Chapter 39

(Maya POV)

"Oh my god! Eli, you can hear me?" I say happily.

"I can hear you!" Suddenly his voice becomes very clear.

I want to cry from happiness, but I don't want to give it away, so I hold back my tears as best I can.

"Maya, love where are you?" He asks, and I can hear the immense worry in his voice.

"I don't know. I have been blindfolded the whole time." I tell him.

"Are there any clues you can pick up about where you are?" He asks frantically.

"I smell water, but I don't hear the ocean. I also smell metal; rust maybe I am not really sure." I tell him.

"That's all? Nothing more you can sense?" He asks.

"Only that the ground is soft, dirt maybe. There is a wet wood smell as well. But I don't know where I could possibly be that would smell like this." I say with a sigh.

"OK, it's still something! I will tell the others and maybe they will have some ideas of where to begin looking. Are....are you ok?" He asks cautiously.

"I will be so much better if I can see you guys again." I say.

I don't want him to worry too much about my physical health right now. He needs to be focused and if he is worrying too much it may cloud his judgment.

"You mean, when we see you again. We will find you Maya I swear!" He says firmly.

I wanted to believe his words, but would they find me? I barely gave them enough clues to even begin to know where to look.

"Please...tell the others I miss them too, ok? I miss you all so much." I say my throat tightening.

"Maya....we have been dying since you have been gone. We miss you too so much, I can't wait to hold you again." He says sweetly.

So much for not crying!

"Ok, I have to break the link now." I tell him as I feel myself getting dizzy and lightheaded.

"Wait! Maya....I love you." He says.

"Don't say that like this means goodbye Eli! Tell me when we see each other again, ok?" I say softly scolding him.

"I will tell you every day when I get you back, but I want to tell you now so you will hang on a little longer!" He says.

"Thank you. Bye...." I say breaking the link and feeling weak as soon as i relax my mind.

My wolf had been right, that took a lot of energy out of me. I didn't want to tell Eli I loved him too, I didn't want to say those words until I was in his arms again. An exhausted sigh escapes from my lips as I feel my body grow very tired and I give in to sleep.

(Eli POV)

We had been walking along the border when I felt this pull. I had felt it before when Maya's wolf would try to reach me, so I tried to focus on it and strengthen the connection. The others turned to me when they realized I had stopped suddenly.

"What is it?" Tommy asks me.

"I-i think Maya's wolf is trying to reach me again!" I say excitedly.

She had not reached out in a couple of days and it took everything in me to not imagine the worst. I took a deep breath and focused, closing my eyes and relaxing my mind the best I could.

"Eli?" I hear a voice, but it doesn't sound like Maya's wolf.

It sounds like.... Maya!

The voice breaks through again, and my eyes widen at the sound of my mate’s sweet voice.

"Maya..." I whisper out loud.

"Did you just say Maya? You can hear Maya?" Tommy asks standing directly in front of me.

"Yes, I can hear her! It's Maya!" I say happily.

Soon Noah is beside me and Will is not far off.

"Is she ok? How does she sound?" Noah asks frantically.

He has been stressing about the way he treated her and has become the hardest to console when we still had not found her. I never thought I would see Noah so vulnerable, but it was clear that he missed Maya.

The more I heard Maya's voice, I knew.... she was weak and she sounded so tired. What had they done to her? Had they hurt her? Her words also make it sound like she is giving up and doesn't want me to know. We needed to find her soon! Once the link was broken, I tried to remember every hint she had told me.

"So, what did she say? Does she know where she is?" Tommy asks.

"No, she is blindfolded. She said she can smell water, metal, and wet wood. She said the ground feels soft, like dirt. Does any of that give you an idea of where she could be?" I ask the others.

They look away from me thinking over the things Maya had said.

"I can't think of a place that would have all those scents." Tommy admits.

"She said she smelled water but couldn't hear the ocean. So wherever she is, it’s close to water but more like a lake. Lakes don't make much noise unlike rivers and the ocean." I say thinking out loud.

"Wait! A lake, wet wood, and metal." Noah begins. "She must be in some kind of lake side storage shed or shop. Something that stores tools or boat parts."

"There are at least three lakes in our territory, we can't leave the border unguarded. How are we can search them all?" I ask.

"The three of us will each go to one of the lakes and Will can stay and monitor the border patrol. Scout out each lake area and if one of us spots anything we contact the other through the mind link before rushing in. Got it?" Tommy says with a commanding tone.

Noah and I agree, and we break off, each heading into the direction of the three lakes. I really hope we are right about this.

I remove my clothes, and place them in a tree nearby, and take off in my wolf form. My wolf would cover more ground quicker and be able to defend against any unexpected things we might face once we arrive. It had been years since I had traveled to this lake, but my wolf seemed to be able to pick up the scent of the water as we ran.

Soon the smell of the lake reaches me, and I quicken my pace. I cannot stop seeing Maya's face in my mind, and soon I see the lake less than a mile away. I slow and hide behind a nearby tree and scan the area. This lake does not have much around it, but I do see a few wooden hut-like structures. It isn't summer anymore which means that vacationing families are mostly gone leaving the lake town mostly abandoned. There had to be half a dozen wooden structures along the lake side.

I focused in on my sense of smell and tried to pick up Maya's scent.

I pray to the moon goddess that she is close by!