Lost In The Territories (Book 2) COMPLETED

Chapter 47 Sam

He was right, if I wanted to be the big heroine I had to accept the consequences and that meant putting my fears aside and get the job done. Knowing that still didn't mend the hurt feelings with the way Lawrence talked to me and even worse the cold malicious way his ice blue eyes bored into mine. Pushing Lawrence and my friends and loved ones aside, I concentrated at the task at hand. Rescuing Suzie.

Even with my new found abilities I sounded like I was running as if she had cement blocks attached to my feet with the amount of noise I was making. While Joseph ran silently beside me, only the sounds of his breathing reached my ears. Letting my shields down looking for others all I could sense was Joseph's presence and nothing else. I could not even feel what he was feeling. I wanted to ask how he was doing but since we left the house he had not said a word to me and now was not the time to get into anything personal in case there were cameras and listening devices I couldn't see or catch a faint scent of metal. When Elijah had the woods around my place bugged it took some of Jack's specialist to find all of the cameras. Whoever he hired to place them were good and covered their scent and the scent of the electronics well.

Reaching the dense part of the woods slowed our progress some but not much as I now followed Joseph instead of running beside him. I trusted Joseph but a small part of me started to wonder if this was all a set-up. I had spent the better part of the last couple weeks defending him to the pack and pride but know there was a small nudging feeling that maybe, just maybe I was wrong.

My paranoia getting the better of me I tripped over a tree root, not the most graceful thing for a shifter to do. I caught myself, putting out a hand on a passing tree the same time Joseph spun around to grab my arm. "Are you alright?" he asked looking genuinely concerned.

Pulling out of his grasp hastily I answered, "Yeah."

His face back to showing nothing, a blank canvas, he said, "You don't have to do this. I will get her out myself," his voice neutral not giving his true feelings away.

I let out a bitter laugh before I could stop, "Yeah I'll just do that. Turn around right now and have both your deaths on my hands." Shaking my head and taking a step back when he reached out for me, I added in a defeated tone, "Just go Joseph. Let's just get this done and over with so you can have your sister back."

Now I could see him battling against himself. "If it was anyone besides..."

I cut him off with a small push to get him running again. We were running out of time. At his hesitation I knew he was not part of the set-up. He was still my Joseph that would do anything to protect me. His sister came first and she should. Family always comes first. I was pretty sure even he would not bluntly walk me into a trap without telling me because he knew me just as well and I would go anyways.

Ten minutes later I could sense the other pack starting to surround us. Opening up my mind so I could let Joseph and hopefully the pack and pride know what I sensed and what was about to happen. From here on in I would keep my shields down to keep the communication open. Well that was the plan anyway and I would stick to it as long as nothing happened that I thought would hurt Dmitri, and the others. Lawrence, if it would not hurt him.

Slowing down to a jog Joseph informed me that the meeting spot was just ahead. That got me thinking. "Joseph how did you know about this place?" My paranoia crept back up.

"I was here for three moons and this was where we hunted," he said.

Breaking through the tree line I could feel even more of Elijah's wolves, around 50 in total. Looking around I could see shadow after shadow stepping out from behind a tree or the elongating shadows as full dawn appeared. Instinctively I moved to the right to see Elijah moving forward with his hand wrapped around a feeble looking woman's arm. The intake of breath coming from Joseph I figured it was a safe guess that was, Suzie, his sister.