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Maude slips my car keys into her pocket. She’ll have to move my vehicle. Leaving it on the shore isn’t an option when it reeks of my desire; eventually, it will attract the attention of a passing shifter.
“I’ll light a fire, raid the stores, and ride it out. It’s just a couple of days. Maybe less since I’m already feeling it.” The pep talk is as much for me as it is for Maude.
I give her my thanks again and set off across the still water, slipping silently through the dusk and scanning all around for lights or sounds that would suggest anyone’s watching. Slowly but surely, I make my way to the island. Covered in lush greenery, the vegetation has been allowed to grow wild to discourage nosy kayakers from taking a look around.
I’m panting hard when I clamber ashore. At least out here I don’t need to worry about being quiet. Instead of creeping around, I barge through dense undergrowth until I reach the circle of visitor cabins. There’s no steady stream of guests to keep a path clear at this time of year.
Looking around cautiously, making sure nobody’s squatting in any of the properties, my bear sniffs out the one she wants for the next few days. The door sticks, swollen with a touch of damp, but gives way after I shove it hard with my shoulder. There are some perks to being a shifter.
Despite being locked up over the winter, the cabin is clean inside and is far more comfortable than I expected. Deb and Maude have improved them year-on-year, making the accommodation cosy. Closing the door to keep the cold out and my scent in, I yank open the wardrobe and toss in my pack. Immediately, I drag out a dressing gown and slippers then change. It’s pointless trying to wear clothes.
My body heat is already beginning to spike again.
A sudden pain rolling through me takes me by surprise, and I gasp as my pussy clenches hard. Squirming and squeezing my thighs together do nothing. Kneeling down on the floor, I drag a box from the bottom shelf of the wardrobe and drop it onto the bed. It’s pale pink with a ribbon tied around it and a welcome card slipped underneath the bow.
Uncertain but frustrated, I finger the card which instructs me to enjoy the contents and bring them home to keep. My mother makes these for each guest, and I know exactly what’s inside. It’s a battery-operated boyfriend and all the things you could need to make it through an intense heat alone.
Tapping my fingers on the hard case, I groan, a wave of need crashing over me as my bear attempts to convince me that swimming back to shore and racing home to Grey Ridge is a great idea. I need a distraction, and I have one right here. Why not use all the tools at my disposal? It’s not the same. No toy or man ever will be again, but needs must.
Tugging on the bow, I watch the ribbon fall to the bed and rummage through the goodies inside.
CHAPTER 34
CHASE
Ignoring the guilty feeling when I pull up the tracker I planted on Natalie’s car, I’m happy to see that little red dot on my screen, but quickly less than thrilled when I see how far away it is.
Putting my foot to the floor, I push my old Land Rover along the darkening mountain roads, as fast as it will go.
I need to see her face-to-face and make sure she’s okay after what happened between us last night. The message she sent said she’s gone to deal with a family emergency, but Billy was working behind the bar at the brewery and the tracker tells me she’s gone in the opposite direction of Black River.
If I’m wrong, I’ll gladly take whatever lecture she gives me about being overbearing and return to Grey Ridge, but, like Blake said, I can’t let myself be trapped there, answering questions for days, when I don’t know what’s going on.
“Her phone last pinged a few miles back from where the car’s parked. Neither have moved, Chase.” Van’s tone is grave. A woman whose phone has been left in one place and car abandoned somewhere else, in the middle of nowhere by the looks of things, could be in trouble. The only thing keeping me calm is the knowledge that she’s no ordinary woman.
Damn it. This mating frenzy thing… after seeing the way those men went after Belle, as if they were possessed… I need to get to her in case someone chases her like that. Thumping the steering wheel, I roar, violent and primal, and eke an extra bit of speed from my trusty truck.
“There are no accident reports, phone calls to the police, or anything else like that. I’ll keep monitoring, and you call us when you get to the car.”
I can’t even answer him as my thoughts spiral. If anyone has touched her, I know it will be the thing that pushes me into a full shift, just like seeing my friends hurt on duty drove me to grow claws and fangs. This could be exactly the ‘flip out’ Zoe didn’t want me to have. Well, it’s too late now. I’m halfway there.
My heart pounds as I round the bend, the red light so close to my location on the screen that I’m practically on top of it. My headlights hit a blue rickety-looking shack set back off the road. It backs onto the lake with picnic tables dotting a green area off to one side. If I wasn’t looking so closely, I’d have missed the dark shape tucked behind the building. I’ve already driven by when I spot the glint of moonlight bouncing off a window.
I don’t even reverse back, just bury the nose of my truck into the grass verge and leap out, calling her name and banging on the windows, I try each locked door of her car. The bonnet is cold, it’s been sitting here for a while. Spinning in a circle, I force myself to remain calm and draw on all of my training. I check each wheel for a set of keys and find nothing. She hasn’t broken down and left it here to be towed. There are no houses close by, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t met someone here and gotten into their car.
My stomach drops. If she knows the same thing is happening to her as Belle, a mating frenzy, has she already sought someone else? Someone she wants more than me? But that doesn’t explain why she doesn’t have her phone. I sprint down the old dock and look for any signs she might have gone swimming or taken a boat. Anything that might tell me where she is.
“You won’t find her down there.”
I was so focused on finding Natalie that I wasn’t paying attention to anything else, like potential danger lurking in the woods. The deep male voice doesn’t come from the road but from the trees. Obscured by the black shadows, a man, naked from the waist up, raises his hands to signal he’s no threat. Unconvinced, I rush him. The best defence is offence. He doesn’t look surprised, or angry, as I barrel him into a tree.
Only when I crash into him do I realise who it is.
“Mitch. Where is she?” Reluctantly loosening my grip, I stand back, still at the ready in case this is some kind of elaborate trap. Maybe Natalie was never here at all. If he wanted to get me out here to stop me asking questions, using his sister as bait would be the surest way. Or maybe his brothers really are holding a grudge against her.
He doesn’t answer me, just turns and stares out over the lake.
“No…” I’m already kicking off my shoes. He can’t really mean she’s in the water? It’s too cold. It’s pitch black. How will I find her?
