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Plus a few extra, slightly more unusual items, but it’s always better to be prepared. A head torch, snacks, batteries, drinking water. Loading the car is enough to have me sweating, so I run back inside and change into a light dress, plaiting my hair out of the way so it’s off my sticky neck.
The blue sky outside is clear and bright. It’s mild but not warm enough to be dressed like this, yet I feel like I’m on fire. The idea of putting on anything with sleeves is enough to have me coming out in a rash. All I’ve packed are the lightest clothes I own. Thin dressing gowns. Light pyjamas. Nobody will see me where I’m going anyway.
Locking the front door behind me, I jog down the steps and race toward my car, hesitating before I climb in.
Should I leave a note? Chase said he’d be back.
Part of me expected him to be lurking outside, pulled back here for reasons he doesn’t understand. My bear is disappointed that he isn’t. She’s more interested in having the perfect partner for the next few days and less concerned about his possible future reaction to becoming a dad and being stuck with me forever.
No note. I need to buy myself as much time as I can before he realises I’ve left town.
As soon as I’m behind the wheel, following the winding roads down the hillside and out of Grey Ridge, I call my mother. I love her with all my heart, but our relationship has been strained over the years. I’ve never understood why she stayed with my father, even after Marcus and I asked her to move here with us. She picked Leon over us countless times, no matter what he put her through, and it was hard to watch.
But in this, I trust her implicitly.
“Natalie. What’s wrong?” A mother’s instinct is never wrong. An unscheduled call from me is rare. One at this hour of the morning is unheard of. I don’t even pretend everything is okay.
“I need to get to the island.” The desperation in my voice is unmistakable. Mum falls quiet, too much of a lady to curse even though she wants to, then switches into parent mode immediately.
“You need how many?”
Her question makes no sense; someone else must be there.
“Hold on a second, let me go somewhere quieter.”
The floorboards in our old family home creak quietly as she gets to her feet and moves into another room. “It’s not May yet, Natalie. What’s going on?”
Every May, Deb Lennox decamps to a quiet, remote cabin with one of her old human friends to escape the madness that takes over Black River, and every bear clan. Leon was happy with this arrangement as it left him free to indulge in a mating frenzy with whatever idiot decided that potentially having a cub with the cruel leader of the clan was a clever power move.
It’s still spring, which means Mum can’t leave town for an unscheduled trip without drawing attention to herself and the best kept secret in the region: the island. Leon Lennox may be in a wheelchair and behind bars, but until he’s gone for good, he still has cronies that will run to him if Deb so much as sneezes outside of her regular routine. He may not be loyal to his mate, but he’s possessive as hell.
The island has to remain a secret. This is bigger than me and my problems.
“I know you can’t come. Do you think Maude could help me? I wouldn’t ask if I had any other choice.”
Remaining silent, I let Mum think it over. “Of course she will. That’s what it’s there for. I’ll let her know to expect a delivery. Do you know where the ice-cream shop is? It’ll be closed this time of year but park up behind there, stay in your car, and she’ll find you.”
Steel thinks he has the best operatives and spies in the region. They have nothing on Deb Lennox. Hiding in plain sight. My father has always had enough willing partners that he’s never really questioned the disappearance of females from Black River or where they go each mating season. It’s normal for a bear who doesn’t want a child to slink off somewhere and ride it out, hoping nobody comes after them.
But if you’re in a bad situation or vulnerable, Deb Lennox is who you turn to. Quietly.
“You’re very early.” Mum is still being vague in case anyone is listening. I need to have a word with Mitch about letting her move to a new house. One where she doesn’t feel like she’s on house arrest or under surveillance all the time.
“Believe me, I know.” Turning up the AC in my car to the max, I drive faster, eager to get somewhere safe so I can relax.
“That means…” My mum hesitates, reluctant to say anything over the phone. “Someone found what they were looking for.”
A fated mate. Me.
Bears choose their mates. They go into heat in predictable cycles. Wolves, on the other hand, have fated mates, and finding the one for them is enough to trigger a heat. Given I’m way too early for this to be a normal heat, it has to have been triggered by a fated bond.
“They weren't exactly looking for it, but yes.” Our animals are in complete agreement, even if his wolf hasn’t made its appearance yet, it’s there, right below the surface. Chase’s actions in the bar proved that.
I should be ecstatic, but, instead, I’m terrified. What if this is all too much for Chase to accept? He’s already about to have his world turned upside down when he finds out what he is. Squirming in my seat, the thought of him driving me crazy, I groan. I need to focus on the next thing, which is getting through my heat without anyone finding me.
“Mitch mentioned you had an interesting friend here with you the other day. He was asking lots of questions. This guy must have made quite an impression.” Mum says it casually, but it’s a warning. Mitch doesn’t just ask questions for no reason. “I haven't actually seen your brother around this morning. Say, ‘Hi,’ if he comes to visit you.”
Damn it. I knew Chase’s powerful aura would catch his attention, and he’d stick his nose in. That's another reason to get out of town.
