Chapter 12
Hunter
The man quickly grabbed my arm and forcefully throws me in the cab of the truck. I begin to feel uneasy as a wolf sticks its head through the back window and bares its teeth at me. With a low growl escaping me the wolf leaves me alone. The man looks at me, "I am Tyler, the one who was supposed to be taking her to the snow leopard. I let her down, and I let you down. I lost your mate, and now I have no idea where she is or how to even go about looking for her." I just continue to look ahead, my anger rising but I have no idea why. Emily had been taken by the big three, there was no stopping them from getting what they wanted. And they wanted her right now, most likely dead.
We drove in silence until we got to the village that I saw Emily run through briefly. I see a pale woman with light green eyes begin to emerge from one of the houses, and she comes to my window, "Are you her mate?" I nod and she opens the door and pulls me out, "Follow me, I know where her scent ends." The woman shift into a beautiful snow leopard, and begins to run towards the the forest. I shift as well and follow in close pursuit, seeing the trails of the chase were still fresh and the scent of blood was evident as we passed the tree branch that had been used against the cheetah.
We continue to run until we came across the river where Emily had fallen in. I watch as the woman shifts back, "This is all the farther I am allowed to go. My territory is limiting me to this point, and my mate can't find any trace of her anywhere. But since you are here, say you are a nomad and follow the river. Maybe you will find her." With a huff I begin to walk down the river, following the current of the water. Once I knew that the woman had left I began to sprint down river, catching Emily's scent every once in a while. After a while I found a spot with a broken tree reaching into the water like a hand. I notice broken branches and the scent of blood light in the air. The scent was irresistible and smelled very familiar, as if it belonged to a certain snow leopard that I could not get off my mind. I follow the scent until something causes me to stop. Something seemed off, and three familiar scents drifted up my nostrils and caused me to be on edge. The big three, they met with the one who helped Emily and took her away. I follow the scents of the big three to a small village, where a reindeer is slowly walking down the streets to the forest. Catching my scent on the wind the reindeer's ears point up in surprise as it looks around for me.
I stay still, until I smell something coming from the reindeer. It was Emily, and I could see distinct blood stains on its sides and around its neck from what I am guessing is where she held on. My anger rises and I sprint towards the the deer, going from the side and wrapping my paws around its neck to bring it down. Within the moment there was a man with a strong jaw line sprawled out on the ground with his hands around his neck, gasping for air. I shift as well and grab him at the base of his skull, "Where is she?" My voice came out strong and filled with anger as the man looked at me, "I have no idea who you are talking about." A growl escapes me as I push him into the wall of a near by house, "You know damn well who I am talking about. Her blood is all over your sides, and her scent is still on you. Now tell me where she is or I am going to have to hurt you." He remains silent, and with a clawed fist I punch the wall beside his head causing him to flinch. But still he did not talk, and I punch the other side of the wall and get in his face, my voice practically a growl. "Where is my mate?" I feel my incisors grow and I bare my teeth at him, his face molded into an expression of pure terror as I began to shift right in front of him, "Oh you mean the snow leopard the big three took. They said they were going to take her to their castle on the cape of good hope, to execute her. They gave me a pretty sweet deal when I found her, and I have to say she was beautiful."
I almost snarled at him, "You will not look at her." With this I punched him square in the nose. Blood instantly came pouring out of his nose as he fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. I look at the village and see no one around, so I shift and begin to head back up the river to the town with the other snow leopard. Within a few hours I had made it back to the town, and it was beginning to get dark. The woman came out, "Well did you find her?" I look to the ground and she slowly crouched down to meet me at eye level, "Do you know where they are taking her?" I slowly nod my head as she cups my face with a warm expression on her face, "You can stay here for the night tell us where they are taking her tomorrow and we will help you get there." I nod my head once more before she led me into the house where she laid out a pair of clothes for me to change into. Once changed she led me to a guest room where she wished me a good night.
I soon fell into a deep sleep as the dream returned but this time I saw Emily on a cruise ship. She was hand cuffed to the bed posts and her hands and feet were bandaged. I watched as the lion slowly strode into her room as she woke up. He was well built, broad shoulders and strong jaw. A very respectful looking man, that is until he opened his mouth, "Well look who is finally awake. The little snow leopard who doesn't even know what she is capable of. You looked so cute when you were asleep." Anger rose in me as he goes to touch her cheek. Emily lashed out and tried to bite his hand, only to miss by a mere centimeter. The man seemed to almost cackle at Emily's attempt to show him that she would not go down easily. During a slight chuckle the man looks at Emily, "You will do just fine where we are going. And I think you will like it there as well. You know for the short time that you will see it." Emily just started to glare at him, and knowing her she was feeling pretty mad about now. I could almost see flames in her eyes as she gave the mystery man a look that could most likely kill if she gave it enough effort.
I watch as he tries to touch her face one more time, apparently not learning his lesson from before. I almost laugh as I see Emily latch onto his hand, incisors cutting the skin causing small beads of blood to form on the surface. A high contrast from the man's pale skin. With a growl the man quickly drew his hand back, incisors forming and features of a lion slowly coming across his angular features. He ripped a piece of the bedspread and tied a knot in the middle, and with one quick swipe he placed it in Emily's mouth. He gently tied it around the back of her head and smiled, "This should prevent anything like that from happening again." This feeling of confinement plus a punch to the face causes Emily to go haywire, thrashing wildly on the bed until the wood bed posts splinter where they met the head and foot boards. Once she saw that she was free she bolted out of the door, the lion giving chase and saying something that I didn't catch. I then see Emily run up countless flights of stairs and through many hallways of what looked like a cruise ship, until she came on deck to see four heavy muscled men standing on deck. They all come at her only to be beaten by one of the bed posts still attached to the handcuffs on Emily's wrists and ankles. Once they were all unconscious she ran for the railing, having the shifted big three chase after her. Once on the top railing she looks at the blue ocean and jumps into the blue abyss.
I jolt upright and see rays of the early morning sun slowly creep through the heavy curtains of the guest room in the snow leopards home. I slowly get up, and feel a slight chill as if I had just been dipped in a cool bath, or if I had just gotten out of a cold shower. I walk down the stairs of the house and see the snow leopard and Tyler sitting at a table in what I thought was a formal dining room. Then I see all the wolves littering the floor, and they all seem depressed. "What's wrong with these wolves?" Tyler looks at them then at me, "They feel ashamed of themselves. We made Emily a member of our pack temporarily, and wolves always look after their packs. But we let Emily slip through our paws. And we don't know what to do, other than try and help you find her." I stare at him and the snow leopard gestures me to follow her into the kitchen. Once there she sits at a bar stool and places her hands on the counter top, "So where is the big three taking her?" I sit next to her, "They were taking her to the cape of good hope in Africa. But that all changed when I had a dream last night, it had her escaping from their grasp on a cruise ship and into the ocean. But that is where it ended. I have no idea what happened after that." She stared at me with a worried expression on her face, "You saw what happened to her?" I give her a sideways glance, "Yeah. Why does that matter?" A smile slowly creeps up her face, "This means that she is giving you hints, that she wants you to find her. Although she may be doing it unintentionally, it means that you are on her mind and that you two can find each other anywhere in the world through this." I look at her with wide eyes, "You mean that this is like a tracking device?" She nods, "Yes but only if she wants you to see. And you may be doing it as well." I nod, "So what are we going to do? We have no idea where they went out of port, or even what cruise line they were on." With a smile the snow leopard walked out of the room, "The big three always have their own ship. It is a given, and it used to be one of the ships from Royal Caribbean, so we are looking for a white ship with a crown and anchor going out of a port on the east coast of Russia. I am sure we will be able to find out where, and that it will be easy." She grabbed a laptop and went to some website where there was surveillance over multiple ports. Then one of them had a crown and anchor ship in the harbor, the harbor was Vladivostok. I smile, "How long ago did they leave?" Tyler looks at the screen, with a sigh he looks at me, "Two days ago. And a lot can happen in two days, especially with a ship that big." A lump formed in my throat as anger rose in me like a fire being rekindled from embers. I had come so close to being able to find her, and yet so far.
