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Nodding, I shake out my hands and bounce on the spot. I can do this. Ethan’s smiling face enters my mind as I touch the chain around my neck. I’m ready.
25
ETHAN
She’s here. I don’t know how I know, but I know.
My wolf fidgets within me, becoming more and more restless as I drive the long winding road that leads to the packhouse. John, one of the pack wolves, gives me a salute as I pass through the already open gates; he has clearly been expecting my arrival. Once I’m through, wolves appear in the trees beside me, tracking the car; it’s something I’ve never seen in Grey Ridge. Everyone is on high alert, and news of what happened, who I have in my possession, has clearly spread fast.
Pulling into the wide, gravelled car park in front of the massive lodge I’ve called home for almost two decades, a pang of sadness hits me in the chest. Wolves are social animals. I may have lost my parents when I was very young, but you’re never truly alone in a pack. Your own pack, that is. Grey Ridge is my family, and I’ve missed them.
Replacing my downbeat expression with my usual, relaxed demeanour, I climb from the car and give friendly but serious nods to those who have come to see what’s going on; it’s understandable that they want to know more. When Rex appears, though, he is obviously not feeling as welcoming of their curiosity.
“Have you nothing better to do? We’ll have a meeting when I know more. For now, can you all just… go about your business?” Rex stares down anyone who continues lurking around, trying to get a glimpse of Kim – who happens to still be passed-out in my car. With low grumbles and wary looks, the onlookers slowly melt away, disappearing inside to gossip among themselves.
“Where is she?” I ask.
Two wolves appear and lift Kim out of the back seat, but I barely acknowledge them as I look past Rex, scanning the grounds for Belle. Adrenaline is coursing through my veins and I’m struggling to stay still.
“Who?” Rex snaps, tired and irritable.
Rounding on him, I’m about to growl in his face when Marie appears, “Hayley?” she smiles sweetly, placing a calming hand on my arm that stops me from losing my cool. “Don’t worry, Cooper has her locked safely away.” Despite Marie’s easy-going appearance, I sense the tightness in her smile. “Let’s get Kim taken care of and then we’ll all have a chat.” She tucks a stray hair behind her ear - a nervous gesture that shows her very un-Marie-like discomfort. “Rex, can you make sure Kim isn’t going anywhere while I bring Ethan inside and take a look at this?” Pointing to the blood stain on my shirt, she loops her arm through my elbow and gently nudges me.
My self-appointed substitute-mother is up to something.
Rex frowns at the red bloom soaking through the spare shirt I stole from Nathan, and looks a bit closer at me. “Are you okay? Should I get Leila to come have a look?”
Shaking my head vehemently, eyes wide, I step back. “God, no.” Leila is heavily pregnant and cranky. If she’s called to the packhouse, and I’m not on death's doorstep, she might kill me herself. “I think it stopped bleeding.” And anyway, the bullet wound isn’t responsible for my surly mood.
It’s taking an immense amount of effort to stand here making small talk when I know Belle is close. Very close, judging by the way my skin is crawling with the need to hunt her down.
Rex tilts his head and waits for me to say something else, taken aback by my uncharacteristic abruptness.
“Sorry,” I mumble. “I’m tired, pissed-off, and hungry. Today was a shit show. Let’s lock-up Kim and catch-up over dinner?”
Nodding, Rex finally switches his focus back to the wolves carrying Kim away, tracking them as they disappear toward what are now the cells; it’s where we used to house troubled wolves, pre-Toby. Security has been improved since Toby escaped, and I know Kim has no chance of escape.
As soon as I’m certain Rex is out of hearing distance, “Is she here?” I repeat to Marie; “Do you know where she is?” I don’t even try to suppress the urgency in my voice.
Turning to look down at Marie, I suddenly breathe in the very subtle scent drifting from her clothes: Belle. Marie knows exactly where my mate is, and her eagerness not to discuss it in front of Rex immediately has me worried. Fighting for patience, knowing there is no way I can push Marie and still get what I want, I wait for her to explain as we continue walking.
When my parents died, Marie packed what I needed and, without hesitation, moved me into the packhouse to live with her family. She has always treated me exactly as her own boys, and, given that she has done nothing but meddle and interfere in their love lives since the day she decided she was ready for grandbabies, I don’t know why I thought I’d be any different.
“She’s not here exactly.” We walk to the edge of the woods, away from prying ears keen to hear the latest news on the pack traitor. “She’s at the bed and breakfast. Nobody knows about her except Bodhi. And Marcus. And Leah. And you can’t tell anyone else.”
While that all seems odd, I’m barely listening. Already stripping, I’m about to shift and sprint the fastest route down the hill to the bed and breakfast when Marie stands in front of me, forcing me to look at her and listen.
“Ethan, that girl is incredible. You messed up somehow, but she came here anyway. She’ll fight for you. No matter what happens, remember that.”
Now I’m even more suspicious. And scared. With a gruff goodbye, I let my wolf take control and charge into the forest, making my way to Belle at lightning speed. It feels so good to be back in these trees, with every rock formation and trail familiar to me. If I wasn’t so desperate to see Belle, I’d stop and have some fun, let my wolf romp and play.
Going way too fast down the steep slope at the rear of the large cabin, I almost take a tumble. As I right my footing, a blur flashes past my peripheral vision and my wolf practically howls with delight. She’s here, her wolf ready to be reunited with her mate. When she steps into the clearing, the dappled sunlight hits her coat and makes her look ethereal against the backdrop of the shadowy forest.
Stepping forward, one paw still raised, my wolf is stunned when her growl is low and ferocious. Her white teeth flash as she warns us to stay back. Hurt, but understanding why, my wolf dips his head in submission and whimpers. He doesn’t care about anything other than reconnecting with her. He adores her.
She raises her chin, looking proud and strong as she huffs down her nose at us, and doesn’t give an inch. I’m about to shift, to try talking to her without getting myself bitten, but she spins and takes off through the trees. She’s on my home turf this time; there’s no way she’s getting away.
With impressive speed, she ducks through low branches, glancing over her shoulder to see where I am. She doesn’t realise how much time I spent barrelling through these trees as a teen, playing hide and seek with the Jones boys and training for my role. I know every inch of this territory. She doesn’t even hear me coming as I jump up from my crouched position behind an overturned tree, grip her by the scruff of the neck, and pin her to the ground.
