Hey guys, this chapter is dedicated to my wonderful friend Angela for being a nice, genuine, amazing genius ! ;-)

Thank you to all of you wonderful people out there who support me! I'm really sorry that I haven't been updating that much and that I haven't been here, but thank you so much for staying patient with me! I promise that I'll try and get into a better updating schedule this year, and post more frequently than I have been.

Enjoy the chapter guys!

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Scarlett's POV

As I race through the forest, the only thing I can think of is Jackson. I had to find him before anything happened. 

What if he's hurt?  Oh gosh no, I can't start thinking about that now. I just need to find out where he is, and I can worry about everything else later. 

Why in the Goddess' name did I send them out running around the perimeter of the pack?  "Oh gosh, how could I be such an idiot?!?" 

I curse myself, and pick up my speed, following the trail that I sent them running along. I hear a deep chuckle behind me, and a sense of dread crawls up my spine as everything in the forest goes dead quiet. 

I spin around and try and find the source of the laugh, but everything seems normal. Well, everything except the blanket of dread that seems to be encompassing the forest.  

If this were a movie, I would label this moment as right before the serial killer pops out and attacks their next victim. Lucia, my wolf, snarled.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Oh come on Luc, I'm sure it's nothing."

Hearing a twig snap, my head snaps around to the side. "On second thought...maybe you're right."

Backing away slowly, I soften my steps until my back is right against a tree, and I look around, searching for the source of the noise. 

As I'm waiting, the wind picks up, whipping through me and carrying a scent on it - Jackson's scent.

Growling, my hand moves to rest on my dagger, ready as always. 

I crouch down and quieten my breathing, honing my vision to see if I could spot anyone. I'll let you know if I sense anyone. 

I'm shocked to hear the fear and desperation in Luc's voice. She's not exactly one to let emotion dictate her, especially in dire situations. 

Scanning the ground and base of the trees, I'm starting to get fed up with finding nothing out of the ordinary. 

Slowly, I stand up and turn to the side, making sure no one had managed to sneak up on me while I was searching.

Another gust of wind carried Jackson's scent, so I walked on, determined to find him. Reaching down, I stayed as still as I could and tried to mask my presence, hoping it would draw movement or any sign of Jackson or what happened to him. 

When nothing happened, I sighed, getting ready to start moving again, when all of a sudden, Luc cut me off. Scarlett! Above you!

As she cried out, I felt something cold drip down and hit my forehead. 

My heart stopped, and I wiped my hand across my face, only for it to be covered in red.

Blood.

Looking up, I watch in horror as I see a shadow dangling from the tree. 

When another drop fell from the shadow, onto my face, I smelt the stench and realised it was Jackson's blood. 

The realisation snapped me out of my stupor and I quickly scaled the tree opposite the shadow.

Taking a deep breath, I call for Luc and let her take control of my senses, allowing me to see deeper into the woods and search for movement. 

I was lucky that Luc and I could balance our control easily. Most wolves can only switch between their wolf and their human being in control when they shift. 

The only other people that I know can balance control are alphas. 

A perk of being a white wolf, I guess.

Backing up against the tree, I slowly creep out over a thick, strong branch towards the shadow. 

It's a weird experience, seeing things through Luc's eyes. It sure helps in situations like this though. 

When I first saw the shadow, I assumed the worst and guessed that it was Jackson. Now that I'm thinking about it though, it seems awfully weird for someone to have attacked him and then left him dangling from a random tree in the woods. Besides, the shadow seemed way too small to be a human, let alone a wolf. 

But then again, that might just be me trying to calm myself down.

Or maybe it is him, and I'm just confusing myself.

It's almost like it was planned.

...like whoever was here knew that I would come after him.

And that they knew I would do this, and run myself around in confusion. 

"Luc," I whispered. "Do you have any idea what we should do? I don't think this was a coincidence..." 

I say we go for it, grab Jackson and get the hell outta dodge, She growled. It's obvious that he's hurt, you saw the blood and no attacker would be stupid enough to hang around after attacking an Alpha in his own territory. 

I sighed, "Yeah, but it just seems like a trap. We'll be no use to him if we end up in the same position."

So we'll be careful, her voice was strong and determined as it rang through my mind. We can't just leave him there like that.

Knowing she was right, I grabbed two daggers from my boots, and palmed them, ready for anything. Slowly, I started to walk out along the branch towards the edge. 

Restraining myself from rushing towards the tree and to Jackson's side grew harder and harder the closer I came to him. It didn't take much for me to reach the end of the branch, and I knew what I had to do next. 

Looking out across to the other tree, I figured that it was probably about a 3-metre jump. Just don't look down. Bracing myself, I backed up to give myself a running start. 

Calming down, I take a breath and start sprinting towards the end of the branch. 

And without thinking, I jump.

My eyes were squeezed shut the entire time I was in the air. 

I soared through the air for about 5 seconds before I landed on the edge of the opposite branch with a thud.

Shit. I threw my arms out to the side trying to steady myself and stop myself from falling off the edge of the branch. 

Well, you would've had more balance if you have actually watched where you were going, you know. 

 I rolled my eyes at her dry tone and leant down to see what the shadow was. 

"You have got to be kidding me," I muttered under my breath. 

I was standing on the edge of an unstable branch, and hanging from one of the smaller off-shoots was a piece of ripped cloth soaked in blood. 

Without even leaning down to examine it, I could tell that the blood was Jackson's.

I saw red. 

Closing my eyes, I tried to breathe through my clenched jaw to calm myself down. When I opened my eyes again, I was wearing my expressionless mask.

Scarlett, I could tell that Luc was worried by the shake in her voice. That's not the shadow we could see... what are we going to do? 

"It was a trap. Whoever did this to Jackson wanted to lure me in." I bent down and swiftly picked up the ripped cloth.

Luc sighed. As much as I want to advise you against going into a dangerous situation, you're too stubborn to be talked out of it. 

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to do this alone." I knew if whoever did this was able to capture and injure Jackson, they were most likely not alone.

Without shifting, I would never be able to take them out alone, and I couldn't risk exposing my secret to even more people. 

If I could fight in my wolf form or even use my powers, I would stand a better chance, but I can't let anyone know my secret, let alone Jackson.

Balling my hands into fists, I walk along the branch and jump to the ground, not even bothered by the pain that shoots through my legs. 

"They want a fight, and you can be damn sure that they'll get one," I growled. "No one messes with the ones I love and gets away with it."

I raced back through the forest towards the pack square whilst keeping my eyes open for any movement, not that I expected it.

Within five minutes, I had made it far enough back that I could hear Aaron, Chase, Samuel and Jordan coaching the group through basic fitness. 

Storming into the clearing, I must have looked quite scary as I approached the group. "Training is over, everyone go home," I spoke loudly, clearly and sharply.

When no one moved, I snarled at them. "Now!" I must have had a murderous look in my eyes because all of a sudden everyone started pushing over each other to try and get away.

Spinning around, I find Dylan standing there shell-shocked. "I want this place on lockdown indefinitely, effective immediately."

His mouth fell open as he looked at me concerned. "Did something happen? You should probably talk to Jackson about that though, he is Alpha after all."

I ran my hand through my hair, stressed. "That's exactly why I need this place on lockdown. Jackson's been taken. You're in charge until we get him back."

He gaped at me, and I could see the fear in his eyes which was quickly replaced with determination. 

"Of course, I'll spread the word now." He started to walk off towards the pack house.

"No, you can't tell them he's gone. They'll freak out and everything will be worse than before," I said grimly. "Just tell them that they're on lockdown, and I'll take care of the rest."

He nodded, his mouth set in a straight line. "Okay, do you need any help? Mum and Dad can control the pack, I can come with you."

I shook my head. "No, you're the Beta now Dylan, you need to be here. I can handle this."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around to see Aaron, Chase, Sam and Jordan behind me. "No, we can handle this," Aaron said determinedly. "We've got your back Scar, we'll bring him back together."

I smile bitterly at him and turned back to face Dylan, my parents behind him. "Okay, I'll go out with Aaron, Chase, Sam and Jordan, and we'll find him as soon as we can. Just keep things calm around here for when we get back."

We nodded to each other, and he took off with Mum and Dad to the pack house. 

Turning around, I showed the guys the strip of material. Their eyes narrowed as I explained what had happened to me. "We need to split into smaller groups to find him. It's best for you guys to go in your wolf forms, but I can't, for obvious reasons."

"Aaron, I'll go with you, Jordan, Sam and Chase, you guys can go together and sniff him out in your wolf forms," I looked around at each of them. "Meet back here at noon, that gives us a few hours to search."

They nodded, determined looks on all of our faces. "Good luck guys," I said grimly. "And be careful, we have no idea what we'll be facing out there."

I took a breath and started to walk towards the forest when Sam grabbed my arm. "We will find him Scar. One way or another, we'll get him back."

Nodding, I gave him a small smile, before turning away, making sure that the tears brimming in my eyes didn't spill.

I sensed the guys shift around me, and each of them rubbed against my legs as a way of saying goodbye before running off, barring Aaron, who stayed by my side. 

Looking down at him, I ran my hand over his head. "Come on, let's go find Jackson and kick some ass."

Hold on Jackson, I'm coming.