Song Of The Wolf. Hannah Pole

cabin was pretty empty. The steering system was basic and there had been no other equipment in the room. To be sure, Dax had ripped apart the control area, and searched through it. Still nothing.

      There would be something here however; he had no doubt of that. It would take about forty minutes to get to the part of the ocean where Alison’s chip was showing up, even travelling as fast as they were. Boats were a notoriously slow form of travel.

      “Guys,” he barked, as he made his way out of the small wooden cabin onto the main deck of the ship.

      Each and every wolf and shifter that worked under Julian’s pack rule gathered around him, ready to take orders.– though they all looked a little green. Being at sea or in the sky truly didn’t fit well with wolves. They were hunters of the woods. All four paws, or two feet, were born and bred to be on the ground, not in the sky or in water. It went against every natural instinct they had.

      It really was a testament to the bond of a pack that they were all willingly standing on something that by natural law would terrify them, to bring one of their own back.

      “What is it, Dax?” Julian snapped, obviously annoyed with the silence.

      “Right. We need to make sure the ship isn’t being tracked. I need all of you to scour the boat, top to bottom looking for any sort of technology that looks out of place. Looks recently added. Anything you can find. If you do find something, come and get me. Cool?” There was a sries of pale-faced nod’s as all of them set to work, searching the boat.

      Dax himself headed to the very bowels of the ship; if there was anything it would most likely be there. He ducked through the doorway at the back of the boat that led to the small holding area. There wasn’t much in here, just a little sofa and kitchenette. He quickly scanned the area, making sure he wasn’t missing anything. He ran his hands over the sofa, checking the storage area hidden beneath and the various cupboards in the small kitchen. He checked each and every power supply, to make sure they hadn’t been divided out to supply power to something else. Finally, when he was sure he wouldn’t find anything there, he searched the walls for the hidden doorway to the lower area of the boat. It was there; he just needed to find it. Every large boat had one; it was usually masked well, in case of attack. The crew, however small, could hide in the bowels of the ship if necessary. Plus it usually doubled up as a storage area for cargo that was too valuable to keep in the open.

      He spent a good ten minutes running his hands across the walls, checking behind furniture for any creases in the wood that shouldn’t be there or any hidden handles or buttons, but to no avail.

      Stamping his feet in frustration, he cursed long and hard.

      “DAX?” Tamriel’s muffled voice reverberated through the room. He stuck his head out of the door to the holding area and listened.

      “DAX?” Her voice somehow seemed quieter out here; it was definitely coming from inside.

      “DAX!!” she shouted again.

      “WHAT?” he barked back, frantically searching the room for the location of her voice. Damn female had found the entrance to the bottom of the boat before he had, he was sure of it. And Maker, did that do a number on his pride.

      “MOVE THE STUPID RUG PLEASE!” she yelled. He glanced down at the floor, cursing himself for his lack of detective skills. Always check the friggin’ floor. Telling his male ego to go to hell, he bit back a curse and shoved the rug aside revealing a nicely polished wooden floor, in the middle of which was a square hatch. As he moved towards it, the hatch popped open and Tamriel’s long black and red hair and green eyes made an appearance.

      “I’m sure you knew this was here anyway right?” She grinned at him.

      “Yeah, I was getting to it,” Dax grumbled. He would have found it eventually. She was a private investigator now; it made sense that she would find hidden hatches with ease, right?