Amira

"I didn't actually expect this place to be so..."

"Elite?" Daniel finishes my sentence with an amused look on his face. I nod. "I've been here for a few business meetings before, but it's been awhile. Are you getting anything, Caine?"

"Something, but it's faint and old. He hasn't been here for awhile," Caine scans his eyes across the restaurant. We've been seated for twenty minutes but still haven't been assisted.

Suddenly Daniel tenses across the table and his eyes darken as they shoot towards the door and then frantically around the restaurant.

"Daniel?" When he doesn't answer me and continues to frantically dart his eyes around the restaurant, I ask again. "Daniel? What's wrong?"

He shakes his head and looks down at the table then back up to me, his eyes his usual stormy gray color, "Nothing." Caine gives him a weird look but drops the subject.

"So where do we go from here?" Caine asks.

"Well, that's up to you. I got us to the island and, I admit, I don't know what to do now. I guess all we can do is search," Daniel spoke but he didn't make eye contact. His eyes scanned the restaurant just as Caine's had before. The only difference being that Daniel looks focused, like he's following someone with his eyes, but the restaurant is so crowded, I can't tell who he is looking at.

After a few more minutes of planning, a waitress with bright orange hair finally takes our order. After we finish eating she drops two small black books on our table. Caine picks one up and without glancing at the total places his credit card in it before setting it back down.

"We're getting down to only having a month left to find Tyson. Fights against the clock hardly end well," he says, taking another sip of the brandy that he ordered. To my surprise, they didn't ask for any I.D. from either of us, but people now rarely do, like they did in the past. Humans have bigger problems to worry about, like werewolves, for example.

I reach for my wine and slyly slip the check off of the table into my lap as well while Caine and Daniel converse. My jaw drops at the price and I slowly slip the check back onto the table. Caine glances over and winks at me with a smirk before turning his attention back to Daniel.

"Tomorrow we'll transform in the forests of the volcano side and search the perimeter of the island. If he's not hiding in the seclusion of the trees, then he's in a cave on the coast. Someone who responds to help the way Robert described is not living among the others, I would assume," Daniel says. "For now, let's just go to bed. I need a good night's sleep."

The waitress returns, takes our checks, and then brings the two alpha's credit cards back and we get up to leave. Daniel seems distracted as he opens the door for us and by the time we say goodbye to him as he closes the door to his hotel suite, it is obvious that fatigue has overtaken him.

Caine opens the door and I follow him in the room. He immediately takes his bow tie off and slumps down on the plush couch, sinking his face into his hands.

"Did Daniel seem off to you?" I ask, and he just shrugs.

"Amira, what if I can't do it? What if I can't find Tyson?" he leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees and I walk over to sit next to him on the couch.

"Why are you worrying about that?"

"Because it's all on me now. I'm not skilled enough to find him from a weeks old scent. I'm not going to find him in time."

"Caine, you are skilled enough. You're the Moon Goddess's Hunter. If anyone will be able to find him it's you. This is what you're here for."

"Way to put the pressure on, babe," he says sarcastically.

"No, I just mean-"

"There is a way I could find him in a minute," he interrupts me.

"What? What is it? Do that!" I begin to get excited, but when Caine looks up at me with pain in his eyes, I pull back. "What?" he gulps before answering.

"Marking you would make my power stronger. It would allow me to find Tyson. But even if you did say yes for the greater good of the packs, I wouldn't be able to get myself to do it."

"Caine-"

"Amira, I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to pressure you. I don't want you to let me mark you just so I can find Tyson. I want to mark you because you want me to. I don't know if you'll ever accept me, but if you do, I want it to be for the right reason."

A few moments of silence pass between us before I get up and walk towards the door.

"Where are you going?" concern fills Caine's voice.

"For a walk in the sand, I'll be back soon," I open the door, not bothering to change out of the dress that I still wore or slipping the heels back onto my feet.

"Amira, I don't want you going out alone," he says.

"I'll be fine. I need this, Caine. I'll be back, I promise," I close the door behind me and take a deep breath as I make my way to the elevator.

Soon my feet are sinking into the sand of the beach and I don't even bother holding the expensive material of the dress up as it floats behind me. My feelings for Caine are jumbled right now, and, honestly, I haven't decided for sure if I was ready to accept him either.

After walking absentmindedly for I don't even know how long, I sink onto a nearby log and look out into the ocean. My curls are lifted behind me by the breeze and I try to ignore the pain that aches my heart.

Obviously I care for Caine, but to be mated to him? I don't know what to do, and the frustration causes a tear to slide down my cheek. Soon the stream doesn't end, and my tears fall to the sand, my sniffling echoing through through the night.

"Are you alright, Miss?" I jump to my feet and quickly turn around to the voice. Not seeing anyone at first, I begin to panic and am about ready to run back in the direction of the hotel when someone emerges from the tree line.

My hand raises to cover my gaping mouth and my heartbeat accelerates. Strands of his chocolate brown hair fall over his face. Even in the dim moonlight, I can see that his skin is slightly tanned, and his brown eyes have slight specks of red in them. The deep scar across his cheekbone is illuminated by the luminescence from the moon and I immediately know who he is because of it. I notice a large cut stretching across his forearm, fresh blood oozing out of it.

"Miss? Are you okay?" he asks again, concern on his face as he notices the tear stains on my cheeks. I choke on air and finally manage to gasp a word out of my mouth.

"Tyson?"

He suddenly reels back in concern for his own safety.

"How do you know my name?" His eyes widen as he takes a deep breath in, "You're like me, aren't you? I can smell you, you're not a human." His deep chocolate orbs curiously peer into mine.

"No, I'm not human, just like you," I try to be gentle with him, my visions have proven that I need to be.

"How do you know me?"

"I've been looking for you," I say and he steps back.

"Why?"

"Because I'm here to help you."

"I don't need any help," he turns to run back into the forest of palms and I begin to panic.

"Wait! You're right!" he turns to face me again. "The truth is, we need your help."

"Who is we?" he crosses his arms in front of his chest, still ready to bolt at any second. He is smaller than both Daniel and Caine, and obviously younger and more inexperienced, too. Although he is small, he still has a build to him, a hint to his significance.

"The rest of us like you. Please, just please let me explain," I pour as much sincerity into my pleading a I can and, after a moment of debating, he cautiously walks closer to me. I sit back down on the log and offer for him to join, which he does.

"Why do you need my help?"

"What do you know about our kind?"

"I know from other rogues who hang around here like me that there are packs on the mainland, and that they banished us to the islands because we were insubordinate. I know that the humans don't know about us, and I don't know why you need the help of a rogue. Whatever it is, I'm not able to help you, you know."

"But you can, it's your destiny," he furrows his brow in confusion.

"You're crazy, lady," he makes an effort to get up, but I place a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Please," I beg, and he sits back down reluctantly as he pulls his arm away. "My name is Amira," I begin again, "I am a prophet from the Obsidian Pack, and I came to the islands in search of you."

"Yeah, I got that you came to find me, but you still haven't answered why," I can tell that his patience is running thin. In a sense, he reminds me of Caine, just smaller and younger, even though realistically they're the same age. He just seems more innocent than Caine...

I shake away the thought.

"Because we've come to take you home," I say.

"I am home. This is where I've been my whole life," he looks out at the sea, "this is my home."

"Look, Tyson, I know you think this is who you are but-"

"Don't you dare say you know who I am. Others have come to me and said they know who I am. I've been alone my whole life. I raised myself. No one knows who I am but me."

"Well then why don't you show me who you are?"

"What?"

"Show me who you are. Let me get to know you. I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do, I just want to help. You're alone, and I want to give you someone you can trust. So trust me."

"I just met you," he turns towards me again, "why should I trust you?"

"Because I'm someone who can be trusted," I cautiously place a gentle hand on his heart and the other on mine and within seconds the cut on his arm disappears. He shoots up off of the log.

"How did you do that?"

"I have talents just like you do. I'm like you, Tyson." He looks down to his arm and then back up at me.

"You're not like the others," he pauses and examines my face as I say nothing in return. "Can I show you something?"

I nod enthusiastically at the boy in front of me, recognizing what is about to happen from my dreams and ecstatic that he is opening up to me so easily.

"Follow me," he grabs my hand and drags me to the edge of the sea. My toes dig into the soft, wet sand as the water slowly rises up to encase my ankles. He turns to me and the moonlight sparkles in his brown eyes. The shadow caused by the scar on his face is emphasized.

"Just promise you won't freak out, okay?" I nod at him and follow him into the water. He quickly ducks under and I follow, not even worried about the expensive dress clasped around my body.

I force my eyes open, the salt burning as my vision is slightly blurred. I blink a few times and look around until I finally see him a few feet away from me. He is looking back at me and his chest raises like he is breathing. Meanwhile, my lack of breath is starting to burn my lungs.

Tyson raises his hands as he holds eye contact with me and the streams of fire come out of each one, boiling the water around them. The water doesn't quench the fire, and it grows as he holds it.

I run out of air, quickly push myself to the surface, and gasp for air the second my head leaves the water. Tyson surfaces next to me after a few seconds.

"What was that?" I ask him, already knowing what he is going to say, but trying to gain his trust.

"I can create fire strong enough to fight water. I don't know how, but I figured it out around the same time I discovered that I can breath underwater."

"Why are you showing me this?" He shrugs and starts swimming towards the beach.

"Because I trust you." I follow him and as soon as we break out of the water he begins to speak again.

"I just can't help but think that I don't have that much power for nothing. When the fire flows through me like that I feel... invincible. Like I'm meant to be so much more than a useless rogue." His words cause me to hold my breath.

"Tyson," I place a hand on his arm, but pause before speaking again.

What happens if I change the dream? What happens if I don't tell him who he is right now? He looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to speak.

"Will you come back to my hotel room with me?" He recoils.

"No offense, Amira, but I'm kind of waiting for my mate," he says and my eyes widen.

"No! I didn't mean it like that. I already have a mate. I just think there are some things I need to explain to you, and it's getting late."

"I don't know," he looks out to the ocean again.

"Please? You've chosen to trust me for a reason, right? Follow that instinct"

"Okay, I guess."