Amber

by Sherry Foster

  “I think most of his pack have been trained to know what a boundary feels like. I mean, I have heard the guys talking before about easing just into Trevor’s territory to check for a true-mate.”

  “Seriously? Damn. That used to drive Trevor nuts. Does he know? I can remember when I was younger heading out to find out who crossed the line. Trevor can always feel it and it happened often enough he would rage about it for days. We never found anyone though. It makes sense. I knew a few guys who would do the same thing to Edward’s territory. It was like a rite of passage to adulthood. We never told Trevor about it though. I mean, he is bound by the law not to cross the line, but his pack members aren’t. We didn’t want to make him an accomplice.”

  “You never tried it?”

  “No, by the time I was old enough for it to have been something I wanted to try Trevor had me oath bonded to the shifter law and I couldn’t.”

  “I don’t see why not. That would have been a peaceful excursion. What would stop you? You wouldn’t have been out to do harm. So what do we do now? I need to call Edward and my parents, they will be frantic with worry.”

  “No electricity, no phones. As for why I never tried it, too much like dishonesty to me. Yes, I probably could have done it, but an honorable male, when faced with an honorable pack, will request permission. If Edward was an unknown Alpha, or I were in unknown territory and wanted to find a mate I could cross without too much worry. I mean, there are times when it would be acceptable. But knowing the Alpha is honorable, and bonded to shifter law would not be one of those time.”

  “You said you have a generator.”

  “I do, but I have it wired into the house so all I have to do is flip a switch. Well, after I go out to the generator building and start it all I do in here is flip a switch. I only have it connected to the stove and to the bathroom and the water pump. We have the ability to cook, use the loo, get water and take showers or baths. Nothing else is connected. I never thought I would need to use a phone to call another Alpha to reassure him one of his females was safe.”

  “So we have no way to call? You don’t have a mobile? And you have no car? What if something happens to you?”

  “Never thought about it. I guess I would be screwed.”

  “So all we can do is wait till the electricity comes back on?”

  “You do owe me a story. You never finished telling me what happened after you said no to Fletcher.”

  ***

  Thirty minutes later.

  “You need to shift back. I can’t talk to you like this. I need you to calm down. Look at me. That’s right. Focus on your mate. Calm down and let Dylan come back. You can’t change what happened. It is over. It happened. I made a stupid mistake and I paid for it.” Amber stroked her hand down the wolf’s back. The wolf had forced his way out three times during her story between her saying no and her being carried to the car in the bag but when she got to the part of the story where she was dropped in the boot and the lid closed Dylan had lost all control of the wolf and she hadn’t been able to get him to shift back. She gave a deep sigh and dropped her hand in her lap. “Fine, don’t talk to me.” She crossed her arms and leaned back. “I am not telling you what happened next.”

  Within seconds Dylan was sitting on the couch beside her. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to pet the wolf? I thought you were never going to stop. Not that I wanted you to, but I couldn’t wrest control back with you petting him. You were seriously messing with our head there.” He found his pants on the floor and, keeping his body turned away, he put his pants back on for what felt like the hundredth time that day. He took time to adjust the bulge in front before turning back to face his mate. His face flushed red when he saw where her gaze rested.

  She raised her face up and he thought he detected a trace of embarrassment on her face but the light was so dim due to the storm raging outside he couldn’t be sure so he kept his mouth shut and sat down. “Let’s skip ahead in the story. You were locked in the boot and what happened? How did you end up running over him if you were tied up and locked in the boot?”

  “I got free because I am awesome and incredible, why are you laughing?”

  “Because I know exactly why the magic bonded us together. My wolf may not drive you crazy after all.”

  “I was trying to bring some levity to the situation.”

  “Oh, you did that. Trust me, you certainly brightened up the situation.”

  “Why does it feel like you know something I don’t know?”

  “Just continue with your story. You freed yourself and then what?”

  “Oh, well I waited for him to open the boot and I kicked him which smashed his head upwards into the boot lid and knocked him out. Then I climbed out of the boot, grab the key from his pocket and drove away, running over him in the process. But the car was low on petrol and I didn’t know where I was so I just drove. I didn’t see any signs letting me know where I was or what direction I was going, I am sure they were there but I guess I was so scared. Then I ran out of petrol in front of a place called Bowenfel and I started walking.”

  “But if you didn’t know where you were why did you start walking back the same way you came from?”

  “Because I knew where I was when I saw the entrance to the place so I knew I was going the wrong way. I just didn’t know how far the wrong way I had gone. I walked for a couple of hours when I saw the road out there and I knew it would take me back the direction I wanted to go.”

  “So the car is only about five or six kilometers from here?”

  “I don’t know. I told you I walked.”

  “Well if the car is where you say it is then yes, you ran out of petrol about that far from here. Now I wonder.” He walked to one of the windows and looked out. “Nope, not even going to try to take my motorcycle out in this.”

  “What were you wondering?”

  “Well. I was going to say I wonder if it would be smart to head to the car and leave a note, you know, in case your pack does come looking and manages to somehow find the car. I kind of doubt it since this is no where close to Maidenwell and that should be where they start looking. But if they don’t know what the guy planned they won’t be able to find you. A note would probably be pointless if they didn’t know about the house where the guy took you. If you left him laying in sight of the road then someone would have found him by now and reported it. So they may be looking for any clues and a car broke down on the side of the road with no one around may get investigated. Which would link back to the dead guy. Your fingerprints are probably all over the car so they will trace his death back to you. No way to help it. I am going to have to call in some favors.”

  Chapter Ten

  Edward looked at the phone and snarled before answering it. “I don’t have time for you right now, Trevor. What do you want?”

  Whoa mate, no need to snap at me. I am just calling to see if you heard anymore from the Yanks about breaking the curse. They were short on information when they called to arrange the meeting next week. I want to know if you know anything about what’s going on.

  “Right now I don’t care. I have a female missing.”

  Oh shit. Rogues? Do you need some men to help find her?

  “The area she went missing is further from your pack than mine. I wouldn’t turn down the offer, if I thought you could help. But unless you have friends around the Burnette highway up above Nanango then your guys wouldn’t be much help. We can’t track her in this storm.”

  Where?

  “Burnette Highway, above Nanango.”

  No, Edward, where on that highway. Do you have more information?

  “Why? Do you have friends over that way you could call to be on the lookout for the female?”

  I might. Depends.

  “Your pack gets around too much. Hang on let me get the map.” Edward pulled the map closer to him and rattled off the location where the men had found the car. “Do you know anyone close to that area? They checked the nearest house
s already but no sign of her. They are spreading out from there trying to pick up a scent but in this weather the chances are almost non-existent.”

  Hold up, mate. You saying she went missing around the Memerambi Barkers Creek Road?

  Edward looked at the map again, “Yeah, couple kilometers north of that road is where they found the car. She was hurt, but it looks like she escaped, alone.”

  Lemme call you back.

  Edward stared at the phone. Trevor’s voice toward the end had sounded strange. The two men had gotten to know each other fairly well these last few months but even so, they weren’t what anyone would call friends. But his voice had an odd note in it just then and Edward was still trying to determine what it could signify when the phone rang again.

  “Yeah?”

  Edward, I might know the best person to find her.

  “What the fuck? Where? Who? Give me the number.”

  I tried calling. Phone call didn’t go through. Look, here’s the deal. A few years ago I had a male leave my territory. He set up his own territory over near where your female went missing.

  “You saying you got a rogue out there and you think I will let him help find my female? Are you crazy?”

  “No. Shit, look, I had a pup in my pack with too much Alpha in him to stay. His dad is my Beta, small wonder the boy is strong. He couldn’t stay but none of the pack wanted to go with him to form a new pack. In this day and age, I don’t blame them. Things aren’t like they were back in the old days when a few would break from the pack and go off to form a new one. He didn’t care. He is unusually strong but a bit different than most. As soon as his first shift happened I got the Council down and oath bound him to the law. You need to know that he is oath bound so your guys need to stay out of his territory. I tried to get him to claim territory closer to my pack, for his parent’s sake and for his own sanity. But his mum is protective, too protective and she drove him nuts. He never admitted to anyone she was part of the reason he wanted to go so far. And with his strength I understood when he didn’t want his territory so close to mine. I was relieved. If your female is close to his territory he can help you find her. If she crosses his territory he will know. If your guys cross his territory, he will know and he will respond.

  “Hang on, Dennis is calling in, let me get it and I will call you back.” Edward flipped the call, “Yeah, whatcha got.”

  Problems. Ace scouted south toward the nearest road and headed into the brush when he heard a car. Edward, some unknown Alpha set up territory over here. He said he scooted out of the territory as soon as he felt the boundary twang against his senses. We don’t have an Alpha over here do we? We would know if there was another pack around here right?

  “I don’t know what is going on. Trevor called. When I told him I didn’t have time for him because Amber was missing he offered his help. When he found where she went missing he told me he had a Alpha pup break from his pack and set up around the area Amber went missing. He isn’t rogue, but he has no pack. I told Trevor I would call him back, he can’t raise the guy on the phone so hold tight, wait, or you around Ace now?”

  No. I am parked behind Fletcher’s car. I just did another round of the closest ranch house and outbuildings. Lots of cattle, no little shifter.

  “Alright. Let me call Trevor and get the location of the guy’s home. Tell the others not to approach. Trevor made certain the boy was oath bound to shifter law.”

  Ah shit. That isn’t good.

  “Not for us. Not for this situation. Stay put. No, on second thought, pull our guys back from his territory. We don’t want any misunderstandings. He knows that area better than any of us and we need him on our side to find Amber. Don’t piss him off. He may be bound by oath to follow our laws but nothing says he has to help find our female.”

  Done. We are still combing the area. Rain is coming down in buckets over here though.

  “Can’t be helped we have to find her. As soon as I take care of Fletcher I will head that way. The others should reach the area soon. I sent every male we have who could drive with the exception of Amber’s dad and three others. Keep looking. All the territory we can cover before we involve an unknown Alpha is that much more we don’t have to search.”

  We will find her. Call Trevor and see if this other Alpha would accept a Beta under peace and let me know.

  “Yeah.”

  Edward swept his hair from his forehead and leaned over Julie and drew in a deep breath. She was sitting beside him at the table helping him stay sane. Another indrawn breath and he dialed Trevor’s number.

  Are you anywhere near the area?

  “No. The situation is more than just a female missing. I have a possible rogue coming in under guard. Gotta take care of him before I can leave my pack to help in the search. Will this Alpha of yours accept a Beta under peace? How quick is he to attack and how strong is he?”

  The only person in your pack that could take him one-on-one is you. I made you the monster of his childhood so not sure he would attack anyone from your pack, but if he did, he would win. But he has lived as his own Alpha for a few years so who knows.

  “Would you suggest Dennis approach him to request help on behalf of my pack?”

  No. He is possessive of him home like no other Alpha I have ever met. I am not allowed in his home, and he knows me.

  “Well damn. What a fuck up. Alright. When this is over we are gonna have a talk about keeping this kind of shit from your closest ally.”

  Whatever. Just find your female. The Alpha you need to talk to is Dylan. I will send you the location of his home. Don’t try to enter it. He won’t invite you. Don’t push it. No matter what, Edward, don’t push him. He is freaky strong. I would not have held my pack if he had challenged me. Home advantage or not.

  Chapter Eleven

  Dylan’s head jerked up and he snarled. Amber watched his shoulders tense and listened as his snarls got deeper, his attention focused toward the road. Just as she was about to ask what had upset him she saw the tension leave his shoulders, but he didn’t leave the window. His attention never wavered from whatever he saw until she finally stood up. As soon as she put weight on her feet she yelped in pain. She stared at Dylan in a bit of shock as his attention never left the window as he backed toward her. Before he had run to her side, she was familiar with true-mates, the only thing that would keep him from her side was danger. Fear crept up her spine. Even when he reached her and helped her sit back down she didn’t have his full attention. She turned her gaze toward the window in hopes of seeing whatever had caused his hackles to rise. He hadn’t let go of her when he helped her sit down and now his grip tightened until she finally yelped. He turned his attention toward her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Can’t breath.”

  “Oh.” He loosened his grip. “Did I hurt you.” He tried to check her for injuries, whatever had his attention at the window forgotten for the moment.

  “No, you just squeezed too tight. What’s wrong?”

  “Someone breached my boundary.”

  “Rogue?”

  He flicked her nose with his finger before looking back toward the window. “No. I mean, I don’t know. We can’t tell rogue from honorable just because they cross into our territory.”

  “Do you think? I mean, maybe it is Fletcher?”

  “That is possible. I don’t know. You don’t know how badly he was hurt. If it is him he is just casting around looking. It has to be him or someone from your pack. I don’t see a reason for any other shifter to be out in this storm. No one will be able to track you in this storm. I found you just before the storm hit but I had the mating pull to guide me, they don’t. Whoever it is could have tracked you to where I picked you up by the blood scent you left. But if that is so they would have then tracked me to here and would have been here an hour ago. Whoever it is has to be looking for you. Two possibilities here. We can rule out an unknown shifter. No one would be out in this unless they had to be, which means yo
u are the reason they are here. Either Fletcher saw which direction you took when you left and he caught up to the car after, no, that doesn’t make sense.”

  “Why doesn’t that make sense? I makes sense to me.”

  “Think about it a minute. Fletcher would be on foot, two or four it doesn’t matter. Either way he would have passed this road searching. If it was before the rain hit he wouldn’t have to go further than the road, he would have smelled you and followed the smell until the rain washed it away. If he did that he would have been here over an hour ago. If he made it to the car he would be circling the area looking for you, checking the surrounding houses first. If he has no fear of Edward, even I fear Edward, then he wouldn’t fear an unknown Alpha. But whoever it is backed away so it is possible the unknown is not Fletcher but your pack searching for you. If they found the car they would have the man power to cast a wider net than one man.”

  “But how would they find the car? They wouldn’t know which direction to even look.”

  “If someone found Fletcher and he wasn’t dead then he could have called for help. If someone found Fletcher and he was dead they would have traced his identification and notified someone from his pack and the pack would have an idea of where to start. We can’t rule out Fletcher but we can’t rule out the rest of your pack either. I think, in this weather, it is safe to rule out a stranger.”

  “So what will you do now?”

  “Wait, watch, defend my territory. Until the weather clears or the electricity comes back we can’t do much else.”

  “So we just sit here? Doing nothing?”

  “Ah, well, I was thinking you could tell me about yourself and maybe we could spend the rainy day learning about each other. Do you like to read?”

  “I love to read. I wish there was enough light in here to explore your books. I know the loo had books by Anne McCaffrey and Michael Anderle so you like fantasy and sci-fi, what else?”

  “Mostly those two genres. I read a bit of anything but prefer those genres.”