Chapter Nineteen – Doreen
He was here.
A sob clawed up her throat, sharp and unexpected, as her knees nearly buckled with the sheer force of relief.
Despite the cold, Doreen could feel a familiar pull in her gut that told her he was near. The mate bond. All her previous skepticism vanished in that moment.
Before she could process it, his arms wrapped around her, and she sagged against him. Her fingers dug into his jacket as she clung to him, terrified that if she let go, he might dissolve into the bitter cold like a cruel hallucination.
“You came,” she whispered.
“I will always come for you,” he said fiercely, pulling her against his chest, shielding her from the wind.
“Jake,” she gasped. “And Bash… they’re in a cave. I tried to find the road. I needed to bring help back.” James pressed his forehead to hers as tears pricked her eyes.
“You did everything right. Everything. I’ll get us all out of here.”
Her knees buckled then, not from fear, but from sheer exhaustion. James caught her easily, scooping her into his arms. She buried her face against his shoulder and inhaled his scent.
“Hold on to me,” he said, voice low and fierce. “I’ve got you now.”
She tightened her grip, terrified the wind might simply rip him away if she didn’t anchor herself to him. Then she heard a faint, shrill noise.
“Jake,” she murmured, the word catching in her throat. Her lips felt numb, her thoughts scattered like the snowflakes swirling around them.
“I know where he is,” James answered, his voice vibrating through his chest. “I found the cave before I found you. He and Bash are okay.”
Then they were moving. Doreen cradled in his arms as James walked with sure-footed confidence through the blinding snow. Each step carried them closer to the whistle’s piercing sound, which grew louder as they approached.
The forest was a maze of white, identical trees blurring together, but James never hesitated, never faltered in his path.
Doreen pressed her face against his neck, drawing warmth from his skin. Would she have found her way back to Jake on her own? She hated how easily the thought gutted her. How close she’d been to failing the boy who trusted her completely.
The storm had stolen all landmarks, erased all signs of her earlier passage. She might have wandered alone, going around in circles until exhaustion claimed her.
But she wasn’t alone. The realization washed over her like a wave of warmth despite the frigid air.
She would never be alone again with this bear of a man in her life.
The mate bond wasn’t just words or some mystical concept.
It was this, two people finding each other against impossible odds, holding on when everything else fell away.
“Almost there,” James murmured against her hair, his breath warm against her frozen skin.
The whistle’s shrill call grew clearer now, cutting through the howling wind. When James rounded a snow-covered ridge, the small cave entrance appeared, firelight flickering from within. Jake stood at the opening.
“Hello? Is somebody there?”
Jake’s voice. The sweetest sound she’d ever heard.
Doreen’s heart stuttered; she hadn’t realized how terrified she’d been of never hearing that voice again. She struggled to lift her head from James’s chest as relief hit her so hard it nearly knocked the breath from her lungs.
“Jake!” she called, her voice weaker than she’d intended.
A sharp bark greeted them. Even the snow and the cold and the cave could not dent Bash’s enthusiasm.
“Jake! Bash!” James’s voice carried with surprising power. “It’s us. We’re here!”
“Deputy Pike?” Jake’s answer came immediately, his voice cracking with relief. “We’re in here! In the cave!”
James ducked through the opening, and suddenly the roar of the wind fell away. The warmth of a small fire flickered across the stone walls, casting dancing shadows that felt like a miracle after the endless white of the storm.
“Aunt D!” Jake’s voice broke on her name as he scooted toward them, his small face pale in the light of the fire.
The moment James set her down, Jake crashed into her, wrapping his arms around her waist as if afraid she might disappear again.
Every horrible scenario she’d been pushing down surged at once—cold, silence, an empty cave—and then he was there. Solid. Real. Safe.
Bash pressed against her legs, whining and licking her cold hands, his whole body wiggling with joy and concern.
Doreen pulled Jake into her arms, her throat tight with emotion. “You did so well,” she whispered, pressing kisses to his hair, his forehead, his cold cheeks. “You kept the fire going, just like I showed you. You stayed safe. You did everything right.”
Her voice shook with pride so fierce it startled her.
Jake buried his face against her neck, his small body trembling. “I knew you’d come back,” he said.
“You kept blowing the whistle,” Doreen said, wishing she shared his faith in her. She pulled back just enough to look into his eyes. “You and Bash are so smart.”
Bash nudged between them, his warm tongue swiped across Jake’s cheek.
“Bash is smart. Even though sometimes he pretends he’s not. He protected me,” Jake said, pride warming his voice. “He stayed right next to me the whole time, just like you told him to.”
James crouched beside them and ran a gentle hand over Bash’s head. “Good boy,” he murmured, then turned to Jake with equal approval in his eyes. “And you—you were so brave. You kept the fire going this whole time?”
Jake nodded, straightening a little under James’s praise. “Aunt D used the matches from the kit you gave me. Then I kept adding small sticks, just like Aunt D said.”
“What a team.” James’s eyes met Doreen’s over Jake’s head, and something passed between them… No, not something. She knew what it was now. The connection that hummed between them. It had a name. The mate bond. “You both did everything right. And now we’re going to get you home.”
The way he said home meant everything. Because she understood now that this man was her home. Her future.
“Your hands are still cold,” James noted, concern creasing his brow as he rubbed her fingers between his.
“I’m okay,” Doreen assured him, though she didn’t pull away from his touch. “Really.”
She didn’t want him to stop. Not now. Not ever.
James looked skeptical but nodded, turning to survey their shelter. “We should get moving soon. The storm’s intensity is shifting. There’s a window coming where we can make it back safely.”
“How do you know?” Jake asked, eyes wide with curiosity.
James smiled, ruffling Jake’s hair. “I can feel it. The wind’s changing direction.”
Doreen felt a ripple of awe—James didn’t just survive in this wilderness. He belonged to it. And somehow… so did she, with him.
He began gathering their things, efficiently preparing them to leave. The silver emergency blanket went back into its tiny package, the LED light was switched off, and tucked away. James helped Jake into his coat, zipping it all the way up to his chin.
When they were ready, James doused the fire carefully, making sure no embers remained. As he worked, Doreen reached for his arm, stopping him before he stood. Their eyes locked in a moment full of emotion neither needed to say aloud.
“Thank you,” she whispered, the words wholly inadequate for what she felt.
James’s hand covered hers, warm and steady. “You don’t have to,” he answered simply.
“I know.” She cupped his face, feeling his breath warm against her palm.
His eyes held hers, the connection between them hummed so deep it stole the air from her lungs.
She would never doubt it again.