Chapter Two
My paws clawed at the earth, as I tried to push myself faster and faster, my emotions bubbling just under my skin. Although I had no clue if I was going in the right direction the simple act of running helped, the thought of stopping was painful. It was as if my body was buzzing, like liquid electricity was pumping through my veins. I was so jacked up I couldn't communicate with Sam or the others, my mind was literally screaming with rage and worry. I couldn't stop the hundreds of scenarios that were playing through my mind, steadily worsening in how they ended, causing my hair to bristle and my claws to rip deeper into the earth.
It wasn't until I began to hear Sam's distant voice in the back of my mind that I began to gain some control.
"Seth... Seth... Seth what's wrong?" Sam's small voice called, still too smothered by my emotions. I whined out loud as the scenarios continued to flicker across my eyes.
"SETH! Gain some control and come to us now." His voice was suddenly loud and full of authority. I found myself grinding to a halt as I pushed my thoughts to the back of my mind so I could see where their position was. It seemed I had been heading in the right direction, probably thanks to some sub-conscious instinct, so I took off again at full speed.
"Okay. Now tell me what's wrong, who has been harmed?" he said in a calm but urgent tone in my mind. He must have caught a glimpse of the images in my head. So without slowing I relayed to him all the information I knew. Quil and Embry both radiated with anger, images of hurting the hunters in various ways entering their mind. Sam however stayed silent, thinking. Images of a plan flickering through his thoughts.
He continued to stay silent as I ran, but after several long seconds I couldn't stand it another minute. "Sam! We've got to do something now! What are you waiting for, there out there hurt! " I yelled through my mind frustrated, waves of my previous rage rippling through my body. I knew I was out of line but I couldn't help it, an image of Leah's limp body stuck in my mind. "What if it's Leah?" I thought quietly and felt the others flinch as they saw the image too.
I finally made it into the small clearing they were situated in, coming to a slow stop next to them, my head bowed as I worried about Leah. I felt Embry nudge me with his shoulder,
"Don't worry kid, whoever it is will be fine, we heal fast remember, and if it is Leah, well those hunters certainly chose a wolf to mess with, would not want to be them right now."
I looked up at his shiny eyes, feeling slightly better.
"Embry's right, it's going to be okay Seth." Sam finally spoke up. "Okay, this is what where going to do boys. Seth, Embry. You're going to go around and check on every pack member so we can find out who it is and get an idea of where they might be, tell those you find to stay where they are, we don't need any more of us running around with hunters about . Quil, you and I are going to go see if we can pick up the trail, maybe check out the hunters, see if we can learn anything from them. Any news you share immediately, and I think we should refrain from howling for the moment, we don't need to draw attention to ourselves."
With that he looked at each of us before turning and sprinting into the trees, Quil close on his tail. Embry and I stood also,
"I think it'll be faster if we split up." Embry said, "I'll start off at Paul's and work my way down while you start around First Beach so can meet in the middle, well decide what to do next from there."
And without another word he turned and took off in the direction I had come. I silently thanked him. He knew as much as me that the most likely place to find Leah would be the cliffs, so without another moments wait I continued on the same path towards the coast, my limbs pumping fast.
I knew I was nearing the ocean when I could smell the faint hint of salt in the air and hear the soft rumbling of waves crashing. The brush had slowly begun to change and thin out as I ran faster and faster towards the cliffs, my heart pumping loud in my ears.
And then I saw it, the ocean, reaching all the way to the horizon. Its waves dark and sinister, as the sun had long gone down and the dull clouds had covered but all the stars and moon. I came to a sudden grinding halt at the cliffs edge, sending a few small rocks tumbling over it as I did so.
I scanned the area around me looking for Leah, my heart swelling with hope as the wind started to pick up and whip my fur around.
But no Leah. I walked around the whole area, looking in shrubs and shadows in some hope that I'd missed her, but she wasn't there. I sniffed the air hopefully, but all I got was a nose full of salty ocean spray as the wind continued to blow. With my hope crushed, I felt my insides tighten and twist uncomfortably again as my worry tripled. I had held onto the hope that she was here and now that I knew she wasn't, I was pretty much certain she was the one hurt.
Then a light in the corner of my eye caught my attention. In the forest lining First beach, a small yellow light was flashing, and now that I looked at it there were more, flickering in the under growth. I stared at them for a moment until it clicked. Flashlights, It must be some of the hunting party. The wind was roaring in my ears so I couldn't be certain, so without thinking I turned on my heels and ran along the coast, making my way slowly down to first beach.
I was jumping and leaping over Logs and rocks, trying to move as quickly as possible when Embry's thoughts entered my head.
"Paul and Colin are fine. I'm on my way to Jared's right now. How're you going? Any sign of .."
"Leah wasn't at the cliffs." I interrupted bluntly. I felt the others falter at this. "I'm checking out First beach now, I think there's some hunters in the forest alongside it."
"Seth! I told you any news you share immediately!" Sam's voice yelled suddenly. My fur bristled.
"Well sorry, but I'm a little distracted right now." I seethed trying to control my rage.
"It doesn't matter. Quil and I will come join you. You are not to be seen." Sam said finishing the conversation with an order.
I fumed all the rest of the way to the beach, only stopping when my paws finally hit the soft sand. I glanced up, my hope fluttering slightly for a sign of Leah, but as I looked up the beach there wasn't a single figure on it. My eyes began to prickle as dread consumed me. It was Leah and I had known it from the start.
My thoughts were interrupted though, by loud shouts and dog barks. I flicked my head to the source. The forest beside me seemed to be alive with spotlights and the sound of men and dogs crashing through the trees. I dropped instinctively, flattening my body to the ground so I wouldn't be spotted.
A deep growl rumbled in my chest as I clenched my jaw, my claws digging into the ground as I looked out towards the hunters. Just a few meters away where the people responsible for harming a pack member, a part of my family, my sister. I snarled and snapped my teeth.
"Seth." Sam warned in my mind. So I stayed where I was, fuming. Not being able to do anything, I strained my ears to try and pick up on any conversation the hunters where having.
" Yep, look. It continues over here." One man said and I assumed that they were talking about the trail. I clenched my jaw.
"I'm actually quite surprised this thing is still going, considering the amount of blood it must have lost. I mean, we hit it numerous times and we've been following it for several miles now." Another man said in a husky voice. I began to growl, my limbs twitching with suppressed rage.
"Sam, are you hearing this?" I seethed, not wanting to get in trouble again for 'holding information'.
"Yes. Just hold tight, were not far away." Sam urged.
"Jared and Brady are fine." Embry's voice suddenly sighed bleakly, as he confirmed my feelings right. Quil and Sam's thoughts faltered as the realisation hit them and we all fell silent. I felt my eyes start to prickle again but I vigorously blinked them away as the waves of my previous emotional storm began to ripple through my body again.
It was then that I heard a loud rustle of leaves at the edge of the forest. I froze looking in the direction it had come from, hearing several hunters question each other after a short pause of silence. I held my breath and strained my eyes, looking into the forest when out of nowhere a figure came staggering out of the undergrowth onto the beach.
I was frozen in shock, staring unblinkingly at the sudden figure standing just down the beach from me. There in an overly large red singlet, stood a tall dark person with messy long hair, they seemed to be gasping for air. I continued to stare at the figure when abruptly they collapsed on their hands and knees, coughing violently. My mind seemed to finally process and put it all together, it was Leah.
Electricity was back in my veins as I crouched ready to throw myself towards her, but the voices of hunters interrupted me.
"Come on, this way" I heard the husky voiced hunter say above the loud barks of their dogs.
I let out a frustrated growl. It was too much of a risk to gallop up a deserted beach in my wolf form with hunter's just meters away, so staying where I was I prepared to phase.
"SETH! ... Leah's..." I didn't want to hear it, no matter who it was, I didn't care, I already knew, so I phased back to my human form, quickly jumping into my shorts after I did so. As I fastened them I glanced up, Leah was standing now and was slowly staggering her way up the beach. She was so wobbly on her feet several times it looked as if she would fall, but somehow she remained upright.
I sprinted up the beach, pushing my limbs as hard and as fast as they would go, cursing at how slow my human pace seemed to be compared to that of my wolf, as my feet seemed to sink and slip in the soft sand. I couldn't hear anything except the roaring of the wind blowing past my ears and thumping of my heart as I ran. I glanced over my shoulder to see if the hunters had come out onto the beach, they hadn't, but I saw three large wolves. I whipped my head back around not paying them any attention, instead focusing on Leah's approaching figure.
I got half way to her when she finally tripped and fell forward, landing on her front. She didn't move and I felt my heart stop, but then I heard a low moan and realised it was Leah as she began to move again, struggling to get up. I could hear her laboured, wheezing breath as I watched her try to push herself up, only to fall again under her weight, as she began spluttering awful coughs that shook her whole body. Pain began to throb inside me as I saw how hurt she was, a lump forming in the back of my throat that made my breathing and swallowing painful.
I didn't slow my pace until I was at her side where I dropped to my knees, my hands hovering over her, not wanting to touch her in case I did more damage. My eyes bulged in horror as I realised the red on her singlet was in fact her blood.
"SAM! SOMEBODY HELP! PLEASE!" I yelled behind my shoulder, my voice shaking and breaking as the lump constricted on my throat. I didn't care if the hunters heard.
She was still faced down, her breathing laboured, so tentatively I gripped her side and rolled her onto her back. Blood soaked sand clung to the red singlet and I bit my lip holding in a sob that ached my chest. Uncertainly I looked up at her sandy face which was still partially covered and gently brushed my fingertips over her forehead, pushing her hair away. I froze, speechless.