THE DISCOVERY

VALERIE I feel very jumpy in the entire ride. I hold on to his fur tightly so that I won't shift because clearly my wolf has gone berserk. He stops where the attack had happened and I look at the trees around me. I recognise them and wonder how old these trees are. May be hundred plus...I don't know. I can literally see Hunter running with the statue and I know where he's heading to. "Take me to the cliff." I tell Shawn and he runs towards the cliff. When we reach the cliff, I get off his back and walk ahead. I can see where Hunter standing holding the statue in his hands and I feel nervous. I can also see where Mr. Austin fell on the ground. I used to come to this cliff when I was a child but after growing up, I've never been here because most of the wolves would dive from here into the ocean and I was scared they would throw me too. If only I knew before what significance this place had! The goddess herself had appeared here. Sighing, I close my eyes for any help. Mark and his evil smirking figure are popping in my head and it makes me feel nervous. I can hear him laughing at me. "That was just a beginning Austin. You'll come across these a lot!" "I'll make you come to me." His words are replaying in my mind. What would he do now? The rogues he sent were killed by Shawn, there's no danger for the temple, I've visited it myself, and the statue isn't har- THE STATUE! It clicks to me that he would always leave a statue in the attack scene. But he already kept a piece when he attacked. Then why the other attack? Put two and two together Valerie! I rub the back of my neck continuously to think of something, anything that would help me. I feel someone tugging my arms and see Shawn who has now shifted back into his human form. "What's wrong?" he asks me softly. Great! Forget all the thinking and stare at his naked body! I close my eyes and even cover them with my hands. "I told you not to shift!" I whine. He pulls my hands away from my eyes and places a finger below my chin and makes me look at him. "What's wrong?" he asks me again looking me dead in the eye. He's frowning at me and clearly his nakedness is the least of problems for him. "I don't know. There is 'something' and I can't find what that 'something' is." I say pinching my lips together. "What something?" he asks me. "I'm not sure about it so I won't tell you what that something is." I say looking away. 'Don't even have a sneak peek!' I warn myself. "Okay, so we have to find the 'something' but we don't know what that 'something' is?" he asks me and I nod at him. "How do you know there is something?" My eyes widen at his question "I just know!" I say lowering my gaze and immediately regret it. Like I said earlier, forget all the thinking and stare at a very naked Shawn. I shake my head a few times to wipe that perverted thought out of my mind. "Do you know where that 'something' is?" "uhhhhhh...... No" I say and look away coz I have had an eyeful. Corrupt Valerie! "But you know there is 'something'?" "Yes." "Good." "Did those rogues keep any piece of statue yesterday?" I ask him. "No." "But they attacked yesterday!" I argue. "They were about to but their planning failed because I was already near the bank when they arrived swimming." he says. "Oh" I say calmly first. "What?" I shriek later because a bulb flashes in my head. So, they weren't expecting Shawn and their plan whatever it was had flopped. This shows they had a plan. "Thanks Shawn." I say grinning and begin to think again. "You can kiss me instead of saying thanks." he says and I tell him to shush by placing a finger on my lips. They swam and reached here so definitely they would escape by swimming. What was their plan? They weren't prepared to find Shawn in the bank. Maybe they wanted to attack in an appropriate place from where they could escape easily, like this cliff where they could jump off and go back the way they came or else they wanted to- "The cliff!" I say loudly, Mark knows about the cliff so he ordered his bastards to come and attack closer to this cliff. "The cliff?" Shawn asks. "They planned to attack here yesterday." I say looking around while he stares at me. "Hmm. Possible because the last attack was also closer to the cliff." Shawn says. "But they didn't keep anything. He always keeps something!" I say. "Who is he? And the 'something' is the statue piece?" "The chief of those rogues. Yes and ask the other questions later and focus on the attack topic" I say. "You mean to say he missed keeping a piece of statue yesterday?" he asks me after nodding. "Yes. He has always kept a piece. It's like he keeps a message for... us. However there was none after yesterday's attack. They would have kept it if the attack would have happened here which didn't." "Or it can also be that they had kept a piece here and wanted to remove it." "What? How did you think about that?" "I told you they weren't prepared to attack. They were shocked to see me there and one pup among them said about taking something." Shawn is right. I feel there's something even before yesterday's attack, so it proves there's something and my intuition shows me what had happened when hunter stole the statue and threw it before Mr. Austin saved it. "So the piece is still here?" I ask and he shrugs. "Where would he keep it?" "The only safe place here is under the ground considering there is nothing else." Shawn tells me rolling his eyes heavenwards. "You are smart." I say in astonishment. "Common sense, however I would still prefer a kiss and as for the piece we have to dig the entire area because we don't have a particular spot to search that tiny piece!" he says smiling. "I have the spot." I tell him and he raises an eyebrow at me. I walk and stand in the spot where Hunter was holding the statue. If it were me, I'd have kept it here. Again, a light flashes...it is not me. It's Mark and he is a lunatic. He would have kept- I look at the spot where Mr. Austin fell to protect the statue. He would have kept it where he wants the statue to be...on the ground and broken. "It's here!" I say happily to Shawn and blush when I see him naked. Okay, Corrupt Valerie. He has a fine body but that doesn't mean you have to gawk at it again and again. Looking around, I start searching for a sharp stone that will help me dig the ground. I'm searching for a stone and I hear sounds of panting. I turned to see Shawn in his wolf form digging the ground. I'm so happy and so proud of him that I can't wipe the huge grin off my face. He stops digging and turns to face me. I see a black cloth which he's clutching in between his teeth. We've found the piece. I walk towards him and take the piece of cloth from him. I open and gasp. There's a piece of the statue and it's of the chin. There are only two pieces left...the nose and lips. Only two rogues are left; Dominic and Mark Ambrose. "What piece is it?" Shawn asks me. "It's the chin." I say and show it to him and again realise his current state. "You still have to kiss me!" he whispers taking a step towards me and I see the smug look on his face. "I am not going to kiss you while you are in your birthday suit!" I say, taking a step back and shaking my head continuously to prove the point. "Does it bother you?" he asks huskily and I shiver. He wraps his arms around my waist and puls me closer to him. He's incredibly close and I can feel his heart beating near my chest. Okay... You can survive one kiss. "Only once!" I say and lean forward to kiss him. The kiss begins slowly and sweetly but then it becomes more hard and demanding. I feel his tongue rubbing against mine. When we pull away to catch some air, he presses his forehead against mine. His breathing is fanning my face and I can feel the goosebumps all again. "Only twice." I say and crash my lips against his, knowing all too well that it won't stop at twice.