14. Chapter Fourteen
“What do you mean she’s gone?”
Clayton crosses his arms. “I mean, she checked out early. Said she’d finished her book and was anxious to get it to her editor. We’re a digital detox haven, remember? No internet access. No dependable cell phone coverage.”
“Tell me exactly what she said.”
With a heavy sigh, Clay relays the conversation back for the second time, and I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on guard. Something’s not right. I know it.
It’s been hours since I felt Rae.
At first, I thought it was because she was writing again, but she wasn’t in the cabin when I went to check on her. Then, I found her packed bags, and Clay’s words came back to me.
If you don’t work this out, then you’ll definitely lose her.
I’m not prepared to do that. So I hunted for her, called out to her along the bond. Searched the holiday village, but came up empty. By then, alarm was making my bear anxious, and I’d reached out to my family, asking if they’d seen her.
Despite what Clay says, she couldn’t have left. The shiny sporty rental parked up by my cabin suggests she hadn’t left the grounds, so that only leaves one remaining possibility.
I turn and look out the window to the forest.
“What did you say when she asked where I was?”
Clayton straightens, alarm crossing his features. “I told her you were up the mountain.”
Then the door to the office flies open as Connor and Mama come running at my summons.
“What’s wrong?” My younger brother swipes away the sheen of sweat from his brow and loosens up his chef whites.
“Rae’s missing.”
“Missing? What do you mean, ‘missing’? Didn’t she just decide to check out early?” Mama looks to Clayton for confirmation. Then, with eyes narrowed, she points at me. “What did you do?”
“Nothing!”
Connor leans over and mutters, “He marked her, then told her he couldn’t accept a witch as a mate.”
“Oh, how could you, Cole?” She groans. “What the hell is wrong with witches?”
My eyes go round and I splutter. “What’s wrong with witches?”
“I wondered what in the hell was going on with you two, but Melanie, I said, it’s not your place. Those boys are grown, they don’t need you poking into their business and getting in between mates when they’re just tryin’ to find their way.”
We stare at her, agog.
“Since when have not you not poked into our business?” Clay asks, incredulously.
She glances at him, unamused. “Never you mind. I see now that my instincts are right and you boys still need your Mama’s guidance.”
Connor groans and I glance over at the clock.
“Ma, it doesn’t matter now. I’ve got to find her.”
She holds up a hand. “This is important, Cole, and you need to hear this. One witch killed your father. A whole host of witches tried to save him. So don’t go lumping all witches together like they’re all responsible for what happened that night. That poor witch caught in the middle had been compelled—not by choice—to yield her child to that sorceress. And that’s after Magen had cursed that child’s Daddy and drove him mad. If it weren’t for Magen, that baby would’ve grown up with two loving parents right here in Fable Forest. Goddess bless that child.”
“What did you say?”
“I said—”
“No, I heard you.” I close my eyes, shame burning through me. I’d been too focused on my own loss, my own pain. Never gave a thought to the fact that the whole reason Rae doesn’t know her history or her birth parents is because Magen robbed us both of family. We were victims then, but we don’t have to keep being victims now. I won’t let that witch keep taking from me and mine. “It’ll be dark soon. I need to find her. Can you help me?”
In my bear form, I tear through the trails and crash through the brush. The darker it gets, the more anxious I feel.
I keep picturing her losing her way, wandering for miles in the wilderness. Lost. Hungry. Alone.
What if she’s hurt?
What if she’s scared?
Rae, baby, answer me. I’m such an idiot. I’m so sorry for running away. When I find you, I swear I’ll never leave your side again.
Why the fuck did I leave her?
Anything?I throw out to my brothers.
They both respond in the negative as we continue trying to catch her scent. I’ve already checked the trails we’d walked together and my sacred space. Nothing. No traces of honeysuckle, no hint of sugar.
Desperation clogs my throat as I head north toward the clearing where I’d marked her. With my paws clawing at the rocky ledges, I’m halfway there when I pick up a faint trace of something… something sweet mixed with something metallic.
Blood.
Shit.
I got something. North side of the forest, about five miles from the family lodge. Head toward the meadow. Come quick.
I skid down the side of the ledge, not caring when a jagged edge catches on my foreleg and rips a gash into me. The second I’m on level ground, I rise up on my hind legs and try to catch it again.
Honeysuckle. Sugar. And something extra.
My bear roars, the sound of it bouncing off the sides of the mountain and echoing down into the valley.
Then, weakly, a small voice enters my mind.
Cole? Is that you?
Relief swamps me as I drop onto all fours and reach for our connection.
Where are you, baby? You sound so far away.
I’m not sure. I came to our meadow, looking for you. But I got turned around someplace and the ground fell away so suddenly. I slipped and fell a long way. I hurt my leg. It’s pretty swollen and I think it’s broken.
I know where she is. The ravine. As I bolt in her direction, I bark the location to my brothers with instructions for Clay to assist me and for Connor to assemble the rescue team in case it’s tricky for me to haul her out. Running flat out, thanking every lucky star I’ve got that I know these woods like the back of my hand, I cut through the pines and sprint longer than I’ve ever sprinted before.
Hang on, sweetheart. I’m coming.
I’m scared, Cole. There’s blood. She breaks off on a choked sob, and I push my muscles harder.
Listen to me. You’re a healer, Rae. You healed me. How did you do that? I skid to a stop at the edge of the ravine and pick up her scent. A sick feeling roils in my stomach as I realize how much blood clouds her sweet smell, but I grit my teeth and put one paw in front of the other to pick my way down the steep incline.
I don’t know.
Despite the fact that I know I’m close, the connection between us is still distressingly fainter than I’d like. How much blood has she lost? How long has she been out here?
I do. You willed it to happen, so it did. Someone told me once that love is the most powerful magic there is. Since you believe in its power and you share it with so many people through your stories, it’s made you strong. You embrace it willingly, without fear or hesitation. Hell, you embraced me willingly, even when I was an absolute ass.
I can feel her snort, and the connection between us flickers. Brightening. Strengthening. My heart swells as I hurry across the rocky ravine, following her scent. But when the connection between us dims again, my steps quicken.
Goldie, I need you to stay with me. Keep talking. Describe where you are.
She doesn’t answer for a long moment.
I’m in a rocky recess. I thought it would help keep me warm in case… Well, just in case.
In case she was out here all night, on her own.
That’s smart thinking. I swallow the lump in my throat and search the area for a recess. Then, I see it. A torn scrap of buttercup yellow floral print wafting in the breeze, and below it, a blood trail leads into a small, hidden alcove.
I’m in the meadow. Have you got her? Clayton calls out.
Yes, I answer, shifting back into my human form and squeezing myself into the dark, narrow entrance. “Goldie?”
“You found me.” She reclines against the rock, legs elevated and her green eyes glassy and somewhat unfocused. The color’s drained from her cheeks and she offers a weak smile. “I’m so tired. Can I rest now?”
“No, sweetheart. Stay with me.” I swallow the hard lump lodged in my throat as I crawl over to her in the small space. I grab hold of her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. But I don’t dare move her as my gaze slides to her leg. Her bone pokes out of her skin and there’s a pool of blood gathering beneath her. The shirt she’d discarded and tied around her leg to slow the bleeding is soaked through, and my bear roars in my ears.
Her eyes drift shut. “Only for a little while, Cole.”
“No! Stay with me. Rae, can you hear me?” My voice is sharp and it breaks on a sob. I stroke her cheek and telepathically beg my brothers to hurry. “I need you to stay with me.”