Chapter Six
Harper
The path that Mateo led them on grew increasingly treacherous as they ventured deeper into the heart of the rainforest. The terrain was a labyrinth of tangled roots and slippery moss-covered rocks that required careful navigation.
Harper’s boots often sank into the soft, wet earth, leaving deep impressions that quickly filled with water.
Overhead, the canopy thickened, encasing them in perpetual twilight.
Brightly colored birds flitted above, their vibrant feathers a stark contrast to the muted greens and browns of the forest floor.
As they crossed a shallow stream, the stones beneath their feet wobbled treacherously. Toby reached out to steady Harper, his hand warm against her arm.
“I’ve got you,” he said with a gentle smile.
“Thank you,” Harper replied. She didn’t say anything further, but what she wanted to say was that she hadn’t doubted for a moment that Toby had her back.
It was crazy, but over the space of a couple of days, she had come to trust him whole-heartedly and unwaveringly.
Harper knew realistically that the mate bond had a large part to play in the trust she felt toward Toby, but it was more than that.
He was the type of man that it was easy to believe in.
When he told her the path was treacherous, she knew it was.
When he said they could make it across the stream, she knew that they could.
It was as if he exuded an aura of certainty that she couldn’t help but be drawn into.
The honest truth was, she trusted him implicitly.
As they continued their journey, Toby gently took her hand, and his touch sent a thrill through her body.
Their fingers intertwined like pieces of a puzzle, fitting together seamlessly.
A small smile formed on her lips as she realized that even with all the challenges of the jungle and after everything they had just been through, Toby’s hand felt like a safe haven to her.
Later, they paused to take a short break on a fallen log, catching their breath while Mateo scouted ahead. Harper took a sip of water, then turned to Toby, who was staring thoughtfully into the dense foliage.
“You seem very at home in the wild,” she observed, watching him scan their surroundings.
Toby chuckled softly, turning his gaze back to her. “I guess you could say that. Growing up as an only child, I spent a lot of time outdoors. Coyote shifters usually don’t live in large packs like wolves. We’re more independent. I spent a lot of time exploring.”
“That must have been lonely sometimes,” Harper mused, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Sometimes,” Toby admitted. “But I was never really alone. My parents are anthropologists, you know? We didn’t have the typical family outings. Instead of amusement parks, it was ancient ruins or remote villages. Even the odd rainforest like this one…”
Harper smiled, intrigued. It was so far removed from the upbringing she had shared with her brother. “That sounds like one heck of an adventure. Do you have any favorite memories from those trips?”
“Hmm, I suppose there is one in particular,” Toby replied, his eyes lighting up with the recollection.
“I was about ten, and we were in Egypt. My parents were involved in an excavation near the Valley of the Kings. One evening, my dad and I climbed to the top of a nearby hill to watch the sunset over the Nile. He talked to me about the pharaohs and their legends as if they were old friends.”
She smiled, caught up in his excitement and nostalgia.
“It was... magical I suppose you could say. It made me feel connected to something much bigger than myself.”
“That sounds amazing,” Harper said, her voice tinged with longing. “It’s like your life has been one big adventure.”
“It has in many respects,” Toby agreed, then paused, considering her. “What about you? You’ve put so much into your coffee shop. What drew you to that kind of life?”
Harper took a deep breath, her expression turning reflective.
“I guess it was more necessity than passion at first. After my parents passed, I needed something stable, something to ground me. I couldn’t go to college and nineteen-year-olds with no qualifications don’t have a huge earning potential. ”
His soft smile encouraged her to keep going.
“My parents had left me a sizeable amount of money, but I had to take care of my brother so I knew it wouldn’t last very long if I didn’t do something with it.
Then I walked by the coffee shop one day and saw the for-sale sign and everything just clicked into place.
The previous owners were an elderly couple, and they were ready to retire.
They had children, but none of them were interested in taking the business on.
So, I bought it. I worked really hard at first to ensure it didn’t fail, then I took on Lee and Jess, so I was able to take a step back to be there for Jack who was still in high school at the time. ”
“It looks to me as if you still work hard there,” Toby pointed out. “The first day I met you, you were working alone for the entire day.”
Harper nodded. “I did, but that isn’t the norm. Lee had the day off and Jess was sick. That’s pretty unusual. If I’m honest, hiring them was about the best decision I ever made. They’ve been a godsend to me in more ways than one. They’ve become more than just employees, they’re friends.”
When Toby smiled at her, the expression made her stomach do a weird little flip.
“You’ve certainly made a success of the business,” he noted.
Harper smiled, puffing her chest out proudly. “I like to think so. It’s not ancient ruins, but it’s my little mark on the world.”
Mateo appeared through the trees a moment later and beckoned them to follow him.
As they resumed their trek, the conversation shifted to lighter topics, but the depth of their earlier exchange lingered, adding even more layers to their relationship.
Harper loved getting to know Toby more and feeling comfortable enough with him that she could share details of her past. The more time she spent with him, the less doubt there was in her mind that fate had brought them together. That they were meant to be.
Harper followed closely behind Toby as the dense foliage of the rainforest seemed to swallow them whole.
Mateo, chopped at branches with his machete, clearing a path that barely held back the jungle’s relentless encroachment.
The air was thick with humidity, making every breath feel heavy and labored.
As they navigated a particularly dense area, Mateo suddenly halted.
“This part of the forest can be tricky,” he warned, his voice low. “The ground isn’t always as solid as it looks.”
Soon, the unmistakable outline of ancient ruins emerged through trees.
The stones were weathered and moss-covered, speaking to centuries of abandonment, if not more.
As Toby, Harper, and Mateo approached, the size of site became apparent.
The ruins covered a vast space. Harper wondered if Jack had been through this area already.
She hoped he was okay. Jack might be a pain in the neck sometimes, but he was still her brother, and he wasn’t very outdoorsy.
Once Jack had been around nine, or ten, their parents had taken them camping and Jack had whined the entire time, begging them to take him home.
It had been their first and only camping trip.
“These are the ruins I told you about,” Mateo said. “I haven’t been much farther in this direction so when we pass here, we’ll be going on blind.”
Harper eyed the intricate stone structures. “It’s frustrating that we haven’t seen any sign of Jack yet, and you haven’t scented anything?” she asked Toby.
He shook his head. “No, not a trace, although that isn’t too surprising. There’s not going to be much of a scent left over in a forest a day or so after someone passed through it.”
As they walked into the heart of the ruins, they encountered a series of columns which seemed to sprout out of the ground, each marked with ancient symbols and arranged in a complex pattern.
“Wow, look at this,” she said, studying them with awe. “This is incredible.”
Harper was intrigued. She would have loved to stay longer to take a good look around the area, but this wasn’t a sightseeing trip, and they had to keep going.
She didn’t know how far ahead her brother might be or if the wolf shifters had managed to get ahead of them somehow and were catching up with him at this very moment.
“This way,” Mateo said, leading them through the center of the ruins
When they emerged from the shadowy undergrowth into a small clearing, Harper’s breath caught in her throat.
There, amidst the ferns and fallen leaves, lay a torn t-shirt stained with dark, drying blood.
She hurried over, her heart pounding as she picked up the ragged fabric, recognizing it immediately.
“This is Jack’s,” she said, her voice shaking.
The familiar band logo on the t-shirt he wore often was faded but still visible.
Toby took the shirt from her then held it to his noise, sniffing the fabric, and Harper realized he was using his enhanced shifter senses to identify the scent.
“It has Jack’s scent on it,” he confirmed, “But I can’t tell if it’s his blood.” He handed the t-shirt to Mateo.
“This belongs to my mate’s brother,” he told their guide. “Can you make a note of the scent in case we come across it again?”
Mateo nodded and took the shirt before he too lifted it to his nose and inhaled. He nodded then handed the shirt back to Harper.
“I’ll recognize the scent if I smell it again. The blood, too.”