Chapter Twelve
Saber
The hike up the mountain was strenuous, even for us. We’d hiked many times, and Judah even learned mountain climbing years ago. The only placed he practiced when we were back home was on the gym climbing wall now.
The entire way was silent. We had nothing to say, but my brain had plenty of things to think about.
Something was going on with Posy and, despite knowing that she was our mate, I had a sneaking suspicion that the root of her issue was us. Maybe me.
By the time we got back to the campsite, our shirts were heavy with sweat and we’d drained our water bottles dry.
I hoped she got some rest.
“Should we go check on her?” Judah asked. He was the most bothered by all of this. The most hesitant in wanting to join the app was now the most ardent about Posy.
I wished I could say the same for her.
“I’m gonna knock.”
I did. And knocked again. Finally, I opened the door and called out for her, but there was no answer.
“Where is she?” Aldrin asked, stepping into the trailer. The bed was unrumpled. Either she rested and then smoothed everything again, or she never took a nap in the first place.
My heart rammed against my sternum.
Did she leave us? So disenchanted, she ghosted us the minute we turned our backs?
Fuck!
“Maybe she got hungry.” Judah was next. Her scent had faded. She’d been gone for a while.
“Hungry?” I scoffed. “We put enough snacks and food in here for a decade. I don’t think she left, at least not permanently. Her backpack is gone, but some of her clothes are still here.”
Aldrin exited the trailer, and we followed. “Okay. Let’s ask around. Maybe someone has seen—”
“Wait,” I interrupted. “What if she went to the spa? There’s a hot tub and a sauna. Those kinds of things. I left a brochure in her trailer.”
We decided to look there first, but she wasn’t there and no one had seen her. We also checked the gift shop and the regular tourist place, but she was nowhere to be found.
Calling her phone got us nothing but her voicemail.
What kind of bear loses their mate?
We asked everyone, but it wasn’t until the diner that the waitress from that morning told us what happened. Or some of it. “Saw her earlier. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she’d changed, but she was headed up Thompson’s Peak. Backpack on. Hat. Determined look on her face.”
“Thank you,” I said, and we left, even more confused, but at least we had a direction now.
There was no time to ask questions. We needed a plan. Thompson’s Peak was no joke for anyone. It would take some planning even for us to hike there.
What was she doing? Trying to leave us behind? Prove something?
Either way, we had to go after her.
Aldrin cleared his throat. “Okay. Back to camp. Get all the supplies. We don’t know how long we’ll be out there. Judah, get some first aid just in case. Saber, water and food. I’ll grab ropes and other supplies. We leave in ten minutes.”
It didn’t take much to get ready. We kept those supplies with us at all times, no matter what.
But the longer we took getting to her, the more time she might be stranded or lost or hurt, and that rushed our movements.
In bear form, this whole thing would’ve been so much easier, but while there were bears in almost every national forest, we didn’t need to flaunt it.
Or be discovered by humans.
Or scare our human.
She’d been around shifters, but wolves. Not anything compared to a bear.
“We have about two hours until sunset. Let’s move our asses.”
We started the path up the mountain. It was marked with a big sign, and unless Posy was determined to fail, she would’ve started right there.
This was nowhere near the hike we’d brought her on that morning.
This was rocky terrain. Steep steps. There were snakes and all kinds of other things, not to mention, human males.
Sometimes, they were the most fearsome creature of all to a female on her own.
“She doesn’t have poles,” Judah grumped, hopping down from a boulder. He was the nimblest of us. We each had our talents.
“That’s the least of her worries. The sun is setting. It might be warm now, but it won’t be for long. I don’t know if she has a sleeping bag or food. Our mate is out there…”
I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find her, Aldrin. Her scent is here. She’s not far. Believe it.”
I didn’t know if I was speaking more to him or myself.
Hold on, Posy.