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Chapter 26

The next two weeks that passed had me feeling like I was in a dream. I stuck with Jake's pack, and Paul stuck with Sam, but nothing was going wrong. Both alpha's made sure to set aside time if we needed it. It also meant that the couples of the pack also got to spend more time together. I noticed some odd type of balance falling over both packs. Jake was able to spend time with the Cullen's, and Bella's daughter was growing by the day. It was definitely weird to see. I stayed out of that as much as I could, but Esme enjoyed me so much I found myself over there for dinner more often than not.

Things never stay normal where we are concerned though. There is always something happening.

I was woken by the phone ringing loudly next to my ear. It had me jumping, and Paul growled in frustration at being disturbed. That had me giggling, but I answered the phone without looking at the screen. It was too early.

"Hello?" I yawned, rolling onto my back.

"Sorry to wake you darlin, but I need your help."

I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and sat up. "Tyler is everything okay?"

"Well that depends," Tyler rumbled, his voice deep. It was how he usually sounded when he was angry. "I'm sure you've been having a good few weeks, but I'm afraid I might destroy that."

"Things never stay normal around here for too long," I sighed, as Paul sat up. "What happened?"

"You were the best tracker in my pack when you were here. No one has been able to match your skills. I need your help finding someone," Tyler sighed. "She's important."

His voice was distressed, and it bugged me to hear it like that. I looked at Paul for a moment, and he nodded his head. Swinging out of bed, he got dressed.

"We can be there in a few hours tops," he rumbled.

"Thank you," Tyler sighed, obviously having heard what was said.

"Who are you looking for?" I asked.

"I'll update you when you arrive," Tyler replied. "I'm not sure how long this is going to take, but I'm hoping not long."

"All right, see you soon."

"Send me all the information, I'll pay for your flight," Tyler ordered, and I snorted.

"That's..."

"Just do it," he grumbled, and I sighed loudly.

When we hung up, I went to my computer and started looking for the first flight out of here. Paul was on the phone with Sam, and then I heard him call Jake. I was surprised on how quickly he was taking care of that. His encounter with Tyler had not been pleasant, so it was surprising to see him getting ready to go.

Finding a flight out, I pushed it forward through to Tyler, and soon I was printing off our tickets. I glanced at the time as Paul walked back into the room. Pushing myself up from the chair, I grabbed our tickets and glanced at him.

"I'm gonna grab what we need, stuff it in a carry on bag," I sighed. "Less to worry about."

"All right," he nodded. "I'll make the coffee, and Jake is coming to give us a lift to the airport."

"Okay then," I hummed, and pressed a kiss to his lips.

I got ready with him, and then quickly packed a bag, grabbing only what we really needed. Clothes could be bought if needed. I went through too many shirts as it was. Zipping it shut, I picked it up and headed into the living room. Paul handed me my coat, and then my coffee. Getting completely ready took only about an hour.

"So where are we flying out to?" he asked, and I smiled.

"Up state New York," I answered. "Where I lived for a time."

"Oh thank god, I was scared we were going into the city," Paul sighed, rather loudly.

"You might be," I answered, heading for the door.

He grunted behind me and shut the door firmly behind him as we left the house. Jacob was pulling up just as we stepped off the porch. He wasn't driving his usual truck, swapped out for a nice suv. I blinked at that as I opened the door.

"Esme let me borrow it," he replied. "She overheard the conversation, and you being her favorite and all…."

He jerked his head to the back seat and I saw another travel bag stuffed and packed. I blinked in shock, and looked at him. He laughed at my look.

"Clothes. She knew you wouldn't really pack," he replied, and I groaned.

"She knows me better than I thought. Damn bloodsucker," I snorted.

"I'll tell her you said thank you," Jake laughed, and Paul chuckled.

Once we were buckled in, he was pulling onto the road. The trip to the airport went quickly, and I soon found myself saying bye to the alpha. He reached over and hugged me gently.

"Be careful please," he sighed. "You're lucky, Esme wanted to give you money too."

"Oh god, that woman!" I hissed, and kissed his cheek.

Paul shook Jake's hand, and we were soon walking into the airport. Glancing around, I felt Paul bristle beside me. It made me grin, unable to help it. Putting my bag on my shoulder, I grabbed the other one from him, and took his hand.

"Come on, I'll show you how it's done," I teased, and led him through the crowd.

He managed to get through security and all that without exploding. Most werewolves didn't like places like this, but I always did. It challenged me to control myself better. He didn't like the plane ride either. I constantly found him keeping some part of his body touching my own. I didn't mind that.

When we landed almost six hours later, I knew he was going to need to run once we were done. Grabbing our bags, I led him from the plane. We hand landed in a smaller airport, which was nice. It was nice and cold when we walked off the plane, and I took in a deep breath. Beside me, Paul did as well.

"There," I nodded, spotting Tyler.

"Time to figure out what the hell is going on..." he muttered.

I nodded, and we walked over to the wolf who was waiting for us. He gave us both a tight smile, and I could see in his expression, the hidden anger. Putting my things down, I reached up and hugged him. He hugged me back, and then moved to shake Paul's hand.

"Glad to see you two worked it out," he said, his voice a rumble. "Thanks for coming."

"So tell us," I replied, as we started walking.

"Her name is Nora," Tyler answered, taking us to his vehicle. "She was the one I spoke of when I left. After her visit, she went missing. She's not the type that just goes missing. I had something planned with her and she didn't show up. I've known her a very long time, she never misses something she plans."

"Ah," I sighed, and glanced at Paul. "When did she go missing?"

"About two weeks ago. A butler called from her house and asked if I had seen her, which was odd. First, we missed an appointment, and now this. I knew instantly something was wrong," Tyler sighed, his voice strained. "We've looked everywhere, and we haven't had any luck."

"I thought Sarah would have found her," I mused, mentioning one of his pack. "She was always good."

"Not as good as you," Tyler replied. "And Paul, Sam told me you are the best in his pack."

"I am," Paul nodded. "We'll find her. If we can't, no one will."

The trip out to his house was quiet after that, and when we arrived, there were several wolves still there. I was no surprised by that. Tyler's home was always large enough to host others. Paul looked at me when we got out, and I leaned forward to press a kiss to his neck.

"Follow me," Tyler sighed. "Are you hungry?"

"No," Paul and I both answered.

"All right."

"Give me something with her scent on it," I gestured as we walked inside.

"Kayla!"

I gasped in shock as suddenly three wolves jumped forward and I was wrapped up in hugs. Unable to help it, I laughed and hugged them all back. When I pulled away, I stared at three women who had become very dear to me.

"Look at you! You look amazing, how old are you now?! 25 right?"

"Yes, I think so," I laughed.

The woman who had spoken had long black hair, and she leaned back with a smile. Her bright blue eyes caused her to stand out. Despite the drastic color of her hair and eyes, she had a gentle and kind face. It drew everyone to her, knowing they'd be well taken care of.

"Sarah," I smiled.

The two other women were a little younger than I was. They were twins, and everyone affectionately called them that. Brown hair and green eyes lit up when I turned my attention to them. The only way to tell the difference was the shape of the faces, and a hair cut. Olivia kept hers long and flowing, while Sophia tended to keep hers at shoulder length.

"It's good to see you," I chuckled. "Ladies, I'd like you to meet Paul. He's mine, so hands off."

Sarah chuckled, and went over to greet the man who stood a little back from us. He smiled at her, while obviously growing slightly uncomfortable when the twins rushed over to inspect them. Tyler chuckled, and with a rumble he was able to call them off.

"Sorry, they are a little over bearing," he sighed.

"I'm used to Seth, so I guess it's not so bad," Paul rumbled. "The girls back home are a little more hostile though."

It gave everyone a good laugh, and the tension melted away if there was any. Sarah smiled at us, and then walked us into the kitchen. Tyler followed close behind, his mind somewhere else. I didn't like that. Sarah sighed, and handed me something. It was a coat, small and obviously worn by a female.

"This belongs to Nora. We have the last place she was supposed to be, and that's what we've been going off of," she sighed.

I took a sniff of the coat and Paul leaned over to catch the scent as well. We both stopped and looked at the woman standing in front of us. I had never smelled anything like this before.

"Tyler, you said that no one wanted her experience her wrath," I said slowly. "What is Nora?"

Tyler sighed, and crossed his arms. "She's a dragon."

"A what!?" Paul exclaimed, unable to hide the shock rippling across his expression.

"A dragon," I repeated slowly, just as shocked.

"Yes," Tyler hummed. "She's quite old, but powerful. Which is why I'm worried. How could someone that powerful be taken."

I couldn't speak for a long moment. "Shifters, wolves, bloodsuckers….witches I can handle but...but this?!"

"Can you help?" Tyler asked, easily moving past my hysteria.

"Ugh," I grunted, and looked at Sarah who smiled.

"Well, we're here," Paul mused, and I glowered at him.

I had so many questions, and I wasn't about to get any answers yet. Sighing loudly, I took another smell of the jacket and so did Paul. There was no way I was going to forget that scent. Looking at Paul, he gave me one of his shrugs.

"Mine as well get started?" he asked, looking over at Tyler.

"If you're sure," Tyler replied.

"Did you ask if they were hungry?" Sarah asked, earning a growl from the alpha.

"Yes, he did," I laughed, and walked over to touch Tyler's arm. "We'll find her, all right?"

"Thank you," he murmured, leaning down a little to look at me.

I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "Well, take us where we need to go."

He nodded, and Sarah handed me two waters. I smiled at her, and she winked. I loved that woman. She had always been so nice to me, back when I still lived here.

"I'll move your things to the upstairs bedroom."

"Thank you!" I called, as we ran out the door.

Tyler took us into New York City, and I wanted to kill everyone. I hated this place, it was too busy for me. So many sights and smells could get in the way, it was no shocker that they couldn't catch her trail.

"Do you think vampires have anything to do with it?" I asked, glancing over at Tyler.

"I think so…" he murmured.

"Dragon blood, it's rare, so I'm assuming they'd want it," Paul muttered, and Tyler sighed.

We parked on a side road, and found ourselves walking into a small bar that was just across the road. I was so focused on what I was doing, that I almost missed it. As we walked into the door, I stopped and turned back around. Tyler and Paul both parted as I came back outside.

There was a small alley right beside the bar, and I walked into it. It smelled of trash and stale beer, but there was something else there. Inhaling deeply, I followed my nose, and crouched down against the wall that connected to the bar.

"Her blood," I muttered, inhaling.

Paul came down next to me, and gave a long and slow inhale. "Yes," he murmured. "Mixed with...human...and something else..."

"How...could a human," Tyler rumbled, and I sensed danger.

He was angry. So angry, that Paul positioned himself between him and I. I was shocked to feel such rage coming from the wolf. I stayed crouched there for a moment and thought things over.

"Maybe they come here often. This alone will help us identify the person," I murmured. "For all we know, he may not be human."

"How would you figure that?" Paul asked, tilting his head down at me.

"Well, witches can come off as human," I mused. "I've never met one, but learning from Sarah taught me that. Maybe that's the case."

Paul sighed. "We're so removed from the world over there."

That made me chuckle, and I leaned back to look at Tyler as he turned back around. I sighed again, and let Paul help me up. This had to be extremely difficult for Tyler. I didn't even know who she was, but obviously he cared for her.

"I bet he comes here a lot," I offered. "We should come back here for dinner."

"They do have good food," Tyler murmured. "At least they have that..."

"Then we'll come back at that time, shoot some pool, have some drinks. You can entertain Paul."

They both grunted in soft laughter at that. Once we agreed on that, I got to my feet and we headed back to the truck. The ride back to the house was quiet, and Tyler spoke very little. I stretched out on the backseat, wondering what the hell we were getting ourselves into.