Chapter 45

Eric.

When I arrived back home I knew something was off. It was very quiet and I felt empty.

“Emily?” I called, walking up the stairs.

Her door was wide open. I froze at the entrance, gripping the door frame as I saw that no one was inside. My heart rate picked up in concern. I walked in, checking her closet and then under her bed, in the bathroom, and behind the curtains.

“Emily?” I called at each hiding spot.

I tried to calm my breathing. *She's probably just watching a movie, or reading a book in the library.*

I tried my best not to run frantically to the theater room, speed-walking all the way. I hurried in and came up empty. I rushed back out and down the hallway to the library. No one was inside.

“Emily?!” I cried, hoping she was just playing a cruel joke and would come out from a hiding place. “Please…”

*I shouldn't have yelled at her! I should have stayed and worked it out.* I punched the wall, sending dust trickling to the ground, and leaving a fist-sized hole. I hardly felt the sting, and the act did nothing to relieve the feeling of guilt and worry flooding through my body.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Tyler's number. He picked up after three rings and I couldn't stop my mouth from running. I blurted out what happened all in one breath.

“Calm down. We'll find her. Don't worry. I'll be right over and we can start looking together.”

***

Emily.

With just the two of us, we were able to skirt around the border patrol and sneak into the woods without detection.

“Which way should we go?” I asked as we moved further away from Commando territory. “I don't want to be caught by Dylon, but I also want him to know I've left so he'll stop attacking Eric's pack.”

When she didn't automatically answer, I turned around to look at Raina. She had a look on her face I couldn't quite place.

“I'm sorry, but I have to do this,” she said.

“Wha–” I stumbled backward, but she was too quick.

She pinned my arms behind my back and cuffed them together before tying a gag across my mouth.

Panic took my heart. *What is she doing?*

“I thought you were my friend,” I tried to say through the gag, but only muffled sounds escaped.

Betrayal shone in my eyes as I stared at her in horror.

***

Eric.

I tried not to panic as I waited for Tyler. The methodical pounding of my feet on the hardwood floor as I paced back and forth in the front room helped steady my heart. But my mind continued to race, thinking of all the possibilities of where Emily could be, and I could feel every second slowly tick by - each second taking Emily further from me.

I couldn't help but feel completely responsible for Emily's disappearance. I should have stayed. I heard footsteps approach the steps and I stopped pacing and headed towards the front door. There was a knock on the door and I quickly opened it, ushering Tyler inside.

“Do you know how long ago she left? Did she leave a note or anything?” He asked, getting straight to business.

I shook my head. “No. I have no idea. I haven't found a note or anything. Her scent is at least an hour old, but she could have been gone longer than that.”

“Okay. Breathe. We'll both try to catch her scent,” he said. “But you can do even more than that.”

“What? How?” I was so flustered I couldn't even think straight.

“Use your bond. You haven't marked her yet, so the connection isn't as strong, but the goddess has bound you two. You should be able to feel what she feels, probably get a sense of where she is too if you concentrate hard enough.”

I closed my eyes and tried my best to slow my breathing and clear my mind. Then, I thought about Emily. The way she smiled, the way she smelled, the way she blushed whenever someone gave her an ounce of praise. A picture of her with her beautiful brunette hair and fiery auburn eyes came to mind, but nothing more.

I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, mumbling prayers to the goddess that I could find the connection.

“Come on, come on!” I plead with a low growl.

But nothing happened. I felt nothing, sensed nothing. I growled out in frustration and anger, kicking the potted plant near me, sending it crashing into the wall. It shattered, sending soil everywhere and leaving a giant mess.

“Try again,” Tyler insisted.

“Why don't you do it since you seem to know so much about it!” I snapped.

Tyler sighed. “I only know about it because I read about it, and I've heard accounts of people doing it successfully.”

I closed my eyes again, concentrating on Emily and what she meant to me. Hours ticked by and I felt no closer to her.

“We should have just tried to follow her scent. We could have found her by now instead of trying this ridiculous thing!” I said, throwing my hands into the air in defeat. “Now the trail is likely cold, and the sun has gone down. There's no way we're going to find her.”

My head dropped in defeat and I sat on the stairs, arms resting on my legs, my head drooping between them.

“What if we go somewhere Emily might feel a connection to?” Tyler suggested.

“What? My house isn't good enough? She's spent plenty of time here.”

“Ya, feeling like a prisoner,” Tyler responded. “This place has to be somewhere she went and she felt free.”

“You mean like the swing in the garden?” I asked. “She would often go there. To do what? I have no idea. But she seemed to like it.”

Tyler shrugged. “Seems a good place to start.”

We both walked outside and easily made our way to the swing in the moonlight. It was nearly full tonight.

I sat down on the swing and cleared my mind of everything but Emily. I could feel the moon on my back and it gave me extra strength. Soon, her face appeared in my mind like it had before, her smile sending a wave of warmth through me.

Suddenly, I could feel all her emotions. They were more dull than my own, but I could tell how scared and confused she was. I could even feel the sting of betrayal coursing through our bond.

Anger boiled inside of me and the sensation started to fade. *Wait!* I forced my mind to clear again, focusing on Emily. I still needed to find where she was.

The senses came back to me and I tried to push through the emotions to decipher any clues as to where she might be. I smelled the musty, earthy scent of the forest. That didn't narrow it down much. There were acres of forest outside my territory. But it at least gave me a direction.

The connection started to fade, and I frantically tried to send a message through. “Don't worry, Emily. I'm coming.”

I just hoped it got through. I hoped it reassured her, calmed her at least a little

I opened my eyes and looked at Tyler. “She's in the forest somewhere between the border patrol and Enforcer territory. I couldn't sense anything more than that. But I do have a hunch that the mole has revealed herself. Raina was the last one with Emily. While there is a small possibility she was overtaken, I am much more sure she's our traitor and she's the one that has Emily.”