CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The motorbike skidded slightly as it drew to a halt at the back of the Land Rover.

The four of us inside were tensed, ready to attack. It was a wolf thing, always expecting the worse.

I don't think that even in our wildest dreams we could have imagined what happened next...

The passenger on the motorbike removed their helmet.

Shannon laughed back at us.

I felt my mouth drop open as Tom removed his helmet too.

I stared round and shrugged my shoulders at Dan, Emma and Ellie. They looked just as bewildered as me.

We clambered out of the Land Rover.

"Alright!" grinned Tom. Shannon was still laughing at the shocked looks on our faces.

"Alright?!" I questioned "How?... Why?... A motorbike?..." I stammered.

"Cool hurr?" laughed Shannon.

I was still lost for words.

Shannon? Motorbike? Cool? My brain wouldn't compute anymore.

Emma clambered out of the back of the Land Rover passed me.

"YOU STOLE A MOTORBIKE?!" she accused.

"Well, No... Yes... No..." stammered Tom, "...we borrowed it. From a neighbour. We intend to return it."

"And a licence? What if you had been stopped? What if you had had an accident!" Emma was building up a head of steam.

"Tom rode it very carefully" said Shannon, with strength, setting her jaw.

"NOT THE POINT!" spat Emma.

"We needed to get here and it was this or a car" shrugged Tom.

"How do you even know how to ride?" Questioned Dan.

"My neighbour, Adam, gave me a couple of goes, it's not hard..." said Tom.

"It was wicked!" giggled Shannon, she was clearly buzzing.

Emma cut in "I can't believe you went along with the idea Shannon".

"We needed to get here" she replied.

"Wait, how did you even know where we were?" I questioned.

"Well, we knew you were starting at Lindesfarne and as we got trapped here before by the tides we thought they might be a problem, so we looked them up on the internet and realised that you would be stuck here for a while. Plus there's the other thing..." Shannon trailed off.

"The other thing?" I questioned.

"I can't describe it," muttered Tom, "It's like I could feel where you were, I knew to come this way. Odd."

"You would Tom" interjected Ellie. She had been very quiet during the heated exchange about the motorbike. "You are a keeper. Your job is to keep the pack safe, especially when you are part of a Pentagram. If you are truly in touch with your inner Keeper you will find your pack. Can you feel it too, Shannon?" Ellie questioned.

"Sort of..." mused Shannon, "I don't think I'm quite there yet but it's like I can feel something building inside me and I can't explain it..."

Shannon liked to be able to explain everything with science so I could imagine that putting her trust these types of feelings must be an unusual experience for her.

"It will come" stated Ellie.

"What on earth are we going to do with that bike?" questioned Emma.

"Leave it here with a note on it apologising..." suggested Shannon.

"And a tenner for the petrol..." added Tom rummaging in his pocket for the cash. "I'll text Adam and tell him where it is..."

"Better use my phone" interrupted Dan, "Then he won't know who borrowed his bike."

Tom took the phone and copied in the number from his own before sending the text. Then he moved the bike to nearer the hedge so that it was slightly hidden from site but could be found if you know where it was.

"Well, you're here now" huffed Emma, "I suppose you will come in useful in the search." She pursued her lips and shrugged. I could tell she was pleased to see Shannon and Tom but not at all happy about how they had got here.

I was pleased to see them; we needed all the help we could get to find Maddy.

"How did you get on contacting the others?" questioned Ellie.

"We went through the whole book" said Shannon, "Everyone we could get hold of is coming to help search. We told them to come here, to the start of the causeway."

"Wolf sense will lead them where they need to be" said Emma.

"Do we even know that she is on the island?" questioned Shannon.

"We're fairly sure" said Ellie, "Rhydian has had a break through; he's been able to see her and speak to her."

"Siaph?" said Shannon.

"You've done your homework!" laughed Ellie, "Yes, he managed to find Maddy and could talk to her.

Shannon's research never failed to impress me. Tom just looked bemused as usual, resigned that he would catch up eventually.

"It was hard though" I felt so deflated that we didn't have more to go on. "We have a vague idea where she might be but that's all. It's really not much."

"Why do you think they have taken Maddy?" questioned Shannon, "What do they intend to do with her?"

They were the same questions that had been buzzing around my head. I was so focused on finding her that I hadn't dared to ask.

We all looked to Ellie to answer. She was our natural leader. Head of the family, head of the pack.

"I've been wracking my brains" Ellie signed. "I can't see a logical reason why they would want Maddy, but then wild wolfbloods don't think like we do. They are much more like our wolf cousins. Wild at heart. I can only think that they want to take her into their pack, train her in the wild ways so that she understands more and won't try to change their way of life. They must know that it would provoke a reaction from us though, especially after such a calculated trap and they know Rhydian's feelings for Maddy, they know he will come after her.

I felt my face go red, I couldn't help it, Ellie had hit the nail on the head, I would do anything to find after Maddy.

"Do you think they want to take her away from here? Hide her?" questioned Dan.

"Yes" nodded Ellie.

"Maybe even abroad?" Questioned Emma, her voice trembling.

"Yes" nodded Ellie quietly. "Probably eastern Europe, Hungary or Bulgaria to meet up with the larger wild packs there. Maybe even as far as Russian if they can get that far. There are plenty of wild packs that would help them or turn a blind eye, especially to Ceri. She may not rule them, but they will still respect her authority."

I felt tears prickle in my eyes, this was too much, the thought of Maddy being stolen away from us to somewhere so remote.

I turned away from the small group and faced the island.

"That's why we need to find her" said Dan, determined.

No of us had gone too far from the Land Rover, Ellie was still sitting in the open back door, Dan and Emma were standing at the edge of the car park facing the island, Shannon and Tom were sitting under a tree facing towards the retreating tide. I couldn't keep still; I paced the nervous energy off walking up and down the shore line just in front of the car park.

Dan and Emma walked up to where a large chain was padlocked across the road, cutting off the causeway. I joined them. They were discussing if they could cross the causeway yet, drive around the chain and the posts holding it but the ground slopped away sharply on either side and the chain and padlock were huge, not even a wolfblood could break that. The drop on either side looked steep and the tide was still half way up the meter high posts.

We all walked back to the Land Rover.

"It would only buy us 20 minutes or so" said Ellie, she had been able to hear our conversation clearly even at the distance between us.

Shannon and Tom ambled over, clearly thinking that we were about to make a move. I was still twitching.

We all stood by the Land Rover ready to go the second the causeway was open.

"Do you think they will be giving Maddy Milk Thistle to stop her changing?" Mused Shannon as we all sat in the Land Rover.

"Probably" muttered Ellie turning back towards us from the front seat. "She'll be feeling pretty rotten if they are giving her that every couple of hours."

Emma took a deep breath next to me on the bench seat in the back of the Land Rover.

I remembered the feeling of the Milk Thistle Root when Ellie had given it to me to slow my transformation on the full moon. It had made me feel very strange, like I did on the new moon when the moon is in shadow and darkest. Tired and lethargic, like I just wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep.

Maddy wouldn't have much strength to fight them, especially if she couldn't transform.

We all looked up as a noisy old car chugged down the road towards us. It got to the road at the edge of the car park and stopped. We all watched anxiously as a very elderly gentleman climbed slowly out.

He was wearing high wellington boots and we didn't take our eyes off him while he waded through the water towards the large bolt and chain barrier crossing the road. He fumbled with the lock for a time and finally undid it, coiling the thick chain around his arm as he waded across the road to the other side, where he dropped the chain over the post, he was stronger than he looked. He hardly seemed aware of the strong tide rushing round his legs.

He pocketed the large padlock and began walking back towards his ancient car. When he got level with us he nodded.

"Give it 20 minutes if you are planning to cross" he advised, "The water will still be deep on the causeway." His Northumberland accent was so strong that I struggled to understand him.

Dan nodded.

We all watched him as he slowly climbed back into his car, put on his seat belt and turn the key. It took three attempts for the engine to catch and the car to splutter to life, he then did a laboured three point turn in the road and chugged off back the way he had come.

Dan started the engine of the Land Rover, and despite his warning, we set off at speed across the causeway.