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Right now, I have to go get Natalie.
I don’t know if she managed to find him, but I checked in with my mother about half an hour ago, and it doesn’t look good. Her dad is hanging on, but barely, and my mother told me to get Natalie back here as soon as possible.
I know she wanted to get Donald. I know she wanted to try to save her father and I can’t blame her. I never would have thought of trying to hunt down Fablestone’s long-lost doctor. I was old enough when he left to remember the pain and sadness surrounding Trey’s death and Donald’s decision to leave.
Natalie’s parents had tried for years to have a child and weren’t able to. When they got the chance to adopt a human girl, they jumped at the opportunity. They were so happy to finally have a little one of their own. Everyone in the clan was thrilled for them. It was obvious that Natalie was the light of their lives. She lit up their entire world, and then, just when they couldn’t get any happier, Alicia Wolfe found out she was pregnant.
The entire clan celebrated.
That little boy was so loved.
Not only did Trey Wolfe have two parents who adored him, but he had Natalie, too. She loved being a big sister and even though she wasn’t a shifter, she used to talk about the day she’d get to be the one to teach her brother how to fly. Most shifters don’t actually learn how to change into their true form until after puberty, but Natalie didn’t care about how long she’d have to wait to see Trey shift into an incredible dragon. She read every book she could on shifters and how to shift and how to fly.
But then Trey got sick, seemingly overnight, and everything went to hell.
Cursing at the memory and wishing I could forget, I head home to give Peggy a kiss before I leave to pick up Natalie. Peggy is in the kitchen brewing coffee when I arrive, and I give her a hug before pouring myself a steaming cup.
“Good morning,” I whisper.
“Morning,” she says, but I know she’s feeling upset and tense still. Last night, she cried in my arms for a very long time. I cried, too, but it wasn’t just for the clan. It wasn’t just because we’re losing people. It was because my mate is in pain, and worried, and that made my heart hurt even worse.
“I talked to Lee,” I tell her. There’s no point in beating around the bush. Peggy instantly starts wringing her hands.
“What did he say? Is it going to help?”
“We don’t know anything yet, and we won’t for awhile. Peggy, you didn’t do anything wrong. You did the right thing, in fact. As soon as you realized you had the number, you turned it in to me. You could have tossed it and pretended you didn’t have it. You could have hidden it or called it or done any number of things, but you didn’t. You trusted me, and now I’m trusting Lee to do the right thing.”
“I just…I can’t stop thinking, Cameron. What if I had told you that first day? At the stone tower? What if we’d called it and we’d gotten information and we’d somehow been able to get David out of there safely?”
“They didn’t kill David because we rescued him, love. They killed him because he jumped in front of me when they tried to kill me. Knowing what’s at the end of this phone number might help, but it won’t bring him back, and it wouldn’t have saved him. I need you to forgive yourself, baby.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking me,” she whispers.
“I do know. I know because every day I live with guilt, too, princess. I live with the knowledge that my brother-in-law is dead and that’s why I’m alive. I live with the knowledge that my sister is without a mate and that my niece is growing up without a father.”
“I’m sorry,” she shakes her head. “I know. It must be so hard for you, and I didn’t even ask you if you’ve been doing okay.”
“We’re new mates, Peggy. Our relationship doesn’t have to be perfect, and it won’t be. It’s normal for us to struggle and misunderstand each other and mis-communicate.”
She wraps her arms around me and leans her head against my chest. For awhile, I just hold her, wishing I could take away her pain, wishing I could make everything right. For awhile, I wish that the clan was whole again. I wish for David. I wish for Trey. I wish for things to be the way they used to be: simple.
“I have to go,” I tell her. “I have to go get Natalie.”
She looks up at me. “Do you think she found him? The man she’s looking for, I mean. Do you think she was able to locate him?”
I should lie and say yes.
I should say Natalie definitely found him, convinced him to come back, and that everything is going to be okay.
I should tell her that everything’s going to be just fine and that she doesn’t need to worry.
I look into my mate’s eyes, though, and I realize that I can’t. I can’t lie to her. I can’t trick her. I can’t promise her that things are going to be fine when I don’t know if they are.
“Peggy,” I start, and she reaches for my face and kisses me before I can finish.
“Don’t answer me,” she says. “Just let me come with you.”
“You want to come along?”
