she threw a knife, and you were in the way," Hayden corrects, scowling over his shoulder at them.

"Where's the Luna?" Avery asks, slowly rotating the knife that she managed to get into the thigh of one of the boys.

He grimaces and then passes out, which makes Avery sigh.

She moves onto the second one, who blurts out an answer before she can even speak.

"Down, go through the other tunnel in this cavern," he hurriedly spits, scrabbling backwards and away from Avery.

"Thank you," she smirks, hauling him and his friend to their feet.

"Walk," she orders, and they quickly obey.

"Are we good to go?" She asks Byron and Hayden, and Hayden nods grimly, pulling the boy he's holding along.

Byron looks hesitant and looks at Avery anxiously.

"Maybe we should wait," he suggests, and she shakes her head.

"You can wait here if you'd like, and when Zephyr gets here, you can direct him," she suggests, and the man nods.

"That would probably be best," he mutters, staring at the three boys from Avery's pack, and the three who she doesn't recognise.

Avery nods, understanding that Byron doesn't feel comfortable going in any further - she doesn't blame him, she actually understands why, but she has to go - it's her pack.

"We'll leave you here with them. They're under orders to stay where they are. Any problems, contact me, and I'll have their primary educator down here in moments," she snarls.

Byron settles himself against the wall, four boys sitting and staring up at him in fear.

He holds four knives in his hands, and his canines have descended. His face looks particularly wolfish, and he smirks at the boys.

Avery tries not to laugh at the facial expression on the man she has come to known as having a constant small smile on his lips. He looks ready to attack the boys.

Avery and Hayden proceed to take one boy each, and Avery shoves her boy a little to take the lead.

"Okay, where are we going?" She snaps, and the boys hesitate.

"Don't lie to me, you don't want to do that," she warns.

"Straight down, follow the path," he whispers, limping on his injured leg.

Avery tries not to roll her eyes at the dramatics, shaking her head at him as he continues to limp.

Hayden is looking around, his hold still tight on the kid who nearly slit his throat.

There's no hope he'll be letting him go until they reach their destination - the risk isn't worth it, and he won't let this kid hurt anyone else.

They follow the path as instructed, Avery on alert as they turn some corners.

She doesn't like not being able to see what's in front of her.

It's so dark in the tunnels that it's almost impossible to see more than five feet in front of yourself.

I'm the one doing all of the work, Sonya reminds her irritably.

Her phone rings suddenly, and she pulls it out of her pocket after she pushes the boy against a wall to keep a hold on him.

"Yeah?" She asks, and she hears coughing on the other end.

"Ave, I'm sending Zephyr in," Louisa chirps, and Avery nods.

She realises her sister can't see her through a phone and resists the urge to groan.

"That's perfect, thanks, Lou," she sighs, and Louisa hangs up.

She was civil in that sentence, Sonya gasps dramatically.

Avery ignores her wolf and pulls the boy away from the wall, continuing the descent.

It eventually levels out, and the front boy starts shaking.

Avery notices there's a large emission of power somewhere nearby - nothing that she can't handle, but she can see Hayden is trying not to flinch, and the boys are both vibrating with fear.

"What is that?" Avery asks her prisoner, and he shakes his head.

She doesn't press for answers, she'll find out soon enough.

He walks up to a metal-barred door, pushing it open after knocking.

Avery pushes Hayden's boy in front of them as well, and puts a hand out to halt Hayden until the boys are three or four feet in front of them.

"Could be a trap," Avery hisses, and Hayden rolls his eyes, nudging Avery forward.

"Could be where their boss is," he responds in the same tone, mocking her.

They follow the boys for a few more feet until one of them opens another door.

Inside is another cavern, and Avery furrows her brows.

"I don't think we're in my territory anymore," she murmurs to Hayden, who grimaces.

"The Luna is in there," one of the boys announces, pointing to a room nearby.

"Go and get her," Avery sharply spits once she realises the boys are expecting them to go over to the room.

"But, we can't," one of them quickly says, and Avery shrugs.

"I guess neither of us can either, so I suppose we'll just have to take you to the cells right away," she sighs, receiving a mindlink from her guards telling her that they've found Byron and the boys.

Three guards and Zephyr will be joining them soon, apparently following their scent.

One of the boys begins to walk towards the room, and the other grabs his arm and stops him.

They exchange a look, and Avery clears her throat.

"No," she simply says, and the first boy trudges towards the room with his head down and a pronounced tremble wracking his body.

The remaining boy turns and tries to attack Hayden, who subdues him in two movements, holding him by his arms again and scowling.

"I thought we went through this," Hayden mutters, squeezing the boy harder.

A strangled gasp leaves the boys lips, and Hayden remains emotionless, staring straight ahead of him grimly.

"Hayden, you can let him go," Avery shrugs.

"He'll attack you next, I'm not stupid," Hayden scowls, forcing the boy to walk towards the room as well.

Avery watches him in concern, raising an eyebrow.

At least he's consistently gruff.

There's no surprise emotions, unlike with Roman. At least Hayden is always grumpy.

Avery walks behind them, looking over her shoulder.

The cavern is lit up with weird lights decorating the walls, and it gives an eerie glow to the entire room.

Avery hates the dark, and so she sticks as close to Hayden as she can without it being weird.

"Over here," the boy she escorted down to the cavern shouts, and they follow his screech, Hayden and Avery exchanging a cautious look before they enter the room.

Both are ready for anything, and they're prepared to fight.

Once they're inside the room, they spot a bundle of clothes on the floor.

Avery realises that the bundle is shivering, and she hurries over to it, abandoning any and all caution.

"Lilith?" She whispers, approaching it from the side.

Out of nowhere, a kid swings a knife and slashes Avery across the face with it.

On an adrenaline rush, she grabs his hand and plunges the knife back into his chest immediately.

The boy falls to the floor, and Avery claps a hand to her face, cursing and hissing every swear word known to man.

"You okay?" Hayden asks, staring at her in shock.

She kicks the dead boy out of her path and sniffs the air, unable to smell anybody else in the room.

As she approaches the bundle, Zephyr and two guards burst into the room, all stopping short when they smell the scent of blood.

"It's me, don't worry," she grumbles, yanking the blanket off the top of the pile.

A shivering Lilith is underneath it, and Avery's eyes widen.

"Zephyr," she screams, scooping Lilith up from the ground.

Her face is white, her eyes are bulging, and there's blood all over her clothes.

Avery runs over to Zephyr, throwing Lilith into his arms and immediately linking for an ambulance to meet them at the entrance.

Zephyr is frozen, but Avery can see the vein in his neck pulsing.

"Get her upstairs, now," Avery roars, shoving him in the direction of the door.