Amber
Page 3
“I can’t reach Fletcher. That stupid fool. I thought he cared enough about her not to put her in danger. I know he loves her and I told him the decision is hers to make when she reaches maturity. Which festival? Where?”
“The one in Maidenwell. The Maidenwell Country Muster, it is…”
“I know where it is. On the other side of the park, about an hour away.”
Nadia frowned, “No it has to be further, it took us almost two hours to get there and almost that same amount of time back.”
“I don’t know how he got there but the shortest route is less than an hour away. So you think they went back last night?”
She shrugged, “I don’t know. I mean, I told her if she wanted to go back she could but I wouldn’t go. I thought, maybe if they were going then it would be around noon today like it was yesterday. Nothing starts too early so it wouldn’t make sense for them to go last night, not that late.”
“I have people searching his house now for any clues. Can you think of anything else he might have said? Anything she might have said that would make her leave last night? These festivals usually last all weekend and after the singing is over people gather around and visit. If she wanted to meet these singers badly enough she might have talked Fletcher into taking a tent and camping out. Then she could hang around the grounds, maybe make some friends, possibly eat with the singers. Do you think she would have done that?”
Nadia shrugged one shoulder, “No. I don’t think it was her. It was all Fletcher’s idea. He scared me yesterday. He wasn’t happy I went with them and he wasn’t happy I made her leave. He looked at me with,” she paused, “hate. I don’t know how to describe it. He was so angry with me for convincing her to leave. He told me I ruined her birthday present. I thought, at one point, he was going to hit me.”
Edward growled, “I knew I should have watched him closer.”
“Do you think he will hurt her?”
“ Look at me. He cares for her and we have to hope he cares enough not to do anything stupid. We have a few days until she turns twenty-one. I don’t know if he is making a last ditch effort to win her or he has lost his mind but we will find her. If you hear anything from her let me know immediately. I will send some of the guys to Maidenwell to look for her. If he took her there we will find her.”
Nadia felt the tears trickle down her cheek as she looked at Edward. “She doesn’t want to mate him. She thinks of him as a brother.”
“I know. I told him she wasn’t his true mate. But I also told him if she decides she loves him enough to mate with him I would not stop her. The choice is hers. True-mates are hard to find and there is no dishonor in taking someone as a mate if the love is mutual. She does love him, are you positive she hasn’t changed her mind about taking him as a mate?”
“Positive. We were talking about it a few days ago. She is excited about going to the States. She tried to convince my parents to let me go with her. I mean, if she doesn’t find a mate in that other pack.”
“You mean Trevor’s?”
“Yes. She was only a little excited about checking out his pack. But super excited about going to the States. She is really hoping she finds an American mate she can bring back with her. Julie and Trisah fascinate her for some reason and she almost idolizes Dawn. She wants to see Kate and the Golden Wolf. She wants a mate from that pack for some reason.”
Edward shook his head and Nadia heard him mutter, “Damn Yanks.”
He handed the baby back to her after kissing the little one’s forehead. “I know she is your best friend and I know you haven’t lied to me but are you positive you don’t know anything else. Any clue at all, even if you don’t realize it is a clue, could help us find her if she isn’t at Maidenwell.”
“As excited as she was about the festival, I think that is where you will find her. I mean, if she had a chance to meet the singers and hang around them then she probably took it.”
Edward stood up and headed for the door. With his hand on the knob he turned around, “One last thing. How did the three of you get out without setting off the intruder alarms when you crossed the boundary?”
“Fletcher put the security feed on a loop so we could get out and then back in. He dropped us off near the boundary and watched until he was sure we were back inside the territory then he drove around and came back in a different way. That way he said no one would realize he was helping us leave.”
Edward growled again before he opened the door. She heard him talking to others outside as he closed the door. She hugged Kimmy close and rocked her as tears poured down her cheek. She didn’t need to see Julie and Trisah every week to get the stories of their captivity. She already knew them. She knew the terror Trisah went through was caused by her uncle. When even family betrayed you how could safety be found with anyone.
She was still sitting in the rocking chair when her mother rushed through the door. Edward had wasted no time letting the pack know what happened and that a female was missing. Nadia would never know the terror that raced through her mother as the woman clocked out of work and rushed home to comfort her daughter. She would never learn of the guilt her mum felt when she realized if she hadn’t been so quick to punish her daughter, Amber might even now be safe at home. As Kayla rocked her daughter, both her daughters she realized it could be Nadia missing instead of Amber and she vowed to watch every man in the pack more closely and to tell her Alpha of any concerns she had next time.
Chapter Five
Fletcher groaned and tried to stand but cried out in pain as he collapsed back to the ground. For a moment he couldn’t remember why he was on the ground. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and pain shot through him. He tried to reach up to grasp his head in his hands and hold it still but his arms wouldn’t cooperate. He blinked and closed his eyes as the morning sun hit his face. Breathing as shallow as possible he lay on the ground thinking over the events that landed him on his back. He growled as he realized Amber had done this to him. He would kill her. How dare she say no after telling him she loved him. She would mate with him. If she refused he would make sure no one would ever mate with her. If he couldn’t have her, no one else would either.
Mate hate us.
No, she said she loved us. She is just acting out because of those bloody yank females the others brought back. We will get her back and we will teach her no one comes before us. She will be our mate.
Tried to kill us.
I will punish her for it. After we make her our mate. She will learn to obey us or suffer the punishment for disobedience.
Not want her mate anymore. Want nice mate.
No, I want her. You still want her. You are just confused, like her. After we get her back everything will be fine again, like it used to be. We will be happy together. You are just confused.
Hurt so bad. Not want her mate now.
Fletcher looked within himself to see his wolf, curled in a ball, trembling with shared pain and swore Amber would pay for hurting his wolf more than for hurting him. He would make certain by the time he was done with her she would be meek and obedient and subservient. He could feel his bones knitting together and realized breathing was easier. He moved his arms again but only one responded and he could see the arm was healing crooked. He tried to stand again but his right leg wouldn’t support his weight. He used his other foot to push himself toward the house. Pain stabbed him and his wolf whimpered. The more he pushed himself the greater the pain and he knew the bones were healing crooked in more than just his arm. He had to get help. He had to get back to the pack before Amber beat him home. He had to tell his side of the story, with modifications of course.
His blond hair stuck to his head from the sweat, his forehead was creased in pain when he finally reached the door. He managed to get the door open and crawled to the phone. Amber couldn’t have made it far in his car but whoever came for him would see her on the side of the road. He dialed the number and waited for Edward to answer.
Hello?
Fletcher? You bloody bastard. Where is she?
“Don’t know. Got hit by car. Amber managed to escape, she wasn’t hurt, but I am. She didn’t make it home?”
Escape who? Fletcher what the hell happened?
“Not sure. I got knocked out, whoever knocked me out ran over me with a car. Amber managed to escape in my car but I didn’t have much petrol. I don’t know where she is, I need help. We have to find her. She said she loved me. She will be my mate. I have to find her.”
She what? Who took her? Where are you?
Fletcher gave the address.
What the hell are you trying to pull?
“Please, help me. I have to find her before she gets hurt. Please Edward.”
Stay there. You will tell me everything. I am sending someone to get you. And Fletcher?
“Yes, sir?”
You better hope we get Amber back safe or you will pay for this betrayal.
Fletcher hung up the phone and slid to the floor. Laying his cheek against the cool tile he waited for help. They had to help him. She said she loved him. Love was everything. She would be his mate. She was just confused, maybe brainwashed by the Yankee females Edward brought to the pack. This was all his fault. He should never have brought so many outsiders into the pack.
Chapter Six
Edward cursed and turned to Dennis. “Go get that bastard and bring him back to me. And Dennis, find out what he did to her. I could barely understand him.”
Dennis looked left and right at the men crowded around the map, but they looked as confused as he did. He turned back to look at his Alpha. “Edward, I couldn’t understand him at all. His words were too light and too garbled for me to hear what he said.”
“He said someone knocked him and and ran over him in a car but Amber managed to escape in his car. But he didn’t have much petrol in the car.” He gave Dennis the address and one of the men looked it up. Dennis, looked at the location then turned confused eyes back to Edward.
“That is several kilometers from Maidenwell. What the hell is he doing there?”
“I don’t fucking know. Find out. The rest of you, follow him and locate Fletcher’s car. With any luck she stayed on the main road and is even now sitting in the car waiting for someone to come by and help her. Keep an eye on any side roads. Find her. Spread out from where ever Fletcher is now and locate that car. Go!” Edward snarled before turning away with his phone. The men scrambled for the door and headed for their vehicles.
Edward tried to calm down before he searched his phone for Trey’s number. He didn’t even bother looking to check the time.
Hello?
“Trey? It’s Edward. I need a few more items from your company.”
Sure man, what do you need this time?
“I understand you have tracers. I need some.”
You’re gonna have to be more specific. What do you need, or rather what do you want this gadget to do for you?
“I want to be able to track any pack vehicle no matter where it goes.”
Oh, trackers. Yeah, I can have some made for you but it will take some time to manufacture. I thought you didn’t want any. Those were on the list of possible tech we could hook your pack up with when we made the arrangements for the other stuff.
“That was before I had a male take one of our females off and then lose her.”
Oh, shit, man. Is she okay?
“I don’t know. But this will be the last time a vehicle leaves my territory without my permission until I have those trackers.”
If you are going to do that, you don’t want the pack to know about the trackers. If you have a rogue in the pack they will find a way to get around your commands. Trust me, I know this for a fact.
“Yes, William told me about his granddaughter’s kidnapping. You know what I am facing. I don’t know if the boy went rogue, or he just went stupid. Either is possible. What I do know is he is hurt and my people are going to get him. He said she escaped, but I wonder if she escaped him, or someone who attacked him. Get me those gadgets as soon as you can.”
Yeah, no problem. I will get production set up for the trackers. Do you want them sent there are were you going to pick them up when you come next week. I am assuming you are still coming if you find your missing female?
“Yes, William called me, Marcus called me, and Gammon called me. Seems your little witch had a few surprises no one could have seen coming. Trevor and I will both be at the meeting. I planned on bringing the female with us when we came up there. I got her passport weeks ago and everything is set for her to visit with Marcus’ pack if she doesn’t find a mate in Trevor’s pack. I doubt she will. I found out that the brushes of intruders I have been feeling for the last couple of decades is Trevor’s males making darting runs into my territory to check for mates. When I questioned my guys I found they had been doing the same thing to Trevor’s territory. Thanks for the cameras by the way. We probably would have still been going crazy thinking rogues were testing our boundaries. We set up a certain corner of our territory for the males to pass through now. It has made it a lot less stressful on us knowing who is coming and being able to coordinate with Trevor to test our males. We have cycled through almost all the single males in our packs now. Less stressful on the females also. They don’t get their hopes up if they don’t know they are being checked. It was disappointing for them when we would occasionally take them to visit elsewhere to test.”
I can only imagine. Look, let us know if there is anything we can do. I don’t mean help you search, we don’t know the area. I mean, if our friends from far away can give you any aerial help. Casey is anxious to help where she can after everything she found out about her past.
“I don’t see that they can lend much help but I appreciate the offer. I got a call coming in, later.”
***
“Whatcha got?”
We are going to split early. No need for all of us to start at the same place.
“What have you planned?”
We are going to start splitting up at Kumbia. I am sending one car to Nanango, another will split off at Taabinga and backtrack to Nanango and the rest of us will continue up around Kingaroy and split when we hit the bitumen of the Burnette highway. I will pick Fletcher up while Daniel continues north past the house and Ace heads south toward Nanango. That will cover all the main roads she could take to get back to the territory.
“Sounds good. I am going to get the pack together and see if anybody has a clue about what could have happened. Maybe Fletcher or Amber let something slip to someone about plans they may have made. I just can’t figure out the house. He knows if she agrees to mate they have to wait till she is of age and that will still be a few days. Why would he leave the festival if that’s where they went when they left? Send somebody to sniff around the festival and see if you can pick up any scents. I want the to focus mainly on finding Amber’s scent but I need to know if they pick up on any other shifters around the area. If they were there, a rogue could have picked up their scent and caused them to flee. Why the hell they fled north though and didn’t turn that car toward home? And what the hell was Fletcher doing out of the car for someone to run over him? Get him back here. He has a lot of questions to answer.”
No problem, Edward. Can you check on Trisah for me? Make sure she is alright?
“She isn’t but there isn’t anything we can do about it either. Julie isn’t holding up too well with a female being missing and in danger. Get that boy back here. And Dennis?”
Yeah, boss?
“I don’t care what kind of shape he is in. Bring him back like he is. If he is innocent he can get medical help here. If he is guilty he won’t live long enough to need it.”
That was my plan.
Chapter Seven
Squaring her shoulders Amber wiped her tears away. She had heard the stories of what the
American females had gone through. She heard so many stories from Dawn. Dawn and a little girl had made a break from their prison and traveled hundreds of miles through the desert, then through the mountains covered with snow and ice to find safety. If they could head to a place they had never seen seeking a safe haven then she could certainly do everything in her power to make it back home. At least she knew where she was and where she needed to go. Her biggest problem was not having a car and unlike the little genius terror, as Dawn labeled the kid, she didn’t have the tools or the ability to get a car.
She got out of the car and looked around. Lifting her chin she started walking south. She wished she could cut through the property to her left, but she couldn’t afford to get lost so far from home. She looked at her watch and her shoulders sagged for a moment. Her mother wouldn’t miss her until at least seven and it was only just after six. At least the weather was nice this morning.
***
Almost two hours later she was looking at the small road that went to Memeramba. She was trying to remember all the little towns and if she was remembering correctly then taking the road should get her to Kingaroy. She thought if she could get to a town large enough she could mingle with people then she might find someone willing to let her use a phone to call Edward. She knew the risk also increased that she would run into a rogue but she didn’t have much choice. For the last two hours she had limped along as best she could. She wasn’t making good time and the more she walked the worse she hurt her feet and the slower she walked. She was tired, she hurt and she was hungry. If she was home her mother would have come to wake her up already. So she should be missed by her parents who would have alerted Edward. She knew her pack would be looking for her, but they wouldn’t have any idea where to look. She felt stupid for not listening to Nadia. When she heard another car coming she headed off the road again. She would make better time if she didn’t leave the road each time she heard a car, but she really had no choice. If a rogue got her she would never see her family again. She would be stuck in a loveless relationship and she didn’t want that.