Amber was awake before the sun had risen in the sky. She had been laying in bed just thinking. Thinking of the life she left behind, thinking of Kyle, thinking of her friends she would soon see, and ok let's be honest, thinking of Darren. She was packed and ready to go, but she had been debating if she should wait to say goodbye. Her room faced the back terrace of the patio and from there she could look out and see the beautiful forest and mountains. She looked down to see Darren walking out with a cup of coffee and leaning against the railing. Her heart jumped and butterflies swarmed in her stomach.
NOPE! THIS COULDNT HAPPEN!!
She had to leave now. It would be much better than trying to say goodbye. After all she had just met this man and he probably could care less. She grabbed her bag and headed down stairs. No one was at the front desk so she left her key and jotted a short note on the hotel notepad "Thank you again for a wonderful stay. Wish you all the best, Amber." She walked out to her old white Honda Civic threw her bag in and started to drive away. As she drove out, she looked in her rear view mirror to see Darren standing at the hotel entrance with a look on his face that looked both hurt and angry at the same time. She hit the accelerator and was back on the highway heading to her new home.
Darren stood there just staring. Did she just leave? Seriously?!? What the hell? She didn't even try to say goodbye. Had he done something wrong? Had he been wrong about her feeling their connection? He should have been in the lobby waiting for her. He had thought a little fresh air would help clear his mind. Now she was gone. The last thing he wanted was for her to go into Chico alone and without him by her side. He walked quickly back to his room packed his stuff and checked out. He jumped on his motorcycle and sped down the road to try to catch up with her. Once he hit the highway he knew he there was no way of knowing which way she would take to get there as there were a few, so instead he decided to just go the fastest way. If everything went according to plan he would beat her there and he would be waiting for her when she arrived. Then they would talk.
Amber blasted the music as she drove down the highway. She grabbed her phone to call her friends and let them know she would be there in just another 20 minutes. She was so excited!! They couldn't wait for her to get there either. She looked down to change the radio station and when she looked up things happened very quickly. Standing 200 feet up the road was a black wolf. It couldn't be the same one from last night could it? It started to run towards the car. She didn't want to hit it so she slammed on her breaks. Her car began to spin out, and the last thing she saw was her car veering straight towards a big oak tree.
Darren had been sitting for hours. Where was she? Even if she had stopped several times she should have been here by now. What the hell was going on? Jason, Darren's Beta, was also one of the town Sheriffs. He had put out an APB on Amber's car. Jason had been shocked when Darren had casually walked into the station like it was normal day. He hadn't seen Darren in person in years. Darren had asked Jason if he could take a break and, of course, Jason had agreed. Darren had explained everything and Jason's jaw had nearly hit the floor. "I'm so, so happy for you man. The whole pack will be so glad you are back and thrilled that they will finally have a Luna. There has been a lot going on in the last few weeks. I had been planning to call and talk to you about it all but now that you're hear we can just talk now."
"Definitely, but before anything else I need to find Amber. When she left Big Sur she was headed straight here. Even if she had stopped several times she should have been here by now."
"Wow man, only one night with you and you've already managed to scare her off" he chuckled.
"Haha very funny. Seriously. Jason I'm worried. Can you help me find her ? She has no idea she is one of us and last night she had an incident with a wolf in the woods."
Hearing the concern in his Alpha's voice, all joking was gone and replaced with unwavering determination. He had put out the APB on Amber's car and told everyone in the pack and the precinct to watch for someone matching her description. Whatever it took they would find her.