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Micah hid his smile as he could hear the jealousy in her voice.
“The restaurant was full so she asked if she could sit with me. We had a good conversation,” Micah said.
“I see,” Lucy replied.
“Nothing happened between us. Once dinner was over, she went to her room and I went to mine.”
He chuckled under his breath when he saw a look of satisfaction cross her face.
“What are your plans for the day?” Micah asked.
“Working at the café,” Lucy replied. “You?”
“I thought that I would go for a walk on the mountain. I wasn’t planning on shifting, just walking. Do you think that Clara could spare you for the day?”
“I don’t know. I’ll ask,” Lucy said.
After a quick conversation where Clara assured Lucy that she had more than enough staff working, Lucy said, “It looks like I’m free.”
They were quiet as he drove to the parking area on the mountain near one of the trail heads. Micah wondered if Lucy’s jealousy was an indication that she was starting to feel something more than just friendship toward him. Maybe last night was a good night after all.
They strapped on their snowshoes and started up the side of the mountain.
“I love how peaceful it is up here,” she said. “No cars, horns, loud people, or any of the other noises that bombard us day and night in the city.”
She took in a deep breath.
“It smells so sweet. Nothing like the car exhaust and other fumes that can clog the sinuses in the city.”
“I needed this,” Micah said. “I spent all day yesterday staring at the computer screen and it was about to drive me mad.”
“I guess you’ll have to get used to it,” Lucy said. “You get to go to meetings, kiss babies, and do work on the computer.”
“Kiss babies?”
“Isn’t that what all the politicians do?”
“Only when they are trying to get elected and they are trying to convince everybody that they care about the people.” Micah laughed. “I’m not running for office, so I won’t be kissing anything, including ass.”
“That’s one of the reasons why you’ll make a great alpha,” Lucy said. “You truly care about the people and about the issues, and you won’t be afraid to make decisions that will hurt other people’s feelings. You’ll do what is right.”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence,” Micah said.
Lucy put her foot down and his heart stopped when he heard an ominous crack. The snow exploded around Lucy’s foot as she slid down the bank onto the river. The ice cracked under her weight.
17
Lucy
Lucy’s foot twisted. She tried to catch herself as she slid down the slick snowbank. She hit the ground below. A sickening feeling clenched Lucy’s heart and fear exploded in Lucy’s soul as she realized that she hadn’t hit ground at all. Instead, she had managed to fall onto the snow-covered river. The ice cracked and Lucy fell through.
Panic set in as she tried to grab ahold of anything for leverage, but there was nothing. Her body continued to sink into the freezing cold water. The water was up to her waist, her chest and then over her head. She tried to kick and claw her way above the water. Lucy was terrified that she would be swept under a piece of ice that she couldn’t break. Her heart beat a million miles an hour as she fought against her terror and the freezing cold.
Her head finally rose above the sheet of ice. The icy river stole her breath away and her lungs were burning as she tried to reach for anything that she could use to pull herself out.
Shifting wouldn’t help. She would just end up under the ice, unable to break out of the biting water. A million bitterly cold knives were driven through her body. Lucy managed to grab ahold of a small tree that had been growing on the side of the river, but her gloved hands were starting to go numb.
The swift current that swirled around her legs was tugging at her. Closing her eyes, she prayed that she would be able to hold on to the small tree. Between the pull of the current and her weight, the tree was starting to give. Lucy felt the roots of the small tree start to pull out of the ground.
