Page 59 of Her Shifter Pack

I shook myself, still not used to the sight of a human morphing into another creature.

I grabbed a helmet, slid it on and jumped on the huge dirt bike. “You run, I’ll follow.”

Ollie’s wolf nodded, turned tail and took off.

I revved the engine and followed him, and for the first time in my life, I was grateful for the upbringing and knowledge I’d been taught along the way.

Chapter 18

LEXIE

Anne and Nancy hadn’t been joking about the steepness of the mountain. It was truly one of the hardest rides of my life, but I didn’t think of turning back once. We needed to find Markus. My mate was in trouble and I was up to the task.

Ollie took his time on the ascent, sniffing trees and looking for Markus’s scent, I assumed. His pace also gave me time to catch up.

Toni’s bike was truly fantastic. She’d been right to say it was one of the few machines that would be able to handle this terrain. Some of the inclines were so steep, I had trouble staying on the bike.

Amidst all the worry though, pleasure at being back on a motorcycle simmered beneath it all. I’d forgotten how much I loved to ride. But the going was hard. I rode through muddy ditches, navigated steep cliffs and slipped between dense foliage.

I kept up with Ollie, though my heart ached with fear for Markus and my arm muscles screamed due to the strain and lack of recent practice.

When the wind began to blow so hard I could barely keep the machine upright, I started to freak out a little. That was the first time I began to doubt whether I had what it took to make it to the cave. Then the heavens opened up and the only thing I could be grateful for was the helmet visor that kept the rain off my face.

I pushed my fear down. We were almost there. I could feel Markus’s need growing the nearer we got to him. We couldn’t turn back.

After a particularly steep section, Ollie ran over to me, panting hard. I yelled out to him, screaming over the noise of the storm and the bike. “Keep going! Get us to that cave.”

Ollie barked and charged ahead. We kept going and then finally, Ollie pulled up outside the entrance to a cave. Large and black, with sharp, rock edges defining the space.

Relief soared through me. We’d done it! We’d made it.

Please let Markus be here. And please let him be okay.

I dismounted and pushed the bike over a large rock, forcing the machine those few final feet. Then finally, I reached the mouth of the cave.

As soon as I was out of the rain, I parked the bike against the wall at the cave’s entrance, and pulled off my helmet. “Markus?” I called out.

---