The Falcon Ridge Series Book 2 Not Just A Girl
Chapter 39

(Chapter song ‘Chasing Cars' by Snow Patrol)

JAYSON

"Ok, Shane. Hit me."

I hold up the pads as Shane stands on front of me with taped fists.

He strikes the pad.

It was a good hit. I brace myself and smirk. "Good. Again."

He strikes the other pad, this time harder. "Excellent."

He hits the pads again in a one, two combo. This time I'm feeling it in my hands. "Good job, buddy..."

I watch him as his face slowly changes from concentration to anger.

He hits the pads faster and harder. His breathing speeds up, his body tenses and my hands are really starting to hurt as he deliver increasingly aggressive punches.

When I see the tape on his hand start to turn red, I decide to drop this down a bit before he hurts himself.

"Shane. Slow it down."

He swings as if he didn’t hear me at all. His strength increases and he’s not holding back. I’m now his punching bag.

He starts to move in on me, forcing me to back up. "Shane!" I up my tone to snap him out of it as he attacks me.

He's hyper-focused on destroying my hands, throwing out punch after punch.

I see a tear roll down his cheek as he starts growling and gritting his teeth. His eyes start to glow blue and I need to end this.

I push him back. "Shane!!"

"Argghhh..." Anger fills him and he comes back at me, swinging faster punching at anything now.

I toss a pad and grab his arm and fights me with clenched whines. I toss the other pad as his other fist hits my side.

I wrap my arms around him which makes him fight more. He’s checked out and his pain has taken over.

"Shane, come on, bud!" I hold him in an arm lock as he grinds out a scream.

He slowly starts to slow down as he huffs growls and whines in my chest.

"I know. I know, man." I hold his head to my chest and look to the sky as he holds my arms and lets it out. I can feel the heat rising in his body. It's the same heat I feel when I want to tear everything apart. I’ve already done that several times in the last few days.

His knees give, so I go down with him on a knee. He covers his eyes with his fingers and I place my chin on the back of his head. I’m letting him have this.

It's been a week since I left Luke and we're all hanging on by a thread.

Sarah told me once that as twins, they hated being apart. It didn't sit well with either of them. Shane was proving how right that was. He wasn't dealing well at all.

I lift his head and clean up his wet cheeks. He looks so much like his sister, it kills me sometimes. I replace his eyes and fix his hair. "She's coming back. We have to believe it, Ok. Don't give up." I whisper.

His chin quivers and I hug his head again. "Somethings wrong. I can feel it." He chokes.

"She's fine, Shane. Your sister's a tough woman." I push him back again and he wipes his face. "This is just separation anxiety. You're twin thing. That's it."

"Why haven't we heard anything? We should have heard something by now." He swallows.

"I don't know, buddy, but I'm sure Luke will show up with soon. Just try to believe that." I pull him to his feet and I see him start to toughen himself up as he wipes his nose with the back of his hand.

“Lets get some food.” I wrap an arm around his shoulder as he nods.

When we start for the house, Wren and Kale round the corner and jog to us.

"Is Luke back?" I let go of Shane and meet them halfway.

"Yeah. He just rolled in." Kale says.

"Jay, Sarah's not with him." Wren says with concern.

Shane and I exchange glances. He looks really scared now and I don’t want to believe he’s right.

When I get to the driveway, Luke is on the front step covered in a blanket, being checked out by some medics.

"Luke." I breathe and stride to the steps.

He’s tired, dirty and starving. "I tried man. I really did. She covered her tracks. I lost her about three days ago. I've looked everywhere. She's making sure White never replaces her." He swats a medic away from his face and scowls.

"Or us apparently." I scrub a hand down my face. "Damn it!" I turn away, put my hands on my hips, raise my chin and shake my head slowly.

It's taking everything I have to not wolf out and replace her myself.

Wren joins my side and I glance at her. I hang my head and push my wolf down.

"We'll replace another way, Ok." She places a hand on my shoulder as I suck in my top lip.

“Luke was my best option. I've got nothing." I roll my eye to her as my brows cinch together.

"Maybe she's headed home." I turn as Deacon steps down the stairs and stands beside Luke.

“You mean the complex?" I raise a brow as I contemplate the idea I never even thought about.

He nods. "Maybe. Me and Cass can go back and wait."

I fold my arms and nod. "Ok. If you hear anything, call me."

I turn to the rest of my friends. "Until we get some new leads, we have a bunch of kids that have fallen behind in training. You guys want to help?"

"I'm in." Kale puts up his hand.

"Me, too." Wren says.

"Not me. I'm going inside, eating a whole cow, downing a case of cold beer, having a steaming, hot shower and sleeping for a fucking week. You all have fun." Luke scrunches his nose sarcastically, waves us off as he stands and walks into the house.

I turn and look out to the trees surrounding our town. I wrap my arms around myself and look to the clouds. “Please, come home.”

I lower my head, turn and join the Alphas as they walk to our make shift training camp.

I force smiles when I see them. It wasn't that I wasn't so glad to see them, it was more like I was trying not to explode all over them, though I kind of did. I knew they had been through enough, but I had to teach a lesson here.

I did end up yelling at them for two solid hours for running away, but then I hugged the living crap out of all of them. I also told them they’d been in for more grueling training as punishment.

When we brought them back, they were battle torn, but thankfully, the feral wolf behavior seemed to leave when they saw me. Most started crying because they were also glad to see me. Like it or not, I’m not just their trainer, I’m their friend and mentor.

I think they knew they fucked up. I also made the point that I was still proud of them for standing up for Black Lake, but there is a right and wrong way to do that. Although, I commend them for their bravery, they got 4 of their friends hurt by not preparing properly. I also took a lot of them blame, too.

I think they got the message because I haven't heard any complaints about the training for four days.

I sat on the ground watching the circuits and smile when Shane comes and sits with me. I give him a fist bump then he picks at the grass between his legs.

"You said he'd replace her." Shane grumbles.

I glance at him. "I know, brother. He tried. Your sister's just too good at hiding."

"Don't I know it. I hated playing hide and seek with her. She'd always win." He throws a stick and watches the training.

I chuckle. "Sarah's Ok, I'm sure of it. Come on, back to training." I slap his back and he runs off to join practice.

I'm not convincing Shane, I'm convincing myself. Every day she's not here, my gut twists even more. I wake up sick every morning. I'm in knots all day hoping this is the day when we hear something. Anything.

I stand at the edge of the field and stare at the tree line, hoping to see her blonde wolf trot out.

I don't know if I'm going to be able to sit tight for too much longer.

****

SARAH

I'm so hungry and tired. I'm frightened that I will never get out of this mess.

I've been walking for days. Everything still looks the same. The same trees, same sky, same smells. I'm completely and hopelessly lost.

I'm starting to think I’ll never see my family again.

I've spent so much time as my wolf, I don't even remember what it feels like to walk on two legs. I'm terrified to shift because that's when Desmond will show up and I don't want to be vulnerable when he does.

As I cross through a clearing, I spy a huge log that’s hallowed out. After cautiously sniffing it out to make sure it’s empty, I crawl into it and curl myself into a ball. Tucking my nose into my tail, I shiver because it's still so cold or maybe it's because I'm so weak.

I don’t want to die out here. I just want to go home.

My wolf closes her eyes and sleep finally takes me. I'll sleep for a few hours and then continue my journey to replace anything familiar.

I was dreaming of Jayson again when deep growls woke me up.

My wolf's eyes shoot open, but I don't dare move. The growls were right outside the log.

My wolf starts to tremble as she stays as still as stone.

My eyes are glued to the entrance. My ears twitch as I listen to paws move through the grass.

I hear breath being blown out as whatever's out there catches my scent.

In my head I plead, ‘Don’t be Desmond. Don’t be Desmond.’

I see two white paws stop at the entrance then another growl.

Wolf paws.

I internally start to cry and panic.

My wolf slowly unwinds herself and plants her back legs into the log. Her head faces the paws and gets ready to bust out fighting.

The feet move on and disappear. I breathe a sigh of relief.

The next thing I know a massive head is shoved into the log. It snaps at me, barking and growling. It’s brown eyes look at me like I’m breakfast. His claws dig at me as he tires to push farther into the log

My wolf snaps back, landing a swift bite to its nose. It yelps and backs out. I bust out of the log and run across the clearing. I look behind me and the wolf is on my tail.

While I watch where I'm running, I quickly look back and sniff. It's a timber wolf, not a shifter. This convinces me to skid to a stop and turn.

He stops, too, and stares me down. He pulls his lip to a snarl.

I lower my head and stand my ground. I may only be a she wolf, but I’m stronger than he is. My jaw clenches and I lick my lips because I haven't eaten in days.

He gets the picture when my eyes glow bright blue. He turns tail and runs, but he isn't getting far. I pounce on his back, grab his scruff and tear it off. Due to our size and power, a timber wolf is like a kitten compared to other shifters. He didn't stand a chance.

I tore up his body while he was still alive, ripping and shredding it to bloody pieces. My wolf desperately swallowing his flesh and fur. Once she had her fill, she dragged the dead body to the brush and hid it.

Now's a good time to leave before the rest of the pack shows up.

With my belly full, I was able replace more energy to keep me going. As I come through a less dense part of the woods, I start to smell something familiar.

I stop, lift my nose and take a deep breath in.

My eyes widen. Asphalt. A road!

Excitement fills me as I break into a run through the forest. I bust through the trees onto the road and turn to see two bright lights and a loud horn skidding toward me.

My wolf yelps and jumps back. She trips on the edge and rolls into the forest landing on her stomach. I try to calm nerves of almost being taken out by a car as my wolf lifts her head and stares at the road.

I feel it to, girl. We're almost home.

Signs of life have me cheering in my head. I urge my wolf to get up.

She crawls back up to the road and stands on the side. She looks around. It's empty now.

I see a sign that triggers a memory.

"If we're ever separated, you wait five days then head for Silver Hill. If I'm not there in three days, I'm not coming..."

I look at the sign again.

'Morgan 100 miles’

‘Morgan. Silver Hill.’ I think to my wolf.

I look up at the night sky. I have no idea what day it is, but in the blanket of stars, the moon sat huge and almost full. I tilt my head in curiosity. I swear it has a bit of blue to it.

I shake my head. I can’t star gaze now, I've got a lot of miles to cover. I need to get to Morgan.

I need to get to Silver Hill. I know he’s there waiting for me.

I'm coming, Jayson.

****

I stick to the tree line and follow the road. It will take three days to cover the distance and as I do, I imagine seeing Jayson’s eyes.

I sleep during the day and walk at night, only veering off to catch a squirrel or rabbit. Each night, the moon seems to be getting a little bluer. I want to appreciate it, but I have to remain laser focused on my mission to get to Silver Hill.

I learned about the blue moon in school and could see it since I was 13. This would be my first blue moon, but a little part of me thinks I may have to wait for the next one to see if Jayson and I are mates. I’m ok with that, but I won’t lie if I said I wasn’t disappointed.

If I'm on the right road, Silver Hill is on the other side of Morgan. I should be sure, I came here quite a few times on my bike, but this whole thing has left my mind a little foggy. Like I’m slowly losing myself with each passing day. I don’t want to attract attention so, I'll have to walk around the town. I'm not traipsing through town as a wolf.

To distract me from the pain growing in my mind and body, I imagine walking into the lookout on the hill. I call Jayson's name then see his gorgeous smile. I can barely remember what it looks like. I imagine falling into his arms and feel the warmth of him around me.

My fantasy eggs me to go faster.

My wolf looks to moon as it floats with me. Even though I’ll miss it with Jayson, it still gives me hope.

And hope is what I desperately need right now.