Chapter Fourteen.

Sam

As soon as Jake had finished eating he and Quil headed for the Canadian border then on to Alaska and Bella. I knew Jake was keen to find her and get her back as soon as possible. Jared and I trailed him at a safe distance as I'd left the rest of the pack to protect the Reservation. I knew where Jake was headed and sent Seth on ahead with a friend of Harry's who had a light plane. Seth's job was to warn the girls if they didn't already know of their danger and then lay low. I didn't want him going head to head with Jake even if he had a secret ally in Quil. Things could get ugly and out of hand if the two clashed over Bella.

I'd talked to Harry about the pro's and con's of telling Charlie what we knew but it would be very difficult to explain it all and keep the wolves a secret. Also, we both knew Bella wouldn't thank us for leading Charlie to her so we decided to compromise. I would stay in contact with Harry through the wolves left behind. At least one of them would always be in wolf form so there would be instant communication if needed. If Jake got too close to Bella and we weren't close enough to help then Harry would tell Charlie where she was and deal with the fall out afterwards. Both Harry and Billy worried that Jake had lost it where Bella was concerned and we were all afraid of what might happen if anyone got in his way.

Jake

It was a long cold journey through Canada with the added burden of keeping a watch out for enthusiastic hunters. The run was exhilarating although the fact that we couldn't hear each others thoughts was frustrating. It surprised me that I couldn't hear Quil as the boy had effectively joined "my" pack but I reasoned it was because Quil was still unsure about what he wanted when this trip was over. Perhaps he would go back to Sam. It may be that he was only with me out of friendship and not pack loyalty. For now it didn't matter too much I'd just enjoy his company, especially when we hunted. There was plenty of variety and we often disagreed about which prey to focus on.

Quil

I was terrified Jake might become suspicious when he couldn't hear my thoughts but he'd reasoned it out so that was good. As we got closer to the Alaskan border I could feel Jakes mounting excitement. It was almost as if he were hunting Bella, rather than trying to find his true love and that worried me more than anything. Once over the border we phased back and put on the clothes we'd had to carry strapped uncomfortably to our legs on the journey. We had money and decided we'd be less suspicious looking if we bought thick coats, we might even blend in after all we had to stay human to speak to Joe's mother and she would be very suspicious at being confronted by two boys dressed only in shorts in the snow. We also decided to get a hot meal and I was really looking forward to that.

The meal in a truck stop in the outskirts of Fairbanks was very welcome as was the ride we hitched with a trucker. Most of the drivers had given us a wide berth and I guess I couldn't blame them, we were big and probably threatening looking. As we rode the trucker asked the usual questions and Jake gave him a story that we were hitching through Alaska to trace a friend who'd been at college with us last year. Our trucker wasn't local so he couldn't help us but did offer to drop us off in Buckland. He said we could probably get another ride from there to Stebbins which was close to the place we were looking for We were both glad to climb down from the truck when he finally stopped on the outskirts of Buckland. He had played country music real loud and sang tunelessly along with it. It had seemed like a long ride but Jake was happy, we were almost there.

Annie

I thought I'd prepare for the wolf's visit with a few surprises of my own. I thought it best to have a few of my nephews standing by just in case but I always tried diplomacy first. My daughter made sure the house had been thoroughly aired and that all traces of the two girls had gone. A very reliable source had confirmed this to my satisfaction, after a test run. I was quite happy to entertain the boys and lead them in the wrong direction if I could and with a little luck they would never know that I had seen the girls at all.

Jake

Finding the address I rapped loudly on the door and watched as a bent old lady shuffled into view. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting and I looked at Quil in query. He merely shrugged and sniffed the air as did I, there was no trace of Bella's scent here, or Leah's, but I had to be sure. The old lady listened as I told her the same story of tracing our college buddy for a surprise visit. She seemed to buy it and nodded when I asked her if Joe lived here. She even invited us in for a hot drink. We sat on the sofa by a huge log fire and accepted the coffee and home-made cookies she offered us. It was quite obvious that the girls weren't here and never had been. I thought I'd try asking about her son, Leah's so called boyfriend.

"Oh. I'm afraid you've missed Joe. He had to come back home because his uncle had an accident and he was needed to take over the business for a few weeks. He delivers supplies to some of the other villages and we couldn't let them down. Luckily the college were very understanding and gave him time off." She looked at us and smiled.

"You are welcome to stay here, but it will be about a week before he gets back."

Quil shook his head,

"Oh no. We wouldn't want to put you to any trouble. Do you know where his girlfriend is? Perhaps we could visit her. Leah?"

I shot him a dark look, not sure it was a good idea to mention her, but remained silent, watching Annie keenly.

"Oh yes. I believe that is her name. She was due here originally but he met her on his way home and took her with him. I haven't seen her yet but I understand she's a lovely girl. Do you know her well?"

Quil grinned and nodded.

"Yes. I know her quite well. She lives close to me"

I was losing patience now, we were getting nowhere.

"Excuse me but I thought she was travelling with a friend. Did she go with Joe too?"

The old lady shook her head,

"No. Her friend didn't want to come all the way here. I think she had trouble with all the travelling. She's disabled you know."

I gritted my teeth but faked a smile

"Yes we knew that. You say she never came here with Leah?"

The old lady waggled a finger,

"I never said Leah was here if you remember. I think Joe said that she and Leah parted in Seattle. Her friend bumped into someone and decided to stay there, closer to a hospital. I think she was scared to be this far from medical help. Not that I blame her. It is a bit remote here." Suddenly it hit me, we'd been on a wild goose chase after all,

"She's not here".

The old lady shook her head,

"I'm afraid not and after you came all this way to surprise them."

Quil must have felt my frustration because he put a hand on my shoulder in restraint.

"Sorry to have bothered you. We won't stay but thanks for the kind offer. Just tell him Hi and we're sorry we missed him."

He grabbed me and almost pulled me out of the house. I think he was terrified I was going to phase in public.

Guardians

We watched as one boy bundled the other out of Annie's house to the tree line and pushed him out of sight. They didn't realize they were being watched but three pairs of dark brown eyes studied the bigger of the two boys who was shaking violently. As the other boy calmed him down the shaking lessened and eventually the larger boy shrugged his friend's hand off and put his head in his hands. The danger was over for now but we knew it wasn't gone for good. This wolf boy was still a danger to little bird and would be watched until he crossed the border back into Washington State.