***Tamara***

I sat by the training grounds on a wooden teak bench, observing the teenagers as they underwent rigorous training. Their exposed upper bodies shimmered with globules of sweat, some forming little streams on the skin.

The training grounds rested under the thick white sheets of clouds that looked like stretched cotton. They formed gaps, closing and opening as they moved over and under one another. The sky spotted parts of greys and blues, with streaks of silvers and golds.

As the sun rose and opened it's light and made a promise of warmth, the instructors backed orders and instructions. They pushed the teen pups to their limits over and over again. As I watched their feet, hands and bodies move as one, my mind kept on replaying the former Luna's words.

Something wasn't adding up at all. Her utterances came like a bolt from the blue. Ryker's reaction was stuck in the deepest part of my brain. As soon as the words had left her mouth in a whisper, the confusion in his face cleared up. Betrayal, had there been any smell for emotions, this one would have been pungent, heavy on our sense of smell.

He swept his right hand over his face once, then fixed his unswerving eyes on his parents. Margaret cried silently whereas her mate just sat there, his appearance seeming disturbed. I knew about the child the Luna had supposedly given birth to with breathing problems. To know later that she had been stolen?

I was beginning to think that my bond with Ryker was cursed. Problems were swimming in shoals around us. First it had been the threatening papers. Then came Addanc and his curse over Ryker's dad. He was a thick, weighty cloud of misfortune, pouring adversities whenever he showed up.

Now Ryker had just realised that his parents had lied to him. No solid explanation was given to him other than they wanted to keep him safe. It had been two days ago and since then, he had buried himself in the hunt for the evil wizard.

His emotions had been constantly blocked from my reach, locking me out of his consciousness. He was hurting, but he was also hurting me. I hadn't seen him for the whole night and that is why I had opted to come to the training grounds. I hoped the training to take my mind off the whole barrage of problems.

'Trouble in paradise? ' Jayson sat beside me, opening a bottle of water with urgency. I watched as he swallowed gulps of the clear liquid loudly, his Adams apple bobbing in reflex.

'Mmh. ' I directed my eyes at the grounds but my mind was some where else.

'You know he's within the borders, he'll come to you whenever he is ready. ' The inside of my eyes burned, my wolf whining and calling for her evasive mate.

'I'm his mate. ' My resolve was finally crumpling now that I had someone to talk to. Saying it aloud put so much weight on my feelings.

'Why don't you just let your bond take you wherever he his? ' He threw the bottle up in the air, then spread his hands to catch it.

'No. '

'No? ' He scooted closer and put the empty bottle beside him on the bench.

'He doesn't care about what I went through the whole night without his face in sight. Your friend left me on my own to go deal with his emotions without putting mine into consideration. Do you know how it feels for a mate to push you away, to selfishly put a barricade between your thoughts? '

'You need to go for a run, listen to your wolf. Let her take over, she will guide you to him. ' He stood and jogged back to the grounds, clapping his hands and shouting at the pups.

This whole new wolf thing was pretty new to me and yet I felt like she had been a part of me for as long as I could remember. I had talked to Mimi about it and she had went ahead and explained that my wolf was there, but dormant. That day at the forest, her scent had called to Ryker's wolf and that is why he knew where to find me. Even when I had totally masked my own.

A trigger had been needed to awoke her and bring her to the surface. Sensing her mate's proximity to death at the hands of Addanc, she had reacted and finally pushed forward. I had so many questions about her. I was born a witch, my mother and father didn't have any werewolf genes whatsoever, so how had I phased?

I had been raking my saturated mind for any feasible answer but nothing came up. News had travelled first across the packs, it was inconceivable for a witch having a wolf. As her whines filled my mind and her being called for her mate, my eyes brimmed with tears.

I tried one more time to get through to him, but my words met a blockade. As they bounced off and echoed in my mind, a heavy feeling brewed in the pit of my stomach. I stood, taking a few steps to the only place I found peace of mind. I had sworn to never go back there after Jax's blood had contaminated it but It's the only place I could think of.

I walked in short strides, my vision hazy with the salty liquid. I was able to make out the trail that I followed into the forest, my ears already picking up the melodious songs the birds sang. I could see blurry images of mosaics reflecting on the leaves, conjured by the sunlight. The star spread it's gold on to the earth, bringing with it ebullience over it's creation and yet sadness and rejection filled my heart.

It wasn't long before I got to my favorite gnarled tree bark and the crinkly forest floor. The place wasn't any different, the canopy still allowed only limited streams of light to pass through. The green moss still enfolded the tree rinds. The forest floor remained crinkly with leaves and fallen branches rotting and emanating forth a woodsy smell.

Normally, my lips would have stretched in a wide smile but instead the remained drawn in tightly.

'Try again. ' My wolf whimpered.

'Let it go, he doesn't care. ' I wasn't going to attempt again connecting with him telepathically through our bond.

'Please. '

'I came here to try and relax, stop making this harder than it should be. ' My heart broke as I stood my ground. I wiped my tears with the back of my hands messily. My thoughts were left open for him in case he finally decided to lift his barricade.

'Arise. ' A whisper, similar to the one that had taken over when I first phased.

'Arise my child. ' It rang again, rising with every word yet still compelling. That was not my wolf, no this felt different. Then I felt it, the force, swirling and flowing slowly in an extremely slow pace.

'My white wolf. ' My heart startled a bit, feeling the tendrils of the force slowly winding up around it. My wolf let out a bark, wiggling its tail and instantly forgetting about our mate. I could feel my control slowly being taken away from my grasp. It was taking root, enveloping system by system as it stretched further.

'Arise my white wolf. ' It chanted. It went further down, and finally chained my feet to it. My body was lifted up, my mind totally surrendering to the larger force. My feet went to the East, making urgent strides.

'Please release us. ' I begged internally, hoping that this force would let go.

'Come along. ' A gentle breeze brushed my cheeks swiftly. My eyes were left open this time round, and I could see as the trees zoomed past me. Only then did I notice that I had broken into a run. Soon they were forced shut and I could only feel as we flew on the forest floor.

It wasn't long before we came to a halt, my eyes finally opening. The force as usual dissipated and evaporated, leaving me by myself to take in the environment. The Eastern River Meadows, my eyes widened, a gasp leaving my mouth.

'Quiet, there is someone here. ' My wolf hushed, making me dart my eyes to every possible place.

'I don't see anyone here. ' I insisted.

'Sshhh. ' I knew deep down that the force always took over when something of significance was happening. But now, I felt like there had been a mistake. My thoughts about my mate still inundated, but unlike before, sadness wasn't the only emotion my systems were dealing with.

Then I heard it, a series of steps behind me. I turned around with a speed I wasn't aware I possessed. My eyes, I had to wipe my hands over them to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

I could feel a bombardment of questions in my cerebrum. My mouth opened, letting out a single utterance.

'Theo? ' He was right in front of me, in only a pair of red shorts, bloodied and bruised, wobbling on his fatigued legs.

He grunted a muffled answer, his eyes struggling to look at me. He dragged himself towards me, while I stood transfixed, my feet failing me.

He took a few steps before his body gave out allowing force of gravity to pull him down to the grassy ground. It is only then that my state of stupor had evaporated. Blood finally flowed to my legs, I ran to him with a scream tearing through me and ringing from the deepest part of my throat.

'Theo, Theo, Theo wake up. ' I shook him, my tiny hands failing to turn his muscular body up. He had fallen his face, but I couldn't turn pounds of steady muscles on his back. I took in his injuries, starting with the back of his bald head where dried blood had pooled.

His back had long purplish marks that winded up to the sides of his ribcage. Looked like he had been beaten up with something that stretched like rubber. The marks were deep enough to leave lacerations. The blood had dried up along the lines but the damage was clearly visible.

The back of his legs looked like they had been dragged on a rough surface. They had small cuts that weren't looking any good. Had his father told the truth when he had handed over the note to Ryker? But vast exhaustive searches had been carried out even as far as in the surrounding packs and nothing turned up. Not even his scent, where the hell had they had him tortured like this?

I shook him up gently but repeatedly, calling and begging him to wake up. It never crossed my mind once that I could channel my healing power onto him. It escaped my mind and the only thing I could do was attempt to wake him up.

A minute had gone by without anyone showing up. I was about to open my eyes to scream again when I felt the presence of my mate. He emerged forth at the edge of the forest in a full sprint. His figure reminded me of his absence the previous night, him pushing me away and blocking our mind link. I pushed down the anger of his audacity to show up here as if he hadn't done anything wrong.

I focused on making sure his cousin vitals were normal. As he kneeled besides me, his beta and the teens who had been training together with a few pack members trickled in.

'He needs to be rushed to the infirmary gently but fast, I will be right behind you. ' Jayson organised for a group of men to carry him. He didn't stir even as they disappeared from my sight.

I ignored Ryker totally and after standing silently for a few seconds, I ran after Theo, but before I could make it far, his voice stopped me in my tracks.

'I have been digging the past to know exactly what happened to my sister.

'Right about the time she was stolen, patrol warriors of the Mountain Pack saw a man just outside of their territory with a sisal baby basket. '

'Did the basket have any baby in it? '

'No but there were two smells, the man's and what they assumed was the infant's. '

'Did they recognise that man? '

Silence, then two words that finally made me turn around to look at him.

'Uncle Pete. '