CHAPTER 5

As I was sitting there staring blankly at the map for the umpteenth time, I heard someone walking in my direction. I looked around and found the perfect tree to get my vantage point from. As the warrior came into view, I noticed it was the same one from before. He walked to the stream, abruptly turned around, and went back the way he came from.

It almost seemed like he was following a specific path. My gut was telling me this was deliberate. Is it possible the random lines on the map weren't so random? Could they be the paths set up by my father for the warriors to follow? If so, I would only need to figure out exactly where I am on the map and I could easily avoid them.

Once the warrior had left, I decided to follow his path in order to get an idea of which line could be his. I followed him for a couple hundred feet and then he made an abrupt right turn at a stump. I looked at my map and saw that there was only one line that made a similar turn and I started to orient myself. I wasn't extremely close to the X on the map but I could have been farther away from it.

After looking it over carefully, I folded it up and stashed it. My dad always taught me not to distract myself from all my senses and to stay on high alert. If I keep staring at the map the whole time, I might miss something important.

Since I'd hopefully covered my scent with the clay, I decided going on foot would be okay. If I ran into any trouble, I could probably make my way through the trees though it would be significantly slower.

As I made my way I could faintly smell where wolves had once been. This helped my theory that there were specific paths they were told to follow. Only once did I almost run in with a warrior, but I quickly moved his attention away from me by throwing a rock in the opposite direction I was heading. He quickly picked up on the sound and headed towards it. Apparently they were allowed to divert from their paths if they thought they'd found me. Good to know.I reached an empty field and knew I'd have to cross it in order to get to my destination. The hills were on the other side of the field and I was almost positive that was where I was headed. I know I have incredible speed but I don't know if it's enough to make it across this field without being found out.

I decided that creating a diversion might be my best bet to keep the attention of anyone patrolling the field somewhere else. I scrambled to go find some tinder. I'm going to start a fire.

As I finished putting the final touches on my bonfire, I grabbed a few leaves and the appropriate tools to get it going. After working for a couple minutes, I started to see smoke and knew I was in business. I tended to my baby flames and then set them into the twigs and branches I had set up. Slowly everything started to set aflame. I threw a couple handfuls of leaves on top to get the smoke going and I headed back to my vantage point at the field.

As expected, I heard some movement on the far right of the field and could tell someone was walking away from their post. I took this as my cue to make a move. As long as I got a head start, I'm faster than the others in my pack. Racing across the field, I felt like I was home free.

I came to the other side of the clearing and started up the first hill. When I got to the top, I saw something I didn't expect. It was just my dad standing in the middle of a valley. Hills surrounded him except for the flat spot where he stood. I wasn't sure if this was my end goal or if I'd been caught but I approached him anyway.

As soon as I was within striking distance he attacked. I was so caught off guard that he struck a blow to my right shoulder and I hissed in pain. That's going to bruise. I realized what was going on. This is part of my test. I had to face him in order to reach the end goal.

I took my stance and watched his movements. He was light on his feet and I could tell he was reading my movements as well. Feeling confident, he took the first move again. I know him too well though and anticipated the fake out. I was able to get a good hit to his elbow as I slid down and kicked his knee out as well. He stumbled slightly and smiled. No words were needed here, I could tell he was ready to step it up a notch.

He came back at me full speed and full force. Despite being trained by him, I was nowhere near as strong as him. Male wolves just had the size on us she wolves that we couldn't compete with. Luckily we have speed and I have years of practice on my side. Blow for blow I was able to counter or block and slowly I could see my dad's energy start to dwindle. He may have turned it on too hard too fast.

I got a couple hits to his side and gut but nothing debilitating. I had to figure out a way to take him down. I wracked my brain for anything he had taught me over the years that I could use against him. Then I remembered a move Ezra had taught me a few weeks ago that he said to use on my dad if I ever needed it. He must have known I'd need it for an opportunity like this.I slowly pulled my right foot back and I saw my dad's eyes flash noticing the change in my stance. I crouched down low and went at him at full speed. He readied himself for my charge and as I saw him reach his right arm to grab me, I ducked to my right, under his left arm, and jumped. My left leg wrapped around his torso, my left arm around his neck, and my right arm pulled his right arm up behind his head. I used my momentum to draw backwards and pull him to the ground.

As he hit the earth, I saw the air get knocked out of him and I stood up dusting myself off in the process. Once he'd gotten his bearings back, he pushed himself off the ground and smiled.

"Where'd you learn that trick from? It's not one of mine I know for sure. Too fancy for this old man," he said.

"Oh, you know, just from some other washed up old man," I joked.

"Gosh darn it Ezra. I'll have to talk to him about giving you the upper hand on me in the future. But I've gotta say I'm proud of you Amoret. It didn't take you long to figure everything out. Means I taught you well.``

I could tell my dad was getting emotional. I ran over and gave him a huge bear hug, which he returned.

"Okay Amoret , let's go get your prize. You certainly proved you're ready for it."

He took me to the other side of the valley where a small box sat.

"This is something your mother had saved to give you when you found your mate. I know you don't think it's going to happen your first year at the ball, but I figure we can call it a good luck charm. Whatever you want that luck to be, hopefully this will bring it to you."

I could tell my dad knew I wasn't too sold on the mate thing yet either. I appreciated that he respected whatever plans I had for my life. I knew he trusted me to make the best decisions for myself even though I didn't know what those decisions would end up being. He handed me the box and I opened it. Inside was a beautiful emerald ring.

"Dad," I gasped. "It's beautiful. Was this mom's?"

He nodded, "Yep, it's the ring her mom gave to her before her first mating ball where we met. She wanted to keep that tradition going with you. If anything, it can just be another part of her to keep by your side and remind you who you are and where you come from."

"Oh Dad," I cried. "I miss her so much!"

"Me too sweetie. But you know as well as I do that we'll get her back and be together again. Just you wait and see. She would never give up on us and we won't give up on her either."

I gave my dad a small smile because I knew he was right. We will find her. Even if it's the last thing we do.