Your female.Barric growled.
Shit. He wasnotgoing to have this discussion in wolf form. It was all moot anyway.
She has probably left after the events of last night.Col should have been relieved she was gone. But as with all things concerning Katie Cooper— if that was even her name — he didn’t do or feel anything that he should have.
Now would be a good time to start.
Negative. The two children have been reported missing. She took off in one of the cars on display after she was told. We are all readying aWar-Packto retrieve her, once a location has been found.
Retrieve.The word that Barric used had connotations that sent a jolt through Col. It didn’t necessarily mean finding Katie Cooper alive.
He hadn’t been able to reconcile with the idea of her loss. He would find it unendurable to have to deal with her death.
He raised a huge auburn furred head towards the sky, and howled.
* * *
Simon was tapping furiously on his keyboard, Tybalt, Aylwyn and Merek hovering over his shoulder, Barric in wolf form on all fours with his head high enough to look over Simon’s desk. Miller was in the doorway, ready to spring into action.
Thankfully, the Lamborghini was equipped with an anti-theft tracking system. “Based on the direction the car is going and speed, there’s a quarry on that route that could be the destination.” Simon stabbed at the monitor. “Beyond there there’s an abandoned mine, away from any of the main roads. That’s the best extrapolation for where she could be.” He turned to Miller. “ I’m plugging that into the Range Rover right now.”
“I’m going to start the car right now, and be ready to go when you are.” Miller turned and left.
“We can’t wait for Col, if he’s not already downstairs” Simon said. “Can Barric send this route to him, and maybe he can meet us there?”
Barric emitted a low growl. Tybalt shook his head. “We would be unable to describe what we see of your wizardry for mind-messaging.”
Simon swore softly and finished tapping out a few more keystrokes. “The vehicle’s slowing down. I’ll keep following it in the car, but we should get going now.”
He watched as the computer completed his command.
And prayed that they wouldn’t be too late.
* * *
WE ARE LEAVING NOW.Barric fairly shouted in Col’s mind. The auburn wolf winced but his ears perked up.
In wolf form, he was fifteen minutes from the house. He would not delay them.
Where is she?Col mind-messaged back.
Silence.
WHERE?Col shouted back.
Simon’s wizardry—I cannot understand it well enough to send to you.Barric sounded uncharacteristically apologetic.Simon has mentioned a quarry on the route, and an abandoned mine.
Great. That was only a step better than saying “There’s a lot of trees. And a rock or two on the route.”
Col would have cursed if he were in human form.
He had to find her. But without the help of hisBredhren. Without Simon’s Technowizardry. There was only one way, and pray to She Who Grants Abundance that it would work.
If Katie Cooper was truly meant to be hisDestine, his wolf instinct would lead him to her, even though he had not completed the mate-bonding process.
He had to try.
And in that moment, with the possibility that she could truly be lost to him forever, Col realized that he would still do anything for her. He always would.
He ripped apart all the scar tissue that had been building up since his heart broke last night, and lay himself bare once more.
To trust.
To love.
To hisDestine.
