Chapter 51 Emergency Assembly
[Nyx]
"Casualty situation?" Lysander's voice remained calm, but I could feel the tension in his body.
"Currently unknown. Shadowcrest Alpha Damon Blackwood has initiated emergency rescue but lacks manpower. He requested support from neighboring packs through official channels. Alpha Karl has approved dispatching our Gamma rescue squad."
"Received. Assembly time?"
"Immediately. You have thirty minutes to prepare equipment."
"Let me go!" I instinctively lunged forward, but Symone was quick, grabbing me. "Lilith is there! She—"
"I know!" Symone forcefully held my shoulders. "But what good does charging over there do?!"
Lysander had already ended the call. He turned to the team, face showing an expression I'd never seen—utterly serious.
"Everyone, Emergency Assembly Order!"
His voice carried Alpha-level pressure, making all warriors instantly straighten.
"Return to training grounds immediately, complete equipment prep in ten minutes. Heavy rescue gear, medical packs, communicators, high-energy supplies. This is not a drill. This is a real-world rescue mission."
"Yes, Captain!" Warriors responded in unison.
Then everyone moved.
Sprinting back at triple the pace of our morning run.
I followed, running, but my mind held only one thought cycling:
Lilith is still alive. She must be alive. We just reconciled. She can't die. She can't.
Calm down, Sylva tried to soothe me, but I could feel my wolf also anxiously growling. We need to stay calm. Panic solves nothing.
"I know!" I replied through gritted teeth, running desperately. "But that's Lilith! She's my sister!"
Which is exactly why we must stay calm to save her.
---
We returned to the training grounds in under eight minutes.
Lysander immediately began deployment, voice rapid and clear:
"Symone, contact the equipment room, prepare three sets of heavy rescue gear, including snow shovels, probe poles, thermal blankets. Seth, confirm medical supplies list, especially medications for hypothermia and fractures. Marcus—" he pointed to another warrior, "prepare communicators and GPS locators. Owen, check vehicle fuel and four-wheel drive systems. Everyone else, tactical vests, crampons, goggles, five minutes to assembly point. Move fast!"
Warriors moved like precision machinery.
I stood in place, watching this well-trained team. Suddenly realized—they might not let me go.
No.
Absolutely not.
I quickly walked toward Lysander, who was checking equipment lists. "I'm going too."
Lysander didn't look up, continuing to swipe on his tablet. "No."
"Lilith is my sister—"
"Which is exactly why you shouldn't go," Lysander finally looked up, eyes firm to the point of coldness. "Rescue operations require calm and professional judgment. Your current state will be a liability, might even get more people killed."
The words hit like a slap.
I took a deep breath, forcing down rising anger. "I won't be a liability. I have medical knowledge—my mother taught me wilderness first aid. I know how to handle hypothermia, how to stabilize fractures—"
"Nyx," Lysander cut me off, voice softening slightly but remaining resolute. "I understand how you feel. But this is avalanche rescue, not a regular mission. Mountain terrain is complex, snow layers unstable, secondary disasters could happen anytime. You've only been training a few days—"
"So you're saying I'm too weak?" My voice carried anger, nearly shouting. "I'm not qualified for real operations? Can only hide in safe places like useless trash?"
"I'm saying you're not ready," Lysander insisted, hands gripping my shoulders. "This isn't questioning your ability, it's—"
"It's what? Protecting me?" I interrupted. "I don't need your protection! Lilith is there! She's my family! My only real family!"
My voice began trembling. "She came to say goodbye two days ago. She cried and apologized to me. She said... she said we sisters finally reconciled. If she dies... if she dies and I didn't even dare try to save her..."
Warriors around us stopped their actions, looking toward us.
"I could never forgive myself."
We locked eyes. The tension in the air nearly explosive.
Symone couldn't watch anymore. She walked over, saying quietly to Lysander, "Captain, we don't have much time."
Lysander took a deep breath. Then grabbed my arm. "Come with me."
He half-dragged me to the temporary office at the edge of the training grounds. Closed the door. In the cramped space, both our breathing was clearly audible.
"Calm down," Lysander spoke first. "I know you're worried about Lilith. I'm worried too. But—"
"You don't know!" I interrupted, eyes already reddening. "You don't know that feeling! Originally hating her so much you wished she'd disappear, then suddenly realizing she's the only family you care about! We just started repairing our relationship—"
"I know," Lysander suddenly said, voice low. "My parents died in a border conflict. I watched their bodies being carried back. I understand the fear of loss, and the despair of helplessness."
Those words stopped me short.
"Which is exactly why," Lysander continued, stepping closer, hands cupping my face, forcing me to look into his eyes, "I don't want you to experience that feeling too. If something happened to you during rescue... if I had to watch you buried by an avalanche with nothing I could do..."
He paused.
"I would go insane, Nyx. Truly insane."
I stared into his eyes. Those amber eyes, in this moment, full of fear and vulnerability.
"If you really care about me," I said, voice also softening, "you should understand—I have to go. Not because I'm brave, but because I have no choice."
I grasped his hands. "Lilith is my sister. And..." I paused, "she's also an Alpha family member. If I, her sister, this Alpha's daughter, don't even dare go save her, what am I?"
Lysander looked at me. Those amber eyes flashed with complex emotions—fear, struggle, understanding, final compromise.
He sighed. "You're really stubborn."
"This is called principles."
"Fine," Lysander compromised, but his tone became stern. "But with conditions. Three conditions, not one less."
I nodded. "Say them."
"First, you must absolutely obey on-site command. No independent action, no emotional decisions. If I say retreat, you retreat immediately."
"Okay."
"Second, in any dangerous situation, Symone is responsible for your safety. If she judges you're in danger, she has authority to forcibly remove you, and you cannot resist."
I hesitated, but still nodded. "Okay."
"Third..."
Lysander turned, retrieving a small device from the desk drawer.
Military-grade tracking locator. About the size of a fingernail, could clip to a collar.
"You must wear this," he said, voice carrying non-negotiable firmness. "This is waterproof, pressure-resistant military tracker. Battery lasts seventy-two hours. If secondary avalanche happens, if you're buried, if... any accident occurs, I can find you immediately."
I accepted the small device.
Suddenly realized, Lysander's "protection" wasn't about limiting my freedom. It was... ensuring that if worst came to worst, I wouldn't be alone and helpless.
He wasn't trying to lock me in a safe place.
He was ensuring that no matter what happened, he could bring me back.
"Deal," I clipped the tracker to my training gear collar. "I accept your three conditions."
Lysander's shoulders visibly relaxed. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them, gaze restored to captain's sharpness:
"Then we need to hurry now. You need warmer gear. Snow rescue, temperature drops below negative ten degrees."