Old Version Shatter Pieces

Chapter 28: Realizations

"No, she can't be gone. Elinn wouldn't leave me. She was just starting to open up and trust me. Why would she leave?" I wondered aloud as I paced back and forth.

"Maybe it's because when you took her to meet your family you ignored her for some girl who was jumping all over you. I may not be an expert on the female mind, but to me that says you had or have a relationship with the person that is at least semi-intimate." Nate said as he continued to sketch on the map.

"You completely ignored her when Madeline walked into the room. You forgot Elinn existed and she probably assumed that you two were a couple. She jump straddled you and covered your face with kisses. You don't think that would make you upset?" My father chided me as he furiously scribbled on a piece of paper.

"Can someone please explain to me what exactly is going on? Who is this Elinn person?" Maddie asked.

"It is none of your concern Madeline. You are welcome to go back inside while we try and figure this all out," Nate's tone was dismissive and final. He never liked Maddie, but I never knew why.

"Nate come on, I just want to know what's going on. I made the effort to come all the way here to visit you and now you're ignoring me," Madeline whined, but I wasn't paying attention to her so she was complaining to the air.

"Go back inside Madeline, once we get this all solved we will come inside and talk. For now, we need to concentrate on finding Elinn," My mother said shooing her towards the house.

"You can't just send me inside I want to know what's happening. You are all very upset over this Elinn person and I've never even heard of her before. She couldn't possibly be that important! I mean seriously, why don't we go do something fun?" I could feel more than see Nathan explode at the comment.

"Fine you want to know what's going on I'll tell you. Your beloved Carter has finally found his mate, his one true love. She has been really sick lately and isn't in the best condition. She grew up in a bad place and Carter just managed to gain her trust. Then you just had to come visit, and wouldn't listen when we told you to stay upstairs. So now Carter's mate is missing and it is YOUR FAULT!" Nathan screamed at her with such fury it made me flinch.

I was shocked by his outburst. Nathan was a master at keeping his emotions in check and yet for some reason Maddie rattled him enough to break that barrier. I had never seen him so livid in my entire life and I was honestly scared for Madeline. When Nate was mad he was unpredictable and I wasn't in a place to really stop him.

"You found your mate?" Maddie asked as she turned slowly to face me. Tears shone in her eyes and I could see the hurt growing there. I didn't understand why she was upset, we already knew she wasn't my mate so why was she like this.

"Yes, I found her and she is the most wonderful girl I've ever met. I think you two could be great friends if you got to know each other. Right now though I need you to go inside and wait while I find her. I can't live without her and I need to find her as soon as possible," My words were final. Madeline would just be a distraction and I needed to be able to focus all my concentration on Elinn.

Madeline looked up at me with tear-stained eyes pleading for me to let her stay. I just turned away, Maddie had always wanted to be the center of attention, but now wasn't a time when she would get it. I could hear her footsteps as she made her way into the house.

"Now tell me what you've already done to locate my mate," I turned back to my family and approached the table. The map seemed to have parts crossed off and other area's blocked.

"While you were inside forgetting your mate existed I had the warriors start to look for her. So far we have eliminated the western woods and the southern meadows. We haven't picked up her scent anywhere including behind the house. We don't know what direction she went in or where she's headed." My father informed me as he drew several more lines as pack members mind linked him the latest information.

"Our greatest concern is her crossing the border. If she ends up heading North she'll run into Alpha Rick's territory. If she heads east she ends up in no man's land where anyone can get a hold of her. I'll send a message to alpha Rick to let me know if he sees her. I want warriors to start searching the Eastern territory, I don't want to risk Elinn's old Alpha finding her out there." I paced as I gave instructions.

I had made a little mistake today. I didn't want to consider what the consequences might be. I was going to find her and bring her back home, then she was going to get the biggest scolding of her entire life.

"I can tell what you're thinking about Carter, and you're wrong," My mother said looking at me. "You think that this isn't a big deal. You believe that Elinn is the one at fault here. That sort of thinking is how we ended up here, Carter."

"I know that you love her, you've proven that. But you have to remember that the girl you are dealing with isn't your average girl. You are going to have to work twice as hard to gain her trust and prove yourself to her, and you were doing so well. Carter, you can't let yourself get distracted when other people come around. Elinn doesn't understand all the little nuances of normal life, you need to teach her those things.

Can you imagine what could happen to her if someone finds her out in no man's land? She wouldn't know not to talk to people or what to say to them. They could so easily take advantage of her, considering how little she knows." My father's words cut me deeply. Could he possibly be right?

"I need to find her. I'm going to search the Eastern border. Keep track of where everyone has searched I don't want us wasting time checking an area we already know is clear." I shifted into my wolf and began to run.

I did my best to follow Elinn's scent only after a few hundred yards it just disappeared as if it had never existed at all. I had no idea where she was headed and I doubted that she knew either. I was worried that she was hurting her leg or that someone would come and take her. Where was she?

Two hours later I was exhausted from running. As I neared the Eastern border I began to smell something. It was the faintest trace of Elinn's intoxicating scent. I ran faster hoping that is meant I was catching up to Elinn.

Suddenly a loud cry pierced the air. The sound sent shivers down my spine and caused my breath to hitch. It sounded like one of Elinn's screams! That meant that something or someone was hurting my mate.

I pushed my body as hard as I could go. I mind linked the warriors who I knew were the nearest to my location. I might need back up so I could get Elinn out as quickly as possible. I wasn't going to take any chances with Elinn's safety.

I burst through a group of trees and into a large clearing. My mate was on the ground rocking her body back and forth. Beside her were more than twenty men, two of whom were trying to quietly calm her down. My vision went red and I leaped into the air ready to attack.

AN: Guys we are 79 in Werewolf! This is so amazing, I never thought this would happen. This is all thanks to you guys I couldn't have done any of this by myself. I want to thank you all for being so amazing. The comments last chapter had me laughing hysterically. So let me know what you guys are thinking. Until next time, bye bye!