Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
River was ready for Winter’s little game.
He’s said hide ’n seek, but after some discussion, they decided to try a test in two phases that was a little more like capture the flag.
The point was to see if Winter could sneak undetected into Albert’s territory and spy on his pack.
The vampire just wasn’t sure how strong the wolves’ noses were.
So, after Wyatt and River slipped away to change into their wolf form, they all trooped through Marcus’s home and into the backyard, which ended in a thick wall of trees.
It was decided that Bel would go into the woods first to act as the flag.
After a few minutes, Winter followed with the intention of reaching Bel first, secreting him out of the woods, and to where the rest of the Variks were gathered on the stone patio.
River and Wyatt were released two minutes after Winter slipped between the trees, and they had to stop him.
Before Bel had left, the Varik brothers had started laying bets on who would come out the victor.
Naturally, Bel had sided with his wolves, but River still noticed a hesitation.
What were they missing about Winter? There was some mention of Winter using his power, but would it really allow him to escape a wolf’s nose?
Aiden released the wolves, and River was off like a shot with Wyatt close on his heels. Bel’s and Winter’s scents were easy to pick out across the lawn and at the start of the woods. River would know Bel’s scent anywhere. It was the smell of home, love, and the tang of computer ozone.
But they’d been around Winter enough to recognize his as well. Cool and crisp like his name, Winter’s was also a hint of blood and lavender. A strange combination but unmistakable.
River paused with Wyatt at the start of the woods, smelling both traces of Bel and Winter within a couple of feet of each other. But the wolves took only a few steps and they stopped sharply. Winter’s scent was gone. It was as if he completely disappeared.
A slight unease started to give way to mounting anxiety.
How could he just vanish? River picked up his pace, crossing back and forth in a tight search pattern with Wyatt, but there was no trace of Winter moving from that spot.
Bel’s scent remained. Their lover made a clear path to follow deeper into the woods, but there was no Winter.
Each second that ticked by carried Winter another step closer to Bel. They had to get moving. They had to intercept Winter before he reached Bel.
Wyatt yipped at River and motioned for him to follow. River wanted to growl in frustration. This wasn’t right. Nothing was wrong with his nose. He moved to Bel’s trail and off again, searching the ground and up in the trees for any little trace of the other vampire.
They continued on, following only Bel’s scent deeper into the woods. His smell was getting stronger with each step. They had to be close to where he was standing. Waiting for them.
And then he wasn’t.
River halted, his heart jerking in his chest. Something was wrong.
Horribly wrong. River couldn’t get his legs to move as he searched inside himself for traces of Bel.
The vampire with his special gift always seemed to have a little spot in River’s brain, maybe tethered to his soul.
He could feel Bel even if he wasn’t using his gift to talk to them or direct them.
But he couldn’t feel Bel now. It was like they’d been cut off. Like Bel didn’t exist any longer.
River dragged his eyes over to Wyatt, and he knew his lover was feeling the same thing. Wyatt’s larger black wolf was trembling, his entire body tense.
Lifting his nose into the air, River howled long and low before he charged forward, clinging to Bel’s scent. This had to be wrong. Their Bel had to be safe and waiting for them just past these trees.
The soft shift of leaves and branches indicated that Wyatt followed, but they were no longer trying to move quietly through the brush. It was about speed. They had to get to Bel. Had to find him.
But Bel was gone.
They reached the spot where Bel had been standing last. There were even faint traces of Winter all around him. The other Varik had reached his brother without giving away a hint of his location as he moved. Not until he claimed his prize and started to move him toward Marcus’s house.
There was some small relief that someone else hadn’t grabbed their Bel, hadn’t hurt their Bel. Winter would never hurt his brother.
Still, River lifted his head in another desperate howl and even Wyatt joined him. They needed to find their mate. Only when they could see him, hold him again, would they feel okay.
Putting their noses down to the brush, they searched the immediate area, trying to get a feel for which direction they moved in.
There were hints of rabbits, mice, squirrels.
Birds landed and took off again. Even a deer had passed through in the last several hours.
The earth held the scent of decay mixed with fresh life as winter gave way to spring.
But no vampires.
Panic was starting crowd River’s brain. He couldn’t feel his Bel. What if they were wrong? What if something had happened to him and Winter? What if someone attacked just as Winter reached them and they had missed the scent of the intruder?
How could they fail their Bel like this? They had promised to protect him and now he was gone.
Just as River was starting to shift to human form, Bel popped into his brain. His touch warm and familiar. A weight that had him crying out in a broken whimper. Wyatt was off like a shot and River followed close on his heels, heading for the house. They could feel him at Marcus’s house.
As they cleared the trees, they found Bel and Winter sitting in the middle of the open grassy area. Rafe was already running to them from the house, streaks of tears on his pale face. His other family members were following behind them. Something had gone wrong.
Wyatt shifted into human form midstride while River continued to stretch his long wolf body. He could move faster as a wolf, reach Bel sooner. He just needed to touch him.
“Bel!” Wyatt called and the vampire twisted to look at them. He was alive. Alive and well, if a little pale.
River shifted back to human and crashed into Bel, nearly knocking him over. “You’re alive!” he choked out past his heart in his throat. “Oh, God! I couldn’t feel you. It was like you’d died. Couldn’t feel you at all.”
Wyatt arrived a second later, crashing into them so that the two vampires and two werewolves landed in a heap on the ground. He wrapped his arms around both River and Bel, his breathing also choked.
“I’m fine. I swear, I’m fine,” Bel said. He touched and rubbed his hands on both of them. His lips brushed over their faces, and it helped to push back the tide of fear still swamping River.
“What the fuck did you do to our brother?” Rafe roared the second he reached them. One hand shot out and gripped Bel’s wrist, pulling him out of the dog pile on the ground and into Rafe’s shaking arms.
“Rafe, I’m fine—” Bel started to say, but Rafe talked right over him.
“He killed you. I felt it. He fucking killed you!”
“Obviously, he’s not dead if he’s talking to you,” Winter said drily.
“That’s what I felt too,” River argued. “One second I could feel him, and then he was gone completely. It was as if his life had been snuffed out in an instant.”
The other Variks reached the gathering, but Rafe remained livid despite the evidence that Bel was still alive and well.
“Don’t you ever fucking do that again! Don’t touch him!”
Winter stiffened and pushed himself off the ground, moving away from the family gathering. At the same time, Bel shoved roughly out of Rafe’s arms and crossed to the youngest Varik brother.
“Stop it, Rafe!” Bel snapped. He wrapped his arm around Winter’s shoulders, keeping his brother close when he tried to pull away from all of them. “You know I’m fine. You can see it with your own eyes. Winter would never do anything to harm me. Never!”
“It was like the night you were transformed, and you died on Marcus’s floor. I-I can’t do that again.”
“I’m fine. I promise. Winter’s gift…it’s not what we think.
” Bel stopped and hugged his little brother even tighter.
River could feel the dread and sadness streaking through him as he held Winter.
River didn’t know what Bel meant, but it didn’t matter right now.
He’d ask later. For now, he only needed to know that their Bel was safe and sound.
A hint of a smile lifted one corner of Winter’s lips, and he wrapped one arm around Bel, returning the hug. “Sorry about the scare. I forgot Bel was tied to Rafe. Didn’t realize the tie now included Wyatt and River.”
“What do you mean Winter’s gift isn’t what we think? He just fucking vanishes, right?” Rafe demanded.
“No,” Winter said.
Bel was also shaking his head. “It’s like he can slip into an alternate reality. Or maybe just into a different layer of reality.” Bel paused and blinked a couple of times. “I’m still not even sure if I saw what I think I saw.”
“Don’t, Bel,” Winter whispered. He sounded so tired that River’s heart went out to the vampire.
“Just let it go. It’s better that way.” He looked up at Aiden and frowned.
“The important thing is that I can’t bring anyone through like that.
It doesn’t take much for me to use my power, but to include a second person is incredibly draining. ”
Aiden nodded and looked at where River and Wyatt were still sitting naked on the cold ground. “Could you smell Winter?”
“Not a hint,” Wyatt admitted.