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“I’ve got to go… figure all this out,” Miguel muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Stay here and watch the cave. Any sign of trouble, rouse the others and send them deeper into the cave, then call me. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“With the others?”
Miguel nodded. “I think it’s best to move them out.” He tugged his tee over his head and tossed it aside, hands dropping to his pants. “And we’ll make sure Alani goes with those who leave. My parents have a safe house of sorts that we could host everyone at. Not for long, but it’ll do for now.”
“Hurry,” Ivo urged. “I know they’ll be back soon…”
And with that, Ivo’s Alpha turned and transformed into a grizzly bear, the man there one moment and gone the next. Ivo watched him go, always impressed with the speed and accuracy of such a large creature traversing down a wooded mountain face, and then settled back into his crouched position—ready and able to destroy anyone or anything that tried to breach the cave without his permission.
***
Apparently, doing anything for the person she loved meant literally scaling a mountain. Halfway up, Alani doubled over, trying to catch her breath. So far she had trekked through well-worn trails, her cell signal fading in and out of reception, and then started hiking up into the bush when the trails came to an end. After all, there was no cave at the little lookout point where the hiking trails stopped, so she assumed she just had to keep going.
With her sweater wrapped around her waist, she stood tall and gasped down the cool, crisp air. She had been walking for almost an hour now. The sun slowly crept over the mountain peaks as she climbed, casting a faint glow on the range. However, given the height, most of it was still shrouded in typical morning mist. The humidity left her feeling damper than she actually was, but all the hiking had also turned her into a sweaty mess—and the mist just seemed to hold it all in place.
“Ugh…” She arched her back, hands on her hips, and tried to stretch out her weary muscles. When had she gotten so out of shape? Back in Hawaii, she’d had endless energy, but maybe that was what happened when you had two girls zooming around you twenty-four-seven. In Angel Fire, if she wasn’t in the studio or running errands, Alani had done a lot of couch napping and TV watching, so it shouldn’t surprise her that the hike felt brutal.
Each breath managed to loosen the tight fist that had wrapped itself around her chest, and when she finally felt recovered enough, Alani got moving again. While the terrain wasn’t steep, it was enough for her to feel the burn in her calves. She had left the forested area behind, climbing now into rocky landscape, boulders everywhere and scraggly, prickly plants waiting to catch on her pant leg.
“Ivo?” She cupped her hands around her mouth and called his name again for what felt like the hundredth time that morning, then checked her phone. Still no service. Perfect. But he had to be out here somewhere. If he was hurt, Alani would find him. If he was fine, then he would find her—she just knew it.
She could also feel it within her that he was safe. Somehow she still felt whole. Surely a piece of her would be lost if something happened to him. His words had awakened something deep within her, a connection she had buried from the first day they met. Slowly, cautiously, Alani had decided she ought to let herself feel it all.
“This is insanity,” she muttered under her breath, grunting as she climbed a particularly sharp rock. “Total insanity. I’m in love with a bear shifter. I must be dreaming. I must be. There’s no way this is real…”
“Oh, you better believe me, lover,” a dark voice growled. “This is as real as it’s ever gonna get…”
Alani looked up with a startled cry, sliding down the other side of the rock faster than she would have liked at the sight of a group of huge rams gathered there waiting for her. In the middle of the herd was a man—a very naked man—with a smile so disgusting that it made her skin crawl. He smirked as she tried to scramble back up the rock to maybe make a run for it down the mountain.
But he lunged forward so fast that she had to wonder if she was dreaming—nobody could move that fast!—and grabbed her shirt with a dirty fist.
“You’re not going anywhere, girlie…”
